Autumn in Tokyo

Hello, all!

October has flown by, and we're already in November! Even though I have yet to grasp it completely, Tokyo has fully embraced the new month.
October is Halloween-everything in Japan. All the shops and merchandise, and even the trains, get a Halloween make-over. In the konbinis there are full shelves of limited Halloween stock, such as drinks, snacks and gadgets.
And we can't forget all the costumes! Lots of people in Tokyo love to dress up, so it's no wonder Halloween is so popular here. In fact, many businesses such as hair salons and restaurants have their staff wear costumes, and even host Halloween parties with regular customers!
Shibuya is Tokyo's hot spot when it comes to trends and night life, and every weekend in October there's a crazy street party where everyone's invited, and you see people in amazing costumes everywhere. Of course, this year the actual Halloween day (let's remember, Halloween is actually just one day, even though it's celebrated for a month) fell on a Friday, and the crowd went totally crazy, and the famous Shibuya scramble (a huge cross-over) was so packed that people couldn't move, and stopped traffic. Police officers went around and, unsuccessfully, tried to control the chaos.
This is what I've been told by friends and heard and read in the news though; I was unable to go myself, since I (sigh) have school on Saturday.

This video from Tokyo Fashion gives you a pretty good idea of what's going on:

Anyway, now it's November and everything changed in an instant.
The 1st of November I could not see any Halloween decorations in any shop window.
However, Japanese businesses still need a campaign to sell their products, so by now everything has been replaced with "Winter Collection" and "Happy winter!" When I was out shopping with a friend yesterday, we even spotted Christmas decorations, and one of the shops were playing Christmas songs!

Sophie and I went to Harajuku, which is still my favorite shopping place in the world, and my favorite Tokyo neighborhood. We even took some pictures for the occasion!

Since it's my birthday the 4th  of November, Sophie bought me one of the fameous Harajuku crèpes as a pre-birthday celebration :D

Harajuku crèpes are absolutely awesome, and a must-try! You can buy them from the various crèpe stands all over the neighborhood. They come in many crazy variations. The one I have here was filled with strawberry ice-cream, whipped cream, strawberry jam, a piece of cheesecake and sprinkles! 

Later when we were walking to the train station, we met these awesome furry people! They were promoting the shop Momo by Wonder Rocket, and I happen to be a very good customer at that place. Anyway, they were happy to take pictures with us, and luckily both my shirt and skirt were from that brand, so we made a classy trio ^w^

That's it for now! Hope you enjoyed a more general post about life in Japan. I'm currently living a very ordinary, everyday life, so I'm often unsure of what to blog about. 

Talk to you later!

My very Japanese schedule and challenges of living in Tokyo

Hi everybody!

Yes, I know what you're thinking. "It's about time!!" "Ah, I thought she stopped blogging." "Wait... who's this person again?"

I understand, but in my defense: Living in Tokyo as an exchange student is not for the weak!

These past week has been filled with challenges and problems I never even thought of before. I don't even know where to start. Wait, maybe I do.

To all the people describing Japan as "paradise on earth", "like living in a fantasy", or even worse "like an anime"... NO. Japan may have some nice attributes, but it's certainly no paradise, especially for foreigners. (WARNING: In this post I will reveal some not-so-nice things about Japan, so if you'd prefer your dreamy Japan-fantasy, please stop reading.)

Things that make living in Tokyo hard for me:

1. My schedule. I believe people who come to work in Japan or to study at an university have more freedom to choose, but either way, as a member of a big company/institution/anything in Japan, you'll have to prepare for crazy Japanese schedules. I'm speaking mostly out of personal experience here, of course, so keep that in mind. 

My schedule as a High School exchange student involves getting up at 5.30, taking three to four different trains, using three different train lines, transferring at Tokyo's two biggest stations, before arriving at school around 8 am. Then I have classes until 12.30 (LUNCHBREAK <3), and then again classes from 13.10 to 15.05. There's almost always something to fix afterwards though, even though I have yet to join any of the school clubs, and I often end up going home around 15.30-16.00. Depending on what time I left school, I'll be home between 16.45-17.45. 

Dinner is usually at 18.00, it's my turn in the shower at around 19.00, and afterwards I have one to two hours of free time at home before I have to get to bed(futon) in order to get up at 5.30 again. 

Did I mention earlier that we have school on Saturdays too? Yeah. On Sundays I'm usually too tired to do much, except chilling at home. So no, I don't go on crazy Tokyo adventures, if that's what you had in mind.

2. The school system. Hallelujah! Haven't this given me enough problems! Let me make it clear, once and for all: The subjects at a Japanese High School can not, NOT, be taken as an equivalent to Norwegian High School subjects. Or any European subjects for that matter. It's completely different! This may not matter to most people, but as an exchange student it's very, very important. Unless you're at a native level of Japanese, you'll hardly learn anything, and even if you did understand everything, it would still be completely unrelated to your education at home. Just wanted to make that clear. 

Another thing about the school system that bothers me a bit, is the "learn-to-be-like-everyone-else" mentality. 

If we look away from the school uniforms, there are lots of other things that keep people from developing real independence. In my school we have a bunch of rules that does not effect our education in any way, only our lifestyle. 

For example, I'm not allowed to wear any make-up, listen to music on my way to and from school, and I'm not allowed to enter any cafes, restaurants or shops after school.  

In classes it's all about remembering, and in my opinion, too little thinking. 

People may learn all the names of all the generals, and all the important dates and years, but no one ever ask questions such as "Why did the war really start?" "Was there any sign in the society beforehand that could tell a war was brewing?" "Could anything have been done to prevent it?" "What have we learned from this war, that we can bring on to coming generations?". 

To me it's kind of troublesome, since I feel like the real knowledge gets lost behind details that, at the end of the day, is not all that important. 

In summary, it feels like the school is trying to shape the students into their ideal student, and does not make much room for people to be themselves. I always viewed High School as an important time to figure out your own identity, so it often go against my beliefs. 

3. Health issues. Let's be honest here, living a regular Tokyo-life, does not really promote good health. The constant stress, daily commuting and polluted, humid city air takes it toll on your body, sooner or later. If you're like me, and often don't get enough water, food and sleep either, your body is bound to make a rebellion after a few months. 

Symptoms of your body saying "Hey, I don't like Tokyo anymore":

- Swollen and soar throat, from breathing the not-so-clean air for too long.

- Constant headaches and dizziness, after a nice cocktail of sleepiness, noise, annoying Japanese businessmen and Shinjuku Station. 

- Nausea, basically your body screaming for food, water and a good rest. 

- Your skin having a life of it's own, a terrible one too, after being exposed to the unfamiliar humid and polluted air of Tokyo in a combo with fans and air conditioners. 

- Rashes and strange, red dots on your skin. I don't know where those came from. 

- Wounds on your feet after having to wear those, horrible, horribly uncomfortable school shoes. 

4. Bugs. I've gotten to the point where I welcome any spiders into the house, as long as they eat the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes. Everywhere. I mean, it's freaking October, and I for one know that mosquitoes are not supposed to be around at this time. Nothing annoys me more. Just imagine almost falling asleep on another short night, when you hear the dreaded "BZZZZ" in the darkness. Imagine running from the kitchen door to the house gate to avoid mosquitoes landing on your face. Imagine checking the bathroom and shower for mosquitoes every time you're going to use it. Imagine covering up your skin by changing to trousers and long-sleeves every time you're going down to the kitchen or living room. 

I mean, there's a spider the size of the palm of my hand living in the bathroom, and I don't even care as long as it eats some mosquitoes for me! 

Okay, my complaining is over for now. I created this blog to share my experiences in Tokyo, so I felt it would be wrong to not mention the bad things. I like Japan and think the culture is very interesting, but it is by no means any wonderland. Some of you might have been wondering why I haven't blogged for such a long time, and the answer is simply that I just didn't have time and energy for it. 

I think it's important to understand that I'm here on an exchange program, and not vacation, and there's no way I can stroll around Tokyo taking pictures, visiting famous spots and then sit down at some cafe and upload it on the blog. My current life is sadly more about the things mentioned above, than exploring Tokyo, Japanese pop-culture and shopping. 

