I Have A Bike!

The 50-minute walk to ICU is getting a bit much twice a day, so Rob, Katy and I decided to get bikes. We'd heard that the Seiyu department store is quite reasonable, and there's one right by our station, so we walked up this morning.

We went up to the 5th floor and found the bike department. There was no one at the desk, but we wandered round and found the ones we wanted. Obviously, we went for the cheapest ones there. They were only Y8,000! That's really good for a new bike.

After about fifteen minutes, the clerk came back and we filled out the insurance forms (insurance is only Y500) and then walked out with our brand new shiny bikes!

The bikes come with all the regular features of a Japanese bike, although I think some of them are amazing! The way they lock is quite cool. You put the key into the lock to ride it, and then when you stop you just push the lock round so it goes through the wheel's spokes, and take the key out - and it's safe! You don't have to buy anything extra, it's just all included in the framework.

The light works well too. Instead of being battery-powered, you just push the light against the wheel at night and when you ride, the turning of the wheel powers the light, so it turns itself off when you stop. How amazing is that!? I wish British bikes were like that.

You don't need a helmet to cycle to Japan, and you can go on the pavement or the road. Much less strict than at home.

And of course, being Japan, it's safe to leave the bike anywhere. Not unlocked though, as I've heard bikes are the only things to get stolen regularly in Japan.

Now I've bought it, I intend to cycle everywhere - Uni, the station, the shops... Maybe not into central Tokyo, as that would take several hours, but for the local area it's great! But of course it does mean I have to contend with the billion other bikes in Tokyo fighting for spaces!

Placement Test Results

On Friday I got my placement test results to see what Japanese class I'd be placed in.

It was a huge surprise! I've been put in Level 5!! I was so happy when I saw the result because I thought it would definitely be 4 at the most. I was also a little scared because I'm not sure if my level is high enough, but they seem to think I'll be okay so fingers crossed!

My first lesson is on Tuesday so I'll let you know how it goes!

Placement Test

This morning was our three-hour placement test at ICU, to assess our Japanese level so we can be placed in the appropriate classes.

It was quite a tough test. There were three sections - a general grammar comprehension, a reading and writing section, and a listening. All of them were multiple-choice answers, which I was pleased about.

I found the listening the most difficult by far, as listening and speaking are my weakest points. It didn't help that I was a bit tired (still from jetlag I think) and my head was throbbing. It was such a relief when I could close my eyes in between sections.

I couldn't quite finish the first section, which was 64 questions, but I did finish the second, which was 90. I had time to check through the second one, and realised I'd made lots of stupid mistakes, like just marking the wrong box.

All the way through, I was thinking, I must get into Level 3! Level 3 is what students who did the Beginners' course at Leeds should go into. Intermediate students, like me, should go into 4, but I want to do a bit of recapping.

There are eight levels in total, Regular Japanese 1-6, 6 being the highest, and then Advanced Japanese 1 and 2. You can take Intensive courses, incorporating 1-2, 3-4, or 5-6 into one term, rather than doing one level per term. Last year you could do any Intensive course in any term, but this year it's changed so you can only take Intensive 1-2 in the Autumn term, 3-4 in Winter, and 5-6 in Spring. So I might not be able to take advantage of ICU's intensive course like I wanted after all!

We get the results tomorrow so I'll see what level they think I'm best suited for then!

Matriculation at ICU

This morning we had our Matriculation Ceremony (入学式, nyuugaku-shiki) at ICU. It was held in the chapel, as it's the International Christian University. It was quite a strange experience, being in a church environment, but having Japanese spoken to me!


It started at 9.30, so we had to get up at 7 (ugh) and walk the 50 minutes onto campus (I really need a bike for that journey!) We are all One Year Regular (OYR) students, so as we arrived we found the right desk and they gave us our student ID cards, which are so cool! They also gave us a bag with the schedule for the ceremony, and lots of information booklets for different things to do with the University.

The actual ceremony lasted about an hour, and there were some very surreal bits, like we had to stand and sing a hymn I'd never heard before, and "The ICU Song" which was the usual "we love this university" type thing. We also had all our names read out, and we had to stand and reply with either "hai" (yes), or just "yes". It was a bit embarrassing having to stand up in front of everyone, especially as they filmed everything, and the camera was right next to me! I'd like to find out if we can get a copy of the video, or at least see it somewhere.

We signed the Student Pledge, which said that we would abide by the rules of ICU, and the laws of Japan, and then headed out to the lawn in front of the chapel for a group photo. They took about five, so I hope we'll get to see the best one at some point.

After the ceremony, everyone headed to a cafeteria for some drinks and snacks, and some staff introductions. We met a couple of new people and chatted to them. We had met an American girl called Wynne who lives in our guesthouse, and who lived there with Claire, who went to ICU with the exchange from Leeds last year - what a small world!

I also had a very surreal experience - I was recognised! An American guy came up to me and said "Are you the guy who writes that blog?" and I was really taken aback! It was like being a Z-list celebrity!

It was a nice morning, and it was great to meet the people we'd be studying with and see more of the campus. It should be a good year!

Whistlestop Tour of Tokyo

Yesterday my friend Georgie from University came to visit Tokyo on a visit to Japan. She was only here for one day so Rob, Katy and I had to decide where was best to show her. We decided on a few of the city centres around the Yamanote line (山手線), which is the above-ground loop train line which connects the centre of Tokyo.

