Nagano

Hi, hope you are all doing well ;)

So this weekend was bank holiday weekend so we thought we would look at going away and staying over a night. I have now met most of my mums colleges, they all seem very nice and they can all be quite funny. So one of them, his name is Richard decided to joins us on our adventure across Japan. We decided on going to Nagano, my mum has already been but not for very long. I say Nagano but it's not really Nagano we went to, Nagano and vicinity.

Yudadanka  

Yudadanka is under an hour north from Nagano. It's popular for its Onsen street and the Snow monkeys that bathe in the volcanic pools. If you watched the BBC documentary on Japan's wildlife recently then you might have heard of/recognise it.



When we arrived we went straight to the monkey park. The monkeys aren't enclosed they are free to come and go as they please, they choose to come back. This means you can get really close to them, it's unreal how close, you have to be careful where you step as they scurry round your feet. One of them took a particular liking to my mums new umbrella, in fact they had a little fight over it. Hilarious. We then went up further to Shiga-kogen to go to the lake and the board walk, however when we got their we realised it was a three hour walk from the end of the bus line and it had started raining. Opps.

Our hotel was on the Onsen street and we had a traditional Japanese room with futons and its own Onsen. In the evening the street was filled with people in robes going to each Onsen. I know the water is all the same but they believe each Onsen is good for a different part of the body. This time I did try however the water stinks of sulphur and it is incredibly hot, I could only poke my foot in and my foot was red for a while after. We all slept well which was good because Richard had planned the day after and we would need our energy.

On our way to the train station we passed a peace shrine, which was a statute of lady towering over Yudadanka. There was also a large bell that a few people were seen hitting with a tree trunk. It was explained that they were praying/wishing, so me and Amy decided to pray for our A levels, we need as much luck as we can get.

Obuse 

Obuse is in between the two. We had a English leaflet of the region and Richard had made it out plan to do all  the 12 things on the leaflet. We had done the 6 already so there were only 6 to go. However it was a particularly hot and humid day, and there was a lot of walking. To be honest I'm not entirely sure what we went to see the heat was somewhat clouding my vision. First we walking about 5 km to a shrine on the outskirts of Obuse which was cute and then we made our way back to the station via the chestnut tree street, in the midday heat.

Nagano

From Obuse we made our way back to Nagano but we stopped of a few stations before so that we could have lunch and visit the Zenkoji Temple. For lunch we had cold soba noodles (buckwheat) and tempura with unlimited supply of water, very refreshing, and it much nicer than it sounds. We then went to the shrine which was very big and grand. It had a long straight road that leads to it. First it had a arch/entrance, then a giant gate (which we climbed up; very steep steps), and then the main temple surrounded by many smaller temples. I really liked it, however I thought that the tourism had slightly spoiled the sanctuary feel.

After we walked back to Nagano station and made our way back to Utsunomiya. The following week is quite short as we get the keys on Friday, so stay tuned for more info on that.






Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

Amy Arrives

Helllooo,

This week my cousin arrives and I am super excited. We are two peas in a pod (we only have a month between us) and she is my partner in crime. So we are can reek havoc on Japan together, I'm joking.

Before 

Before was mostly just general house keeping activities, as I knew the likelihood of me getting any work or admin done once Amy arrived was next to none. So I did the expenses for the first week in Japan, boring but it had to be done. And I went to the the bus station to buy a ticket for the bus to pick up Amy. However I did go out to explore Utsunomiya a little more, but nothing important to report, apart from I found a discount store where you can buy really cheap drinks. For example a Coke Zero (Japan doesn't have diet coke) was 60p whereas in the UK it would be around £1.50. I also discovered the gym at the hotel and I have decided to make the most of it while it is free and I'm going to be dragging Amy with me, I'm not sure whether she'll be pleased or not. ;) 

After 

Amy arrived very early in the morning on Thursday, which meant I had to get an even earlier bus to the airport about 2 hours away, so I got the bus a 6! I missed Breakfast :(. After waiting around for what seemed like ages, she came through the custom doors and I was able to snap a sneaky pic, which is probably not to flattering, oh well. She had hired a portable Wi-Fi and bought a JR pass so we had to collect those before returning and trying to keep her awake the whole day. I warn you; if you do get a JR pass the queue to collect it can be long so leave plenty of time.