Another not-so-good thing about Japan I'd like to write about in the future is Japan's view on foreigners, stereotyping and occasional racism. This is a more touchy subject that I'd like to spend some more time on writing, to avoid misunderstandings. You'll have to wait up for me. 

Aah... Can you imagine any better way to start your morning?

Until next time!

PS. Did I mention there's been an outbreak of dengue fever, two earthquakes and a volcanic eruption since last time I blogged? Japanese people may be harmless, but you can't say the same about the nature. 

My school life in Japan

Hello everybody!

Today I'm going to write about something I suppose a lot of you wonder about. How's school in Japan? And how is it to be an exchange student there?

First of all, let me tell you a bit about my school, Shimokitazawa Seitoku. It's a private girl's-school in Shimokitazawa, which is a fancy, kind of hipster-ish neighborhood not too far from Shibuya and Shinjuku. Since it's private, the rules are a bit different and stricter than those of official Japanese High School. On the other hand, it's much easier to be an exchange student in a private school, since they have more freedom to make a schedule that works for me. 

The rules are many, but I'll list those that made most impact on me:

1. You have to wear the school uniform. Not a problem, really. I wished they were more comfortable though. And the gym-uniform looks so weird! 

2. You can't wear any make-up. *Dramatic Music*

3. You can't go into clothing stores, cafés or any other place that's not related to school on you way to and from school. Since I live an hour away by train, it pretty much means that I can't go shopping or eat out on school days.

4. We have school on Saturdays </3

5. You can't have a part-time job. I don't have a working permission, so it would be illegal anyway.

6. You must leave the school before 6 pm, unless you have club activities. You know, in case you wanted to stay until 7. (What)

Since my current host family lives quite far away from the school, I have to get up at 05.00 every morning to get to school in time (yes, Saturdays as well). I also have to take three to four different trains, and transfer at the two biggest stations in Tokyo. It can be a bit tiring, sometimes. 

As for my school life, it's... easy. I bet many of you thought like: "But aren't they crazy smart in Japan??", and yes, that might be, but that doesn't mean the same is expected from me. In fact, NOTHING is expected from me, except that I follow the school rules, meet up in class, and take an English test next year. That's the only test I'm going to get, by the way. They don't grade me either, since the classes are either in way too complicated Japanese, too easy (the English subjects), or just completely unrelated to my education in Norway. Take Japanese Literature, for example. There's no way I'm capable of analyzing classic Japanese literature, and no one back in Norway cares whether I can or not. Most of the time I'm reading and doing tasks from the Norwegian school books I brought with me. 

By the way, gym in a Japanese girl's school is so darn cute! Everyone is fumbling around and apologizing all the time, even if it wasn't their fault at all. We were playing volleyball, and the girls on my team apologized to the other team when we scored a point. Like, "Sorry for being better than you", or something? 

Another thing I didn't like that much is that we can't shower afterwards, well, because, they don't have showers at school. I told my classmates that in Norway everyone is expected to shower after gym class, and they were like: "You have showers at school??" We don't have a wardrobe either. Since it's a girl's school everyone just changes in the class room. I was mildly confused at first when everyone around me started to take off their clothes in the break! 

Okay, so this became rather short. As you can imagine I need to go to bed quite early, because... 5 o'clock </3. Dropping off a picture of my school:

And the school logo, which was definitively  inspired by some anime:

And my uniform:

Talk to you later!

Struggles of a train commuter, being broke, and strange food

Hey ho!

Long time, no see, huh? I've been so busy these past days, and when I get home I just want to eat, shower and sleep. I haven't found the energy to blog, but tonight I'm pulling through!

Another problem is that I simply don't know what to write. There's so much I want to tell you about and show you, both positive, negative and just plain weird stuff. I wish I had a hidden camera and microphone I could wear everyday and just make daily, live updates. Those of you who are friends with me on facebook have probably seen all my "Daily life in Tokyo"-statuses I make whenever I experience something weird, that's too small to blog about, but still worth mentioning. If this blog gets its own facebook page, I could probably make such updates from there. Or I could blog like it was a type of diary, like: 

Tuesday 26.08: 

On the train from Shibuya to Ikebukuro today there was this super annoying lovey dovey couple who couldn't stop touching and giggling. They even scratched each others mosquito bites, what the hell. I prayed for them to get off at every stop, but of course they were getting off at the same station as me.

Later on the train from Ikebukuro to Fujimidai, there was two women (mothers I suppose) who brought along the impressive amount of seven squealing kids. I think they were seven, too many to count. They were in the age of 3 to 6, and were all shouting and pointing and climbing and falling. Most of the passengers got annoyed and moved further back in the train, but I have such a soft spot for kids that I let them sit beside me and just smiled when they stepped on my foot. (It actually hurt.)

Today I had my first sensation of being broke. After spending all my cash in a re-sale bookstore and buying a birthday present for my friend (Hello, Simon), I had only small coins left, which was hardly enough to use on a wending machine. I can't use my card in most shops in Japan, so I have to take out cash from an ATM that accepts foreign cards, which can be hard to find. At least I didn't find one today, but I hope I find one before lunch time tomorrow. My poor, hungry belly.... 

I'm starting to be a lot more comfortable with Japanese cuisine. I mean, it's not like any of the food have changed, but my attitude towards it have. At the beginning I felt I had to eat everything I was served, regardless if I liked it or not, in order to be polite. Now I've gotten over my fear of saying that I dislike something, especially at home. I think my politeness gave my host family more trouble than joy. I once overheard my host father tell my host mother "Niko ate a lot today, I think she actually liked the food. We should serve this more often". I felt really guilty. They've been trying this whole time to make me feel at home and comfortable, and I didn't even help by saying what food I like. Another thing to note is that I haven't tasted most Japanese dishes yet, so I'm still learning. I sometimes go on a bummer or two when it comes to food, like stuff that looked delicious but tasted horrible etc. I also get surprised by really tasty food I haven't heard about before, so I still need time before I can really tell a Japanese what food I like and not.

So far I think you can't go wrong with: 

Takoyaki! Actually, you can go wrong with Takoyaki. They sometimes put a lot you don't like on top of them, so be careful. Also, it's a matter of personal taste. My friend Sarah thinks it's the worst Japanese dish there is.

Onigiri! It's just rice, so have no fear! (Once again, be careful of extra come-along-items that may taste....not so good.)

Omurice! It's an omelet + rice, so it's two safe things combined. Add some ketchup and it's universal!

Curry! Really, Japanese curry is unique. Can't be explained, must be tasted. Best curry there is.

Everything involving ramen (Chinese noodles) tends to be good-to-go.

If still in doubt and despair: Things that are broiled and fried usually taste good anyway, and there's a word for that! Yaki. So if something ends with -yaki, it's probably good. (Taiyaki, Takoyaki, Monoyaki, Teriyaki...)

Hmm, what else...

There's a lot more to share, but I'll take it one post at a time. Also, if you're like me and really thinks this blog needs pictures, stay strong! The problem is that in order to take pictures, you need a camera. I don't have a camera. I have a Norwegian not-so-smartphone with a camera quality bad enough for nightmares, and a strange Japanese payphone that's literally Asia's answer to Nokia. It may be able to take pictures, but it's not a smartphone, so I have no idea how to get those photos on the blog. 

The good news is that for the cameras sake (and my own sanity and social life) I'm getting a normal Japanese smartphone! Buying a proper phone in Japan is not an easy task though, especially if you're not fluent in the language. I'll probably have to get help from someone here, and I'll also have to find an ATM so I can pay for the thing. Challenges of being an immigrant. 

That's it for now! Do you guys have any wishes for what I should blog about next? 

Tokyo for beginners

Hey ho!

Today I figured; If you guys are going to follow my tiny adventures in Tokyo, it's probably easier if you know some basic facts about the place! So here goes:

Tokyo (metro)
Areal: 2187 km2
Population: ca. 13 million
Language: Japanese (duh)
If still in doubt, let me remind you that Tokyo is the capital of Japan.

