Still Alive

This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. I think the music-title theme is sticking, though this one's pretty obvious to all my gamer friends out there :b. As for today, much better. I actually went downstairs to use the unrestricted internet (my Steam program that lets me play games online with people back home wasn't working in my room), and there was a big group down there watching a movie, a British one made by the same guy that did Shaun of the Dead. I was actually surprised that it was a big group of girls I'd never met before, other than one of them. They were all really nice and funny and open, and they invited me to go to Akihabara with them today. I would've gone, if I hadn't had other plans, and if I actually already knew the way to class. Akihabara is like the technological section of Tokyo, all electronics and gadgets and a lot of anime-type stuff, too, so I'm really hoping to go sometime just to see everything.

As for me, today was actually a productive day, though I am kind of kicking myself for accidentally leaving my SD card in my computer. I wasn't able to take pictures, but I'll try and get a bunch tomorrow when I leave early for class. Today, I went with my new friend Keisha to Tamachi to figure out where on campus everything is, since they don't really give the tour well. The tour was a lot of backtracking and a little overwhelming and confusing, so we wanted to explore at our own pace. We found out also that the Gotanda line to campus is 10 yen cheaper, and also connects to the Yamanote line directly, the train that makes a big circuit around Tokyo. We decided to take this route as our commute route, since the commuter pass makes any ride within our set commute route unlimited. With that, we could take the train to Gotanda and then catch the train to Shinjuku and Shibuya and such, and only pay for half the ride, since the first is within our commute route. Pretty sweet, ne? Unfortunately, we'd only taken the route via Kamata, so we had to figure out where to go when we transferred and all. Gotanda seems a lot busier than Kamata, though Kamata does have the Donki (which we didn't get to, since we used the Gotanda way).

We wandered around campus a little, got a little lost, found some places that have cheap food that are en route to class (one woman working at one of them saw me checking out the prices on the menu and came running out at us with takeout menus xD), and got a good feel for where we need to be. This is really comforting, coming from Pittsburgh. Now we can wander a bit out of where we're used to and find new places to see and shop and eat. Not to mention we can actually get to class on our own now =). We saw a couple of girls walking around in their fancy traditional kimono today, too, since it's Coming of Age Day, the national holiday to celebrate those people who turned 20 this year. Sort of like a Sweet Sixteen, but nationwide. It was really cool. We didn't really stay long,though, since we'd bought food and weren't planning on eating out. Plus, we still had to figure our way back through Gotanda, which we got a bit lost on again. I had to ask both going and coming back exactly where we were supposed to go, and we got on the Kamata train to come back. I thought I'd messed us up, but apparently Ontakesan is 4 or 5 stops before Kamata, so it was alright.

Anyway, we found out that the "bag of sugar" that we bought the other day was actually salt (^^;;), so we stopped at Jusco again since it was right by the station and bought a proper bag of sugar. I had to stop another customer in the aisle with us and ask her if it was actually sugar xD. We also got cooking oil, seeing as the communal cooking oil container was teeeeeny and already half-used. Keisha wanted to check out cheese since our neighbor had bought some, and we ran into a woman handing out samples. Keisha, who had tried a sample last time we were there and didn't like the tofu in it, wasn't up for trying another one because she didn't know what it was, but the woman giving samples said it was milk. I hadn't tried the sample before and wanted to this time, so I did. I convinced Keisha to try some, too, since she loves milk. I was talking a bit with the sample lady, too. She was really nice and outgoing, and she gave us fliers, telling us to make sure to practice our Japanese well. It was a fun time =). I found blueberry tea (agh my weakness D:), but we passed on the cheese. Sooooo expensive.

We also went to take a look at the local shrine, but we didn't go in because we had our bags, and also because we need to brush up on our shrine etiquette first. There's a slightly complicated process to visiting a shrine, but it's important to be respectful and follow tradition when visiting them. I'm going to go visit sometime this week for real and give thanks for the (hopefully) good first week of classes.

And then to my final triumph of the night: oyakodon, which is a Japanese dish that is onions and chicken cooked in dashi stock (I had to substitute water. I can't find the granulated dashi D:) and sugar, soy sauce, mirin, and sake (the last two I had to omit as well. Darn rules), and then eggs are lightly beaten and poured over top. Since we bought sugar, I was able to take the recipe from Youtube's Cooking With Dog (a cooking show hosted by a dog) and modify it a little bit. I was kinda worried, since it was my first stab at Japanese cooking. Unfortunately, everyone else had the idea of cooking tonight, so there were chicken parts and curry and apple crumb and other dishes being cooked all at once, and the kitchen was packed. The rice cookers were busy, so I had to start the rest first, which made the rest overcook a bit, but that's alright. The eggs in oyakodon are supposed to stay mostly raw and runny, but I didn't want that, so it all turned out okay. And it was deliiiiicious. And beautifuuuuuul. And I'm now known among everyone else as "that person that makes tasty-looking food" :D. Happy happy. I'm going to have to try to make Japanese-style curry soon, too. I can use my carrots :3. I also left the pan uncleaned so it kept the oyakodon flavor and used it to make soy sauce onigiri rice balls for lunch tomorrow. I had a little rice left over, so I made a small one for my new friend Mica, and she said it was nomful. Can't wait to try it tomorrow!

In other news, first day of class tomorrow, and so much to do! *run run run* See you guys later~

Getting Steamed

Fweeeeeeh~! *steamy* Just got back from the Ontakesan onsen (public baths), but more about that later. Today started off well. Jet lag is starting to wear off, since I woke up at 4:30 but went back to bed soon after and slept again. Hopefully I'll be able to go to bed a little later than 8 PM every night from now on.

First thing I did this morning was eat that breakfast thing I had bought. It was interesting. I can't say konnyaku (a sort thick-jello-like food made from a vegetable root) is really my thing, but it was alright with rice. The cute maple-leaf-shaped carrot slices were adorable and started the day off well =). After that, we all trekked out to the 100 yen shop, where I got a bento box, some portable chopsticks with a case so I can take them with me for lunch, containers for storing food, and printer paper (since we can print at the dorm for free as long as we provide our own paper).

Then --- wow, neighbor just came in excited about her bottled water she bought. It had Beyonce on it. Ah, the things you never expect to find in Japan and are surprised by. ---- Anyway, then we went to Jusco to get groceries and everything else. I got a furoshiki, which is a sort of large handkerchief that you use to wrap a bento box and chopsticks to carry them and keep them together so they don't get lost in your backpack and all messy and such. Got some generic shampoo and conditioner, some body wash in a bag, sort of like a Capri Sun packet (it was meant to be a refill bag, but I have containers that I use in the shower, and I'll just refill those. But it's peach scented! :D.

After that, we went back downstairs to the first floor, which is the grocery. I got all sorts of food. Carrots, a leek, spinach, eggs, nikuman (meat buns), soy sauce, sugar, rice, ketchup, peach tea, tofudango (silken tofu that's mixed with a certain rice powder so it's reeeeally chewy and sticky, but one of the healthiest Japanese sweets you can find) in sweet soy sauce, chicken, and a tonkatsu bento for lunch (breaded pork with a special sauce on top). It was really good, too =). I tried the tofudango, too. Soooo chewy, but so good. A little too sweet to have too much, though, which is good. I haven't yet gotten to cook anything, since I'm too tired to cook tonight, but maybe tomorrow I will make something. Probably some simple onigiri and egg-wrapped spinach :3. Maybe if I buy some canned tomatoes, I can make omurice (chicken and rice cooked in a tomato sauce and then wrapped in egg, topped with ketchup).

But really, the best part of the night came later, when five of us girls got together and went to the local onsen. I must say, I did have my reservations, but it was actually pretty fun. I feel the cleanest I have ever been in my life. But I should probably explain this, since I know at least several of my readers have no idea what the onsen entails. Basically, I went and took a bath with a dozen other Japanese women that I did not know. At the onsen, they don't just jump in the bathtub right away. When you go, you first sit down on a stool with a bucket and your washing things, and proceed to wash yourself with everyone around you. And I mean wash. Behind the ears, between the toes, everywhere. You are supposed to get as clean as possible before actually getting in the water. At first it seems kind of weird, sitting in rows and scrubbing like crazy next to other naked people, but then you realize, no one's watching. It's against onsen etiquette to look at other people naked unless you're actually in the water. And besides that, everyone's naked. It feels perfectly alright because it would be weirder if you were wearing something. But yes, after washing, then we got into the "attakai" bath, which you get into to accustom yourself to the temperature before moving on to the real onsen, which is much hotter. Of course, we didn't realize that, but the older women there were really nice and were helping us learn how to do things. They were really surprised; we were the biggest group of foreigners they'd ever seen in the onsen together. They had us come into the actual onsen, which is crazy hot and green, since they put minerals in the water which are good for the skin. I couldn't really stand it for long, since I was literally going to pass out, and it's bad manners to sit only half-in the water. It's tough to stand the heat, but it's how it's done. I guess if you do it all the time like they do, you get used to it. After about an hour, we all packed up and came outside, and man, was it nice. That warm, fuzzy, steamy feeling when you go from being so warm to being outside in the cold is just so nice. And you come out feeling so squeaky clean. It's really great.

