Thank you to everyone who helped me.
Thank you to the man who spoke fluent English because he had lived in Europe for twenty years and went out of his way to help me find my hotel.
Thank you to the all of the lovely, helpful staff at the Hotel Asia Center of Japan.
Thank you to all of the railway personnel who helped me make sure I got on the right train.
Thank you to the person who showed me which platform I needed to be on to get to Tokyo from Akihabara station.
Thank you to the two Australian back-packers who helped me find out what time the last train back to Tokyo was from Kyoto (20:48)
Thank you to the man who spoke clear, but broken English and helped me when I was trying to find out how to get to Yoyogi station.
Thank you to ひろこさん who gave up her free afternoon to meet up with me, and for showing me around Shibuya & Harajuku and for taking a photo of me next to the statue of Hachiko. ありがとう、ね！
Thank you to anyone I forgot.
and Thank You, for reading this blog and coming with me on my journey.
I hope we have just as much fun next time!
and thank you everyone in Japan ... for being Japanese. :-)
- The End.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Day 8 Pt 2 - Shibuya.
The person I met took me to Shibuya, and I've got to say I didn't much care for it - I've never seen a busier place ... all those people, all that noise ... I hated it. I felt lost, my only comfort that the person who took me there knew where she was going and what she was doing.
All those buskers in er ... harajuku? park ... all those songs playing at once, causing a discordant cacophony, competing for my attention! - I just wanted it all to go away and for me to be somewhere quiet. Even though I try my best to portray a carefree exterior, on the inside, I actually find it all very upsetting. ;-;
Perhaps Day 9 will see me going back to Shinjuku National Park, just to again experience the serenity of a peaceful place to be.
or it might just see me lying in bed all day ... agian. -_-;
All those buskers in er ... harajuku? park ... all those songs playing at once, causing a discordant cacophony, competing for my attention! - I just wanted it all to go away and for me to be somewhere quiet. Even though I try my best to portray a carefree exterior, on the inside, I actually find it all very upsetting. ;-;
Perhaps Day 9 will see me going back to Shinjuku National Park, just to again experience the serenity of a peaceful place to be.
or it might just see me lying in bed all day ... agian. -_-;
Day 8 - Socially Awkward
Was lucky enough to meet up with someone today, who gave up a few hours or her afternoon to meet up with me, which I thought was very kind of her - I thought her and I got along just fine, but I guess I'll never know what she thought of me.
I said "Thank you" a lot in emails to her, and even though I felt like I wanted to say it more, and thought I probably shouldn't say it too much ... I hope I wasn't in anyway intimidating, or didn't make her feel uncomfortable in anyway.
When I meet people for the first time, I'm never sure of what to say, and of what not to say. Sometimes there's long pauses of silence ... Should that silence be filled with words, or left untouched? I'm fine either way, but I was personally perfectly comfortable in the presence of that person in silence.
You can't really judge someone - even though it's human nature to do so - on your first meeting with them. Usually in first meetings you're both on your guard, assessing what is okay and not okay to be said in front of this person. With those deep underlying fears like "Can I be myself around this person? Is it okay to be me?" etc.
Also, I was expecting to get along well with this person, and, even though I would've liked to get along better, I thought we got along just fine. And that makes me wonder if your opinion of a person can be altered by the shadow of expectations?
Also, sometimes it's hard to hear - not because you're going deaf, and not because the other person's not speaking loudly enough, but because the sound of your conversation is being drowned out by surrounding noises. In those times ... is it better to pretend to have heard them and nod your head politely, or is it better to ask them to repeat themselves (to clarify exactly what the conversation is about)? And what if you don't quite catch what they say the second time? Then what?
My perception of events was that her and I, in many ways, were quite similar (dislike of large social gathers preferring a smaller group of close friends; enjoying socialising when necessary, but enjoying your own company just as much, too), however, I could also see that in many ways here I are quite different (messy vs. tidy; unorganised vs organised).
When you meet someone for the first time, it's impossible to know that persons past and what life events (good or bad) have made them into the person that they are today ... But still, it's human nature to make snap-judgements on people (without even realising your doing it) based on the life-events of your past and the kinds of people that you've been previously exposed to that this new person reminds you of.
When you meet someone for the first time, you have to learn to be not only open minded but open hearted.
Sometimes I feel like no one will ever see through to my heart. How do I make it so this heart of mine will shine strongly through my rugged exterior? I can't help that other people find me intimidating - that's just who I am. You have to learn to accept people for who they are, "warts and all," all the old saying goes.
If my rough-edged exterior was coal and you had the strength and the patience to crush through it ... do you think you might find a diamond? ;-)
I said "Thank you" a lot in emails to her, and even though I felt like I wanted to say it more, and thought I probably shouldn't say it too much ... I hope I wasn't in anyway intimidating, or didn't make her feel uncomfortable in anyway.
When I meet people for the first time, I'm never sure of what to say, and of what not to say. Sometimes there's long pauses of silence ... Should that silence be filled with words, or left untouched? I'm fine either way, but I was personally perfectly comfortable in the presence of that person in silence.
You can't really judge someone - even though it's human nature to do so - on your first meeting with them. Usually in first meetings you're both on your guard, assessing what is okay and not okay to be said in front of this person. With those deep underlying fears like "Can I be myself around this person? Is it okay to be me?" etc.
Also, I was expecting to get along well with this person, and, even though I would've liked to get along better, I thought we got along just fine. And that makes me wonder if your opinion of a person can be altered by the shadow of expectations?
Also, sometimes it's hard to hear - not because you're going deaf, and not because the other person's not speaking loudly enough, but because the sound of your conversation is being drowned out by surrounding noises. In those times ... is it better to pretend to have heard them and nod your head politely, or is it better to ask them to repeat themselves (to clarify exactly what the conversation is about)? And what if you don't quite catch what they say the second time? Then what?
