LEGAL, WILLING & ABLE, BUT NOT LOOKIN' JUST YET!

Tuesday January 31, 2006
Kayobi ichigatsu ju-san ni-sen roku-nen


I’m back and this time I’ll try to be a little more succinct. Upon reflection I think that writing a day-by-day account, however concise I make it, may turn some of you off from reading it, which is counterproductive. So I’ll stick to the main events, and where warranted, I’ll delve deeper into detail. So buckle up, ‘cuz here we go…

Gyakuku is a yakiniku/Korean BBQ chain restaurant and it’s damn tasty. Similar to Shabu Shabu, with yakiniku you cook your own meal, except instead of dipping meats and vegetables into a cauldron of boiling water, you cook your food on a grill that is inlayed into the tabletop. Occasionally a waiter comes by to refresh the coals; otherwise you just sit, eat and drink the night away. Which is what Hannah and I did with our friends Lesley and Toru. It may seem that Hannah and I eat out quite a bit, ‘cuz we do. But that’s not to say that we don’t eat at home either, we’re just both very eager to accept dinner invitations ‘cuz it usually means that we’ll get to experience a new restaurant, of which there are just way too many.

Later that same week we went bowling in Nakano with some of Lesley’s friends and students. Technically it’s the same game as we play in North America, and probably the world over, but it’s just that here it takes on a comical theme. Bowling balls tend to be designed to look like, well, not bowling balls, and the shoes have lots of day-glow colors instead of the staid red, green and white you usually see. But that’s just the way it is here. I bowled 153 and 139 but can’t remember what my second game’s score was. Then we went to eat at an Izakaya, a Japanese style pub.

I ate Black Beauty! Seriously, we all tried horse meat. At first I was a little anxious, but since I’ve already eaten caribou, frog’s legs and chicken feet I thought why not horsemeat? And it was good, not tuff like I thought it would be (‘cuz of all the muscles horsies have). The proper way to eat it is, with your chop sticks, pick a small, thin slice, place some grated ginger, chopped shallots and pureed garlic on top, fold it and dip it in Soya sauce, eat and repeat. It was a bit chewy but not any more so than steak would be. Not bad at all. We also ordered Nabe, which is a large, metal steaming bowl of veggies, fish and seafood. Suffice it to say that we ate and drank heartily that weekend, they way your supposed too!

Now here is where important things start to happen for me. Where my status changes and I get more serious about living in Tokyo and Japan.

Before arriving I thought that I’d have to leave every 3 months or so to keep my status clean. I thought of visiting Ann in Korea, then possibly Val and her new family in Australia. But now, as of Monday January 16, 2007, I no longer have to worry about any of that. I can stay here until at least early next year because I have obtained, with Hannah’s help as well as that of the Government of Japan, my Dependant Visa. So to you both I say, Domo Arigatoo!

So now my life is much easier. And, in my infinite wisdom (which in reality does have its limits, but we’ll let that bit of creative writing pass, right?) I asked about the possibility of working during my stay. Well, guess what? I can now do that too. All I had to do was fill out another form and return a week later and they’d put another sticker in my passport that let’s me work a max of 28 hours/week. PLENTY. So I can now live and work here without any problems. AMAZING! All I now need to complete my trio of official documentation is my Gaijin Card. It’s officially referred to as an Alien Registration card, but only foreigners need it, so we called it the Gaijin Card. It almost sounds like a credit card for foreigners, y’know, “Get your Gaijin Card ‘cuz foreign membership has it’s privileges!” Not really, but it sounds good no? Anyways, it’s already in the works as we speak. By the middle of February I’ll be a rock solid Gaijin! Tres Kewl!

Now back to our regular programming…

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu is a nice place to visit for an afternoon of culture. According to my guidebook it’s Tokyo’s premiere photo exhibition gallery/space catering to a wide variety of national and international artists. During my visit I was able to peruse 3 different exhibitions. Two were of bodies of work from early 20th Century Japanese photographers, simple and quite nice. Most of their work was in Black and White, with some color shots later in their careers. But the exhibit that left the greatest impression on me was one showcasing work from the Viet Nam War.