Friday she was a little more awake so we ventured out to the shops in Utsunomiya, I didn't take her to any new shopping places however we managed to do 4 so that was quite impressive. We also went to the shrine opposite Parco which is up resting at the top of 70 steep steps. It's quite small but it was nice and quiet and the views were beautiful. Whilst in Parco we went down to the basement and discovered these large photo booths, so we thought we would give them a go. Entertaining to say the least, you take photos and it basically airbrushes your face and makes your eyes bigger; which must be the aspiration in Japan. Then you exit the booth and go to the customisation station, which of course is all in Japanese. It could be seen as wasting money but, the stories and laughs Amy and I got out of it are invaluable.

This weekend we are going to Nagano so stay tuned

Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

Aizu Wakamatsu and Cinema

This weekend, we decided to venture further a field on Saturday, mostly because jet lag was over so we were able to wake up at a reasonable time. It was also a baking weekend so we thought we should make the most of it.

Aizu Wakamatsu 

Well like Mashiko, Aizu Wakamatsu is not in the Guide book, so it lies when it says well researched and updated on the front cover. Not impressed! We woke up and jumped on a train or two, it wasn't a bad journey but the tourist information at Aizu spoke little to no English which made communicating a tad difficult. Unfortunately, there aren't many western tourist because it is in the Fukushima prefecture. Even though it is perfectly safe and your are more effected by nuclear radiation in Tokyo or London; the numbers are just not publicised to death.

Aizu Wakamatsu is very popular and touristy because of its Castle, Samurai's and it's Onsens. The castle was home to many lords however it was de-constructed, constructed and left derelict many times over the years. Its the castle that never knew if it was coming or going. But I am glad it made it in the end, its beautiful. Onsens are hot public baths that are heated and filled from Volcanoes near by, I left my swimsuit at home so we gave that a miss. If you've watched 47 Ronin you may have heard of Aizu or the White tiger brigade. Quick low down; the castle comes under attack and the warriors/samurai this can see the castle go up in flames from afar and they think they have failed, so they kill themselves. It later transpires that they actually won and they were hero's. Communication is key!

We did something a little different that the normal western tourist wouldn't do, we went to a small shop and painted a paper mache Cow, ok that sounds weird but its normal I promise. The red cow is the mascot/lucky charm for the town, so we thought we would make one for our apartment.

Bell Mall

On Sunday we decided to tick of another of the numerous shopping centres in Utsunomiya. From the station it is really easy to get to only a short bus that only costs 150 yen and runs frequently, even on Sundays. That is something to note; Japanese shops do not close early on Sunday like England, in fact sometimes places stay open later on Sundays. It is a really nice mall with lots of variety, it caters for everyone with several different kinds of shops, however no shops that I had remotely heard off. The mall also has a gym with a swimming pool which im sure we will be getting plenty of use out of in the future. 

After trawling through the shops and their summer sales, we stumbled upon a Cinema! Even better it had films that were in English as well as others with English subtitles. So that means we can watch movies, which is great because we used to regularly go to the cinema and I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. As I said it was a particularly warm weekend (hot) and that weekend the Terminator Genesis came out we decided to go see it. I will try not to spoil to much but, it was so good. Not to mention it has Matt Smith in it (he plays the bady), the 11th Doctor and one of the best. I nearly squealed with excitement but I was forced to hold it in because you are no allowed to make any noise what so ever in a Japanese cinema and they are very strict. The film is so good and I do recommend you watch it, to the very end as well I might add, because I may have almost walked out and missed a vital bit of information.

I will catch up, nearly there.

Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

The First Week

Before I start, I apologise for the lack of originality of the title.

People say the first week is the hardest, I can definitely see where they are coming from but I don't totally agree. It definitely has it ups and downs, but that's not like any other week. So my mum goes to work in the morning, leaving me to explore by myself.

What did I do on the first week? Well during the day if you've been reading the time stamps on my blog, that was the week I started my blog and I've been playing catch up because I thought it was important to do before and the introduction. I'm nearly present day, yay. Apart from watching a ridiculous amount of YouTube videos seeing as I only have one channel on the hotel TV which is CNN and the same news stories on repeat, come on I can be intellectual and listen to what's going on in the world but once you've watched the same thing 3 time you want to kill yourself.

At the start of the week the weather was pretty bad which encouraged the half of me that wanted to stay in the hotel suite for the next 4 week, however by about Wednesday we had dry weather and towards the end sun. So I was forced to go out. I motivated myself by making it my mission to go to as many of the shopping centres in town. There is about 7/8 so I obliviously didn't achieve it in the first week but I plan to keep going. This week I accomplished 5, I think that is pretty impressive.

1. JR Train Shopping centre - Unlike UK stations most stations have proper shops where you can buy; food, clothes, accessories, kimonos, toiletries , most things actually. Its not very big and it closes early but it does the job.
2. Lala Square - I would say this is the main department store in the centre of Utsunomiya, it sells anything you could ever want. It has Clothes, food, restaurants and a electrical store that sells everything from headphones to washing machines. It also has a Gap so it means normal/western styled clothes are available. (the one with the eyes)
3. Parco - Department store mostly for clothes and cosmetics, as well as a beer garden which would be nice in the evenings. It also has a store which is called GU which I would say is New Look style and quality but Primark prices which I think is going to become very useful. It also has a Starbucks ;)
4. Orion Square Store  - I stumbled on this by accident, while trying to make my way from Parco to Tobu. Its a small covered street, one behind the main road. It is a nice street to walk through and there were a few restaurants that I want to try but I wouldn't say it has a lot of shopping possibilities 
5. Tobu Train Department store - Above the Tobu line train station, which is not as useful as the JR line. It is the luxury store of Utsunomiya. I found another Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton, they are everywhere!

This week I also went out to dinner with many of my mums work colleagues/friends, which was lots of fun and quite interesting. Either trying to work out what was on the menu or translating it. 2 Nights in particular stay in my mind, one where we went to a French restaurant and they had a Menu in Japanese and In English. Its a shame the English Menu was a completely different very bland interpretation so in the end we just guessed. The other, we went out with a Group and food just didn't stop coming and some of the food was interesting; in the weird/I don't want to try that way. 

Overall I am happy with the first week and I cant wait to explore more. 

Maria xx

Living in Japan

0

Mashiko & Nikko Waterfalls

Hi,

It's my first weekend in Japan! (As a resident) So we decided to do some exploring. Like Dora the explorer, just without the talking monkey or the magic backpack - without a backpack at all. Mostly not even a map, I am becoming increasingly good at just nodding and pointing and sign language, most of the time you can get the jist of what is being said. 

Mashiko 

So on Saturday we woke up ...Late we nearly missed breakfast. So going further away was out of the question. The day before Yoko had drawn us an abstract map of Japan of places to visit near and far, while we were waiting to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot; which failed terribly, 4 hours of my Friday gone! On the map she had written about a small town only about an hour away from Utsunomiya by bus. Seeing as it was so close we decided that it was a good idea to go to Mashiko. We spoke to the tourist information desk in the train station and they guided us to a bus that goes to Mashiko with; leaflet, map, and bus timetable.

Mashiko is not mentioned in tourism books which is a shame because it is such a cute little village and far from what people expect from Japan. Its a pottery village, I just realised i had not made that very clear. It was weird I almost felt like I was in  Italy, by the time we arrived it was lunchtime and we found a small quaint cafe, Set back a little from the street making a small courtyard which had outside seating, it served Italian-esque food as well as Italian-Japanese fusion food. Which of course came with soup of some sort. What is with that?

