While I am really wishing now that I had kept more notes about my first week of work to compare and look over later, I can't go back in the past and do that. But now I know that the next time I start a job I should do that!
The first day of work, I assumed I needed to be at Emerson at 9am so I got on the train to get there at that time. Never before in my life had I felt more like a sardine (and I had taken some pretty busy trains in Japan before that). Needless to say: rush hour is crazy. It's like squeezing all of the highway traffic you run into on 471 into a train instead: hot, stuffy, and rather uncomfortable. I'm sure many of you are wondering if I have seen "the pushers" but honestly no train I have been on has needed them because PEOPLE PUSH THEMSELVES into the train. Just when you think the train can't hold any more people there is someone backing onto the train and using their hand above the door to push themselves into the train.
Now that I'm done complaining about the trains for now... So then on Monday I finally get to work and my boss is on a business trip (I think every job I have started either my trainer/mentor or boss have been absent... weird) so my coworker explained what I would be doing and put me to work. He also let me know that I can pretty much show up anytime between 8 and 10am. I went home that night and probably had dinner and maybe watched some anime, but I'm not quite sure. The train was also really busy on my way home.
The first day of work, I assumed I needed to be at Emerson at 9am so I got on the train to get there at that time. Never before in my life had I felt more like a sardine (and I had taken some pretty busy trains in Japan before that). Needless to say: rush hour is crazy. It's like squeezing all of the highway traffic you run into on 471 into a train instead: hot, stuffy, and rather uncomfortable. I'm sure many of you are wondering if I have seen "the pushers" but honestly no train I have been on has needed them because PEOPLE PUSH THEMSELVES into the train. Just when you think the train can't hold any more people there is someone backing onto the train and using their hand above the door to push themselves into the train.
Now that I'm done complaining about the trains for now... So then on Monday I finally get to work and my boss is on a business trip (I think every job I have started either my trainer/mentor or boss have been absent... weird) so my coworker explained what I would be doing and put me to work. He also let me know that I can pretty much show up anytime between 8 and 10am. I went home that night and probably had dinner and maybe watched some anime, but I'm not quite sure. The train was also really busy on my way home.
On Tuesday I had decided that I would go to work early to beat the morning rush... But lucky me: on my second day of work my rail line was closed down for a while in the morning. I left 30 minutes early and still got to work at nine after sweating off a few pounds I am sure. I did pretty much the same thing at work that day and then headed home.
The train was really crammed again so I decided to get off at a station I hadn't stopped at before to just wander for a while before going home. And it turned out really great for me! I found a more professional looking purse for under $15 that I had been looking for and a covered shopping street! I didn't take many pictures there that time, but eventually I will. It reminded me of a place Gayle took us to the first time I was in Tokyo, but I have no idea if that was the place or not.
The train was really crammed again so I decided to get off at a station I hadn't stopped at before to just wander for a while before going home. And it turned out really great for me! I found a more professional looking purse for under $15 that I had been looking for and a covered shopping street! I didn't take many pictures there that time, but eventually I will. It reminded me of a place Gayle took us to the first time I was in Tokyo, but I have no idea if that was the place or not.
On Wednesday, Minami-san took me to the bank to set up my Japanese bank account and then treated me to some really tasty sushi! Then after work to wait out the traffic a little bit I wandered around Tokyo station and ended up going out the Yaesu side to a department store I hadn't been to before. Before reaching the department store, underground there is a vast expanse of small shops devoted to different animated things like Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Rilakuma, and a lot of anime's I don't know. Then in the basement of the department store was a shop with glass walls so customers could watch them make candies! I stayed there for quite a while watching and got a few samples. The people working just seemed SO happy about making their candies, so I had to buy some before I left.
On Friday after I finished work, I didn't want to go back to my apartment yet so I stopped in Tsudanuma where I usually go grocery shopping to discover a new department store outside an exit I hadn't used yet!
They had a Book-Off (on the off chance that I haven't introduced Book-off I will go ahead and do that) which is a store that sells lightly used and preowned DVD's, CD's, manga, and games. Because it is apparently not cool to buy things that are used in Japan, the items are SUPER cheap and most popular things are available at them. Book-Off also has a line of other stores like Hobby-Off, Book-Off Super Baazar (goodwill but bigger), and others. I have been stocking up on Asian Kung-fu Generation CD's from them for anywhere between 280 and 500 yen.
I found out that I am a 25.5 cm shoe in Japan that night (but all shoes over 25.0 cm cost outrageous amounts of money!!) and found a 300 yen store. Needless to say, it turned out to be a good night.
They had a Book-Off (on the off chance that I haven't introduced Book-off I will go ahead and do that) which is a store that sells lightly used and preowned DVD's, CD's, manga, and games. Because it is apparently not cool to buy things that are used in Japan, the items are SUPER cheap and most popular things are available at them. Book-Off also has a line of other stores like Hobby-Off, Book-Off Super Baazar (goodwill but bigger), and others. I have been stocking up on Asian Kung-fu Generation CD's from them for anywhere between 280 and 500 yen.
