The Journey to My New Home Pt2 (a.k.a A Place to Call my Own)

My first night sleeping in Japan was difficult due to heat, humidity, and jetlag. I forgot to bring any melatonin with me, so though I practically passed out into a deep sleep around 10pm, I woke up many times throughout the night. At least by this point I was too exhausted to feel lonely , or miss my own bed at home.  By 8:30am I decided to I had gotten enough sleep – it was time to face the day and the rest of my journey to my new home.  I was more than just a little anxious to get to the dormitory in Hiyoshi.

Before I left the hotel I was treated to a delicious traditional Japanese breakfast from the hotel’s breakfast buffet (thank you mom). Not only did all the rice help to sooth my poor tummy, the selection of fresh fruits, veggies, fish, juices, coffee, yogurt, etc made for a lovely meal. 

The hotel restaurant also had windows overlooking a traditional Japanese garden, with koi fish and an old style tea house. 

After breakfast me and my ginormous suitcases headed back to Narita airport in order to catch train bound for Hiyoshi (Narita airport is in Chiba prefecture and I needed to make it to Kanagawa, roughly two hours away).

While I generally remembered how the train system functioned from the last time I was in Japan, it is still way too easy to get disoriented or lost. Some trains maps are written in only kanji (Chinese characters), but even the ones that have romanji (Japanese words written phonetically in the roman alphabet) are a convoluted mass or intersecting colored lines with variable mutations based on time of day.  This is why at the airport I asked for directions at the information desk, and made sure to double check I had to correct train before I boarded. I highly suggest that if you are traveling by public transit in Japan, don’t be afraid to ask the station employees if you are getting on the correct train/bus/subway.

In the end I caught an express train (~2hrs and 1,600yen) all the way to Musashi-Kosugi, a large town two stations away from Hiyoshi. That whole train ride I choose not to listen to music or really do anything but watch the scenery go by, while also keeping a constant eye out for things that would either confirm or deny that I was indeed on the correct train. 

Gazing at the scenery though, reminded me about what a range of contrasting environments there are in Japan. It is a modern first world country with futuristic metropolises like Tokyo, and yet so much of it remains rural and scarcely developed. In truth it reminds me of Seattle and the Pacific North West, because while Seattle is a highly cosmopolitan big city the majority of Washington towns and small and rural. I think both Japan and Washington State’s big city to rural farm land ratio would surprise most people.

Once I got to Musashi-Kosugi I transferred to the Toyoku line bound for Hiyoshi. At this point I was so close and yet felt like I was still so far away. I had two heavy suitcases, was not 100% sure of the way to get to my dorm, and on top of that it had begun pouring rain. I had originally wanted to walk from Hiyoshi station to my dormitory, but because typhoons to the north were causing torrential downpours I opted to take a taxi. One mile and 600yen later I had finally made it to my new home.

The landlord (Mr. Ikeda) and some RA’s were there to greet me. They were all so friendly and welcoming and relieved that I spoke decent Japanese.  Then it was a lot of filling out paperwork, signing in, and setting up my accounts as a resident. I received my own keycard, and shortly after I was given a tour of the whole building.

At my dormitory I have my own private room and bathroom, but there are public kitchens in each of the two lounges on each floor. The lounges also have couches, tables, TVs, etc. On one floor of the building there is also a quiet study room, and other amenities include mail boxes, laundry rooms, and lots of vending machines. Actually vending machines (at least ones with beverages) are plentiful and easy to fine on streets, in train stations, around shopping areas. It’s nice to know you’re never very far from a refreshing beverage when its 95 degrees and 70% humidity.

I finally settled in around 3-3:30pm on Wednesday, and proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon unpacking and finally getting online. I definitely spent many hours checking/writing emails, Skyping with anyone who happened to be online, and getting caught up on Facebook.

Once unfortunate thing though, was while I had brought most of the basic necessities I needed, there were a couple things I forgot or just hadn’t considered to bring in the first place. For example I hadn’t brought a towel, and there were none provided me. So I ended up air drying after enjoying a relaxing bath in my deep Japanese style bathtub. With so much heat and humidity, I didn’t mind drying off under my room’s air-conditioning unit. There were many things besides towels that I needed, so I have since made a list and have slowly been acquiring the basic items I need to live comfortably.

It was a great relief to finally be moved into my new home and to have a small but comfortable corner of Japan to call my own ^-^