The main street is lined with authentic handmade pottery of all sorts, every item and shop slightly different as craftsmen have here own styles and techniques. I was expecting for some reason for it all to be a bit old fashioned and boring, there was a few but it mostly consisted of modern designs where that be crafty and rustic or contemporary. There are certainly a few pieces and craftsmen which are breaking trends of traditional pottery and I don't doubt that we will be heading back when we get the apartment to add to our collection. (my mum is a little obsessed)

You can also create your own pottery there, however you do have to book so we did not get a chance this weekend. Although as I've mentioned my cousin is coming over soon, so I think that could be a good activity to fill one of the many days she is here. (I hope she's not reading this, otherwise I've just spoiled the surprise).

Mashiko is mostly known for its clay and their special way of making pottery, however they are also home to some beautiful forests and Lord Utsunomiya's graves. they are also well known for there festivals and I think it is such a shame more people don't know about it.

Nikko Waterfalls 

Now I've mentioned Nikko before, however there are more than one attraction in Nikko; for such a small place it has a lot going on. This weekend we went to the Nikko's National Forest which is home to; beautiful landscapes, breathtaking waterfalls, Soba noodles and Bears. GRRR. Again this is not very far from Utsunomiya, we were still kind of jet lagged (yes, I'm going to blame everything on that. Its not because I cba at all).

Saying that I'm glad I went, from the train station we got at bus which took us to the top of the forest and the first of many waterfalls. Its about an hour and a half bus journey but totally worth it. At the top is also the bear forest, don't worry you wont be eaten, there is a fence. Although... there is a door and I saw small scouts go in, had there parents really had enough of them? Joking, I learnt that you can go in with the bears as long as you wear a 'bear bell'. That's new, Americans take loaded guns and the Japanese take bells. I think I prefer the bell approach.

Japanese are obsessed with taking photos so there are plenty of good vantage points and lots of people with selfie sticks. For lunch we had the famous mountain vegetables with Soba noodles, theses are buckwheat noodles with vegetables - I'm not sure what kind of vegetables - it tastes good though so I'm not complaining. This was in a traditional restaurant so we sat of the floor which was the first for me, however I'm am quite used to eating on our coffee table so there is not much difference. 

Helpful tips for travelling in Japan

1. If you want to work out how far its going to take you to get to a place, the instinct is to write 'A to B' in the Google search bar. DON'T! Unless you want to be put off by unrealistic times. For example Mito which is 1hr away from Utsunomiya by car, it says it will take you more like 4hrs by train. Instead go too www.hyderdia.com, its especially for Japanese trains and in English and it will tell you that in actual fact you are 1.5hr away by train. it will also tell you which trains to get. 
2. Take a notebook with you everywhere, with pen. English is not commonly spoken but writing down where you want to go or drawing sketches proves very fruitful.
3. If you are visiting, buy a JR pass before you go, these are not for residents. if you don't except travelling is going to be ridiculously expensive. Buses are relatively cheap however any sort of train is typically more expensive then you would expect. The shinkansen is extortionate. They are all very reliable and prompt which is a breath of fresh air for people in England.  
4. A Map is always useful; if you can find a map of the town you are staying in, in English, use it most maps have important places on them. Also if you know where you are going but not how to get there, you can point at your destination to tourist information and they can help with how to get there.
5. Being able to walk that distance in the UK definitely doesn't mean you can do it in Japan. Japan is very hot most of the time and when it is there is little shade. While we were out at the weekend we told tourist information we would walk, they replied in the little English they knew 'Bus, you take bus from here to here', at first we just thought it was a misunderstanding but when we got outside and attempted the walk it was quite clear she had understood and thought we were idiots. 

Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

Entering Japan.

I am now officially a Japanese resident!!!

