Day 2 - Shinjuku & Ichigaya

So it occurred to me I should probably be able to write a lot of this in Japanese. But because all but a few of you can read I think I'll stick to English, lol. So my second day was full of fun. Four of us woke up earlier than scheduled so we can grab breakfast at the --closed-- Panya (bakery) that's nearby our place. We met up with the rest of our group that morning to figure out the train systems and make our way to class.

The train system here is something I have never seen before. Aside from the fact that it's all in Japanese, it's pretty trippy. It's so complicated dealing with passes and tickets, and everyone around you always seems to be in a rush so you have to be fast when doing stuff. So because our sempai's (socially older by a year or two) were there to help us, we made our way from Shimo-Takaido (where we live) to Shinjuku by the Keio Line, and walked through a massive crowd to catch the Shinjuku Line to Ichigaya (where we'll be going to school). It was such an amazing site watching a sea of people walk by. The only thoughts that ran through our minds were not to get lost or separated.

Once we got to class.. we took a placement exam. Lol, what BS seriously. I had only just taken my JPN301 exam less than 24 hours ago. So we had a listening portion that seemed okay for the first 7 questions of 10, and then they seemed to crank the difficulty 10-fold. The writing portion wasn't bad either. It was choudo ii (perfect). So I thought, if I can do well on this one, I'll try the exam one step higher/harder. When I grabbed that one, it really did seem like a foreign language because I wasn't able to answer the questions. There is a such a big knowledge gap between levels here it's ridiculous. Clinton, who is technically 1 year more advanced than I am will probably be in the same level as I'm in.

So the day goes on, and I'm blasting most of my money away on food. Of course right? Haha. There has to be a vending machine every 20ft from each other. It's pretty cool, so as long as you have 100~150yen you won't go thirsty. The food though, here, is amazing. I had a very cheap 500yen katsudon that tasted fantastic. Walking around Ichigaya, I walked into one of those tiny dessert shops you may have seen on KIKU before, with the option of like 10 different mochi with the two workers. Anyway, I figured, what do I have to lose. 160yen and I get my mochi. It was, delicious. Lol, I wanted another but it was just too damn expensive.

It seems as though the portion of Ichigaya we visited doesn't have too many attractions. They do have an otera (shrine/temple) and a very nice park to walk/run around. But besides that, not much else.

Here's where it really got fun, trying to figure out the train system without the Sempai's was a living hell. We got so lost, and were trying to find the right train to go back to Shinjuku. Fortunately our pass only allows us to walk through certain gates when you swipe your nifty card so it was like a handicap where you can't get lost. But once you're in the correct gate, there are still several trains to choose from. This is where knowing Japanese comes in, and we end up asking little old ladies which train do we need to take if we want to go to wherever.

Once we got to Shinjuku we decided to walk around some more, and boy was it crowded. It really reminded me of New York, where people are everywhere, the buildings are tall, the electronic billboards are abundant, and there are shops as far as the eyes can see. It was really amazing.

At some point between the jet lag and the fact that we've been walking/standing for the last 6 or so hours, our legs gave way and we went back home. Well, after we went through the stressful hassle of finding our train again.

At night, a bunch of the guys came over to my apartment because we thought we were going to drink, but ended up just talking and having good laughs until like 12:30am. (That'd be about 5:30am for those of you curious what the time difference is.)

Afterward, I was walking with two of the guys back to their apartment building --which is located a few blocks away-- to go borrow an outlet converter from one of them. Unfortunately, I had to be an idiot because I followed the two guys who don't know their way back to their own place. Soo, after walking quite a bit, in the dark, I decided to head home by myself. Now I'm the idiot. I couldn't find my way back so I was panicking walking & running all up and down the streets thinking I can't find my own apartment. And it didn't help I had a full bladder and wanted to pee like everywhere if I could. After what felt like a lifetime I was able to run into a familiar street and find my way back. So ya, I'll never do that again. And for those of you who may think it was nothing, c'mon. Japan is where they came up with 'The Ring', 'The Grudge', etc. So shut up, lol. When thoughts of a long-haired little girl is following you down a dim street, you'll run like the wind too.

More Pictures: