Home Sweet Home

Okay so now that I go to class every weekday and work, my life is pretty busy and boring. However, I do spend most of my time in my little 8x12 foot home. At first I felt like there was no way I could live here, but now I have adjusted and just learn to be a little creative with space. I bough the shelf in the middle and have plenty of shelf space and room to through stuff around. I also hang stuff on the blue rod I hung in my window.

So now that I have been here a month I ask myself whether or not I feel my Japanese has improved. I have to say that it has. There is just some stuff you learn because you hear it all the time. Also in the two weeks of classes I have had so far I feel like I have learned a lot but we kind of fly through the material. I need to definitely review.

My room with me looking in from outside my door.

Shot from me in the window facing towards the door.

On my bed facing the desk.

Asakusa and Sensoji Temple

Well today after class I went to Asakusa and Sensoji temple. The original part of the temple was built in 645, but I think most, if not all the buildings, were destroyed during the fire bombing of Tokyo. First you go through the Kaminarimon (thunder gates) and precede though a shopping street about 200 meters, called Nakamise towards the Temple. Near the temple there was a little garden section that was really cool.

Asakusa during the Edo period was kind of the modern Kabuki-cho area where kabuki, geisha and other forms of entertainment took place. During the early 1900’s it was the major entertainment area. However, after the Second World War most of the buildings were destroyed. It’s rather odd to think that this area has a vibrant history, but to have all of it destroyed for war. Not say that the war was not justified, but it’s just sad to think about how some of the most historical places in Japan were destroyed during that period of time and have been rebuilt.

The only down side was that it was raining and the person I was with was not really into it. I think I will go back during a Saturday and spend more time in Asakusa to check out all the cool stuff.

You can buy different good luck charms for different things. I bought one for college students that is supposed to help you do well in your studies. It only cost me 500 yen so I figured why not.

I had my first chapter test today and I think I did really well. We will see though.


Me at t Kaminarimon. I know hands out of my pockets.


The beginning of Nakamise towards Sensoji


In front of Sensoji Temple . . . I will post the rest on flickr

Dank Heaben fo Seben-Ereben

Well this week was the beginning of a lot of things. First off the semester has started as I said below. I am in my Japanese class from 9 am to 12:30 pm Monday-Friday. There are about 10 of us in the class. Half of us are from the US, with the rest being from France, Germany, Scotland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Some people went to regular Japanese, while some choose to come to intensive. I think by Monday we will be set on who is in the class as people are still deciding on what to do.

So far I really enjoy it. I feel like we are going at a pretty good pace and we spend a good amount on each grammar point. We generally do about 2 to 3 grammar points a day plus kanji. This does not seem like a lot, but considering we did a complete chapter in three days and have had two test so far we are making pretty rapid progress. I also have three teachers who are assigned to our class on certain days, which is nice because you do not get tired of the same person up there the whole time. The teachers are really funny and seem to enjoy what they are doing. Also the class as a whole seems to be doing well and at times is very entertaining, I think this is the most I have laughed in a class in a long time.

The only down side to class was that a guy from our dorm was sitting by me and he has such a negative attitude. I would want to do the dialogues with him and he would just put his head down and sleep or he would be text messaging. I think there is something else going on with him, but his attitude was really making my experience a crappy one. What complicated things even more is that the tables and the space between the tables is so small that once you are sitting by the wall you are pretty much stuck there so I was pretty much cornered. Another guy from my dorm, Matt from George Mason University, just joined the class yesterday so today I made it a point to sit somewhere else and told Matt to sit by me. The day went by so much nicer sitting next to Matt and others who really want to learn Japanese and have a positive attitude. It made the day go by so quick.

I know most of the kanji and some of the vocabulary, but the grammar has been stuff I have forgotten or never really understood. The only problem is that at the dorms all of the foreign students revert to Japanese, which is not very helpful. Some of us try to speak in Japanese, but we always revert back to English. Also Japanese people always want to talk to you in English so they can practice. It drives me nuts.

Work has started and so far so good. Basically, James, my boss, only has like two students who he gives English lessons too. However, there is a guy, Kotaki-san, who uses James’ office space to conduct his own English classes and I am sub-contracted out to this guy to help him. I spent about 3 hours reviewing papers that students have written. Some were rather long and discussed complicated issues. Reviewing these took forever and I think the Kotaki-san was hoping I would go through it faster. But, some of these sentences need to be completely reworked and it was just more difficult then eh thought. I think he just wants a native speaker who can listen and edit things. In the future he wants me to make small presentations so that students can hear a native speaker. Next week I am listening to some audio recordings of his students and making comments about them.

This job will easily give me my 10 or so hours I want a week. One problem that I am facing is that I have to spend a lot of money on food. Even though they provide 2 meals a day, I normally have to buy lunch and when I work I do not make it back in time for dinner so there is another meal I need to buy. Also they do not provide meals on Sunday and on holidays, which seems to be every Monday. There is no really any fridge space so most of us eat ramen or other things. I do eat at a local ramen shop a lot, but I am trying to cut back. The one thing that is nice is that if you go to 7-11 after 11pm the bento lunch boxes are 50% off. I am going to grab one after I am done writing this. I also think I am losing weight as some of my pants are starting to get really loose. Also it does not seem like I am getting enough protein and I am starting to get sick of eat rice for 2 meals a day. I don't mind having the miso soup twice a day, but the white rice everyday is starting to get to me.


Also does anyone know if fake crab has protein? Or is there no real value to eating it other then the fact that you think its crab?

