The beginning ...
Trip Start
Feb 25, 2008
1
5
Trip End
Aug 02, 2008
Tokyo,
Japan
Monday, March 3, 2008
With a brief stop to Paris for 3 days, where I walked around the city, ate many great foods, enjoyed the Parisian lifestyle and meet up with some old French friends - I then took my 12 hour plane ride to Japan.
After a few minutes on Japanese land - I could already gather and feel the Japanese hospitality. My family (Mayu, Yuri and Mrs. Cheiko San) picked me up from the airport which is located about an hour away from the city to control noise pollution - so brilliant of the Japanese!
On my first day - I got a tour of my neighborhood, the market - where I bought fresh raw fish for dinner, the subway station and the 5 depanneurs in our area
Paris view
. The apartment where I am living is quite big for Japanese standards. Great observations I have made: the toilet seat is always warm!, at the eating table - you can put your feet and legs under a blanket and it is always warm, in my house we have a typical Japanese style bath and shower - so we have to shower and wash outside the bath and then we can go into the 'very warm' bath .. but we keep the same water for many days ... these baths are very deep and very relaxing! everywhere is the city you can find vending machines for hot and cold drinks, food and cigarettes .. its so great and cheap!
Something which I found very funny is how everyone is the subway is sleeping ... people must always be missing their stops!
Day 2: Went for lunch with a friend of a family friend ... and learned how to take the subway alone .. which my family was so proud of me for!
Day 3: Visit of Akihabara - the electrical district .. so wild!
Food is very important in Japanese culture - during a meal they have at least 6-7 dishes out on the table ... and my mother Mrs. Fujii is the best cook - her food is delicious ... on the first night be ate sushi and sashimi - home made style, on the second night we ate yakitori - BBQ chicken and crab .
Tour Eiffel
. and last night pork and veggies. All in all, I am really enjoying myself. I haven't felt much culture shock yet .. which is a great thing .... and the language barrier hasn't been too frustrating. The jet-lag is the worst ... the 14 hour difference with home is not getting any better.
I start work training this weekend .. which should be great as I will establish a routine.
My friend Leigh is coming to visit on Friday .. and we are trying to plan a trip somewhere close to Tokyo - maybe Mt Fuji.
Comments
Freezing Rain in Ottawa
Glad to hear you are settling in so well.
Today we had freezing rain, now rain and by Wednesday a big snowstorm. In other words,
you are missing nothing!
We went skiing in Sutton on the weekend. It was really fun. I reintroduced myself to it while Pierre took on the big slopes.
I hope that your training goes well and that you meet lots of great people.
Love, Sandra
A notre grande voyageuse!
Allo Raphaëlle,
Contente d'avoir de tes nouvelles aussi tôt. Tu sembles bien d'acclimater au Japon. Tant mieux! C'est vraiment bien ce travel blog. On a l'impression que tu es moins loin qu'en réalité.
De notre côté, tout va bien. Nous sommes en semaine de relâche cette semaine alors on se repose. J'ai hâte d'avoir tes impressions sur tes premiers pas dans l'enseignement. Je suis certaine que tu vas être bonne!!
En attendant, on t'embrasse bien fort et on te suit dans ton aventure!
Marie-Josée
Vincent
Marie-Pierre
XXX
Ohayo gozai masu Raphaelle San
Bonjour Raphaëlle,
Content d'apprendre que tu profites déjà de la vie au Japon. Lorsque tu connaîtras un peu Tokyo et que tu voudras faire une sortie 'aventure', tu pourras aller voir mon ancien appartement. Voici l'adresse : Saison Numabukuro #202, 3-9-11, Numabukuro, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 165. À partir de Shinjuku (qui se trouve sur la ligne Yamanote), il faut prendre le train qui se dirige vers l'est (direction Takadanobaba?). Numabukuro est le 4e ou 5e arrêt, je crois. L'appartement se trouve à quelques minutes de marche de la gare, très proche de la rivière (ce que nous appellerions 'égout à ciel ouvert en béton'). Il y avait une buanderie au bout de la ruelle à l'époque; la propriétaire était assez agée et parle un peu l'anglais. Tu peux lui dire que j'habitais au bout de la ruelle en 1990-1991. Elle est toutefois maintenant peut-être décédée, auquel cas elle ne parle plus l'anglais.
As-tu vu le chien, dont j'oublie le nom, à Shibuya? C'est le lieu de rencontre des 'gaijins'. La compagnie pour laquelle je travaillais, International Educational Services (IES) se trouve également à Shibuya.
T'es-tu fait un 'boyfriend' sumo?
Au plaisir de te lire,
Jean
xoxo
wowie
Ma cherie, you have the world at your finger tips. Dream big, live large...take it all in.
love love love
a
amazing, just amazing!!
That all sounds, well, amazing! I get jet lag when I fly to Ottawa from Toronto, I can only imagine how you're feeling out there.
As for culture shock, that's awesome that you're fitting into it all so well! Though, let's be honest, it's probably more of a shock for the Japanese to have a blonde beauty in their midst than the other way around. A family friend was over for dinner once and told a story about biking through crowded streets (granted, in China, but regardless...) and all the bikers going in the opposite direction staring in disbelief as he passed by - subsequently crashing into one another. He took to walking as a safety precaution for the locals. Oh course, he was 6'3 with a great rotund belly and a beard like a loaf of bread. So not *exactly* the same look as you have going on... But you get the idea; culture shock, it's a two way street.
Can't wait to hear more about it all!