Important areas (for me):
Shinbashi: Crowded area in central Tokyo. My exchange organisation diBec has their office there.
Shinjuku: Super crowded and famous area in central Tokyo. Home of the world's largest station Shinjuku Station, which has an average of 2 million commuters each day.(!)
Harajuku: The best area in Tokyo! My sanctuary and one of my main sources of fun, motivation and inspiration. Famous for being Japans (and maybe the worlds?) hot spot for alternative street fashion.
Shibuya: Just like Harajuku, Shibuya is a famous fashion hot spot. The focus is more on high fashion though, and not as much street fashion.
Asakusa: One of the best locations for traditional, Japanese stuff shopping! Also has the best cherry blossom ice cream, nomnom.
Ueno: Is also a part of old Tokyo, just like Asakusa. Has cozy, traditional shopping streets with market stalls and so on, but the best part is Ueno Park, which is a central gathering during festivals!
Ginza: Damn fancy, damn expensive. But they have Kabuki (traditional Japanese theater) there, so it's worth a visit.
Shimokitazawa: Harajukus lesser-crowded and laid-back little sister. A hip and trendy neighborhood among students, with lots of theaters and live music venues. Also the home of my school, Shimokitazawa Seitoku.
Akihabara: A heaven for gamers, anime- and mangalovers and people with odd fetishes. Loved by tourists and otakus (people that are over-obsessed with the game and anime culture). Feared by most others in Tokyo, especially girls, since that place and the people there are often a bit too... sexist.
Fujimidai: A calm and traditional Japanese area, mostly inhabited by nice, old people, tanned manual labor workers, high school students with summer vacation, boys with bicycles and crocs, and girls in pencil skirts and high heels (mostly seen on the way to and from the train station). Not an important area at all, I just happen to live there.

Awesome, right? One of my main reasons for loving Tokyo is that there's something for every taste, and a neighborhood for every interest. Every. Single. Thing.

I got to go to bed now, thanks for reading!

Living in Japan 101

Minna-san, konbon wa!

Woow, a lot has happened since last post! Today I've just been slacking off at my host family's house all day, occasionally falling asleep because of my jetlag. The weather outside is terrible anyway. Right now there's a typhoon swiping across Japan, and it has made a lot of destruction. It's safe in Tokyo, although we have felt the heavy rain and strong winds as well! There are constant news reports about the latest damage, and many people have evacuated their homes.

My trip from Oslo to Tokyo went well, although it was the longest trip of my life. Not because I was homesick or anything, it was just really, really long, physically. First I spent six and a half hours in the plane to Hamad Airport in Doha, the Arabic Emirates. They gave me a lot of water, Banana Toffee Cheesecake and Mango sponge cake, so I had no worries. 

I had to wait in Doha from 17.00 pm to 01.45 am though, so that was a bit too long for my taste. The plane from Doha to Tokyo took around ten hours, but I think I slept 70 % of the time. We arrived in the evening, and spent the first night at an inn near Narita Airport, and took the train to diBec's office in the center of Tokyo the next day. We couldn't bring our big luggage on the train, so we had the inn send it to our host families. It arrived safely this morning while I was still sleeping. 

At diBec's office we got to know the staff, we got what I'd like to call the "Living in Japan 101"-class, as well as pre-paid phones and PASMO cards. (I already had a PASMO though, so I felt a little guilty of the fact that they still had bought one for me). PASMO cards are absolutely amazing by the way, I'll write more about their magic in a later post. 

Since Japanese school starts later than schools in Norway, I have a super long summer vacation. I'll have my hands full, though! The coming two weeks we'll have a preparation course with diBec. The schedule involves both Japanese classes as well as "field trips" to different famous locations in Tokyo. We're also going to a Natural Disaster Simulation Center to experience a simulated earthquake. Earthquakes are frequent in Japan, so we're guaranteed to experience some ourselves during this year. Many foreigners are not used to those things though, so I'm glad they'll teach us! 

