Bathroom, oh bathroom, where can you be? I've been out all day and really must pee. Hark! I've spotted it, to the right over there. I truly must hurry, there's no time to spare. Upon entering the room, I sprint to the stall, to find the porcelain throne is not there at all. Instead on the ground, what do I find? But a porcelain hole. A toilet redefined. Some people say this is better; that it's cleaner, and good posture But to me it's a pain, hard to aim, and takes longer If you manage your business without peeing on yourself Then good for you! Truly cleaner and a workout For those of you less lucky, leave the stall quickly, head to the sink But what do you find there? Just water and a mirror, which really does stink There's no soap, no paper towels, no dryers, no nothing Lesson be learned, bathrooms in stations aren't worth trusting. Thank you! I just felt like writing a poem, no matter how silly. This is one possible situation that you can find yourself in when trying to go to the bathroom in Tokyo, but I've found there is such a ridiculously huge variance between different places, that I truly don't know what to expect anymore. On campus the bathrooms usually have one squatty potty with the rest being normal toilets, some sinks, and soap. In certain buildings, they go above and beyond to give you toilets with options (like a bidet and shower functions, a de-stinkifier, flushing noises to drown out any flatulence or other unmentionable bathroom sounds, a seat warmer, a help button, and many more. Not all of these are found on every high tech toilet, and I am positive there are some features that I haven't seen yet but still exist.) and hand dryers as well. The point is, when walking into a Japanese bathroom, you really have no clue what you are getting yourself into. To be safe, I've been told to walk around with a pack of tissues JUST IN CASE they don't even have toilet paper, but I have yet to see that happen. I would however suggest carrying around a handkerchief. It is very nice to have when there are no paper towels or dryers. BTW this is a post dedicated to Paupo, my grandpa. He always told me about the bathroom in this restaurant in Ohio that had a fancy toilet, so I just wanted to let him know that in Japan, you can indeed find a treasure trove of such places. Paupo, you should visit me in Japan just for the bathrooms! I know most people may not care to see pictures of toilets and their features, but if that statement doesn't describe you, then please enjoy these pictures that I've taken in some of the bathrooms that I've encountered. There's just so many things wrong with this picture... First of all, in what world should the button to flush a toilet be next to an emergency help button? What if you are in a hurry and you don't look properly??? That almost feels like putting the "self-destruct" button next to an intercom.... Secondly, I can't possibly imagine what you would need to call for help for while sitting on the toilet. Part of me wants to press it just so I can ask the response team what sort of emergency they are expecting. Do a lot of Japanese people have heart attacks while in the bathroom or something??? Looks pretty interesting, right? Basically, face towards the the arch (on the left) and squat down with your feet on either side of it. The toilet paper can go directly into it as far as I know and then you still have to flush it just like a regular toilet. If you actually want to try one of these, which I'll admit I did want to just for kicks and giggles, then they can be found at most train stations. Sometimes, they are even the only option! I also saw them at the airport. It's a great way to stretch your legs after a long flight, don't you think!? Somehow, when a toilet comes with directions I can't help but wonder if it isn't too complicated... This was on the wall of the bathroom in my hotel room when I first came to Japan. Below is a picture of what the control panel actually looked like. They are so nice to write everything in both English and Japanese! I've seen it both ways, but even when it's in Japanese it's pretty much self-explanatory from the pictures.
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Dear Schedule, Well, I've had a full week! Monday: had class for almost four hours, starting from 8:50, with a break for lunch and then another nearly 4 hours of class yet again at 3:10. If that wasn't enough, I went to a meeting for the idol club at 7:10. Homework was accomplished at cost of some sleep time. Tuesday: again, class from 8:50 - 12: 40, then went to the Wondervogel club during lunch time, to find out that they actually meet on Wednesdays. Had more time to do homework, so I watched a movie. Homework accomplished at cost of some sleep. Wednesday: can you guess when I had class? I'll give you a hint. It started at 8:50 and ended at 12:40. I actually went to the Wondervogel club today during lunch, as well as the Koto club. Afterwards, I went to the softball field for the first time to try to join the club, but apparently practice was cancelled. Very sad, but I got some homework done instead before then going to the Aikido club from 6:00 - 8:00. Unfortunately, the rest of the homework was accomplished at the cost of some sleep. Thursday: I won't repeat it again. I had class in the morning. If you don't remember what time, please refer back to a previous weekday. I also had class from 3:10 until 7:00 again today. Mondays and Thursdays are looking to be tough! Today I had some free time, but I can't enjoy it. I have initiation practice to go to! And, practice for my initiation practice to go to. Homework was... yada yada... sleep.... yada yada... Friday: morning class, Shamisen club meeting and mini lesson, softball club second try, Aikido Club practice (didn't make it), Momi House Pizza Party (also missed it), softball game (added at last minute). Softball team bonding and relaxing trip to the ofuro at cost of some sleep. Haha "orange" you glad I didn't say homework? (For those of you unlearned in the art of knock knock jokes, I think you had "banana" go google it.) (And for those of you ignorant in the ways of the pun, please refer to my partner in Copley High School's Tech Department, Sam. I'm sure he would be happy to help set you straight. He guarantees one pun for every three sentences, or your money back.) Saturday: I didn't get to sleep in because the tail end of a typhoon is coming and I needed to go shopping. My roommate Ayano and I went to a drugstore at 10:00, and continued onto grocery shopping (I had run out of food 3 days prior... but that's what the dining hall is for, right?). I then worked on my Literature presentation with Brandon (also an exchange student from OSU) who lives in my dorm. We grabbed dinner and bought some more food from Don Quixote. Although it had been raining at that point, it wasn't too bad yet. And the dining hall closes at 4:00 on Saturdays so we didn't really have a choice.... Finally, I worked on my translation homework, and wrote this blog post at the cost of some sleep. (Noticed how the days' descriptions get longer? Living proof that my memory isn't great...) Sunday: my homework day! Nothing to do but study, study, study! Who knows if that will actually happen though. I've been finishing up this blog post all morning after all, and I'm sure I can find a movie to watch if I try hard enough... I might as well tell you that I finished studying at the cost of some sleep. It's some really obvious foreshadowing to my own future. Glossary: Every day 8:50 - 12:40 class: Intensive Japanese B, so far it is indeed intense, but the amount you can learn from studying a language for 3 hours every day is well worth the effort. Monday 3:10 - 7:00 class: Modern Literature in English Translation, seems like it will be alright. I only have to read three short stories every week. Definitely doable. Thursday 3:10 - 7:00 class: Translation at Work, interesting class that involves learning about machine translation and other helpful translating technologies and how they work together to make a translator's job much easier. Not too hard yet, but they might just be easing us into the technology first. Supposedly, the projects we will be doing, if all goes well, will go into helping translate information about the Olympics into English and will actually be used in a real world application!
Wondervogel Club: I don't know what it means either... I think it's probably German! I do know it is the rock climbing but not rock climbing club. Activities include learning rope work for scaling mountains, and then proceeding to hike up the easier routes instead. A bit of a spoiler, but next week Sunday I will be hiking up a mountain with the rest of the perspective new Wandervogelers. Meetings to discuss activities and dates are held Wednesdays at lunch time, and excursions occur over weekends and breaks. Aikido Club: A Japanese martial art that can be used for self defense. It is great for women and children because it is not based on strength. The basic idea is that if you relax and move as if a big scary guy isn't holding onto you, you can actually manipulate your opponent's movements with little effort. I have yet to figure out how to truly relax while a nice, smiling guy is holding onto me though, let alone a big scary one.... Practices are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 6:00 - 8:00. Softball Club: More of a circle than a club, because it is actually very laid back, unlike most of the other clubs I have mentioned. There are 20 some members in total, but probably less than 10 are active in their participation. Of the few members that I have met so far, they have all been friendly and fun people to be around. I'm looking forward to playing my favorite sport together with them this year! Practices are Wednesdays, Fridays 3:30 - 6:00 and Saturdays 4:00 - 6:00. Games are... I don't know when, but about once or twice a week.
Don Quixote: Both a book, and an amazing store. It's huge, random, cheap, and has all your shopping needs (including, but not limited to, school supplies, snacks, workout equipment, a washing machine, fun masks, clothes, costumes, games, beauty supplies, etc.).
Another text only post! I know you must be disappointed. But! Don't fret! My next one I'll load with pictures of my hotel room for you. Don't blame me for the suspense though, blame chronological order.
