First Weekend in Tokyo

As my first Friday night rolled around I was excited and relieved to get the chance to do something fun for a change. Since I had arrived it felt like I had done nothing but travel, go to orientations, and sit and wait for beauracracies to do their work. So I got dressed up and went out to meet my friends in Shimokitazawa (a very cool neighborhood that I had never been to before) via Shibuya.

Shibuya

I met up with Asami, Eri, Fye (who were all exchange students at UW that I met last year), Aya, and Dorothy, and the six of us went out for yakitori. The restaurant was really comfortable and well priced, and I finally got to eat some good, healthy food – I had been getting very tired of conbini fare, and I was really missing fresh veggies. We ordered salads, veggie dishes, all sorts of meats grilled on skewers, and I got to have my first alcoholic drink since I arrived in Japan, 蜂蜜梅酒 (hachimitsu umeshu  - plum wine sweetened with fresh honey).   

Later in the meal I decided to order a カルピスサワー(calpico sour - a calpico soda mixed with shochu and a little juice), because I remembered drinking them when I was previously in Japan and enjoying them a lot. However this particular establishment brought me a Calpico Sour the size of my head! It came in a huge glass bear mug that was also ridiculously heavy due to the thickness of the glass. I couldn’t finish it and its size and weight made me feel like a small child struggling with a large glass.

The company was great, the conversation was interesting (and heavily bilingual), and I had a wonderful time.

Afterwards everyone else had plans to meet up with some other friends in Shibuya to wish them good bye, since they would be leaving for Seattle soon. Asami and I wanted to continue hanging out so we decided to tag along. In Shibuya we met up with Michael and Mariko, two Japanese college students who have spent lots of time between Japan and America (mostly Seattle I think), and so not only is both their English and Japanese very fluent, but they are able to code-switch between the two quickly, smoothly, and with hardly any effort. Sometimes mid sentence! I hope one day I can be that comfortable with both English and Japanese.

We ended up going to an “Irish” pub, and I was treated to a white Russian and lots of crazy, fast-paced, bilingual conversation. I am pretty sure all of us have spent some time at the UW as well, so we got to reminisce about Seattle together. Everyone was also so encouraging towards me and my Japanese that I think I gained a lot of confidence that night. By eleven ‘o’clock I was pretty exhausted from my big day, so I headed home of the train and collapsed into my bed the moment I go back to my dorm.

On Saturday I intentionally let myself sleep in late, and designated the rest of the day towards resting. So my Saturday wasn’t actually that exciting, but I enjoyed spending it skyping with friends, writing in my blog, reading, bathing, and doing some grocery shopping.

I had found a Tokyu grocery store in the basement level of Hiyoshi train station, but it turned out to be a little upscale and overpriced. However, I didn’t know the location of any other grocery store yet, so I made the best of it and scoured the aisle for the absolute best deals. Not a log was on sale, but some of the best valued items I bought included: fresh Japanese eggs (which are way yummier than American ones and even have orange yolks), kimchii, and chicken livers (my Ukrainian grandmother would be proud). Really I was just trying to buy some healthy, whole foods that I could cook for myself that were not too expensive. I think I did a pretty good job, but I have since tracked down more affordable supermarkets.

I spent the first half of my Sunday relaxing and studying for the Japanese Placement Test we had on Monday morning.  I plan to write a separate post dedicated only to the placement test, the results, and my thoughts about it – so keep your eyes out for that soon. I did manage to be social though, and met up with a bunch of my other Keio international student friends to go to dinner in Ginza. We found a nice, affordable restaurant named 蜂の家 (hachinoya – the bee house/beehive) that serves all kinds of traditional Japanese curry. If you’ve never had Japanese curry it’s a lot like stew, with a thick brown sauce filled with meat, potatoes, carrots, etc, but there are many different varieties.  ­

Thus my first weekend was not crammed packed with action or adventure, but it was a lot of fun. While there are dozens of things I want to do and places I want to visit during my time here in Japan, I am going to be living here for a year so I think I can afford to take it slow. I don’t want to wear myself out, or spend my time here in Japan as a constant tourist. I am also trying to build a little life for myself here, so that I can be comfortable and take good care of myself.