Wars always produce extraordinary photo ops. There is always so much mayhem, interspersed with moments of serenity and yes, even tenderness. The people who risk their lives to document these events should be commended, if not for their bravery then for their foolhardiness. But the strength of this exhibition, ‘1954 – 1975 Viet Nam,’ lied in the fact that these were, until very recently, mostly unpublished works. They were taken by North Vietnamese photographers and were deemed too improper to use as sympathetic propaganda. It was quite a collection, and one that should probably make its way around the world. If not, I am certainly fortunate to have seen it.

Later in the week I met Hannah’s Japanese tutor, Yamamoto-san. Here people formally introduce themselves by their last names, so I would be Lebovits-san. Yamamoto-san is a small, balding man in his seventies who has been tutoring Japanese for the last 6 years. He knows a variety of languages and is presently studying both Korean and Spanish in order to better help his students learn Japanese. We chatted a bit before he got on this bike and pedaled away to his next lesson. In return, Hannah is tutoring English to his 19 year-old grand daughter. If I’m in my 70’s and still peddling a bike I have Yamamoto-san to thank for my inspiration.

We then headed for Koenji for a nice Thai dinner. I wanted to take Hannah out and thank her for helping me with my visa, as well as to have a bit of time for us.

Koenji is known for its lively music scene and many students, and it felt that way as we meandered around the its streets and walkways. Small used clothing stores, boutiques, Recycle shops as well as the usual fair of small food markets, franchise restos and electronics stores peppered the streets. We were actually searching for BAAN-SAAN, a Thai resto Hannah had been to once before, and one that is supposed to have a real Tuk-Tuk (a small Thai motor-taxi) out in front (or so we thought). It took a while, but we found it, but the Tuk-Tuk wasn’t outside, that would have been way too easy. Instead, it was right inside the front door, on display, but not at street level.

The resto was cozy. It had brushed aluminum or stainless steel folding tables and stools adorned with elephants, faux vines hanging from the ceiling along with traditional riverboats, and just above our table a large, dark wooden mandala. It was very warm and had a good vibe. We ordered a variety of plates from the tri-lingual/illustrated menu, including minched pork wrapped in lettuce leaves (that’s how is was spelled, minched), spicy soup, pad Thai, deep friend spring rolls, some stir-fried vegetables, a beer and some tapioca and coconut pudding for dessert. Most of the dishes were quite spicy, but with my beer in hand I endured.

In North America we usually eat in stages, a salad or soup, then an entree, main dish, desert and finally coffee or tea. Not at BAAN-SAAN, all of our food came at once and we were a bit overwhelmed. The small table was covered from corner to corner with plates, bowls, cups and glasses, so we just spent the next hour or so roaming from dish to dish. It WAS spicy but yummy too, however I did suffer a bit later on, if you get my drift.

Monday morning I finally started my Japanese lessons. No problem really, except getting there. Since the lessons start at 9 AM and the train & metro take about 40 minutes, I have to be up at about 7 AM, way before Hannah. It’s really not so bad, especially since the lessons are free, but the train ride definitely leaves a lot to be desired.

Living on the Chuo line is living on Tokyo’s second busiest train line, the busiest being the Yamanote line. And it’s all true. Everything you’ve read or seen about the trains being packed like sardine tins, or cattle transports, is true. There is even the platform dude wearing his little white gloves who helps push people into the over packed cars, except that there is no such thing as over packed. There is no actual capacity. If you can nudge your elbow in somewhere, then you can surely get the rest of your body in too. And if the doors don’t close the first time, the conductor will try again and again until they do. Close, Open, Close, Open, Close - like giant jaws chomping away until everyone gets digested, to be spewed out somewhere along the giant metal snake’s fixed route.

It’s simply a question of how badly or desperately you want/need to get onto the train, and most people seem to be quite desperate. People have to get to work on time, and the trains are notoriously punctual (unless there is ungodly snow, an accident or a jumper). So, if you skip one train to get on a less crowded one (of which there aren’t any) and your late, well, it’s you fault and you lose face with your employer and you have to make it up by staying late and doing overtime (which, come to think of it, isn’t such a bad way to avoid the rush back). Hmmm!

