Exploratory missions

I have a correction to make; Tokyo is not small.

Really, I should have known that I was just missing something. Near the hotel is a small warren of criss-crossing streets. It is an area filled with small outlet stores, restaurants, and bars. Emphasis lies on “small.”

It was there that I explored in my first night. If you're in that area, it seems as if there is no other place to shop because everything else around the area is a hotel, an office building, or a train station. It took someone with a better idea of the area than I to explore beyond these boundaries.

Last night a group of JETs who are going to Okayama (including myself) got together after the reception ended at 8 PM. We had decided earlier in the day that we would try to see Tokyo. Unfortunately, we were exhausted, so we decided on just doing a walk-about. First we ended up in that same small area that I had been in the night before. We spent perhaps an hour in a bar drinking a beer whose name I have utterly forgotten. I'm not quite convinced I ever actually knew it.

After we had each downed our share of that glorious golden liquid, it became the common consensus that we were too tired to proceed with our exploratory mission. So we left the bar. Not three steps had been taken, though, before an English lad in our group rallied our spirits. We would explore just a little bit. Not too far, of course. We were tired, after all. Still, that was too much for two of our number who caved in and went back to the hotel and bed.

The six of us that remained set off for a fabled nearby park. If we just walked around the train station (largest in Tokyo), it would be right there. It wasn't. But if we kept going, it would be just around the corner, we were certain. It wasn't there either. There was a cool ramen stop with wooden beams and old-style signs, though. We decided it would be better to just wander.

Our wandering shortly took us to a place called Kabuki-cho. This is essentially the red-light district. It is tucked off the side of a very busy part of Shinjuku that reminds me intensely of Times Square in New York City. Lights everywhere, massive buildings covered in advertisements, vast streets and vaster crowds. Kabuki-cho, on the other hand, is more warren-like. In structure, it is quite similar to the warrens near our hotel. The content, of course, is a bit different.

Initially it seemed to just be another shopping and eating district. Then someone pointed out a massage parlor. And then we found the main thoroughfare came to an end and all that was left to explore were the side streets. A man approached us asking if we were looking for a bar and we shooed him away like a pesky little flea. Didn't he know we were only there to gawk? We settled on a side street and proceeded.

It was immediately apparent that we had made the right choice. A large selection of brothels lined each side of our little alleyway. While I couldn't actually read the characters, the little pink hearts and photos of topless women and discretely placed shades gave it away. And as if that wasn't clear enough, a squirrely Japanese man approached us with a clear proposition: “Sex? Sex? Sex? Sex?”

While sex is indeed desirable thing, we decided that tonight we were not in the market. Our side street came to an end and our sleepiness decided that was an appropriate time to make its triumphant return. On our way back to the hotel we discovered more karaoke bars, massage parlors, and a neko-cafe. The British lad asked about the tale of Momotaro and I told it for him. By 10:30 I was in my room and in bed. I think I lasted about a minute before I was asleep.

This morning I woke up again at 6. Breakfast was a bit better than the previous day; there were no french fries this time. Actually, I cannot complain. There was bacon and sausage, eggs and quiche. And best of all, there was fruit. Bowls and bowls of fruit. If you know anything about Japan, you may be aware of the horrifically inflated price of fruit, especially of melon. It literally costs, at minimum, about $150 for a melon. So naturally, I filled my plate with the stuff. Who knows when I'll see it again?

Today is another grey day filled with conference room presentations. I wish I had a day to explore the city a bit, but I know that's not the purpose for which I came here. That's okay, I'll almost certainly come back another time. And perhaps tonight I'll explore even further.

Mata ne.

~Jeffles

Ohayo Tokyo!

It's morning in Shinjuku and I've been awake for an hour. This sounds like jet lag, but it's not. I just woke up really early.

From my hotel window it's a bit difficult to actually see anything. I'm on the eleventh floor, so most building here tower above me. I can see the sky between two skyscrapers, though, and it looks grey. The pavement below is still wet from the night before. I'm guessing it rained.

Despite this I'm actually quite excited to be here. Not in Tokyo, per se, but in Japan. Tokyo is, at the end of the day, just another city to me. I've been in many cities before and after a while they tend to blend together a bit. Some people talk about cities as having vast, diverse personalities, but I've never thought so myself. I tend to see cities as urban sprawl with a little bit of character in a few select spots.

