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Food Adventure: Jackson Hole and My First Solo Train Ride

March 8, 2011 by Laurel

For lunch today, Dan took me out to Chofu, where his office is. It’s about 5 miles west of where we live. We went to a restaurant called Jackson Hole. It’s a restaurant that opened some time ago, and then was featured in Nana, an anime and manga, and has since gained much popularity.
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We ordered our food, then headed upstairs to sit in the Wyoming themed restaurant. There was an adorable child passed out on the couch behind Dan.
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We ordered Jackson burgers, a side of fries and drinks. Way smaller portions than America of course. I had no idea what to expect, so I was pleased with what I got- a cheeseburger with lettuce, onion, tomato and a dollop of chili. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good picture of my burger 🙁

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After our delicious lunch, Dan and I parted ways- he headed to work and I headed back home on the train… ALONE!

I got to Chofu station and scanned my train card. I somewhat followed the masses until I saw signs for Shinjuku. Yes! Rokakoen is on the way to Shinjuku. I headed downstairs to the platform and had 2 options- a rapid train and an express train. Dan told me I wanted a local train.

Hmm…

Rapid’s not as fast as express right? That will probably get me where I wanna go. Right?

I hop on the rapid line and sit down. As the train gets going and I realize I’m going in the correct direction, I feel positively giddy. Yes! I’m doing it! Look at me, I’m such a local. I’m just like everyone else, riding the train off to where I need to go.

Except my heart’s about to pound out of my chest with nerves that I’ve somehow messed up.

I’m for the most part enjoying my ride when, at a stop, I notice a restaurant called Jonathan’s. “Hey, there’s a Jonathan’s by our apartment! Cool, oh wait, oh no…” and just as the doors close, I realize this train didn’t stop in Rokakoen.

After a good 10 seconds of sheer panic and thinking of how I’ll never see Dan again, I get off at the next stop and cross over the platform. There, that should get me going the right way. A train pulls in and I see it’s an express. No thanks. I impatiently wait for a grueling 4 minutes until I see a local train. I hop on, and a couple minutes later arrive at Rokakoen.

*Insert cocky “I can do anything” dance*

I made a little mistake but I was able to get home. It wasn’t as horribly frightening as I thought, riding the trains without Dan. In fact, it was ridiculously liberating and I’m excited to start venturing out more on my own now. Good day indeed 🙂

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Food Adventure: Hole Hole and Mister Donut

March 8, 2011 by Laurel

So, while I’m living it up here in Tokyo, I want to challenge myself to branch out and try as many different restaurants as possible. There’s a delicious Ramen place by the apartment and I’d be completely content paying them a nightly visit, but I feel I should take this opportunity to put my taste buds on the front line and do some exploring. That, and some things are just very cute/creative and deserve a little recognition.

Last night Dan and I headed to Shinjuku where I got a new phone that I can actually use in Japan (a Droid Desire, love it) and at one point we were told to come back in a half hour while they got the phone up and running with a sim card and stuff. So Dan and I went out across the street to a Mister Donut for a quick bite. Nothing special, a run of the mill donut shop, though they have cute donuts from time to time like this little guy 🙂

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After getting my phone we wandered aimlessly down a street or two and approached the first restaurant we saw. It was called Hole Hole and it looked to have Hawaiian fare.

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It wasn’t too adventurous, I would definitely come back here if I was missing a taste of home. We had Kona Longboard beers, a margherita pizza, chips and cheese and what I can only describe as a ball of mashed potatoes and cheese, deep fried. DELICIOUS but I didn’t feel too adventurous. I did order drinks for the first time though and that was exciting. I’m attempting to speak up as much as possible to get more comfortable with Japanese. Baby steps 🙂

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My Name is Laurel, and I Live in Asia.

March 7, 2011 by Laurel

I made it! Barely. But I’m currently blogging in the office of my 2 bedroom apartment that I share here in Minami Karasuyama (Setagaya) with my boyfriend. It’s snowing today!

Dan and I left our hotel in Maui and headed to the airport with
-my giant carry-on tote
-his small but ridiculously heavy rolling suitcase
-my giant 85lb rolling suitcase
-my less giant but still giant 80 lb suitcase
Yes. Lots o’ stuff.

Check in at Maui Airport (the little one), and they tell me I can’t fly with such heavy luggage.

WHAT?!

My only option is to put some things in a cardboard box they were willing to provide me. Okay… like I don’t have enough things to carry! There I am with Dan in the middle of the airport with my suitcase open on the scale, taking out shoes, books and other heavyish things and boxing them up. When I got both suitcases down to 70lbs I was able to travel.

Then Dan and I realized the check-in lady put all the luggage in my name. This is incredibly uncool because Dan and I had to take separate flights to Japan, and we would be arriving to Narita in different terminals. Since he was coming into Terminal 2, he wouldn’t be allowed to enter Terminal 1 to help me with the luggage. So, BY MYSELF, I was going to have to collect not only the luggage I listed above, but now also a cardboard box full of stuff.

How do you say “smarte carte” in Japanese?!

Anyways, Dan and I flew to Honolulu in about a half hour, and then we had a layover for a couple hours. We ran into Brent and Kana, who also had a layover, and we all had lunch and chatted for a bit. Then we parted ways for the flight to Narita.

My flight was pretty uneventful. It was 9 hours of trying to nap, watching Bravo’s NYC Prep on my iPod, Gossip Girl on my mini DVD player (thanks Mom!) and reading my Nook. I really hate plane food and forgot to get some snacks while on the ground, so that was unfortunate.

9 hours later we arrived at Narita Airport. I went through immigrations and geared up for baggage claim.

Japan-is-awesome reason #217- Free luggage carts!

I get my luggage cart and wait for my and Dan’s bags. It was 20 min before the first one popped out, then they all came in a row. They were all so darn heavy I was only able to get one at a time, and then I had to wait for them to come around again.

Another 15 minutes and 5 pieces of luggage later, I went through customs with my bags and paperwork. It went something like this:
“You will be in the country for just one month?”
“Yes”
“And all these bags are yours?”
“Yes”
“What are in all these bags?”
“Clothes…”
“…and shoes”
“Have a nice day”

As soon as I got through customs Dan was waiting for me. Oy. Our journey home hadn’t even begun yet!

We took a shuttle train for 45 min to Nippori Station, which had an elevator! Got on a train for another 20 min to Shinjuku Station. We decided to avoid most stairs in Shinjuku by walking outside the building. So we exited the train station and hit the busy streets of Shinjuku with all our luggage- Dan pulling the 2 heaviest suitcases and holding my giant tote, and me pulling the heavy little one and the giant cardboard box. We made it to our line, the Keio Line, but there was still a flight of stairs… which Awesome Dan carried everything down.

The only mishap was when we had to also ride down an escalator. Dan did fine with his bags, but my little suitcase got knocked over, and my box slid all the way down the escalator before me while everyone stared. “Hi, I’m not from around here”, is pretty much the message I sent with that one.

Got on our train to Rokakoen, which is 8 stops down. When we pulled into our home station I was so happy! Rode an elevator up, crossed over the tracks, rode an elevator back to ground level, crossed the street and we were home.

We decompressed for a few min before Dan ran out and got us dinner. We ate, changed our clothes and literally went straight to bed and fell asleep.

It was a lot of work getting everything here but I have everything with me that I wanted to bring, so I’m pretty happy about that. Only 2 minor spills in my luggage- somehow my brand new, sealed bottle of Nyquil seeped out on to one my my Japanese books, and a bottle of nail polish leaked a little, but I had all my nail polishes in a box, so only a little got on some other bottles.

I shouldn’t overlook that I couldn’t have brought all my stuff here without being able to borrow my awesome sister Lauren’s giant pink suitcase. Thanks for that, Catty! I haven’t unpacked yet really, but I do already have a framed picture of her and I on a family vacation in Colorado on my desk.

Today is just a day of unpacking, watching the snow fall, and hopefully going somewhere delicious for dinner. Until something interesting happens! <3

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Travel Update- In Maui!

March 4, 2011 by Laurel

First off, thank you for the wonderful comments! I blog partly for myself, and to remember the things I’ve done and how I felt doing them, but also to share my experiences with others who may find my travels interesting. So any/all feedback is welcome with open arms!