Snow. We just mentioned that didn’t we. Well let me tell you about snow. The day before I left Montreal it snowed 41 cm, a 70-year record. In Tokyo I thought that the chances for snow were pretty slim, it would be cool but no snow.

WRONG!

Tokyo did a great Montreal impression; it snowed and snowed and snowed. Wet snow, all night and all day. And I had no boots, so I wrapped my feet in plastic bags and walked around in my runners taking it all in. It was great snow, the kind that kids dream about – perfect for snowballs and making snowmen and snow forts, and that’s exactly what transpired. I made snowballs, ‘cuz I could, and threw them here there. But there were snowmen everywhere. On street corners, in front of stores, in the park, Starbucks even made small snowmen, put them their outside tables, all with coffee bean eyes. I guess that snow is so rare that people really get into the spirit of winter. Oh well. It wasn’t that bad, and I witnessed all these people driving around on their bikes all carrying umbrellas to fend off the snow. I just wore my parka like a good Canadian and waited for it all to melt. It’s gone now.

We’ll skip forward a couple of days and get to Friday just after my Japanese lesson, where I encountered some performance artists just in front of the Takadanobaba train station. From what I could see, two guys were working from a sketchbook. The artist was cutting up cardboard boxes, further cutting holes into individual pieces and then draping those pieces with a black material. He would then strategically place those pieces on a body part of his model, who was standing there barefoot in only his jockeys. It wasn’t too cold of a day but you could see the model’s nipples were as hard as pebbles. So here was the piece; a practically naked man with different sized sections alternately adorning his calf, thigh, forearm and shoulder, topped off with a black shroud over his head and face. Then, the artist led his model into the train station, where I followed, and we both started taking pictures. People just politely stared as they walked by. Then the guards came and they didn’t look amused at all. They just stood there with stern faces while the artist just smiled, eventually dressing his oeuvre and leaving. It was quite amusing to watch.

Same day, just a bit later I saw a guy in the Shinjuku station with his face pierced. I followed him to his platform all the while priming my camera and trying to remember how to ask to take a photo. I walked up to him and politely made my request and he agreed so I got off two shots, thanked him and walked way. Finally the same day, also in Shinjuku, I asked this guy dressed as what I perceived as clownish, if I could take his photo too. He was more than happy to oblige. I think his costume had some religious and traditional meaning, but it was entirely lost on me. So all in all I had 3 good photo ops while at the same time getting over my shyness of asking people if I could photograph them. That bodes well for the future of my work here.

And lastly, I finally have my own phone. This is a big thing because unlike in Montreal, it’s not easy to communicate with other unless you’re hooked up. Until now I had been using a loaner from Hannah’s neighbor, a pre-paid brand that I hadn’t yet topped up, so I could only receive call or messages and not make any. Now I can call or be called, or more likely, use text messaging - it’s just the cheaper alternative. So, no more communication worries either. I feel great.!

Now, Let’s recap… Hannah and I seem to eat out a lot, I’m got legal up the wazoo, I started Japanese language lessons, I’m takin’ photos, I got a phone and I’m generally having a good time here. Kewl!

Well I hope this has entertained you, or has at least given you a glimpse into what I’ve been doing. I hope everyone is well and that winter isn’t too hard. Please feel free to contact me or make any comments, I welcome all of your input. And please let me know how you are all doing too.

From time to time I will make photo-only updates as I have been shooting quite a bit and would like to share my visions with you (oooo sounds druggy!). It’ll also be a lot easier for all of us as well. So that’s all for now.

Mata-ne!

MERRY X-MAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR & ALL DAT JAZZ!

sorry no pics, having technical difficulties over here.