Case in point: what is Shinjuku known for? A subway station so busy that station attendants have to actually shove passengers into the subway by hand. Otherwise, the passengers would never get in. What is the rest of the area, though? Largely, it appears to be a collection of hotels and office buildings. There is a small network of streets near my hotel that light up at night, but it seems that there is not much else.

Last night we went into that network to wander in the Tokyo night. It was quite interesting to watch the Japanese walk about in what I always thought of as a stereotypical manner. There were even guys with arashi-style facemasks. And in the izakaya that we went to for dinner, there was an after-work enkai underway. To see all these things right before me... it felt almost like I was watching TV. Talk about strange.

At any rate, it's time for breakfast now. I wonder what will be there?

~Jeffles

Beware the Wash

Oh man, have I ever had an interesting last couple of days. If you're on my facebook, you'll know more or less what instigated the primary worry of this time. In short: my passport went through the washing machine.

In long:

I live in Boston. Over the summer, I had a job in Boston. I applied to JET, however, through Toronto. This is because I am Canadian and was going to school at the University of Toronto - any application to participate in JET must be made in the country of your citizenship. When accepted into JET, you must depart for Japan from the city that you applied through. So for me, that means I must go to Japan from Toronto. So far so good? This is where it gets complicated.

You cannot, obviously, work in a country without permission from the government. So to work on the JET program, I need a work visa for Japan. In order to get the work visa, you need to submit your passport to the Japanese embassy or consulate-general. JET, however, has a policy that ordinarily you are supposed to give your passport to the JET coordinator from the city that you applied through. This is supposed to happen something like a month and a half before we leave for Japan. For me, because I applied through Toronto, that means that I should have given my passport to the JET coordinator from Toronto sometime back in June. She then would have taken care of the work visa. Everyone gets their passport back at the same time, the day before we leave for Japan.

That's the ordinary procedure. But I'm not normal. Oh no, I'm not. See, I live in Boston. I have a US Permanent Resident Card. I have to be there. Not to mention that, since we don't get paid in Japan until the end of the month, I need to make enough money to pay for my first month in Japan. Maybe you don't see the problem. Let me highlight it: the border crossing. If I'm going to give my passport to the JET coordinator in Toronto and not get it back until the day before I leave to Japan from Toronto, how am I going to get into Toronto from Boston? I need my passport to cross the border.

So after a great deal of discussion, the JET coordinator and I decided that I would come up to Toronto one week before the departure date and hand my passport in then. There would be, I was assured, enough time. And there should have been, if my passport didn't go through the washing machine the day before I was supposed to go to Toronto.

Naturally, my first reaction was "OH CRAP." I thought I had essentially lost the use of my passport altogether. So I called the Consulate-General of Canada, but got no response. I waited half an hour for a call back, then rushed down (it still took an hour in the 96 degree heat) to see them in person. They told me it would take 3-5 business days to get a new passport and that there's no way I could use my old one in the shape it was in. My first reaction recurred. I asked to see an immigration officer. They said she was out to lunch so I'd have to wait another hour, blah blah. I waited the hour and spoke with the officer, which is when things started to finally turn around.

The immigration officer told me that, if I could get on the plane to Toronto, then I could get a new passport in 24 hours. The key would be to get into Toronto. Otherwise it would take 1-3 business days, which was too long. So I took the forms she said I would need and rushed over to my mum's office (another hour trek in the 96 degree heat) to find the phone number for Air Canada and call them. I was lucky. You see, my passport was still readable and the pages weren't falling out. That meant that, even though it was beaten to hell and back, I could still probably board the airplane. If all else failed, I could back it up with my US Permanent Resident Card. Yay Air Canada!

Night fell and a flurry of packing began. I finally finished at nearly 3:30 AM and promptly went to sleep, only to wake up a hearty four hours later to board my plane. Boarding went smoothly (minus a few chuckles at the state of my passport). I arrived in Toronto at 12:30 and took a taxi directly to Passport Canada. All would go smoothly. I threw 80+ pounds of luggage on my back and went upstairs... only to find that I needed to find a notary to sign my documents and get my photos retaken. Apparently Walgreens, in its infinite wisdom, forgot to date the back of my photos.

Running out of time (and breath), because I needed the passport by Monday if I was to get my work visa, I luckily found a notary only three blocks away. They signed their lives away and directed me to a photo place a block away, to which I promptly rushed. Took the photo, and I ran (sort of... it's hard to run with 80 lbs of luggage all about your person) back to Passport Canada. I made it with a pleasant hour to spare. They gave me a number, I sat down, and in half an hour everything was sorted.