After finally making it through customs, it was pretty much a straight shot to get out of the airport. Stop to grab your luggage which is probably dizzy from revolving so many times on the conveyor, wait in another super short line to hand in some final paperwork, and then skedaddle! You are finally free to enter the country. After I was done, I walked out to see a huge crowd of people waiting for the rest of the travel weary internationals still stuck in customs. There, right in front, was Kanako who came to pick me up from the airport. She waved, I waved, and we both were probably feeling a large sense of relief at that moment. Me because I wouldn't have to traverse Japan alone for my first time, she because she had been waiting for me for over an hour with practically nothing to do. Why did Kanako come to pick me up you might be wondering? I signed up for a pick-up service through my Japanese school. Japanese students already attending school volunteer to pick up clueless foreigners like me and make sure we don't have any problems reaching our hotel/dorm/apartment during our first time in Japan. She is one such magnanimous student. Kanako was super nice and amazingly helpful! She went above and beyond her calls of duty to help me set up a delivery service for my two huge suitcases, purchase a Suica card, which is mainly used to bypass buying tickets for the trains, and, after finally dropping me off at my destination, she still kindly helped me look at my various cell phone options (more on that later). The luggage delivery service I used was called Yamato Transportation. It's an amazing service where all you have to do is bring your luggage to the counter, have it weighed, and fill out a short, simple form. Voila! Your luggage will get to your destination without any hassle on your part. For someone who can't speak or read Japanese, you might have some trouble filling in the form and communicating with the service agent, but Kanako was able to solve all these problems for me. I had my luggage delivered directly to my dorm on ICU's campus, and I even had them hold it for two days so it would get there at the same time as me. A little disclaimer though, I chose to have it delivered between 2pm and 4pm, but it got there a little before noon. I've heard that Japanese services will often run early, so if you need to be there when it's dropped off, you should plan accordingly. For me, they dropped it off at my dorm without me even realizing. I just went downstairs and found it already there. The price to hold and deliver my two huge suitcases (35lbs, 49lbs) was around $35. I highly recommend trying this if you want a hassle free adventure. The only downside might be that if you need the stuff in the baggage, you might not be able to get it the same day. For Tokyo, it will probably arrive the day after, and for other cities it could take up to three days. After removing my heavy burdens, Kanako brought me over to a representative to purchase a Suica card. I spent 2000 yen, or just under $20, to get one. This put over 1000 yen onto my card for travel purposes, the rest was the card deposit and handling fees. If you decide to return it, whatever money you have left on the card, plus the ~$3 deposit, will be returned to you. When traveling in Tokyo, in order to ride the trains, merely swipe this card at one of the gates to get into the train station instead of buying a ticket. When you get to your destination, you will swipe it again, and the costs of the trains you rode will automatically be deducted from it. Super convenient, right? The Suica can also be used for buses, arcades, in some stores/restaurants, transportation in other big cities, etc. So, if you don't like keeping lots money with you, it could truly be a life saver. I thought about exchanging money at the airport as well because it was convenient and the rates are probably better than wherever you might exchange in the US, but I decided to exchange with Ninja Money Exchange in Akihabara instead. Their rates are pretty good and there isn't an exchange fee, the only downside is that it's slightly difficult to locate. When I get to the part where I traveled to Akihabara in a later post, I will give you more info on how to find it. Until then, you should once again blame chronological order. (Feel free to message me if for some odd reason, you need this information before I post it. I will be happy to give a spoiler.) So, when everything was finally in order, Kanako and I left on the trains together. I believe we took the Airport Monorail over to another station, then boarded the Yamanote Line, and finally exchanged it for the Chuo Line before finally reaching Musashisakai, but I must confess I wasn't paying close attention. I was too busy looking around and talking with my first Japanese friend. The whole trip probably took somewhere between 40 minutes and an hour. All in all, it went super smoothly. I think that's why the world wanted to give me trouble elsewhere, namely with my phone. You can look forward to hearing about that fiasco! |
AuthorThe name's Sarah. From September, 2017 to June, 2018 I will be your guide through life as an exchange student in Tokyo. (Some guide I am. It's like I just left you in the middle of nowhere so that I could go off on my own adventures!) Archives
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