Collecting My Cash Card

I received a message from the postman a couple of days ago saying that he'd tried to deliver my cash card but because I was at Gaba training I'd missed it.

I couldn't decipher the message so this morning I asked one of my multi-lingual housemates (whose language ability is amazing, have a look at his blog) to help me. He rang them up for me and found out where the letter was and how I could collect it.

So I set out for Nihonbashi (pronounced Nihombashi) , for the big post office there. It was only one stop on the Toei Asakusa Line but it cost Y170 (the cheapest fare for that line, I think the very cheapest one is Y130), which is about 80p. So much cheaper than Birmingham! The journey lasted about 2 minutes and then it was very easy to find the post office. I didn't need the map I'd drawn, but better safe than extremely sorry.

I queued at the main counter (only two windows were in use, the place was really quiet, probably because it's Saturday) and the man there directed me to a separate room to the left. The window looked closed but I could see someone in the office behind it so I waited.

He came and I gave him the message I was left. He went to find my letter and asked for ID. I showed him my new Gaikokujin Tourokusho Card (Alien Card) and he asked if he could write my passport number down.

Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Bank had told me that I would need to use my inkan (name stamp) to sign for the letter but my signature was fine.

That was very painless! Not the usual disaster my little trips are!

I had the afternoon free so I decided to attempt walking home from there. I knew that was very risky as I didn't have a map on me, but I followed the river and my sense of direction. And to my shock, it took less than half an hour to get back!

I went looking for postcards on the way, I thought Tokyo City Air Terminal should have them, but there were none to be found. I think I might have to go to a Tourist Information Centre as they're not very popular here.

During my search, I found a magazine called 'Bing!', which only a sad few will understand, and an extremely new Rough Guide to Tokyo, published February 2008, which is very impressive as it's only the 2nd February today.

Tonight, a group of us from the guesthouse and friends are going to a party I was invited to by an English teaching website (Findateacher.net) in Shibuya, which should be fun!

Settling in

Waking up on Tuesday evening was such a shock to my system. It didn't help that when I turned my laptop on to check emails and everything, as I had set both the time and the time-zone to Japan it told me that it was Wednesday evening! So I thought I had lost an entire day and a half to sleep!

My inbox was full of emails wondering how I was getting on, including some worried ones, so I quickly replied and said that I was fine, just had been sleeping!!

So, having worked out that it was Tuesday, not Wednesday, I realised that the last thing I had eaten was on the plane on Monday morning. But I was too tired still (plus I hadn't showered since Saturday) to go out and find food. And of course I only had emergency chocolate with me so I just replied to my emails and went back to sleep.

If there was a Pursuit of Happyness style chapter system to my life, then this part would be called, "Sleeping".

I woke up at 5am and checked my emails again, then forced myself to go back to bed. I then woke up 11.45 and decided that enough was enough. It was time to get myself sorted. Three days without food is not good.

So I showered (thankfully the shower wasn't confusing and didn't cut out halfway through, or fluctuate between hot and cold, or anything like that) and got dressed. Then I ventured outside. It was warm enough for just a T-shirt and top but I was trembling, probably I was a bit apprehensive of what I might find out in the big bad world of Japan. But I found an am-pm convenience store round the corner and bought some supplies. I got a sandwich, a bottle of mineral water, a chocolate bar (they have Mars and Nestle products like Snickers and M&Ms but not Cadbury) and some bread rolls.

Then I went straight back to my room for lunch. But my system was so unused to food that I could only eat a couple of bites of this lovely big sandwich I'd bought! So I saved the rest for dinner and started applying for jobs on Gaijin Pot.com (a brilliant website devoted to foreigners in Japan, particularly ones looking for work). After applying for about 9 jobs, I decided it was time for dinner. So I ate more of the sandwich (I still couldn't finish it all!) and half of the chocolate bar.

I had arranged to talk to my brother Dominic on MSN when he got home from school so I had to burn some time until 10:30pm. A perfect opportunity for some sightseeing! So I found my way to the nearby bank of the Sumida River, which runs straight through Northern and Central Tokyo (through areas like Asakusa, Nihonbashi and Tokyo Bay) and wound my way through the far-too-confusing walkways to the pedestrian bridge. The view was absolutely amazing. It was dark, but warm, and the river was smooth and peaceful. I could see right down the river, past colourful bridges to the high-rise skyline of Nihonbashi. The skyscrapers were all lit up in yellow and orange and it was truly amazing. Tokyo is a city to be seen at night!

When I get a camera, I'll take a photo of this sight and post it because it's definitely worth seeing. The photos are now up and you can see them here.

Then I walked to Suitengu shrine, the nearest one to me. It was all closed up for the night but it was still impressive with its red-painted wood and high, multi-layered storeys. The streets were almost deserted, it was nice to see parts of Tokyo are quiet!

This pleasant evening was highlighted by the fact that I had been invited to an Information Seminar at one school and a job interview with another!

I was starting to settle in, starting to get used to things, starting to enjoy myself...