School starts

Well classes have started and so far so good, nothing to overwhelming yet. I am trying to do my best. I start my first day of work tomorrow to do some training. I am excited about that. Went to church on Sunday and talked to the bishop about possible callings. We both discussed how language is a big barrier but its something we hope to get past. I really have nothing else to report. Probably cause I am really tired and cannot think straight.

Dreaded Scourge!

There are some really funny things in Japan that all of us gaijin laugh at. There is a flier in the kitchen that talks about the danger of fire and in it say’s “dreaded scourge.” It’s really funny because that is nothing we would say in English and with an Aussie, Brit, Scott, and Canadian here we all have agreed that it is just odd. Its kind of a joke that when something bad may happen we say it’s a deadly scourge. Now on the other side fire is a serious matter here. A lot of buildings have precautions like fire walls that we would not have in the U.S. So in that sense fire can be a deadly scourge. We were told in or dorm orientation that not matter what do not cause a fire. Other things can be worked around, but fire is very serious.



Also there were some other funny things they gave us a guidebook about. I have taken pictures of them and but them below. One is about the Japanese style toilet, which I called the “pop a squat” toilet. We have American style toilets here, but most public restrooms are these style. And I will admit for a country that is so conscious about cleanliness these things are just gross sometimes.





Pop a squat . . .


The Japanese bath. Well most of us take showers and two showers for about 40 guys makes hot water a difficult commodity. I have used the Japanese bath twice since I have been here and have seen no one else use it. I really enjoy sitting in the hot water and just relaxing. I would say the tub is more like a jacuzzi, or cacuzzi like they say in Tennessee, and can hold 10 people easily. I generally only spend like 10 or 15 minutes in the tub and it is really relaxing.

I teach a Engrish!!

So I spent a large portion of this week trying to find a job. I got several replies from emails that I sent out with a CV. While some did not clearly meet up with my schedule, others fit a little better. I so far have two job offers that I have accepted.

The first one is right outside Tokyo Station. The job pays 3,000 yen or $26.94 an hour. The guy who owns the school, James, received a BA in East Asian Studies and a MBA from KU back in the Late 80’s early 90’s. James is a cool guy and we spent most of the interview talking about KU and his study abroad experience from the late 80’s before it was so well defined like it is now. The down side to the job is that it only pays once a month and at first I think only offer 3-4 hours a week, but with expand. I really only want to work between 10-15 hours a week to make money to cover expenses and to pay for my plane ticket home in the spring. I am here to learn Japanese not teach English. The other down side, which I do not mind, is that from the commute from Musashi-Koganei, where I live, to Tokyo Station is a pretty long commute about 45 minutes to an hour, despite the fact that it is only like 20 miles. I really do not mind because the station for Sophia is two stops from Tokyo Station. So on evenings when I teach at Tokyo Station, I will just stay at Sophia and study. They also reimburse train fare and are willing to cover the whole trip despite that fact that my commuters pass covers 80% of the trip. Also all of these stops are on the same train line, Chou Rapid.

James told me through email that he was conducting interviews, but if I wanted the job I could pretty much have it. I think more then anything he was impressed with the fact that I was doing a PhD in Japanese history and was from KU. I was a little early for the interview and the guy being interviewed before me had on a really nice suit and was really impressive looking compared to my khakis and white shirt. I guess it must have been my pimped out tie. About 3 minutes into the interview James asked me if I wanted the job so he could tell the other guy before me it was filled. I said yes cause 3,000 yen an hour for only doing one-on-one sessions is pretty good and its cash.

The other job . . . well the interview was the oddest interview I have ever experience. It’s for a school that sends you to people’s homes or work and you teach then a 45-minute session. The pay is 2,500 yen or $21.74 a session plus reimbursement for train fare. I would turn this job down, but I may need it to get 2 or 3 extra hours a week. They issue a check which means I need to open a checking account and get the proper paper work from the Sophia and the immigration office. I cannot get the paper work from Sophia till the 15th of October when course registration is done and it takes them 4 days to issue it to me then I take it to the immigration office here in Koganei and then I can work. The lady who runs the school seemed fine with waiting . . . so 5,000 to 7,500 extra would be nice.

The reason that the interview was so weird was that a lot of the time it was her just staring at me not sure what to ask me. I had to basically lead the interview and it was just wierd


Teaching English in Japan is different then one might imagine and is pretty easy. All you are is a soundboard and you just talk to them and they mimic you to some extent. Sometimes you may have a workbook and you go through it with them. However, most of the time it is just a free flow conversation where you try and get them to talk.


Hmmmm must have been in engineering . . . . wait my father-in-law is an civil engineer. Okay so this only applies to all engineers that are not civil. Except for those who work on nuclear power plants and named Jason Draper.

Edo-Tokyo Museum

Today I went with three people from the Koganei dorm to the Edo-Tokyo Museum: Andrew from Australia, Lee-san from Hong Kong and Han-san from South Korea. A rather nice international group.

The Museum was really cool. It is right next to this place really famous for sumo. There were some interesting things about the museums and I got some cool pics. Just to FYI Tokyo use to be called Edo before it westernized. Hence the museum focuses on Edo then Tokyo and tells you about the city and what not.

The one thing I found that was rather odd is that when Japan opens to the West they refer to it as entering the age of “enlightenment and civilization.” So Japan was not before? Though there was some interesting stuff on Tokyo and the Second World War I was mostly interested in the Edo stuff.

Nonetheless I will post the pics on my flickr account. We must have spent about 3 hours here and the lighting was really dark making taking pictures really hard.

Also I have tried really hard to record video with my camera and upload it to youtube. I must be doing something wrong I cannot do it at all.

Me on the first JR line