Arrival 

On the 30th of June woke up ridiculously early and made our way to T5 Heathrow. We were quite lucky with traffic as the M25 was mostly clear which meant we arrived early. Once bag drop opened we dropped 4 out of 6 of our bags. Yes, 6!

Next, security which was strangely busy and congested even in fast track. Talking of fast track, during the arduous queue I bumped into Arsene Wenger. This is incredibly exciting for me and my family, because we are all Arsenal fans. So I had a mini fan girl moment.

The plane took off at 13.30 which seems to be the only time planes leave for Tokyo. I got to fly business class, which was really cool, they give you champagne on arrival and velvet slippers. Flying to Japan from the UK is a 12 hour flight so you get 2 meals and unlimited snacks. The chair also turns into a bed which is really useful because if you don't sleep on the plane, and watch movies all the time, then jet lag is ridiculous (guilty).

We landed early, wind on our side, at 8.45 ahead of schedule. Now for the harder part, going through immigration and customs, not normally difficult but becoming a resident and stuff. However I thought it would be a lot more difficult than it actually was. You have to wait until immigration is empty which is slightly annoying but when you get to the counter you give them your passport with visa and eligibility letter, they take your picture and your fingerprints, and then they return to you a residents card. We then went to collect our baggage which was patiently waiting seeing as we were sometime in immigration and then we had to go through customs. Customs is pretty basic, although you have to get a form stamped for your unaccompanied baggage. We then hopped on a bus to Utsunomiya.

Settling in

When we arrived it was raining and because our apartment isn't ready yet we have been put in a hotel. the first two nights were a disaster, the nice hotel was fully booked for the first two days and therefore we had to temporarily be there for a while. The hotel was Disgusting, the hotel was a smoking hotel and in dire need of attention from the interior design fairy godmother. Everything smelt of smoke, the curtains which were once white were yellow and the walls oozed stench. Not to mention that the pillows, instead of having fluff in them had plastic beads in them; like who's idea was that and whoever it was needs to be shot (I'm kidding, kinda). And don't get me started on the 'Massage service'. Lets just say we were so relieved to be moved.

Once jet lag wore off, we had to meet with Yoko, who works with the Martyn. It turns out you are not actually a resident until you've gone to the government office and registered which involved learning on the spot how to write your name in Japanese. So we did that and then we went to the bank to set up a bank account. If you are a 'foreigner' you only have two choices for you bank; Citi Bank or Shinsei Bank, so that is a bit rubbish. I was mostly excited because I got to choose what colour the card was, from 34 different colours.

So now I'm a resident, how exciting kinda scary and now its time to have fun before I go to school. My cousins coming in a few weeks which is super exciting. So before then I shall be exploring and sorting out stuff. Hopefully we be moving into the apartment on the 24th.

Thank you

Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

Manic Week

Good evening, ... or morning, depending where you are :)

So with all the planning and becasue my mum is in such high demand ;) our flights were booked for the 30th of June. Which left us with less than 10 days to get organised. Best and worst week ever, so little time and so much to do. Not only did we have to pack and ship everything as well as cancel/reduce our bills (boring adult stuff), but i also had a lot of arrangements already.

The day after we got back to English soil I had my friend's belated 18th Birthday! To say the least I was tired, jet lag is worse on the way back - probably has something to do with the fact I did not sleep on the flight back. That aside, I had so much fun and there are so many good ... and bad memories from that night. 18th party = alcohol, which lets just say it doesn't mix well with jet lag. That's not to say I got 'hammered' but I did get a bit 'tiddly'. Which made socialising easier, I think, which was good because there were new and old people as well as my closest friends. The party also had a theme so if you were stuck with what to say you could just play the guessing game; Who are you? The theme was Fictional Character so I went as a Gingerbread Man/Women, to be honest I hadn't had a lot of time to prepare (being in Japan and all) so that's what I had in my closet.

