Exploring Tokyo

Sorry, I got distracted last night and forgot to post. Yesterday was my exploring Tokyo day which started off with me getting up with the sun around 6:30, going outside, downstairs, and back into the building to take a shower. (There are no internal paths to get from the first to the second floor). After my shower I gathered my things and set off to find the Yoshida institute, so that I would know where it is for today's orientation at 10:00am. I made the mistake of "just going for it" and wound up getting lost. I eventually found the street it was on and proceeded to walk the way I thought the school was and ended up walking a few miles in the wrong direction.

After walking back and forth past the place I thought it should have been based on my map I realized that the GPS function on my Motorola Xoom works without any internet connection and it told me where to go and how far I had gone in the wrong direction. I eventually made it back to where I made the wrong turn and it was just a little ways past that. The school seems a little run down like everything else, but what I could see through the front windows looked nice. I'll be going in today to get a better sense of what it's like. This adventure took roughly 3 hours.

On my way back to the room, I used the tablet to scope out a more direct and less confusing path, which got me home in about 30 minutes on tired legs.

Once I had a chance to rest I once again left, but this time in search of food. My feet lead me in the opposite direction this time and I found a busy set of alleys where all of the action seemed to be in the area. Lots of restaurants and stores and Pachinko parlors and the movie theater. I also found a Daiso (100 yen shop) where I bought a trashcan, some cups of noodles, chopsticks, and a few other items. I wanted to try out a restaurant, but i felt awkward doing so with a bag of groceries. I was also kind of intimidated by the whole scene. Hopefully I'll meet some other friendly people at orientation and I can convince them to have lunch or dinner with me. Once I get a feel for it with a group I think I'll be more comfortable going on my own.

After orientation, assuming it doesn't take all day nor do I end up making other plans, I think I'll go back to where i found the Daiso to find a market that sells rice. I have a rice cooker in my room and I intend to use it to make cheap meals. Speaking of which I need to clean my mini kitchen. It didn't look or smell like anyone actually cleaned it before I arrived, so I want to get on top of that in case there are any germs on anything I might cook with.

So that's where I'm at right now. Sitting in front of my computer at 8:00am waiting to leave for orientation. I'll post again tonight to get back on track and tell you all about how orientation goes.