Thursday January 12, 2006
Mokuyobi ichigatsu ju-ni ni-sen roku-nen

Hey all, sorry it took so long to update my Blog. Quite a bit has transpired, so it’ll be quite a lengthy entry to read – my bad. Most notably, I am now living in Tokyo. Who’da thunk? Not me, but lo and behold, I am a Gaijin in Japan, for better or worse. So let’s see what I’ve been up to for the last 2 weeks or so…

Departing – not too difficult. I left Montreal on the 19th, momentous because it was on this exact same date that I left Montreal for Japan to see Hannah 4 years earlier. Thanks for pointing that out Joanne; I didn’t realize the coincidence of the timing. Anyway, that trip eventually lead me to living in both Los Angeles and San Diego for almost 4 years, and here I am again, having left for Japan to see Hannah. I guess history does repeat itself – kewl!
Leaving Montreal was simple really, my bro-in-law drove up from Tranna (Toronto) and he, my mom and I made the trip back, where I helped my mom move into her new digs, which I must say, look pretty cool. She has this great panoramic view of some part of Toronto, just a full wall, almost ceiling to floor, of windows… tres cool… and her new pad is way bigger that her Montreal place.

I was in Toronto for about 5 days, staying with my sis, bro-in-law and their kids, Jory n Adina. The trip was fun as we hung out, drove around, I finished some last minute business I had to attend to, saw Brad’s (my bro-in-law’s) new office, ate a bunch, watched some T.V., unpacked many boxes and generally chilled and got myself ready for the next leg of my voyage.

Saturday morning I got up at about 7ish, got myself together and with Joanne, my mom, Jory, Adina, made my way to Pearson International Airport, which should have been quite a simple task, but we missed our exit so Jo panicked a bit, ‘cuz that’s what she does. So after ripping Brad a new one via cell phone, we arrived with plenty of time to spare. It was a good thing that I told Jo that my flight was a half an hour earlier that it actually was – sharp I can be sometimes!

So, 13 hours later, including crossing the International Date Line, I landed at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. I left on the 24th and arrived almost dead on time Christmas Day… there was no Santa on the plane, and the movies sucked. The only one I watched was Batman Begins, which I had already seen. Instead, I plowed through my book, Long Way Round, written by Ewan McGregor and his buddy Charley Boorman. It’s the story of how they motorcycled together from London to New York, and all their personal and group trials and tribulations. I found it quite engaging and I recommend it as an easy n fun read. I thought a travel book was a propos for my voyage and at a fluid 365 pages it kept me entertained until just before we landed.

The plane flew from Toronto, over Saskatchewan, Yellowknife and Alaska, at a cruising altitude of approx 38, 000 feet. I have no idea of the total mileage but it was shorter then running to the nearest Dep for beers and longer than A Long Way Round. The food was ok and I drank lost of water and tea. Unfortunately I rarely sleep on my flights to Japan and this was no exception. I guess I’m just too damn excited. I think I may have snoozed for about an hour and half or so, otherwise I was reading, eating and/or farting. Boy did I fart, but luckily I had a blanket covering my lap to deaden the effects, and in reality, there was nothing anyone could really do about it. Besides, I wasn’t the only one, I got a whiff of someone else’s personal contribution and I dealt with it, so I felt no shame in participating myself.

Arriving – Again no problem really. I waited in the customs/visa lines like a good little Gaijin, got my temporary visa, which enables me to stay until March 25, 2006, after which I’d have to leave for 24-48 hours then return to renew it. But Hannah had worked hard, on my behalf, to get me a Dependant Visa, which enables me to stay in the country for a year, but without any possibility of working, which if you know me, IS NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM! I passed through easily enough, hooked up with Hannah, who I must say looked quite TASTY, hopped on several trains and about 2 hours later I was dragging my suitcase up about 4 flights of stairs to my new shoebox apartment in the Musashi district of Tokyo. Suffice it to say that we had a bite and then got conjugal before passing out (YEAHH BABAY!).

We already had plans for the next day. Hannah’s Japanese tutor works for a local TV station and they needed to do a streeter (interview passers by) with people whose native tongue is English in order to have explained the differences between similar sayings. It was fun and only lasted about 30 minutes. Other participants were Blaise (his real name) from Vancouver, Hassen, the French aspiring techno DJ who is here studying Taiko drumming, as well as Andy, a Brit-English teacher that Hannah somehow knows from some drunken episode. Although I met them that day, and exchanged e-mail addresses, I have yet to contact them. But I will, eventually. I swear!
After that Hannah and I saw the most recent Harry Potter flic, for $18/each It was ok, but I’m not a Potter fan to begin with, gimme the Lord of the Rings anytime over this magical child prodigy.

