Today was actually a lovely Japanese day....you can feel the start of fall. It was sunny, but breezy and I just can't wait until the air turns crisp and I have to grab a light jacket before heading outside. I love fall and let's face it in Dallas, there is just no such thing.
As for today....I'm official!!! After a near mishap on the metro and a grueling yoga class (grueling because I'm so pitifully out of shape), I took a lovely walk to the Minato-ku Ward office and now I am the proud holder of an official alien registration card meaning I can live here. Very exciting...both the card and the fact that I actually found the Ward office!
As for the near mishap on the metro as I'm sure you are all wondering more about that...I have my route to get to the yoga studio down. I go to metro station by my house, get on one line (there's only one that runs on the platform I use) and it takes me all the way (4 stops) to Meguro which is where the yoga place is. This worked perfect last Friday. Well today, one stop short of Meguro, there's an announcement that this is the last stop so everyone needs to exit the train. I think that for some reason I haven't heard the full announcement, but sure enough at the stop everyone piles off - everyone. So, having no idea how I'm going to get there exactly, I see another sign stating Meguro, my destination and the train was there. I hop on with my fingers crossed that I'm on my way and sure enough, next stop...Meguro. Worked out totally fine, but I had a moment.
In other exciting news...John and I went exploring yesterday (he had a holiday...and it wasn't Sports Day but the Fall Equinox) and guess what we found....a grocery store that when you walk through the doors is exactly like being at home. Well, other than the triple prices, but you get the idea. We also found the Nisson nearest our house. Nisson is also an international grocery store where you can find a lot of the same things as we use in the US. The prices are slightly better, but I still paid $10 for a package of raspberries, so there you go. Everyone says that eventually you stop thinking of the money in those terms, but still quite difficult at this stage. In summary, we will still be frequenting the Don and the Japanese grocery stores if at all possible, but when we just really need to taste something from home, we do have some options. And that being said, I cooked spaghetti last night with wheat pasta, real beef, and the spaghetti sauce that we used in Dallas.
Alas, that's all I have for now. John has found some sort of car thing that I'm pretty sure he can't be talked out of for this weekend, so something to look forward to. He's managed to record every possible episode around for Top Gear (BBC car show) and last night we watched an episode that featured Japanese drifters, which if this is going on this weekend I'm totally in. And now I finally get the whole "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift"....I haven't watched it yet (thanks Jay), but now it sounds even more fun.
Until next time....Jenn
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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3 comments:
Hi Jennifer and John, Good to see you're beginning to find your way around Tokyo. Have you found the Mitsukoshi department store yet? It is like a big department store you'd find anywhere in the U.S. I'm sure everything is expensive given the exchange rate, but they have a nice food court in the basement of the main store that allows you to sample a variety of Japanese food. The main store is in Nihombashi?, which is probably close to you. Check out their English Web site: http://www.mitsukoshi.co.jp/store/fcs/
Keep writing as it is interesting to read about your adventures, especially the weekend trips!
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Tokyo Drift is the best movie ever made... (about cars that are fueled by nitrous).
okay... so I watched the You Tube video and here are my observations if you plan to visit a "rally" or "race" -- or what would you call it?
anyway.
1. Avoid eye contact when they ask the crowd for volunteers to serve as live-traffic cones.
2. Look for a barrier to stand behind because those cars are all over the place (I'm assuming that's the objective).
3. and most importantly... wear something that you don't mind getting smelly (i.e. think campfire smoke, but burning rubber & exhaust). I would hate for you to ruin an outfit you planned on wearing to dinner that night. ha!
love ya,
kimberly ;<>
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