I found out that I am a 25.5 cm shoe in Japan that night (but all shoes over 25.0 cm cost outrageous amounts of money!!) and found a 300 yen store. Needless to say, it turned out to be a good night.
On Saturday I didn't do anything except sleep in and wait for my package from home. Apparently in Japan they deliver post on Saturdays and Sundays pretty much any time you ask them to. Woah.
Then on Sunday I met two new conversation exchange partners and had some extra tasty food!
Then on Sunday I met two new conversation exchange partners and had some extra tasty food!
My second week of work my boss came back and I had more things to do and more difficult things to research. Like cooling systems for data centers and valves for LNG (Liquid Natural Gas ships). Things I had never even heard of or at least though of before. After work nothing exciting happened (sorry) until Friday.
I met for a language exchange for dinner and because it was really nice out and I had an hour to waste I wandered around my office building taking photos. Then I went to Shimbashi (near Ginza) for dinner. Apparently, about 3 years ago Shimbashi was the place to go for guys 40 and up but nowadays it is teeming with men and women alike of all ages. We had Okonomiyaki and Hiroshimayaki at a very fancy restaurant and then went to an adorable little bar afterwards where I thought an English-speaking person was British by his accent, but apparently he's from Philly! What a nice surprise.
I met for a language exchange for dinner and because it was really nice out and I had an hour to waste I wandered around my office building taking photos. Then I went to Shimbashi (near Ginza) for dinner. Apparently, about 3 years ago Shimbashi was the place to go for guys 40 and up but nowadays it is teeming with men and women alike of all ages. We had Okonomiyaki and Hiroshimayaki at a very fancy restaurant and then went to an adorable little bar afterwards where I thought an English-speaking person was British by his accent, but apparently he's from Philly! What a nice surprise.
Then on Saturday I got lost in Harajuku looking for an event space I was headed to, but fortunately my friend came and found me to help me there! At the event, I got to judge the visual appearance of different Mashiko-Yaki (ceramics / tea-sets) to help the SayamaCha Branding Project get a better understanding of what people in foreign markets would want to buy.
Then after judging the tea sets by looks we got to try a few out! After the event I decided to do a little shopping in Harajuku while I was there and stopped by Kameido for dinner and some more shopping. A few days after the event I got an email with the pictures I am including below and a report on the event. Pretty cool.
Then on Sunday I met my friend Yuta in Hiro to go to an international foods store so I could introduce him to peanut butter. The only problem? All they had was skippy and super expensive grind your own peanut butter right here right now stuff. I could REALLY use a jar of JIF right now. And peanut butter cookies. But with no good peanut butter and no oven, that's not happening any time soon. Yuta decided to try to grind your own fresh peanut butter right here option which in actuality was quite fun to do.
We then tried to find a bakery that would toast bread for us but couldn't. We went to Omotesando next to try to find another international grocery store to see if they had JIF but the store didn't exist anymore. We walked around Omotesando and Yuta helped me look for a My Little Pony character in the toy stores we passed (for a friend back home), but no luck on that either!
After giving up on the peanut butter and the toy we decided we were hungry and chose to go try Monja-Yaki which is Tokyo's take on Okonomiyaki (quite different from Hiroshima and Osaka versions). In my opinion it was great! and having less doughy-ness to it, I didn't fill up as quickly and could try a few varieties. We first had cabbage with sesame I think (?), which was a great hand-food appetizer. Then we chose a monja that I don't remember the name but it was one that the restaurant suggested and had everything from Natto to Okra in it. I made that one as you will see in the pictures. We then had cabbage, pork, and kimchi that came in a tin foil and just sat on the grill on our table to cook. Being still hungry, we decided to try a spicier monja that Yuta cooked. And then we couldn't help but try a dessert monja. I will make my comments about that after the pictures.
We then tried to find a bakery that would toast bread for us but couldn't. We went to Omotesando next to try to find another international grocery store to see if they had JIF but the store didn't exist anymore. We walked around Omotesando and Yuta helped me look for a My Little Pony character in the toy stores we passed (for a friend back home), but no luck on that either!
After giving up on the peanut butter and the toy we decided we were hungry and chose to go try Monja-Yaki which is Tokyo's take on Okonomiyaki (quite different from Hiroshima and Osaka versions). In my opinion it was great! and having less doughy-ness to it, I didn't fill up as quickly and could try a few varieties. We first had cabbage with sesame I think (?), which was a great hand-food appetizer. Then we chose a monja that I don't remember the name but it was one that the restaurant suggested and had everything from Natto to Okra in it. I made that one as you will see in the pictures. We then had cabbage, pork, and kimchi that came in a tin foil and just sat on the grill on our table to cook. Being still hungry, we decided to try a spicier monja that Yuta cooked. And then we couldn't help but try a dessert monja. I will make my comments about that after the pictures.