Tuesday we headed to Harajuku, which is known as one of THE fashion centres of Tokyo, as well as home to the Meiji Shrine, Tokyo’s biggest Shinto Shrine. This part of town is just teeming with people, mostly teens who shop for… anything and everything. Our mission was to go to the 4 Floor 100 Y shop (equivalent to our own dollar stores, but much better) to buy some stuff for the apartment, and we were mildly successful. We really just needed to kill some time before we were to meet some people in Kichijoji for a Yakitori dinner. Yakitori is basically chicken kebabs, however it’s not just thigh, breast and leg that gets skewered, but heart, lung, liver, mostly any part you can drive a pointed, wooden kebab stick through.

At the station we first met Ko-san, a Chinese woman married to a Japanese guy, then Cie-san arrived, who is single, in his thirties and whom we later found out is a masseuse. Next to pop in was Marion, a German woman in her twenties I would guess, who has a Japanese boyfriend, then Lesley, a Scot who married a Japanese guy who she met over 6 years ago while he was working in Glasgow, and finally Leo, the disheveled, Italian photographer whose Japanese girlfriend just gave birth. He was the only one who knew where we were going to eat, so we followed his lead.

The Yakitori resto was fine, warm and smoky. Everyone, or almost everyone in Tokyo smokes. So finding a non-smoking resto isn’t that easy. We sat down, and I didn’t know it at the time, but everyone knew each other from the Japanese course they were all taking. Japanese was the only common language they shared, which I found strange and absurd. Long story short, the waiter had to play charades with us to let us know which part of the chicken’s body we were ordering. I think I had some heart, as well as breast, but I didn’t try the cartilage ‘cuz I just wasn’t into that. When the gyozas arrived (basically deep fried dumplings, and really tasty) I heartily attacked those.

Since I was still a bit jet lagged, and I had quite a fierce sore throat, and the place was getting smokier and smokier, Lesley, Hannah and I ducked out early, each of us just heading home.
Wednesday we decided to go see Memoirs of a Geisha, re-titled Sayuri for the Japanese market. It was good, visually appealing and the story kept me interested as well, it’s just too bad that a Japanese story was enacted by Chinese actors, then dubbed into Japanese - but that’s Hollywood for you. I do recommend it though. Not many explosions or car chases but still very entertaining and enlightening. Arty I guess.

On the way home on the train I noticed another Gaijin, a black guy with dreads wearing a tight white cap, who had a large ring on his finger. From afar I thought was either a Super Bowl ring or a World Series ring, and being curious, I deftly approached him to see if I could recognize the team, but he made me and so we started talking. His name is Robert and he is from Toronto, teaching English for with Aeon. We chatted and I told him I was in town for the year to write and take some photos, so he said he’d be up for anything, even for taking photos of him naked, kicking a soccer ball around in a local park. OK!? He said that he knows some people who work at Tokyo Metropolis, the local English language weekly magazine, and that I should hang out and meet some of them… get hooked up as it were, which I will do, soon enough. I introduced him to Hannah, who by that time had also approached, then took his contact info before he got off the train. By the way, the ring was a college football ring, nothing special, but a good icebreaker. At our stop, we bought some food and just headed home to chill, eat and crash.

Thursday and Friday we just hung out, walked around da hood, spending time just being with one another, buying food, playing house and getting ready for New Year’s.

New Year’s Eve day was fun. I called to reserve a space for Japanese lessons, to start on January 23 at the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Takadanobaba. Classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:15 > 10:30, which is early, but since they’re free, who can really complain. After that we headed to Nerima-Takanodai station to meet up with one of Hannah’s former GEOS students, Makiko. Makiko is really great. She visited us in San Diego and we had lots of fun. She’s outgoing, likes to laugh and isn’t afraid to speak English. She also recently gave birth to her daughter Azuki (which means Sweet Bean, named so because when she was pregnant, Makiko craved and ate a lot of sweet beans). We met up and walked to her flat where we drank tea and ate sweats while Azuki took a nap. We were also briefly introduced to her 3 cats, Masako, Ogi-san (old person) and Bunko-san (Ms. Shit). They’re not too friendly so we just left them alone so they could continue to stare at the walls. Makiko’s husband was out of town visiting his parents for New Year, and since she was alone, we decided to have dinner with her and Azuki.

