The Great Tokyo Apartment Hunt part 3581035819375196237

I just turned 28 and am about to embark on the 28th move in my life...the 5th since coming to Japan a year and a half ago.  I'm starting to think that it's not really by happenstance that I end up moving, but more by some chemical need in my brain.  I think I might just possibly be addicted to moving. 

In the states, the hardest part about moving seems to be the actual physical act itself.  Having to pack, rent a truck, load the truck, drive the drunk, unload the truck, unpack the boxes...blah blah blah.  It could take multiple days or even multiple weeks to complete the whole process.  Before moving to Japan I had done this 23 times.  Most of them were small moves from one location to another (often out of my parents house, back into my parents house and repeat).  Since I didn't mind the packing, moving, unpacking, I found the rest of the process actually pretty easy.   Look in the paper, find some ads, call said ads, look at said ads, and then decide.  The process to sign a contract took a matter of minutes and usually nothing more than the first months rent and a deposit, that was pretty much guaranteed to be returned.

Moving in Japan is a whole other nightmare.  To recap my previous moves:

1. Moved from US to Japan with the 3 largest suitcases I could take on a plane.  In order to maneuver these by myself, I had rigged a unstable, bungee cord stack...of course this wasn't elevator tested, and as soon as I hit one in Narita airport heading to the train tracks, the whole thing toppled.  This was the first time I realized that Japanese people rarely stop to help.  Three people behind me all walked around me, others just stood and waited for me to rebuild my tower, which was difficult as all three suitcases weighed over 50 pounds.  Fortunately, a nice Italian guy helped me get them on the train (again the Japanese just stood and waited for me to attempt to lift them onto the suitcase cart).  Fortunately at my stop, my boss was waiting to help me get them back to the house I would spend my first month at.

Looking back this might have been the easiest move so far.

Luggage: 3 suitcases, 1 purse, 1 backpack, and 3 large boxes awaiting me at my final destination
Cost: Plane ticket $450, Shipping boxes $500, move-in fees $0 (the teacher was extremely nice and let me just help with utilities!).
Time: 2 days

2. Move from Gyoda to Omiya...This was probably THE WORST move of my life.  I spent a day looking with a Japanese girl for a place.  Because she didn't have much time off, I had to do it around her schedule.  She didn't want to spend much time looking and had very high expectations.  It was difficult from the start to find a place that we both agreed upon.  Once we did, I then had to wait for her to do all the paperwork, which was slow...because again she didn't have much time off.  Being rather independent, I decided to try and move myself. This consisted of taking my goods by suitcase to the station, on the train and to my apartment.  Dumb dumb dumb.  The stuff was heavy and the walk from the station to the apartment wasn't a quick one.  At one point one of my suitcases, topping out at a whopping 115 pounds lost both its legs leaving me to physically drag it for 5 km.  This was the second time I realized Japanese people don't normally stop to help.  I walked past DOZENS of people who watched me using all my power to drag the monster behind me on the gravel sidewalk.  About 30 minutes away from the station, a very nice foreigner stopped to ask if I needed help.  He then helped me carry it the rest of the way.  I thanked him profusely and we went our separate ways.

On a side note...I later ran into this same guy at a birthday party for a friend.  I had never told the other teachers what happened and was absolutely EMBARRASSED by the situation...so when the guy gave me the "I think I recognize you look" I had to do everything I could to convince him that NO I was NOT the crazy foreigner that made you carry an overloaded suitcase 30 minutes to the station :-/  I'm a horrible horrible person.  The poor guy insisted, and I just kept pretending like I had NO idea what he was talking about.

With three big boxes left to move and no idea how, my coworkers finally told me about Takkubin, which allows you to send boxes through the convenience stores (that would have been nice to know sooner).  Takkubin is very fast (usually overnight) and CHEAP!  With this, my move was over.

Luggage: same
Cost: 5 train tickets - 2250Yen, Takkubin - 3500Yen,  180000Yen to move in, and a whole lot of dignity
Time: So ridiculous I'm not even going to mention it

3. From Omiya to down the street.  This move was a bit easier as I really didn't have many choices.  I either searched for someone who really wanted to live in the middle of nowhere, or I searched for someone looking for a roommate in the middle of nowhere (ok Omiya really ISN'T the middle of nowhere, but that's how it felt when I was trying to find something out there).  I only found one person.  I moved in with her as it was literally a 40 minute walk from my current location.

