My name's James, I'm a
22 year old Computer Science graduate from Somerset
and I've just packed in my job as a software programmer in Stockport and traded it in for a one way ticket to Tokyo! I speak essentially no Japanese whatsoever and don't really have a huge idea of what to expect when I arrive... that said though, I have a work visa, enough yen in my wallet to last me a few weeks and a blind overriding self confidence that somehow, in some way, everything will work out awesome.

This blog will be a record of my experiences - good, bad, weird (from what i've read so far there'll be plenty of that) and wonderful. I'll be updating as often as I can with plenty of videos & photos and welcome any comments you'd like to leave.

Visiting The Emperor
So today I took some time off from my slightly stressful day to day and paid a visit to The Emperor...


... oops wrong Emperor! (bumped into Darth and a small squad of Stormtroopers in Harajuku - more on that in another post)

*ahem* 

So yeah, today I took a stroll round the Imperial Palace. Incredible place; immaculate gardens, traditional architecture and just the general vibe of the place make you feel a bit like you've gone back in time 300 years, or that you're walking through a fantasy novel. The complete peace and tranquility in the inner gardens is particularly surreal, given you know that in reality you're smack bang in the middle of one the busiest, most utterly hectic cities in the world. If Tokyo is a typhoon, the Imperial Palace is certainly it's eye. On a side note, the palace grounds are apparently valued higher than *all* the real estate in the entire state of California combined. Anyway, here's a few of the pics...


A house in the palace grounds, each of the raised points of the tiled roof is carved into a coy carp dragon.


The (massive) moat around the inner sections of the palace are filled with (even more massive) coy carp, literally you could feed a family for a good week or more on one of these things.


one of the HUUUGE entrance gates


One of the inner gates leading to the Palace proper. The inner most sections are obviously not open to the public - aside from particularly exceptional circumstances, like a new Emperor etc. Unfortunately that wasn't good enough for this guy


who we watched first get stuck, then whistled at by police in a dinghy, then arrested. Bad times. His accomplice seemed to have had more success, not too sure what happened to him in the end.


The palace grounds are set a 10 minute walk - if that - from Tokyo Station, so in a matter of a few steps you move from hyper modern metropolis to an oasis of tradition and greenery. A few minutes walk into it and you can no longer hear the noise of the city and you almost forget where you are...


Me in a tree... not really much more I can say about this one lol. Was a nice tree.

I've got loads of other stuff to post about but not a huge amount of time at the minute, I'll try an get on it shortly.

Peace!

18:16 | Category: | 1 comments

Akihabara & Ueno
Electronic and general gadgetry mecca of the world, it was never gonna be long before I ended up in Akihabara :P Though I didn't have time to see all of it in one day -  I had to leave some of more balls out weird areas like the theme cafes for another time, and I wanna see the place lit up at night as well at some point - I did get a good explore of the place done in the 2/3 of a day or so I was there. So without further ado, Akihabara!...




Between the ridiculous heat (the air was so hot and thick it was like walking around a massive steam room) and the crowds, by mid afternoon it was time to take a much needed break from the buzz and head for nearby Ueno for a chill out.

Ueno is an area of Tokyo most famous for it's zoo (one of very few in the world to have Great Pandas) but it's also home to a huge park (Kouen) with shrines, lakes, woods etc. I arrived at about 3/4ish, ideal for the heat but not enough time for the zoo, or to travel between some of the bigger temples and shrines. That said though, it was a brilliant slower pace antidote to the frenzy earlier in the day; taking a rowboat out on the lakes as the sun started to go down was especially peaceful.




That's all for now!

Oh... except for in response to the many queries lol, yes, the beer tap is free


and very tasty...*hic*

いってきます！ (cya later!)
12:15 | Category: | 2 comments

Japanese Work Ethic
OK so a lot is made of the Japanese work ethic, stories of people playing 'clock out chicken' as the first people to leave in the evening are seen as weak and unfit for further employment. I won't lie, this doesn't really fit in too well with my own ideas on the whole work/life balance. That said, whoever you are you've got to agree that my local supermarket has definitely gone a step too far...





15:20 | Category: | 1 comments

Arrival!
Ok, as this is the first post since arriving in Japan I feel I should kick off with...

Japan is f#£%ing crazy. 

Way more so than any bat droppings or boxes of frogs you could care to compare to. I've only been here a few days but I've already seen enuff seriously weird / surreal stuff (a lot of which food related) to fill a dozen posts...

For example, how would you like some crisps? Whale flavour!


Maybe you'd like to wash them down with a nice bottle of cider flavoured water?



Or how about some fruit juice?


I've also run into a suprisingly tasty sports drink called "Pocari Sweat", tins of "Sea Chicken" (from what I can work out... tuna, i think) and normal watermelons selling for over £50. Fruit in general is actually crazily expensive, atleast the stuff that isnt native to Japan is anyway. Bunch of grapes, £9. Single peach, £4... That said to be honest everything you can imagine follows a similar trend of obscene prices, such is life in Tokyo!

With that out of the way, IM IN JAPAN! WOOOOO

I'm pretty chuffed with the apartment to be honest, the shared areas are abit nicer than they look in the pics i reckon, and the bedroom's more than good enough - NB: now a lot tidier than in this vid.


The place has mostly Japanese residents, while most speak only a little English some are actually very good. Had a pretty in depth conversation about local sports with a guy called Yoshi last night over dinner, including a current gangland corruption scandal going on in Sumo at the moment lol. There are a few westerners here too, met a fellow Englishman and a Canadian so far and I think I've heard an american accent drifting around. Only just started meeting people in the flat though since 99% of my time at the minute is either spent exploring Tokyo or passed out asleep in my room. I'll have a much better idea after a week or so.

To sum up though, all is well. With luck, this will all work out smoothly...

Next up: My first trips to Shinjuku, Akihabara and Ueno Kouen (Park)!

Preview:

08:15 | Category: | 3 comments