My perception of events was that her and I, in many ways, were quite similar (dislike of large social gathers preferring a smaller group of close friends; enjoying socialising when necessary, but enjoying your own company just as much, too), however, I could also see that in many ways here I are quite different (messy vs. tidy; unorganised vs organised).
When you meet someone for the first time, it's impossible to know that persons past and what life events (good or bad) have made them into the person that they are today ... But still, it's human nature to make snap-judgements on people (without even realising your doing it) based on the life-events of your past and the kinds of people that you've been previously exposed to that this new person reminds you of.
When you meet someone for the first time, you have to learn to be not only open minded but open hearted.
Sometimes I feel like no one will ever see through to my heart. How do I make it so this heart of mine will shine strongly through my rugged exterior? I can't help that other people find me intimidating - that's just who I am. You have to learn to accept people for who they are, "warts and all," all the old saying goes.
If my rough-edged exterior was coal and you had the strength and the patience to crush through it ... do you think you might find a diamond? ;-)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Day 7 - Research Essay.
Went for a walk to that nice little park just next to Tokyo Tower again, but the serenity was completely ruined by roadworks, but I still sat for a while anyway.
Came back and found a nice park just past Tokyo Midtown shopping centre, so sat there for a while as well.
It's quite windy today, and even a few raindrops fell.
Why is orange flavoured Fanta yellow in Japan? Does it have 5% real fruit juice like the Fanta back home? I think I like the taste of Japan's orange flavoured Fanta more than Australia's. But ultimately, I still like Sunkist the best - do they have that here in Japan?
When I came back, I finished up my essay on "How is gender constructed in Asia?" and as good as it isn't, I'm sure it's worth at least a pass ... hopefully.
Hopefully meeting up with a local tomorrow who's gonna show me around for a bit ... hopefully.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Fingers crossed! XD
- Ian. :-)
Came back and found a nice park just past Tokyo Midtown shopping centre, so sat there for a while as well.
It's quite windy today, and even a few raindrops fell.
Why is orange flavoured Fanta yellow in Japan? Does it have 5% real fruit juice like the Fanta back home? I think I like the taste of Japan's orange flavoured Fanta more than Australia's. But ultimately, I still like Sunkist the best - do they have that here in Japan?
When I came back, I finished up my essay on "How is gender constructed in Asia?" and as good as it isn't, I'm sure it's worth at least a pass ... hopefully.
Hopefully meeting up with a local tomorrow who's gonna show me around for a bit ... hopefully.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Fingers crossed! XD
- Ian. :-)
Day 6 - Shonan Shinjuku Platform ... Which one!?
I was told by some people who I met on the Hello!Online forums that they were also in Japan and were heading to a Cat Cafe.
They told me where, but when I got there, it turned out there were one of several possible locations the sender of the message could have meant. She herself may not have known that there were multiple Shonan Shinjuku platforms on which to meet.
It doesn't help that my phone won't get reception over here, either.
So I spent one hour ducking back and forth, trying to find these three people, but ultimately to no avail.
Perhaps I can catch them later?
I wonder what Day 7 will bring?
They told me where, but when I got there, it turned out there were one of several possible locations the sender of the message could have meant. She herself may not have known that there were multiple Shonan Shinjuku platforms on which to meet.
It doesn't help that my phone won't get reception over here, either.
So I spent one hour ducking back and forth, trying to find these three people, but ultimately to no avail.
Perhaps I can catch them later?
I wonder what Day 7 will bring?
Day 5 - The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.
With the intention to go to Ginza, I went to Shinjuku instead, deciding I couldn't be bothered with any train-changing, and after browsing the shops for a while, decided to head back to my hotel ... until ...
Walking back home, I came across a street map (The "You Are Here" kind), and noticed there was an area called "Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden", and thought it might be a nice quiet place where I could sit for a spell before returning to my hotel.
When I arrived, I discovered there was an entry fee ... but given that it was only $2, I thought it was well worth the price. I mean, $2 for this place, when Sydney's Chinese Garden of Friendship is about the same price for considerably less space! (144acres vs ... about a few hundred metres ... if that?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinjuku_Gyoen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Garden_of_Friendship
It was kids day, so there were many families there, which was fine by me, as the place is incredibly spacious, with a few restrooms and vending machines strategically placed around the borders of the garden.
It was also there that I learnt that my new Pentax Pentio80 has a limited recording capacity with in "movie mode", and even though the instructions say to hold down the button for as long as you want it to record, that doesn't work.
On the whole, I think I like Shinjuku much more than I like (what little I've experienced of) Akihabara.
Walking back home, I came across a street map (The "You Are Here" kind), and noticed there was an area called "Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden", and thought it might be a nice quiet place where I could sit for a spell before returning to my hotel.
When I arrived, I discovered there was an entry fee ... but given that it was only $2, I thought it was well worth the price. I mean, $2 for this place, when Sydney's Chinese Garden of Friendship is about the same price for considerably less space! (144acres vs ... about a few hundred metres ... if that?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinjuku_Gyoen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Garden_of_Friendship
It was kids day, so there were many families there, which was fine by me, as the place is incredibly spacious, with a few restrooms and vending machines strategically placed around the borders of the garden.
It was also there that I learnt that my new Pentax Pentio80 has a limited recording capacity with in "movie mode", and even though the instructions say to hold down the button for as long as you want it to record, that doesn't work.
On the whole, I think I like Shinjuku much more than I like (what little I've experienced of) Akihabara.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Day 4 - Laundry.
Stayed in the hotel room today, and did the laundry.
Was over all the train travelling I did yesterday.
See you later.
Was over all the train travelling I did yesterday.
See you later.
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