Shabu Shabu is good food. Makiko took us to Ki-So-Ji, which is a chain-restaurant that serves a fondue-ish type meal where you cook the vegetables and meats in a small metal cauldron of boiling water. It was yummy and filling and a bit expensive, but it was New Year’s so we didn’t mind. After dinner Makiko walked us back to the train station, but not before we stopped off at a grocery store to buy some booze to take with us to our final rendezvous, hooking up with Lesley and her husband Toru.

Lesley and Toru live in Mitaka, and their flat is about a 15-minute walk from the station. It’s cozy and they have all the amenities, most impressive of which was the heated carpet. Hannah’s flat is great: it’s cozy and close to central Tokyo, but it’s cold, so the heated carpet really impressed me. It’s quite simple really; I don’t like being cold, point finale!

Unbeknownst to us, we were the only ones who were going to show up at their place. Their other friends had already made plans, but it was fine as we drank, got to know one another, watched bad TV, ate finger food then finally celebrated the New Year’s arrival with glasses of champagne. Both Toru and I were a bit under the weather so after drinking a bit more we eventually called it quits ‘round 2:30, after he passed out while leaning against the wall just in front of the TV. Such a (dis)graceful exit for a host! We were lucky, usually the trains stop quite early, but since it was New Year’s Eve they extended their service hours to just before 4 AM, so we hopped on and headed home. It was a new year full of wonderful possibilities. Welcome to 2006!

The next day (Sunday) the doorbell rang at about 10ish. Hannah was already up, even though we didn’t get to bed until about 5 AM. She knew that a priority mail delivery was going to arrive early and she had to sign for it. It came, she signed for it and I opened it… it was the Japanese government’s confirmation of my Dependant Visa, all officially stamped. Tres Cool, now I didn’t have to leave the country, I could hang n do my stuff without any complications. We crashed again and awoke at about 3 PM, got dressed and just walked around to get some fresh air and food in our bellies, and then back to the flat. Tomorrow we planned to visit the Emperor!

It’s customary for the Emperor to receive people at the Imperial Palace twice per year, late in December (which I had already missed) and on January 2nd. So we got up and went, along with throngs of others. Unfortunately it was overcast and eventually rained, but we saw the Emperor, along with his wife, their son and his wife and 2 other notables. They greeted the umbrella wielding public, from behind bulletproof glass, said something in Japanese, then receded back into the Palace until their next scheduled appearance. It was hard to really see the Royal Family but it was nice to go to the Palace, for the festivities, where you might imagine, there were tones of security, but where we had no problem.

Afterwards we made our way back home stopping off at Tokyo station to wander about. It’s quite a big hub with many exists and lots of markets and stores to check out. The day ended as most of them do, lots of tea, chilling, listening to tunes, reading, chatting or working on the computer.

On the 3rd we headed to the Tokyo National Museum where more New Year’s celebrations were taking place. Outside there was the Shisimai or Lion Dance, accompanied by some Taiko drummers, which we just caught the end of. Soon afterwards, inside on the second floor there were some Koto players. Koto instruments are a cross between a flat-lying guitar, which looks like it was made from a tree trunk, and a harp, that’s played by plucking the strings and adjusting the frets. There are bass, mid and high Koto’s and they’re pretty cool sounding. To round of the ensemble there was also a flute player.

Following the Koto recital, just outside on the front lawn, there were live Taiko drummers. Taiko drums are the big, skin covered drums that are traditionally played in large groups, like Kodo drums. These drummers were students from a local drum school, and they were pretty tight. There was one musician who was playing a bell and cymbal/bowl combination. It was really cool as the sounds he produced were raspy and percussive. While playing he whirled and spun and squatted and jumped, all in time, seeming to be almost possessed or in a musical trance. Adding to the performance were the drummers’ theatrics. Taiko drummers don’t merely stand still and play they choreograph their movements making the show both visually and aurally powerful. Those drums just rocked and they should be recorded or be played in clubs ‘cuz they’re very tribal. Unfortunately I couldn’t take as many pix as I wanted to because my battery died. I was pissed but Hannah had her handy-dandy cell phone camera MacGyver thingy, so she took some more shots.

We hung about a bit more, walking through the park just across the street, and then headed home. On the way we bought some 50% off reduced sushi. At the grocery store near our place, after about 8 PM they start reducing the perishables by 30 – 50%, so we got a boatload of sushi, about 40 > 50 pieces, for about $20, then went home to gorge ourselves. We ate, pooed, drank bucket loads of tea then headed to bed, feeling slightly bloated but happy.
Wednesday the 4th was chill. Hannah and I went to Takadanobaba to officially register me for my Japanese lessons, then we met up with Toru so he could help Hannah change her cell phone plan. We hung about a bit then headed home to chill. Plain and simple, the way it should be.

On the 5th Hannah accompanied me to Tachikawa so I could formally apply for my Dependant Visa. We had to take a train then my first Tokyo bus ride. In Japan you enter the bus by the back, take an automated ticket, when available, and then exit by the front, where you pay for the distance you’ve traveled. Makes sense to me. The ride took about 10 minutes then we had to walk a bit to the Immigration Office, quite a non-descript building. The whole process took about 20 minutes and now I have to return in about 2 weeks, pay another 4 000 Y and then I’ll have my visa. The only catch is that I’ll then have to go to Mitaka for my Alien Registration or Gaijin Card, which takes another 2 weeks, but by then I’ll be totally kosher – kewl!

Today was also the day we met our new, British neighbors, Alex and Sarah. Alex dropped in while Sarah was at Shane’s induction, or training. She’ll be teaching and he has a holiday working visa that enables him to work part-time to supplement his vacation, which happens to last as long as her one-year, renewable contract. Hmmm! There both nice and I have been hanging with Alex (until he got a job testing video games) so now I’m back on my own.

I also met Neetu and Santos today. She’s a Torontonian who also teaches for Shane, although she isn’t too thrilled and rather work less and make more money some other way. Santos is Nepalese and has been married twice, both to Japanese women, both ending in divorce. He just got married for the working visas. He’s living with Neetu and enjoys smoking and listening to Goa trance, and he’s a bit of a political refugee as his country is presently in the midst of a civil war. He also wants to throw a kick-ass party on Mount Everest. Sounds good to me, who knows what kind of trouble we’ll get into together. Neetu also helped me solve my phone problem as she had a pay-as you-go model kicking around and lent it to me to see if I’d enjoy using it instead of getting one with a yearly contract. Kewl, now I just have to buy some time for my Tu-Ka phone and I’m set. I can receive call and text messages for free but I can’t send anything until I top it up.

Friday we slept in, and then met Lesley and Toru for lunch in Kichijoji. Their fun and we gabbed and ate for a couple of hours. Afterwards they took off to walk home and we headed to Ikebukuro to hang before our dinner date later that day.

Ikebukuro is a cool spot with lost of shops and people milling about. Two of my favorite Tokyo stores are located there, Tokyu Hands and ABC Mart. The first sells everything but food. Knick Knacks, doo dads, toiletries, electronics, games, bath and body, scooter stuff…I guess it’s kind of a life style store, but a really good one, useful and fun to meander through. ABC Mart is a shoe store that carries lots n lots of shoes, runners, casuals, dressy, sport etc… and there are already 2 pair I’m interested in, one Adidas and one Timberland. We’ll have to wait and see.

We left the area at about 7ish to meet Ryoturo, one of Hannah’s friends from GEOS. He and Hannah have spent time going to museums and other cultural spots while she was waiting for me to arrive. He’s a really nice guy and works for a publishing company. We headed to a Thai resto that Hannah and I used to frequent when she worked in Nerima. It’s funky and hippy-ish. The owner ends up singing sometime during the evening and they have a small little party room in back for larger groups. You sit there and they give you a bell to ring when you want service, otherwise they leave you along. Marvy!