For this move, a friend rented a truck and we hauled my stuff up the street.  Having been in Japan for 6 months, I had started to accumulate a lot of stuff! 

Luggage: A regular sized pick-up truck full (including fridge, 4 futons, all 3 suitcases and newly added bright green storage containers)
Cost: 13000Yen for 2 hours!!!  So ridiculously expensive!
Time: 2 hours (I didn't have a choice)

4. This move was a bit more planned and I spent days searching the web for roommates in Tokyo, as well as guest houses.  I sent dozens upon dozens of e-mails and made appointments to see 4 places and a couple of individual apartments.  The first place I saw was beautiful, but seemed ridiculously expensive for the price.  After seeing the other 3 I realized it was an absolute gem.

However, not wanting to jump on something, I convinced a friend to come with me to look at apartments.  After an hour in the office we finally found a few places that would rent to foreigners around Shinjuku station.  Not being able to decide which place would be best, my friend and I went to lunch to discuss.  30 minutes later we returned with a decision (which was come to with some rather harsh words as my friend felt I was being stubborn and just saying the opposite of everything they said...which might have been true).  The agent drew up the contract and when I saw the move-in cost 350000 yen, I freaked.  I couldn't do it.  My friend offered to loan me the money, but I didn't think I could afford to pay them back (I wouldn't be making that much more money).  After spending most the day searching, I backed out.  And decided to move into the guest house.

This time I found a company that moves foreigners.  I carried my stuff downstairs and a guy helped me load his truck and drove me to Tokyo and unloaded everything and carried it up to my new apartment for DIRT cheap!

While not the easiest, this was probably the least stressful.

Luggage: By this point a year had passed and I had acquired a bike, fridge, and tons and tons of sh$t.  I don't know what better way to call all the crap I'd accumulated in a year.
Cost: Truck 9000Yen, Move-in fee was 1 months rent plus 10000 yen, and one slightly banged up friendship
Time: 2 days spent looking, 3 hours spent moving

5. So why move again?  Well...now I have a better job, make more money, and work much much longer hours.  I'm starting to break out in acne from stress and yet don't feel like I have enough time to get to the gym.  So I'm hoping to move closer so that I can walk/jog home (depending on the kind of day I've had).

After 2 full days of apartment hunting (and countless hours making spreadsheets to compare the specs on each place), I've narrowed my choices down to two:

Choice 1)
Location - Shirokane
Cost - 150000/month
Size - 40.5m2
Layout - 1LDK (1 room, living room, dining room and kitchen...though dining only means there's room for a tiny table in the kitchen)
Time from work - 25min walk
Time from gym - 20min train+walk
Pros: Fantastic view, very bright, separate room. 
Cons: Older and is just plain normal looking...plus I noticed there's no designated place for a fridge

Entry closet

 LDK

 Bedroom closet

 Bathroom

 View from my balcony

 Bedroom

Choice 2)

Location - Shibakoen
Cost - 150000/month
Size - 39.8 m2
Layout - 1K (1 room and kitchen)
Time from work - 25min walk
Time from gym -20 min by train and walking
Pros - In a neighborhood with tons of restaurants, close to great lines (Oedo, Mita, JR, Namboku), never been lived in before, and very trendy look.
Cons - Business area, the 1R thing is a bit...weird and may start to feel cramped, lack of closet space

 Entrance closet (1 of 2)

 Room plus "loft bed"

 Kitchen

 "Closet" 2 of 2

 Bidet

 Bath

 Vanity (no idea why I shot down)

 Room from the other side and the coolest real estate agent EVER!

So I've decided to go with Kamidanomi (let God decide).  We'll see how that goes.  My agent has suggested putting in two aps and see who responds first.

May the best apartment win!

I'm apartment hunting AGAIN!

And that's all I've gotta say about that.

White-walled cafe

I've been spending a lot of time lately monitoring the lunchroom (well most days) and I have to say that I often find myself confusing the cafeteria for a place that's normally padded.  Take today for example...

To my left, the student was punching away at a stop watch, mumbling in French and occasionally reaching into his container of cup o' ramen (with his hands...sometimes if he remembered, his fork) and leaning back in his chair in a position reminiscent of Al Bundy...complete with unzipped pants.  I couldn't help but stare at his fly and wonder...do I even bother to say anything...no one else notices...he doesn't notice...do I even want to go there right now?  Maybe this makes me a horrible person, but I didn't.