Now I'm just kinda fuzzy and warm and sleepy and it's been another good day. My feet are still killing me. When will I get used to this walking? Everyone wants to go to Harajuku tomorrow, but I think I'm going to pass, if only because I don't think my feet would survive the walk. Some other time, I will definitely have to go. For now, I'm content with having gone to the onsen and overcoming a bit of a fear of mine, and enjoying having gone and experienced it =).

A Day of Rest

Aaaagh my legs. So much walking. Since it was the tour day, we did a lot more walking than we normally would, and so my legs really hurt. But it was a really productive orientation day! First, we all got up early and met in the common room for dorm orientation and learned all about policy and what to do and not to do around the neighborhood. I'm kinda sad we're not allowed cooking sake and mirin in the dorms, but I guess we'll survive :/. The internet in our rooms is restricted, so I won't be able to play Left 4 Dead or anything unless I move to the lounge, which I guess is okay seeing as I'd probably be playing during quiet hours, anyhow.

So anyway, we left the dorm and found our way to the Jusco, which is sort of like an everything store. It has a grocery on the 1st floor, and then electronics and bikes and everything else on the other floors. Pretty handy. And they have discounts on Tuesdays and Saturdays woo! =) Ontakesan station was next, where we learned how to get tickets and take the train. We stopped at our switchover station, Kamata, and got a quick tour of that area. I'm really tempted to visit the Don Quixote there, which is sort of like a Jusco without the grocery. I didn't get to take pictures, since it was an orientation tour, not really enough stopping time to see and take everything in. We did learn where our Ward Office is, though, where we need to register for the national insurance and our Alien Registration cards.

Then, back to the train station and onto the JR for Tamachi, where we got off and walked to Mita Hall, then to the Annex, and back to Azabu Hall. After that, we were let loose for lunch. We learned the hard way that most places don't open till 11 AM >_<. Most of us hadn't eaten breakfast yet, either, since no one knew where anything around was. But we eventually settled on a ramen shop, and I got Shoyu Ramen, or Soy Sauce Ramen. Simple, but delicious. We also had two vegans and a jew with us for lunch, so we also had to figure out how to ask for no meat/fish/eggs/pork when ordering. It's really surprising how complicated the little things can be.

We then returned to Azabu for the presentation portion of the orientation, where we learned a lot. Like how you're not allowed to borrow bikes or pick up and use abandoned ones. They're sort of like how cars are in the US. Your car is registered to you, and if you're using someone else's without permission, you're in big trouble.

After all the speeches and everything, we headed back to the station and back home, which was a bit more interesting, trying to memorize all the walking and all among a giant throng of people (it was rush hour). I'm actually kinda proud of myself. There weren't many people on the train to Ontakesan when we first got on, but when it got more crowded, I gave up my seat for an older woman, and she thanked me :3. I was incredibly surprised, however, to realize how loud we Americans are. We have completely different concepts of indoor and outdoor voices than the Japanese. Our normal indoor voices are what people normally use outside, and even quieter on trains and such. As such, it really astounded me how quiet Tokyo is. Being in Pittsburgh has made me so used to noise, with all the sirens and people, except at night when it's almost silent. This was that quiet, but during rush hour. Everyone was in the streets, but it was so quiet. I'm probably going to come back a much quieter person :b.

After we got off the train, we found our way back to the dorm and waited for other people to get their things ready to go to the 7-11. I got to sit in the massage chair~ =). It was kinda weird when the first button I pushed started to massage my butt, but hey. It was nice :b. We then went to the 7-11 about 10 minutes' walk away. I got two bento (premade meals), one for dinner, and then one to have for breakfast. They were both fairly cheap, and I had no idea what either of them was xD. The dinner one I got turned out to be breaded chicken and rice with egg sprinkled on top of half and something else I couldn't identify sprinkled on the other half. Still good. I haven't yet tried the other one, but it'll be soon. Also, I saved a bunch of money on juice. I got a liter of apple juice for 103 yen, compared to the 150 you pay for teeny bottles in the vending machines. I should've bought orange juice, seeing as I'm sick again, probably from a combination of the flight and the time change and the walking and everything. I'm starting to feel better now, though, so I guess that's a good sign.

We came back to the dorm and had our food, and I promptly passed out when I got up to my room and hit the bed. Now it is time for another day to discover more things to share with youse =)

To my commentor Lilox, yes, this is the blog about my spring semester study abroad in Tokyo, Japan. Glad to hear you enjoy it =)