That night I went to sleep, a happy, exhausted man, at a much more reasonable 8:30 PM. I don't think the Sun had even set yet.

I considered not posting this blog until tomorrow, as I haven't actually received my passport back yet. But I cannot possibly foresee any further problems. I've already used up my quota of bad luck for the week. *Knocks on wood*

Yeah, it's been a fun few days.

~Jeffles

Let the Vlog Begin!

Yes, that's right; I have uploaded my first vlog! Yaaaay!

(You can find it here, btw.)

This morning I'm really pretty tired. I ended up staying awake quite late because I was trying to figure out the video editing software. I probably should have just waited until today to upload it, but noooo, I had to upload it last night. Sigh.

Speaking of which, I need better video editing software. There's some pretty basic stuff I can't do, like overlaying pictures on video. And I thought I added text to a video, but then when I uploaded it the text never showed up, so I need to figure that out, too. Maybe it's a YouTube compression thing? I dunno. I'll sure find out, though!

In case you didn't guess, my camera came in the mail yesterday. It is a thing of beauty. Thank you Chris for your awesome recommendation. My shorts even have the perfect pocket for it so that it doesn't just look like a bulge in my shorts. I need to figure out how to use it more smoothly, though. And how to use it in low-light settings. I tried to take some video at a pub that I went to last night for dinner, but it was so dark that there was essentially nothing to see. That made me a bit sad. But at least the food was really good! :D

In other news, this is my last day of work. Bitter sweet, really. On the one hand, it's been a pretty interesting job in many ways (despite the fact that I'm just an intern!). On the other hand, it means that Japan is closer and that tomorrow I get to sleep in. So very much looking forward to that.

Okay, time to face the day. Lots and lots and lots to do. Work, dinner with some people, and PACKING. O.O

~Jeffles

Youkoso!

Howdy. I'm Jeff and you probably already knew that. Starting August 1st, I'm going to be living and working in Japan. The contract is for 1 year, but if I like Japan and Japan likes me, then I could easily stay longer.

A little bit about me. I'm 23, just graduated from University of Toronto (Hon. BA in English and Philosophy). I'm half-Mexican, half-Canadian and my home is in Boston. I've lived in Canada, USA, Scotland, and technically Mexico. I don't speak Spanish, but I do speak a little bit of Japanese. Again, you probably know all this. But on the off-chance that I don't know you in person, now you know a little bit about me!

The program I'm going to Japan with is called the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme. People who go on this program are called JETs. There are three kinds of jobs for people who go on JET: ALT, CIR, and SEA. Those are Assistant Language Teacher, Coordinator for International Relations, and Sports Exchange Advisor. I'll be an ALT, which means that I'll be assisting a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) in several schools to teach English to Japanese children. I'll be doing this at two elementary schools, one high school, one after-school, and four English clubs. If you want to know more about JET, check out their website. I could go on and on about the program, but this is just supposed to be an introductory post. Maybe later I'll talk about it.

I don't want to get too specific on this blog about my job because it is a public blog. Anyone can find it and, from what I hear, people will be looking. Therefore I won't say what schools I'm teaching at, I'll never name students, I'll never name coworkers, and I probably won't even say what town I'm living in. Also, if you happen to know any of that information, I would please ask that you don't post that in a comment on my blog.

That said, I can tell you that I'll be living in Okayama prefecture, in a town in the southwest of the prefecture. The town is a bit inland, and thus rural, and thus I can't wait to get there. For those who are thinking about Fukushima Daiichi (the nuclear plant), be assured that Okayama is quite far from there. I am blatantly stealing this photo from someone else's blog, but I'm sure he won't mind:

So as you can see, Okayama is quite far from Fukushima. Rest assured, I am nowhere near the nuclear badness.

I've had a pretty good summer. Some friends came to visit twice and I had an amazing time during both visits. It is a bit sad to have to say goodbye, I admit, because I don't know when I'll see any of them again. I may love Japan and choose to stay there long term. Or I may hate it. But who knows. This is all just a grand experiment.

This Friday I head to Toronto for a week as a pre-Japan thing. Then on the 30th I hop on a plane for Tokyo. I'll update my blog more when I'm over there. I also have a youtube channel that I've set up. There's nothing there right now, though. I'll post again in here when I've got my first video up there (I'm waiting for the awesometastic camcorder to arrive).

That's it for now. Stick around, I'll post other stuff (cool stuff) later.

~Jeffles