I land in Japan & my Fuji camera breaks... coincidence?
The screen on my Fuji has given out so I cant see what I'm photographing; just like the old cameras our grandparents used to use. The main problem is that I can't use the menu to change the settings. Anyways, this post is to fill in the blanks of the last few days. My last night in Korea was a late & drunken one. Had to awaken after 3 hours sleep and begin the long treck to the airport & to Japan. Needless to say I wasn't feeling tip top upon arrival and to make matters worse I could not contact my buddy so had to hike it to a youth hostel; where they kick you out at 9am & you can't return to your comfy bed until 5pm for some unknown reason.
The new day brought with it better luck as I was able to contact Brad and arrange to meet him in the evening after he visited his girlfriend & was allowed to lodge at his place until his grandma gets out of hospital. Lucky for me, not so lucky for her. So after spending the day seeing the sights of Shinjuku (crowds, shopping, red light district etc) and viewing the sprawling city from the 40th floor of the Metropolitan Government building, I caught up with my good old friend. On the way to meet him I kept thinking about the last scene from Shawshank Redemption. Brad is like Tim Robbins who escapes the confines of Sydney to start a better life and I am Morgan Freeman, who after serving his due time also leaves to reunite with his friend in paradise. I think the symbolism fits perfectly.
Brad lives in the quiet neighbourhood of Horinoichi, where despite being 4 stops away from central Tokyo is a sleepy area due to it's mostly elderly inhabitants. The house is right next to a cemetary/shrine area so most of the neighbours are either dead or close to it. Since srriving here I have taken full advantage of Brad's hospitality and have mostly stayed put in this cosy place for numerous reasons. The first being the computer & phone access which I use to find and apply for jobs, the other being that the weather is too cold & rainy to venture out into the strange, hectic & expensive world outside. For now I am happy researching the city, reading a lot and resting up in this cheap & warm habitat. Later today I will brave the cold & wet to visit the Mori Museum in Roppongi to see an exhibition about the links between German & Japanese art over the last century. If that sounds interesting you can take a look at the details here.
Initial impression, from my whole day's experience of the country are good. Tokyo is pretty wild and there are lots of cool looking people walking around. They sure do dress super-sharp. I'll miss the attention of being in Korea. In a city this big and crazy you're just another face in the crowd. The pay off is that there is a tonne of cool shit always happening. tokyo is a fashion/music/art/design hub of the world which is wicked. The problem being that you need a lot of money to really enjoy it.
The food and transport cost about the same as Sydney, however entertainment & accomodation are through the roof!!!! For example a movie costs 1800 yen = $18USD!!! Sheizer thats steep. Clubs are around 2000 yen for entry with a drink included, and gigs such as Franz Ferdinand or M.I.A. are around 6000 yen ($60USD). So I do need to make some fat cash to have a fat time, and while there are plenty of teaching jobs, there are also plenty of teachers; and my working holiday visa restricts me to part-time work (20 hours/week) plus whatever cash in hand tutoring I can get.
I also need to learn a bit of Japanese to get by; cause there are less people who speak basic English here than anywhere else I've been. I anticipate buying a laptop before long, more to save money than anything else (Laptop + intertnet = endless cheap entertainment) so I can save my yen for the really cool shit that goes down here and the pimped out clothes I see everywhere. Wish me luck people, I'll be needing a few things to go right to have an excellent time here. Peace out.
The new day brought with it better luck as I was able to contact Brad and arrange to meet him in the evening after he visited his girlfriend & was allowed to lodge at his place until his grandma gets out of hospital. Lucky for me, not so lucky for her. So after spending the day seeing the sights of Shinjuku (crowds, shopping, red light district etc) and viewing the sprawling city from the 40th floor of the Metropolitan Government building, I caught up with my good old friend. On the way to meet him I kept thinking about the last scene from Shawshank Redemption. Brad is like Tim Robbins who escapes the confines of Sydney to start a better life and I am Morgan Freeman, who after serving his due time also leaves to reunite with his friend in paradise. I think the symbolism fits perfectly.
Brad lives in the quiet neighbourhood of Horinoichi, where despite being 4 stops away from central Tokyo is a sleepy area due to it's mostly elderly inhabitants. The house is right next to a cemetary/shrine area so most of the neighbours are either dead or close to it. Since srriving here I have taken full advantage of Brad's hospitality and have mostly stayed put in this cosy place for numerous reasons. The first being the computer & phone access which I use to find and apply for jobs, the other being that the weather is too cold & rainy to venture out into the strange, hectic & expensive world outside. For now I am happy researching the city, reading a lot and resting up in this cheap & warm habitat. Later today I will brave the cold & wet to visit the Mori Museum in Roppongi to see an exhibition about the links between German & Japanese art over the last century. If that sounds interesting you can take a look at the details here.
Initial impression, from my whole day's experience of the country are good. Tokyo is pretty wild and there are lots of cool looking people walking around. They sure do dress super-sharp. I'll miss the attention of being in Korea. In a city this big and crazy you're just another face in the crowd. The pay off is that there is a tonne of cool shit always happening. tokyo is a fashion/music/art/design hub of the world which is wicked. The problem being that you need a lot of money to really enjoy it.
The food and transport cost about the same as Sydney, however entertainment & accomodation are through the roof!!!! For example a movie costs 1800 yen = $18USD!!! Sheizer thats steep. Clubs are around 2000 yen for entry with a drink included, and gigs such as Franz Ferdinand or M.I.A. are around 6000 yen ($60USD). So I do need to make some fat cash to have a fat time, and while there are plenty of teaching jobs, there are also plenty of teachers; and my working holiday visa restricts me to part-time work (20 hours/week) plus whatever cash in hand tutoring I can get.
I also need to learn a bit of Japanese to get by; cause there are less people who speak basic English here than anywhere else I've been. I anticipate buying a laptop before long, more to save money than anything else (Laptop + intertnet = endless cheap entertainment) so I can save my yen for the really cool shit that goes down here and the pimped out clothes I see everywhere. Wish me luck people, I'll be needing a few things to go right to have an excellent time here. Peace out.
posted by Dave Tran at 8:03 pm
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