We left home a little later than planned, at about 11am, and walked up to the station, where we got the Chuo-line all the way to Tokyo station. We arrived a bit late, and found Georgie talking to a station worker saying that she couldn't find us. We felt so bad! But there was no harm done, and we headed out of Tokyo station, Georgie flashing her Japan Rail Pass at the ticket gate guard to get through.

Our first stop was the Imperial Palace (皇居, koukyo), which is about 10 minutes walk from Tokyo station. It was very warm day (around 30C), but not too humid so it was quite comfortable, and the sky was a beautiful blue for the most part.



You can see Tokyo Tower from near the Imperial Palace.

This is Nijuubashi Bridge (二重橋), which is the famous bridge leading into the Imperial Palace private grounds. The bridge opens to the public only twice a year, once on New Year's Eve, and once on the Emperor's brithday (23rd December).

As we were walking around the grounds, we came across this dead cicada (蝉, semi) on the path. I was surprised at how big they are! But in comparison to the noise just one can make, they're actually tiny! I find the day-long chorus a bit much, but apparently the sound of cicadas brings happy feelings as it signifies summer.

I was amazed at how people thought it was safe to leave their bags here while they wandered round the area. This would cause a bomb scare in Britain!

On the way back to Tokyo station, we passed this cicada making a raucous noise on a tree. They're so loud!

There are lots of sacred koi carp in the Imperial Palace moat - we called this one Koi Boi.

After seeing the grounds, we headed back into the business district.

This is an inspirational poster for the 2016 Olympics, which Tokyo is trying to get. It reads "Nihon dakara, dekiru. Atarashii orimpikku!", which translates as something like "We are Japan, so we can do it. The new Olympic Games!" I hope Tokyo does get the 2016 Games, although it will put London to shame, being in between Beijing and then Tokyo, which are both bound to be spectacular.

I thought this travelator system was quite cool.

We headed for the Yamanote line bound for Akihabara (秋葉原), the electronics district, so Katy could buy a new camera.

I saw an advert for my old company, Gaba, on the train, which was a very surreal experience!

This is one of the screens inside the trains that displays information like the next stop, how long it takes to upcoming stops, delay updates, and which side the doors will open on, in both Japanese and English.

Just outside Akihabara station, there's an escalator leading up to a department store that has cool moisture being blown out onto pedestrians. I'd forgotten about that, and it reminded me of what a good idea it is!

We stopped for lunch in a big food court area.

After lunch, we headed for Yodobashi Kamera, which is exactly where I bought my first digital camera last January. It was so weird to think how different my life was then compared to now.

Katy bought a camera she liked, which has 14 megapixels! I was shocked. I thought mine was good, and it's only 8.1!

Then we headed for the one and only Shinjuku. We wanted to show Georgie, and indeed Katy, who had never been to the skyscraper district before, the numerous tall buildings that inhabit the business centre of Tokyo.

Here's my favourite building - the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁, Toukyou Tochou)!

Before going to the observation deck in the TMGB, we went over the road to the Sumitomo Ginkou building (住友銀行ビルディング) and took the lift to the 51st floor observation deck.

The Sumitomo building is hollow, and you can look right down the centre to the ground floor - I couldn't even see all the way down, it's so high!

I'd never been to this observation deck before, so I'd never seen the TMGB from such a height. The Tokyo Park Hyatt and Yoyogi Park (代々木公園) are in the background.

Not the best photo of me ever taken, but never mind.

We left the Sumitomo Ginkou building and crossed the road for the TMGB.

I remember seeing this building from the Limousine Bus that brought me into Shinjuku from Narita Airport on my very first day in Japan. How strange!

The TMGB observation deck is on the 45th floor, so I thought it might be slightly lower than the Sumitomo one, but it actually looked like it was slightly higher. The Sumitomo deck isn't 360 degrees though, so I still prefer this one.

It was too cloudy to see Mt Fuji but it is there - I promise!

We couldn't stay long, and I'd been there about 7 times so I didn't mind shooting off to our next stop. It's the centre of crazy fashion - Harajuku!

The crepes here are amazing! If you ever walk down Takeshita-doori then please try one!

Yes, God forbid someone would smork or tout...

We did a circular route through central Harajuku and then went back to the Western-style station, with the NTT Docomo building/ The Empire State Building in Shinjuku in the background.

Here's the Yamanote line train bound for Shibuya pulling into Harajuku.

And here it is! The mother of all things young in Tokyo - Shibuya (渋谷)! This is definitely my favourite place to be, for trendy people, flashing lights and loud noises, and of course - karaoke!

And who could forget the world's busiest pedestrian crossing!?

This is the 109 building (ichi maru kyuu), a big department store on ten floors in the centre of Shibuya.

Georgie and Rob were looking forward to taking a rush hour train, and for some reason were very keen to be shoved onto a train by a white-gloved guard, to avoid being trapped in the closing doors.

Their dreams were crushed however, when everyone got off at Shibuya and the train was quite empty for the journey back to Tokyo station.

We waved Georgie off at the Shinkansen bullet train (新幹線) barrier, as she was heading back to her friend's house in Utsunomiya (宇都宮), about an hour or so north of Tokyo. We said our goodbyes and waved until she'd disappeared.

I had a really nice day, and it was lovely to see all those parts of Tokyo again. I hope Georgie enjoyed what she saw, even though it was all so fast! I definitely want to go back and explore everywhere in more detail again. Well, I've got a year, so there's certainly time for it!