In order to avoid the feelings of guilt attempting to creep into my mind, I shifted my gaze to the right.  In front of me a student sat on his top of the line Iphone arguing away with the person on the other side...and just so you know that top of the line phone...happened to be his hand and the person on the other side, according to him, was his girlfriend.  As I chopped my daikon and prepared my salad, I couldn't help but feel like I was ease dropping in on a private conversation.  The boy was literally carrying on about the dog, the groceries, and making comments like, "I don't care what happened, it has to get done.  Uh huh, huh, but I don't want to hear excuses.  You did what!?"  Absolutely astounding how realistic it sounded.  I couldn't help but chime in with, "Where did you learn to talk to women this way?" another female student went to get my back, "YEAH! She's going to dump you if you keep talking to her that way!" Wait...HUH?  He's not really talking to anyone...

"And this is my hammerhead shark and my manta ray." My ears picked up the small mumble of the boy next to me.  Who I then realized had been trying to show me pictures.  I peered over to his Iphone (this one real) and could barely make out the faint outline of a manta.  Faining interest I continued to nod and say, "oh really? Where do you keep these animals?" as I chopped away.  About 5 minutes in, I realized...wait...he's claiming that these animals belong to him??  Trying to clarify, I asked him if these were his pets, to which he said yes.  I tried to ask him why he owned hammerhead sharks and where he kept them.  He mentioned that his dad bought some sort of house and they had a place for him.  Trying to decide if this was a play for attention, or if this boy seriously had an exotic pet collection, I asked to see the rest of his photos.  He continued to slide through them...and then came the zebra.  To which I said, "These are pictures of the zoo."  And despite the obvious location, he continued to insist that all these animals were in fact his.  I starred him hard in the eyes, trying to discern if he was telling the truth or trying to pull my leg...I came up empty...so with a nod I once again shifted my attention, this time towards the couch.

There sat the cutest crazy kid you even did see.  He was almost picturesque looking.  Mixed ethnicity, perfect hair, teeth, smile, and tiny to boot.  Then he opened his mouth...and nothing but crazy talk came out.  He sat rolling around on the couch (literally) as he ate his sandwich and spoke to himself in Japanese.  The only words I could make out were "you" something something "die" something something "HAHAHAHAH!!!"

I quickly refocused ahead! Back to the boy on the imaginary phone. His conversation had carried on for 15 minutes! Until he finally said, "YOU WHAT!? You lied to me!?" to which the female student chirped, "OH! Haha, your girlfriend lied to you, SUCKER!"  At which point I decided to step in and say, "....Look at the clock.  You have 10 minutes left to eat, can you please stop talking on the phone and finish your lunch?"  To which he responded, "Hey, I'm sorry, the teacher says I have to go.  Yeah I know.  Uh huh...uh huh...ok...yep...later!"  He then clicks his finger as if he's hanging up and goes back to eating as if nothing ever happened.

In disbelief, I turned to the aide next to me, who was still trying to get the boy to eat ramen and said, "Is it just me, or do you feel like you're eating in a loony ward?"

Sigh...

I've hit that hump...the one that's hard to get over.  I'm at a year and a half and I'm wondering just how much longer I want to stay here.

Life is constantly on the move.  I find myself leaving the house at 6am and returning near 9 or ten pm almost every day...at some point things have to slow down, right?

On the bright side! I'm going to Okinawa in two weeks.  Booked my ticket and heading out.  My goal is to learn to scuba dive!!  I've recently taken up snowboarding and now would like to add scuba to my list of life accomplishments.  Look for pictures to come.

Memories from a brief stint as a preschool teacher

I survived the life of a preschool teacher for exactly 5 months.  Here are my memories from that time:

May - Subbing for another teacher I took the kids to the post office.  We made postcards for friends and family and then sent them off in a letter.  During our trip, I threatened the children with their lives.  They were absolutely perfect inside the office, standing behind the line, waiting their turn, asking nicely for a stamp in Japanese, and then exiting quietly.  However, on the outside, they were acting like wildebeest and office workers frequently complained about their behavior.

Things are said about work that make my eyebrows raise and wonder...just what is going on here?  Oh wait, that's right no one knows.  "We hired you for your expertise" is what they said, but when you offer to give it, you hear, "I don't like your negative attitude."

What I learned - Kids listen...unfortunately they don't transfer the knowledge in one context to another very well.

June - Parent social...first time I've ever been encouraged to drink and socialize with parents outside of school...and then do stage karaoke...umm...this was crossing my boundaries

What I learned - Um, parents can party hard.  I realized that wealthy people have just as many problems if not more than the rest of us normal folk.  I also learned that I should in fact date German men and that many Japanese mom's would love to have me over and feed me when I'm hungry...or have their cook feed me when they're hungry.  Old people can still be just as randy as young.  Mom - "I'm tired, I think we're going to head home." Dad - standing behind mom and silently mouthing, "I'm going to f*#k my wife!" as he air humped her. 

Morale is slowly dropping as I wonder if I can really survive this crazy atmosphere.

July - CAMP!  OH YEAH!  Nothing like preparing a new theme every week with a different combo of kids and teachers everyday for 5 weeks!  Took some fantastic field trips and had some insightful convos with parents.  Tried to see the good in a little girl who was seriously a yakuza ojousama in the making...like father like daughter I guess.  And somehow survived as growing frustrations built in the workplace...the longer you're there the more you understand how places run.  Teacher gets "let go" without any warning two months after her father passes from cancer.  They would rather continue to pay her to stay home for two weeks than have her "negative" energy around...this teacher was phenomenal with the kids...starting to become clear I might not survive.

Bossman is away, leaving us to play FREELY! Oh wait, who's this? Oh, the person sent to check-in on us and make sure we're not starting any funny business?  Or as the long-term staff called them, "the spies."  Really? is that REALLY necessary?

What I learned - before accepting a job, make sure to meet the employees and take time to ask them some questions first.

August - WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING!?! Another two weeks of camp!? No WAY!  Energy levels quickly dropped as I rushed to make my escape plan for my short two week break before school started up again.

Boss man returns and does nothing but criticize what I've done to the classroom...oh you mean the fact that it no longer looks like a showroom and now actually functions as a classroom for young children who need separate play areas?  As for the art room...it was being used anyways.  It looks much better as a teacher's supply room :):) At least I like to think so. 

What I learned - at my threshold and decide at the last second, enough is enough.  Can't take any more passive-aggressive behavior and feeling like despite having the "experience", my opinion is the last one to matter.  Oh pregnant teacher is fired and teacher is called into the center of Tokyo just to be told she is on probation for poor job performance (couldn't wait two weeks until work started back up again?).  This after they tell her they made a mistake and are paying her too much and not only changed next months wages, but also went back and deducted the previous months. OH DEAR!

Who really wants to work for someone who treats their employees like the enemy and makes everyone afraid to say a peep, less they want to be "black listed."  Not I!  I QUIT!

Next to come - Um, like, totally ! I think I just time-traveled back to high school...for sure! and other letters of resignation.

Sorry...it's been a while

I've recently changed jobs twice in the last 5 months.  Since I meant for this blog to be about teaching in Japan, I didn't feel it appropriate to continue writing when I was no longer working as an ALT....plus the people at my new school all know how to speak English...making it rather compromising to write about it.

BUT! I QUIT that job and now feel like I can write freely about my experiences teaching preschool in Japan!


The school where I worked was beautiful.  The teachers were all ridiculously good looking, the rooms all looked like pottery barn ads and even the parents were glamorous.  The kids from 5 year olds down to the 12 month olds dressed in Prada, Gucci, and Chanel.  You know someone has an excessive amount of cash when they only dress their child in Chanel.  Some of the parents dropped their kids off in Aston Martins, or left it to the chauffeur, or in one girl's case, the bodyguard to get their child there in the morning.

Needless to say, it was a 180 from my last job.   I was meeting parents who were heads of major Japanese companies, dignitaries, diamond dealers, and even famous musicians.  And at first, it seemed to be the best job anyone could have ever asked for!  I came in bounding with optimism...which makes one wonder, why the heck then did I quit?

wow, just one of those days

When you want to sleep in, but find yourself waking up 30 minutes before your alarm and just can't get back to sleep.  Then, even though you don't have time, the only other person awake in the house stops you to have a 30 minute convo about...student loans, even though you really have a million things to do.  Because you don't think you have to be into work early, you take your time and decide to try that new route to work that's supposed to be faster, but you get lost and go 15 minutes out of your way and of course googlemaps don't include topographical maps that would have shown you the two EXTRA mini-mountains this "faster" path includes.  Then the second you step in the door at work, you're told that you're suppose to be subbing for another teacher...making you 1 hour late.  Assuming you would have time to eat when you got to work, you no longer have time, leaving you to help watch 23 3 year olds on an empty stomach. All the while wondering if you just forgot, or if this is a matter of miscommunication. 

The kids seem exceptionally resistant today and you find yourself having to physically pick them up or drag them around...only forcing you to expend more energy which only reminding you more and more that you haven't eaten yet.  It's sunny today, which means park time before lunch.  Hoping to get the easy job in the sand box, you now realize why there's always a large pile of sand in front of the shoebox...as child begin dumping, flinging, tossing sand all over you (I guess I will have to wash these pants before I return home in 4 days). 

Lunch rolls around and though you're trying to enjoy your first meal of the day at 12:40, it's difficult when the children seemed to have smeared half their meal on the table in front of you. Not to mention the lovely lunch time conversation regarding pee and poo.  Because you were planning to get some paperwork typed up during the day, this now leaves you trying to get it done after the day, leaving you at work far later than you expected...and left to lock up even though you are supposed to be heading to a private lesson 30 minutes away...or, in case you have no sense of direction, 1 hour away.  Nothing like riding a bike  with half empty tires from Azabu to Roppongi to Ebisu to Yoyogi (about a 7 mile LOOP which should have only been 3mi)...in the middle of traffic, literally through Shibuya station (one of the busiest places to be in Tokyo during rush hour).  By the time I arrived for my lesson, I felt like a diabetic going into shock, I was shaking so bad. 

On the bright side, I didn't have to go to the gym seeing as I got in my butt and leg workout.  It shouldn't be too hard for tomorrow to be better.

Life in Tokyo

It's been about a month and I'm not settled into my shared apartment in Tokyo and have started my first week at an international school.  I've also picked up two part-time jobs, one teaching business English at night for a pretty large language school and one working as an English babysitter.  Both jobs are contractual, so nothing has come of either of them yet.  Once everything starts, it should be interesting to see whether or not I lose my sanity.

Until then, here are some views of sakura season.  This year I visited both Shinjuku gyoen and Yoyogi and uploaded pictures of both.  Shinjuku was definitely the best...though I think the Imperial Palace might be even more beautiful.  The nice thing about Tokyo is sakura are everywhere, so it's nearly impossible to miss it!

Yoyogi park - April 6th































 Shinjuku Gyoen - March 27th

Kamakura - April 3rd

Tokyo Imperial Palace - April 2nd

End of the Japanese School Year

There's a strange thing going on at school -  About a month ago the students took their final exams.  Yep, a month ago.  Since then, classes have been carrying on as normal.  With a week left of school, the teachers have already turned in the grades...Yes, a week left of school and grades have been done.  Actually, they've been done since the students took their finals back in February. But it takes time to hand write two copies of all the students grades...yes, in the city I work in the teachers have to hand write two copies of the grades (ALL the grades).  The strangest part is, the kids know it and yet for some reason, as soon as finals are over, all those kids that were sleeping and refusing to work, have suddenly started to study.  WHAT!?!  It makes no sense.  Granted, they're not doing EVERYTHING, but one student who has literally done NOTHING all year, has started doing at least 1/2 of the work.  Another girl, who read a book everyday in class, has started taking notes and doing the workbooks.  And I ask WHY!?!  If only my Japanese was good enough, I'd ask them myself.

Of course, there is one thing that isn't too unlike American schools at the end of the year...student behavior has gotten nuttier.  A couple of weeks ago, 4 out of 8 of the 1st year's classroom doors had to have the glass replaced because students had knocked it out (most likely rough housing or throwing something inside). This might not apply everywhere, but at my school there is no discernible difference between inside behavior and outside behavior.  You'd definitely never hear, "take it outside!"  Here are some pics from around the school - just 1 week left!

Before class - After the bell -  Unlike America, the bell doesn't signal the start of class.  Kids don't pay ANY attention until the gore says, "stand up."

Homeroom teacher vs. student.  After the homeroom teacher won, the kids tried to convince me to arm wrestle the teacher...um I'm no fool!  I did arm wrestle the other kids, but they're 7th graders, my odds were great :)





During cleaning time - trying to sneak out of cleaning duties - hiding outside, climbing out the windows, arguing to decide who has to clean the sink (water's freezing), and just plain wrestling.

Getting into trouble - Students have started stealing shoes out of a kid's shoe locker (the only form of bullying the teacher's actually punish) - but who would have known there'd be any consequences from the way they were acting.

My conversation with a teacher -
Me - So what are all the kids doing? Are there club activities today?
Teacher - No, it's bullying.
Me - Bullying? What kind of bullying.
Teacher - Shoe bullying.
Me - You mean stealing?
Teacher - No, bullying.
Me - Bullying by stealing someone's shoes?
Teacher - yes.
Me - Oh.

Students getting yelled at for 30 minutes.

Underclassmen trying to listen in on the conversation.




I guess no matter where you go, kids are kids.

Junior High School Graduation

With two weeks left of school the 3rd year students are already gone.  Which I guess doesn't really matter since they haven't done anything since the end of March.  Ok, wait, I take that back.  They did garden all the fields and paint the parking lot.  I've gotta say the Japanese know how to pinch pennies.  Just think what the schools in America could save on labor costs if the students took more responsibility for the maintenance of the school grounds. But I digress....the 3rd year students are gone.

Starting last Monday, the students began practicing for their graduation ceremony.  Practice ran from 8:30am-12:30pm Monday through Wednesday.  According to the teachers, this was to make sure that everything was perfect.  I can't imagine how many things could possibly need to be addressed.  The kids walk-in, sit down, stand up, walk to the stage, get a piece of paper and sit down.  Apparently it's a lot more complicated than that.

It seems the students need to learn the exact timing of walking in, standing in front of their seats, bowing together for exactly the same duration and the same angle.  They then walk to the stage and stand exactly the same distance apart.  Stand at the exact same spot on stage, bow at the exact right moment, fold their diplomas exactly the same, walk off exactly the same...I think you get the drift.

Wednesday and Friday the rest of the students also practiced how to sit in the audience and watch.  Seriously, they went through the entire ceremony.  Practicing over and over, "Stand!" "Not fast enough. SIT!" "Again, STAND!" "SIT!" "STAND!" "BOW! 1-2-3. SIT!"  Oh my gosh it was like watching military drills.  A kid didn't stand and his homeroom teacher grabbed him by the neck and shoved him out the back doors.  Well, first, he shoved his face into the back doors, then opened them and shoved him outside.  For the next twenty minutes he yelled at the kid.

Left: Students practicing standing and bowing.                                    

Right: 3rd year student having his uniform straightened out.

Thursday, the underclassmen did a 3 hour presentation (seriously 3 hours) for the 3rd year students.  Clubs presented dances and skits and then short speeches about their club sempai.  Then the 2nd year students presented and then finally the first year students.  I got much of it on video, and once I edit it and upload it, I'll try to post some of the more interesting parts.  At the end, the 3rd year students sang a few songs and then spoke to their underclassmen.  

The third year student who I caught singing show tunes.  Great voice.

Afterward, the 2nd year students decorated the gym.  I offered to help...gosh, big mistake.  They literally broke out the ruler to make sure the carpet was straight.  The principal was sitting in all the 3rd year chairs and VIP chairs (about 50 invited teachers and school board members from around Saitama...though no teacher actually knew who any of them were).  And on top of it, we had to hang curtains around the entire gym...in order and neatly tacked down.  It took us 3 tries.  At one point I actually found myself arguing with a student that the order didn't matter since every curtain was the EXACT SAME!  Finally I won but only because it turned out that curtain number 1 was DIRTY! Still, it was a small but hard earned victory :)  Because of all the arguing and going back and forth between teachers to decide if we can IN FACT go out of order, 40 minutes later the first curtain was hung. Yeah, nooo joke.  Fortunately another teacher came in and just busted it out and within 20 minutes the rest of the curtains were hung.  2 hours later the students left...for another 30 minutes the teachers went back and "fixed" the student's work.  Gah! All I heard was kampeki (perfect).  I was starting to wonder what a "perfect" graduation ceremony looked like.

After all the prep work, I headed back to the teacher's room.  On my way back, two teachers stopped me to ask me what American graduation is like.  All I kept hearing was, "I hear it's free and relaxed.  I hear they have a dance party."  Haha! WHAT!?  They honestly thought kids just did whatever and then partied after.  When I told them that practice was about an hour long the day before, they about died.  "But doesn't it have to be perfect?!How to you know what you're supposed to do?"  What I'm supposed to do?  I'm supposed to walk to the front, take a diploma and sit down.  What's there to know? 

It seems there's more to it than I had previously thought.  Saturday was graduation and it would have been really nice to know that graduation in Japan is like attending a formal wedding in America.  I mean people were decked out in their "Sunday" best...though that phrase has absolutely know relevance in Japan.  At least I thought to wear a nice jacket over my t-shirt.

Finding a seat with the other teachers, I watched as all the kids were checked and straightened by their homeroom teacher.  Then the ceremony began and the students walked the red carpet, the entire time the audience clapped.  As the students filed into their rows, the clapping grew louder until the students bowed and the next group walked in.  As each group filed into their row the clapping grew louder....seriously?  Is this what they were practicing for 3 days?  It really amazes me the kinds of details the Japanese consider when planning.  I want to try and appreciate the effect it had and the feeling behind it, but couldn't help be kind of annoyed.  After this they sang...I'm guessing the National Anthem and the school song.  From that point I kind of dazed off.  I finally started drawing another teacher's kimono in an attempt not to fall asleep.  During the ceremony the students would stand and bow at the start of every speaker (there were 7) and then bow twice on stage and once when bowing before their teachers.

I admit I was somewhat scared when I heard the principal start to read the entire contents of the diploma thinking, "DEAR GOD! please don't tell me he's going to read every kid's diploma.  We'll be here all day!"  While I'd never have that thought in America, I'd never put that one past the anal Japanese.  But thankfully, even they aren't the cruel! The rest of the ceremony was a series of intricate commands. There were many times when the students would stand and bow, sit and then immediately stand and bow again...gosh.  At the end, the 3rd year students turned and sang to the underclassmen.  I didn't catch the song, but it was actually quite moving scene.  

This ceremony displayed everything that outsiders tend to dislike about Japan.  Students were forced to spend long, seemingly needless, hours preparing.  Everyone was focused on perfection, though perfection of a ceremony seems indescribable.   Students were yelled at throughout the entire thing to do everything with military precision.  There was no creativity, every action had been preformed for decades.  After watching the practice, one would have thought that they managed to beat all emotion and joy out of it.  And while I don't really agree with the methods, and despite my annoyance at being there on a Saturday to watch this spectacle, I was quite impressed.  The whole thing was moving.  And for a moment, I thought, wow, we really miss out on this in America.  The strong feelings that every action was performed with, whether forced are not, were still felt.  The speakers all spoke with stiring passion, some even tears.  The students bowing to their teachers and thanking them for what they'd done for them.  Turning and singing an inspirational song to their underclassmen.  Maybe another observer would have watched with disdain and think it was overly cheesy.  But how can I sit and judge whether what they're feeling or not is real?   At the very end, the head teacher called each class to dismiss them. Each classes "Gore" (commander) shouted the command, and all at once, as loudly as they could each class said, "Arigatou Gozaimasu." Thank you.  The passion in their faces, the excitement to moving on, was contagious.

Moving in Tokyo

Hmm, I won't quite call myself an expert, but having moved a total of 4 times in less than a year...I can say that I have obtained quite a bit of experience in this department...to say the least.  Let's review the ways that I have moved to and in Japan.

1) From America to Japan - In all, I carried 3 suitcases (2 carry-on size and 1 as large and heavy as the airlines allows) and sent 4 boxes. The cost to send everything was roughly 470.  400 for the boxes to be shipped (US postal service no longer ships, everything has to go by plane so it's more expensive than it would have been a few years ago).  The 70 was what the airlines charged for me to carry-on an extra bag.  However, if the airline knows you're connecting for an overseas flight, many will let you carry 3 bags without charge. 

What I'd recommend bringing -
a) Toiletries - Women, if you use...ummm....a certain type of insertable feminine product, most likely you'll have a very difficult time finding it here and might be best off bringing it yourself. 

b) Cosmetics - If you have sensitive skin and can't read Japanese, I'd recommend bringing your own cosemetics.  Most make-up has a yellow undertone, which makes my face look plain goolish.  It's been a nightmare trying to match it to my skintone.  On top of that, I ran out of face wash and have been trying different Japanese brands with horrible reactions.  Maybe its the climate, dry winter air, but my skin has become flaky and red...it's depressing...especially since I cant find the right shade of make-up to cover it. And, as everyone who lives here knows, deodorant.  Don't leave home without it.   Medication...if you take any.  Japanese medication comes in VERY low doses.  And...not to be crude, but birth control.   I've heard it's a real pain to get, I don't have insurance and haven't tried, but most people recommend bringing a year's supply.

c) Pants/shoes - Since I'm supersized, even by American standards (not in the fat sense, but in the tall and large appendaged sense), I recommend bringing your own pants and shoes.  This really doesn't apply to guys as much as it does to women.  There are Western brands here, Forever  21, Gap, H&M, Zara, Levi's, etc.  But even still, the close is tailored for short people.  There are tall men here...there really aren't tall women.  Make sure the shoes are resilient and water proof as you'll probably find yourself walking a lot more than you did back home...in the rain...unless of course you live in a place where it rains half the year and you don't own a car.

Everything else is pretty easy to find here.

Moving within Japan -
Just like America, you have to shut off all of your utilities.  My roommate, fortunately, did all this, though it sounds like it was a real pain in the rear for her, especially the internet. Japan is ONE anal country so be prepared. Because she has national health insurance (kokumin kenkou hoken) she had to go down to the local Ward Office and take care of her taxes.  Turns out they'll be giving her money back.  I, however, do not have national health insurance and will just have to register with my new ward near my apartment.  And...of course, change your address with the post office (tensotodoke form).  According to the postal worker, I should have done this 3 days before moving :) ooops.  Good thing I don't get any mail.

2)Moving from Gyoda to Omiya...alone.  Ok, not totally alone.  Another teacher KINDLY helped me take a few suitcases down.  Also, my boss helped me with the Takkyubin :).  Not having acquired much, the first time I moved I sent most of my boxes Takkyubin.  Basically take your stuff to a convenience store, tell them takkyubin, fill out the address and date/time.  All my stuff arrived within two days.  It's probably one of the cheapest ways to move if you don't have much (4 large boxes were about 60 bucks).  I took my suitcases by train...wouldn't recommend taking more than one at a time, people tend to get annoyed.  Also, I recommend taking the bus and not dragging your suitcase to the station...Most places in Japan aren't paved and as I found out, most luggage isn't meant to be dragged 2miles along unpaved roads.  This way was a pain in the rear, spread out over multiple days and multiple trips, but unavoidable as I didn't have much to warrant a mover.

3) Moving up the street - Fortunately, I had kept my boxes and still hadn't accumulated much, so the packing was easy.  I had a Japanese friend who rented a truck from Nippon-rent-a-car, but  I can't imagine a foreigner would be able to do this alone.  For what would be a normal pick-up truck it was $110 for 2 hours!!  Unbelievable!  And just like in America, I you have to return it with a full tank.  With Japan's many narrow, one-way streets, driving was slow and tedious.  While this is rather convenient, it's not very practical for anything that might take longer than two hours to do.

4) Moving from Omiya, Saitama to Tokyo - This time I DIDN'T keep my boxes and accumulated much more...stuff.  In Japan it costs money to get rid of large items and it was cheaper to move them with me than pay to get rid of them.  Boxes were pretty easy to find.  Most grocery stores have small boxes up front where you bag your groceries, though you generally have to buy something to take them (however, once you buy something no one seems to care how many you take).  Mom and pop stores also have a ton of boxes off to the side.  As for means of moving, I had too much stuff to ship and the drive to Tokyo alone is an hour...without traffic and knowing exactly where you're going.  So hitting the internet, I found a couple of English speaking movers (Japanese movers are EXPENSIVE!).  I ended up going with a mover called Tokyo Helping Hands (http://www.tokyohelpinghands.com/).  They're located out of Shinjuku and move people around Saitama, Chiba, and Tokyo.  The owner is extremely helpful!  Having contacted many different movers, he was the fastest and cheapest.  To do everything it would have been about 190 bucks, but I moved everything downstairs myself so basically I ended up renting a truck and driver for 98 bucks.  The guy was extremely friendly and even helped me move stuff upstairs after my landlord made him parks a good 25 meters away. 

Since I moved into a sharehouse this time, everything was already set-up and ready to go.  I really wish I would have moved into a sharehouse when I first came to Japan.  But everyone I talked to at the time had some real horror stories about places.  I have to say I'm extremely happy with the house that I found.  The owner's a bit nutty, but the manager is extremely friendly...though another guest recently told me he gives sweets to female residents...which makes me wonder if I'm confusing pervy with friendly.  I guess time will only tell.  I've gotten lucky and currently have a 2K in the center of Tokyo...all to myself!!  Though as I type this I realize I can hear the people upstairs...guy...girl...umm.....wrestling?

Now I just have to devise a plan to try and keep it that way.  So far I've decorated the bathroom in neon green with pink flowers and bear towels...hopefully that keeps away the men.  As for the women, I'm thinking fish in the garbage can, dirty dishes, hair around the bathroom sink, and maybe fill up the getabako/shoe closet.