I’m having a great time but miss my family horribly. I spent the last 6 months living in the same city as them and to be away from them now is very sad! I’m having a great time but sure wish they could be here with me <3 I haven't had much time to fiddle with the site, but I hope to make it more than simply a blog. In the near future (maybe next week!) I will add a photos page, links to other blogs I read, nifty things that catch my eye, etc. Dan and I both have family members without a Facebook account, hence the separated website. That said, what have I been up to this week? Well, my moving expedition is half complete! Currently blogging from my laptop on my balcony overlooking the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. Palm trees and foofy drinks everywhere, and lots of people in the water on surf boards paddling about. It's overcast but delightfully toasty. I arrived at Portland airport around 5am Tuesday to check in for my flights- first to Honolulu, then to Maui. Had to pay $50 per suitcase since I had so much in them- one weighed 68 lbs and one was 82! My flight to Honolulu was uneventful, we landed, and Dan was waiting for me at the gate! We hugged and kissed and it was wonderful to be with him after our 2 months apart. We got some food and sat down and chatted until our flight to Maui, which was only 32 min. To make a long story short, this small, rickety plane couldn't accommodate our carry-on bags, and no one told us until we were boarding the flight. Had someone noticed earlier, they could have checked them for the flight, but in this case they had to be put on the next flight. This wasn't a huge issue for me, but Dan's a light packer and his carry-on was all his clothing for the trip! And so, after a teetering flight into Maui and renting a car, we checked into our hotel, and Dan went back to the airport to get our bags. We freshened up and met up with Brent and Kana's families at a luau down the road. We ended up being a party of 19, so that was fun. Kana is the only person in her family who speaks English, so it was a lot of smiling, nodding, and giving the thumbs up that first night. We enjoyed hula dancers and food before calling it a night. Dan and I were exhausted, especially Dan- having flown in from Tokyo he'd been awake for 2 days! Wednesday morning was bright and sunny, and Dan and I spent the whole day at the Westin pool where Brent and Kana were staying. They had an epic waterslide which we went down countless times, taking hot tub and food breaks. Around 3pm, Brent had to go get ready for the wedding, so Dan and I headed back to our room too. I did my hair while Dan napped, and then we walked down the beach back to the Westin where the ceremony would be. Words can not describe... how beautiful Kana looked, how fantastic Brent looked, how happy they were, how moving the ceremony was, how happy everyone was for them. It was a brief ceremony, on a grassy spot surrounded by torches and waterfalls at sunset, officiated by Brent's uncle and father. While family photos took place, Dan and I assisted Brent's mother Karen in setting up the table for dinner in a secluded area on the dining patio. As we were finishing there was deafening applause- Kana and Brent entered the restaurant with the photographers, and the restaurant patrons went crazy with applause and standing ovations! Dinner was fun as we got to hear stories of young Brent and Kana from their families- favorite and first memories. Dinner finished, and Dan and I made our way back to our hotel down the beach. I am hoping to blog more often in smaller chunks so that reading my blog isn't like reading a weekly novel. Also since I'm traveling this week, I have a lot to say! We fly out to Narita airport tomorrow afternoon from Honolulu, so by the time I get home to Tokyo it will already be Sunday evening for me. So until my next update in Tokyo, TGIF! <3

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It’s beginning!

February 28, 2011 by Laurel

Oh, hi!

I have just finished packing my bags for my official move to Japan. I spent the weekend with family, cleaning my mother’s house and parting with clothing and other things that have no place in my shoebox of an apartment in Setagaya, Tokyo. Tomorrow I will see my friends one last time, then first thing Tuesday morning I’m on my way to… Hawaii?

I’m meeting Dan in Hawaii before arriving in Japan. His friend Brent is getting married in Maui (getting Maui’d?) and we’ll be spending 4 days in paradise before flying into Narita.

FAQ: Why are you moving to Japan?

I suppose my story begins last year in Seattle Washington. I resided there with my boyfriend Dan and worked for an HVAC company as an event coordinator. Dan is a software developer for Microsoft. Dan expressed interest to his boss about a possible transfer to their Japan offices and the opportunity had finally arrived. Through several interviews and application hoops, he landed a position at their Chofu office and was due to start work late September 2010. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, what an amazing opportunity! On the other hand, I CAN’T JUST UP AND MOVE TO ASIA.

So I opted not to go with him. We had a busy summer of preparing for his international move and my figuring out what I wanted to do. It was at this time my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was incredibly upsetting for our family. My mother lives in Portland, Oregon, along with my older sister and her husband and stepchildren. It became clear almost immediately what needed to be done: Dan would move to Japan and I would move down to Portland to be with my family.

And that’s been life for almost 7 months. I came down early August and settled into my little purple bedroom which I’ve only used for breaks from college terms. My mother and I embarked down a scary path of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and the side affects of it all. It was an incredibly eye opening experience. I learned that my family will always come first for me. I learned that cancer is a relentless, awful disease that needs as much awareness and funding as possible to hopefully bring a stop to it. I learned that Dan is the person I want to be with always. And ultimately I learned that tragedy can strike at any moment and I need to stop making a big deal out of gossip and Coach’s newest spring line and start living. Hence, I decided to pack my bags and move to Japan.

I have visited twice and have no idea how to get around on my own. I have no knowledge of the Japanese language, besides recently learning Hiragana and some Katakana. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing and this is all incredibly terrifying. It’s just what I need!

Goals:
Obtain employment
Master getting about on my own
Learn a passable amount of Japanese
Meet new people
Eat new things
See amazing places
Live with only what I need

So that’s my story. Saturday March 5th I’m officially exchanging my pennies for some yennies to get by in my new country. I will of course have the help of my boyfriend Dan, but he works long hours which will force me to get out on my own if I want to eat or go places.

Major comforts I’m leaving in America:
My CAR 🙁
Paying for everything with debit/credit
Delicious food I’m familiar with
Spacious living environments
An abundance of clothing, books, movies, etc

I will hopefully have a wonderful update from Maui. The last time I saw Dan was Christmas time, so I’m looking forward to spending time with him again after being apart for 2 months!

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