Hi all,
This is the front gate of Gokokuji temple, in the town of the same name where I live. I consider myself quite lucky to live here, in the heart of Tokyo- amoungst all the dreary skyscrapers and traffic jams, Gokokuji has carved itself a nice little area, with temples, parks and a cultural walk which visitors can do to learn more about the routes taken by the travelling Shogun many moons ago- this is literally two minutes from my house, and it's nice to see passing to the subway station every day, slowly observing the different colours of the huge trees which stand either side (currrently red) as the months go by.....
But enough of that! Well, it seems for the past few months I have only been updating this blog one or twice (per month). There are a few reasons for this- (1) I'm a little busy, but also (2) I am wary of that fact that these things can get incredibly boring for the readers- I don't want a blog which says such things as, "got up, made toast, went to work- see you tomorrow". What's the point of that?
However, I have been inspired (and saved from boredom in work) by Michael Palin's excellent website. It has everyhing- a chat room for travellers, competitions, route maps and advice. The best thing by far though is, after registering (free) you can then read any of this publications, with photographs. A nice touch also is that you can bookmark the last page you visited, making it easy to pick up where you left off last time. If you are interested in Palin (if you like travelling then surely you are) I recommend!
And so to other news- after 3 months in the foreigner house I currently live in, I am thrilled to say that I have managed to secure a lease on my very own apartment, also in Gokokuji. I thought this would have been a nigh on impossibility, because in the near majority of cases, you need to pay key money up front, which is about 4 months rent. I was complaining about this in Jiu-Jitsu to my American friend, Mike, who has been here for 15 years, and who is married to a Japanese lady. "Let me work on that for ya", he said to me in his Californian drawl one day as we plodded out of the dojo.
A few days later, I got a call. It turns out that when Mike arrived here, he rented a great apartment from a lovely family called the Kurowias. They own an o-bento shop, which is kind of the Japanese version of a sandwich bar, but with fish and rice, not bread. on the fourh floor of their building is a quite big, two bedroomed apartment, which has a double balcony on both sides, airy quarters and a walkway onto the roof where BBQs (I envision) will be held. Mike had worked a gem, and the Kurowias agreed that I could move in without the need to pay key money. Also, the rent is the same as I am currently paying now- for the whole apartment- My friend Anders will move in in October, thus reducing my rent in half!
It's not all good news though, because I have to furnish the whole place! The only thing in the place is fresh tatami, the great straw like flooring which is a joy to walk/sleep on. Here is a tatami roon.
Tatami is fantastic, but you must use a futon, not a bed, and cushions, not chairs, because the legs of such things will damage the fabric. However, they are quite strong, and heaven to sleep on- which I will be doing, Japanese style- why do we actually bother with beds anyway, when there is so much room taken up with them?
So now my quest begins to furnish the place- the beauty of the foreigner community here is that eventually, they leave- excellent opportunity to pick things up then in apartment sales! Already I am the proud owner of a couple of shelves, bedding, few futons, TV and a DVD player (although I have to pay for the DVD player once I take delivery). I move in on the 16th- bring it on!
Japanese school goes well, the teachers are fine, but I am glad that I only have 3 more months there- I want to find a private Japanese teacher who can teach me maybe 4 hours a week. At the moment I am in a class of 15- so maybe I speak 10% of the time- with one on one teaching, hopefully I can speak for 70% of the time, the teacher guiding me, using the textbooks- In December is the JLPT, which at the moment is my #1 aim. My speaking continues to improve, but my written grammar sucks- I need more practice!
Anyway, I'm maybe going to Yokohama on the weekend, so I'll definitely write more soon....