Saturday was our domestic day. We slept in then cleaned the apartment. It’s not hard ‘cuz it’s small so while Hannah did laundry by hand, I vacuumed and literally hosed down the shitter. Japanese bathrooms are great ‘cuz their made to look like submarine bathrooms, one piece molded and easy to clean. All done cleaning we hooked up with Alex and Sarah and had a bite at Yoshinoya – bad. Hannah tried it in San Diego and we knew it wasn’t great but we tried again here in Tokyo and now I never have to eat there again. There are so many restos that the one’s I don’t like just disappear from my mental landscape. And so it goes.

Sunday we hit a flea market that was more hype than content, but its location was right next to the Tokyo International Forum building. It’s like a cross between Palais des Congres and Place des Arts (for those of you who have visited Montreal before, or live there). It’s a convention centre, theatre, and concert hall that shaped like the hull of a ship and constructed mostly of glass. One of the strangest but architecturally interesting buildings I’ve ever seen, and one I will definitely re-visit soon.

Afterwards we headed back to Harajuku to visit the Meiji Shrine. Every Sunday young women gather there and dress up in all manner of costumes and makeup, mostly gothic or cartoonish, and they have no qualms about their photos being taken, so I took some.

We entered the grounds, made our New Year’s wishes in front of the largest shrine like so many others were doing, and then strolled around the grounds. Down by the train station Hannah and I each had a blueberry cheesecake crepe while we watched the sea of people pass by. It was like our own private (anti) fashion show, and we were both being critical about some of the outfits, while being completely befuddled by some of the other combinations we witnessed. But it was fun and the crepes were yummy.

Monday Hannah met a friend, Dan, in Kichijoji, while Alex and I wandered about ducking into electronic, shoe and music stores that dotted the streets. We all met up eventually and took a long walk through Inokashira Park. The park sprawls in a variety of directions, has it’s own petting zoo and fills with cool, funky, hippy-types on the weekends, kinda like Mount Royal on Sundays, but infinitely bigger. We stopped into this real cool Thai chill-out resto/art space called Pepa Cafe Forest, that has plastic walls that roll up during the summer. Now there’s a large, running heater that occasionally draws too much power, plunging the entire place into darkness until the breakers are re-tripped. It plays chill jazz and down tempo beats and displays work from local, independent artists. I highly recommend it and will definitely return soon. If you visit I’ll take you there as well!

WOW! I think this blow-by-blow description of my trip so far is getting a bit long so I’ll conclude with Tuesday the 11th, Hannah’s first day back to work and my first day of fending for myself. Well actually Alex and I headed back to Mitaka so he could apply for Alien Registration card, then we walked around a bit and headed back to the hood to run some errands for both ourselves and our girlfriends/wives. It was like we were the house-husbands and the girls went off to make the bucks – a scenario neither one of us has a problem with at all, so go for it girls, we support you. We had a bite to eat then headed home to wait for Sarah and Hannah. Eventually I walked back to the station to meet Hannah and have a late night bite while we compared out days. Then we headed home, chilled and eventually hit the sack.

And now my fine folks, if you’ve plodded through this far, well then you’re almost 100% up to date on my comings and goings since my last entry. I do apologize ‘cuz it’s a lot to take in and I hope that my future entries won’t be as lengthy and verbose. From now on I’ll try to be a bit more general without losing too much flavor. I am also keeping a diary so in the event that you want to know more, it will be available at some future time.
My Japanese lessons start next week, my visa should arrive soon, then I’ll start my real project here, shooting & editing photos to show you. So this should get more visual and less text-based as time passes, ok?
So without any further ado, I say Sayonara for now. Don’t fret, I’ll be back soon enough. If any of you have any suggestions, positive criticisms, places for me to visit, shout outs etc, please happily send them on over and I’ll see what I can do.

Thanks for taking the time to check up on me. I sincerely hope I haven’t bored you too much.
Lots of love,
Stephen

Books read to date:
Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman
Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel