First day in Tokyo

First full-day in Tokyo, completely free for walking around and trying to realize where I am. 🙂

Before coming, I collected some useful information about Japan from some friends. I remember Inda told me that in Tokyo all life is focused around the train stations, and when you are far from them, they are normally peaceful residential areas… and he was completely right. 🙂

I live in that part of the neighbourhood, the peaceful residential area (apart from the big avenue behind my building)… and then when you start walking to the station, you start finding more and more people, as well as shops… until you get to the station. (see pictures as follows, all taken in the same street)

Close to the station, I found our friend Mc (my first visitors will love it :D), and Café Sands. Maybe they are my relatives and I had no clue about that. 🙂

But finally I decided to try some real stuff. 🙂

Today I liked what I saw quite more than yesterday. But I still think it’s quite chaotic, without any order… But that mess looks nice… apart from the cables. I see cables all around the place. Is it just me?

Tomorrow it’s time to start working again… I am even eager to that. O_o

Konichi wa!

I am in Tokyo!! 🙂 I only had time to arrive to my apartment, unpack everything, buying some stuff for the apartment and going to have dinner in my same street, and now back “home” to write a few lines and early to bed to profit tomorrow’s day. 🙂

* The trip went pretty well. I flew through Frankfurt so I could practice some German in the first flight. The flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo has been really long. Fortunately, I could sleep a little bit, not as much as I would have desired, as I did not have the chance to take an aisle seat, so I was pressed between the window and my seat neighbour. But three films, the dinner and the breakfast entertained sufficiently.

* I flew in a 747 today (yes, today this kind of aircraft is on the news), and I am really surprised that someone even imagined to make that enormity could ever fly (and I am looking forward to be able to “try” the A380.

* I wrote in a company blog some time ago, that I think border control as we understand it today should have future. We need a visa (which you apply with a lot of papers, later on, in the plane, you need to fill in a couple of forms justifying why you are going to Japan, and so on, then you go and explain what you have written to an immigration officer, and later on to a customs officer. At the end, almost 30 minutes of queuing.

* In total, it took me about 4 hours since the aircraft landed until I got to my apartment. It’s true it’s quite far from the city, and that I took a bus instead of trains, but it is still a lot. Oh, sorry, it was not a bus, it was a limousine. 🙂

* What’s your impression about Tokyo? Two things come to my mind: first, the humidity. It’s really tough to be outside (or inside with open windows). The image I have seen from the bus, and after a short walk in my neighbourhood, it is a bit chaotic. Old and new, small and big, colourful and grey houses together, small streets that look like the entrance to a house, lots of cable everywhere, streets and railways cross at different heights, etc.

* I like globalization. I like being able to find olive oil in the closest supermarket to my place. I just did not like the price. (1000 yen = 6 euros)

* Language is a real problem. I still don’t know how I managed to know the time the supermarket closes (23.00), because no one spoke English there. The same happened with the taxi driver, or in the restaurant. The worst thing is that I say some times to them “tack” or “hej”… Hehe.

* By the way… Tomorrow, I will show you some Japanese in the daily life…

* Ohhh! And Carlos Sastre just won Tour de France!! Perfect timing. 🙂