Some of you may be wondering about my host family? Well, first of all, my host family is very traditional. They're an elder couple (both 70 and still working!) and one of their adult daughters living at home. There's also another host student here; an university student who's half French and half Japanese. She's extremely beautiful! If I had been a boy or lesbian I'm sure I'd fall in love with her. I forgot all my Japanese and French the moment she spoke to me. She's going back to France in a few days though. 

My room is super fancy, with tatami floor (a kind of bamboo carpet), sliding doors made of tree and paper, and I sleep on a futon! A futon is a type of thin mattress that you put directly on the floor. You take it out of the closet every night before you go to sleep, and put it away in the morning. Gives a new meaning to "make your bed", huh? We also sit on pillows on the floor when we eat our meals. It's not as uncomfortable as one may think, it's actually quite laid-back. And it saves a lot of space, as well! As for the food, there are still some things I don't find that tasty, but I make sure to at least taste everything. At least I can rest assured that everything is ridiculously healthy! Oh yeah, and we drink tea to every single meal, of course. Now in summer it's mostly barley tea. 

I really want to show you some photos, but at the time I don't have any camera... So you guys will have to wait for me. 

My Japanese has blossomed up these last days, just by being here, and I'm especially getting good at small-talk, haha. I'm not so worried about language anymore, it will all come to me eventually. What I am worried about, is my school. It's a very good school, with strict rules and high expectations, and I really want to live up to them. Well, as my host mother said: "At least the school uniform is very cute", and I agree! I won't mind wearing it for a year. There are several options to make variations as well, such as blazers, vests and sweaters. You can also choose between a tie and ribbon (Ribbon, I choose you!). I won't have to think about that for another two weeks though. The third week my area coordinator, Ohashi-san, is taking me to meet with the school administration... 

That's all for now! Please wait for me ~ 

What am I doing?

Hello and welcome!

When you're reading this, you are reading a little piece of history. Not very important history; it won't be standing in future school books, get made in to a documentary, and I doubt it will even make its way to Wikipedia.

For me, however, this is important history. It's my own story, still being created. My ambitious mind and longing heart has sent me out on a quite insane trip to the other side of the world. To be more precise: I'm moving to Japan as an exchange student. This is the beginning, and since it's the beginning, it has to be dramatic:

Day 1
Date: 6th August 2014, evening
Location: In some standard hotel near Gardemoen Airport, Oslo, Norway. Not even close to Tokyo yet.
State of mind: It's shifting. For now, let's call it a mix of an exited school girl and James Bond.

After taking a heartbreaking goodbye to my dog, family and friends, I finally got into the tiny, noisy airplane that brought me to Oslo. Because of the long distance, it was impossible to to arrive at Oslo the same day as my next plane leaves, so I have to spend the night at an airport hotel. I don't really mind, and sitting here writing I've realized that it's quite relaxing. For the first time in a long while I don't have to stress about "I should really pack now", "Hope my visa arrives soon" and "How will I do this in Japan, and how will I do that". I'm all ready now, the luggage is packed, and if I forgot something it doesn't even matter now.

I'll leave for the airport at 8 am tomorrow morning, and until that time I have plenty of time to think about the near future. Are the other students nice, is my host family nice, is my neighborhood nice, is my school nice, will my Japanese ever get nice? That type of thing.
But knowing myself right, I'll probably love everything and everyone anyway, so it's nothing to worry about.
Although I'll miss my family, friends and home, and not least my dear dog, I'm really excited. I look forward to meet all those new people, and I can't wait to walk the streets of Tokyo again. (Tokyo is the most amazing city in the whole world, in case you wondered).
I was there last year on a language course, and I'm so glad I was! It makes things so much easier for me now, considering the language and culture, and all the good memories are very motivating. It also made me a lot more familiar with Tokyo, my new home. As I get there now I'm already capable of getting around on my own, which I think is a big plus!

Anyway, that's the situation now. I created this blog for friends and family to be able to keep track on me, as well as all others who might have an interest in Japan or exchange programs in general.
I'm not sure how often I will update, and I don't want to stress myself with it, but I was thinking once a week or so. There will be more pictures in the future as well, but at the time I have neither a camera or a functioning phone, so you'll have to wait...

Thanks for reading, and welcome back for an update! ~