Next, More 18th Parties! This time it was my cousins birthday, she lives near Warwick, so we travelled up there and then for her birthday we went to Alton Towers. Hers was a much smaller, quieter party.  There was me, my cousin, her sister (who's birthday is the day after, busy busy) and 3 of my cousins friends. Now Alton towers have had some extremely bad press recently, which I think is known worldwide, lets just say one of their rides broke and lots of people were severely hurt. Anyways due to this there were very few people at the park, where normally it would be packed. On the average day you can expect to wait between 60-120mins and the longest wait that day was 30mins. Its unfortunate but it meant we were able to do everything at the park where you would normally only be able 4-8 rides. Even though I didn't know most of the group, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Things to note about a UK 18th Parties

- There is normally alcohol
- Its always a laugh for one reason or another
- At least one person has to go home early because they've been sick for one reason or another, however this could be just my experience as I've only been to 3 - I'm not that popular.
- There is always one argument

- There are plenty of memories to keep forever

After the jam packed weekend it was time for a brief interlude of boring stuff. I had to go to school on Tuesday and Wednesday to go to a few classes as well as meet my teachers to discuss my trip to Japan. Overall all it went well, but of course you don't always agree with everything they say. We then had plenty of paperwork as well as going to the Embassy of Japan to apply and collect our visas. Not that I can really complain because the embassy is near Green park underground and round the corner is Harvey Nichols (expensive department store). So I was able to use my powers of persuasion to get lunch in the restaurant, which we used to go to regularly when I danced in London. Depending on who you ask, this was planned or not, but there just happened to be SALE!!! Some sales are bad, there is no point if it just 20% but this beauty was 60% - I nearly died. When it comes down to it I ended up spending my birthday money on a Michael Kors bag, its beautiful and I feel in love almost instantly and then I saw the price tag and I couldn't let it go.

Your probably thinking that's busy, there must be just packing left, hahaha no! PROM. Senior prom was on Thursday. My two best friends came over to get ready and then we went to meet my other friends before we actually went to prom. See I'm super cool, I had a pre-party before the pre-party, not ;). Prom this year was less about the partying and more about being together for the last time. The dance floor was mostly empty, although the teachers were making good use of it, and people were just mingling. A lot happened that night, I had too many giggles with my friends, I reconnected with old ones, I spoke to a few people in more detail which was really nice. Last but not least one of my classmates brought me a drink/s. I know it probably didn't mean anything but I'm a girl and that was the first time that has happened so I thought it was pretty great.

My friends came back to mine and we really didn't get much sleep, when we woke up the moving men had already arrived. My friends stayed all day which was really great, even though I felt really bad as I thought it would be really boring. Packing was so confusing as I am only going for 6 months, we couldn't say "just pack everything", there were 4 different options; Go-AIR, Go-Ship, Storage and Stay. It doesn't get much more confusing and because we had been so busy we were unable to do any prep. So they asked us to do a walk through, which was fine we are tidy and we roughly knew what we were taking, but I had just had 3 teenage girls in my room for 2 days so my room was a tip - they very wisely decided to leave my room for Monday.

The weekend was just as busy; packing, labelling, sorting out arrangements and buying last minute things like ibuprofen which they don't seem to have in Japan. And when they do its prescription only and really tiny doses because they are generally smaller people in comparison. My boyfriend came over Sunday night to help. I'm going to miss him so much. Oh wait almost forgot, on Sunday morning I had my ballet exam! It went well except that day was particularly hot and humid and I am pretty sure I looked like a tomato throughout. Also due to the heat my feet had swollen up, my pointe shoes are normally very comfortable (as comfortable as standing on your toes can be) and I can dance well but that day it was just not happening. I was all over the place.

When the movers came back on Monday everything was labelled and the process was a lot more smoother as well as quick. Everything was packed up and taken to their respected places leaving our house quite empty. The next morning we were on our way to the airport, next destination Japan with 6 bags of luggage!

Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

Familiarization Trip - Weekend

Hello again,

Well the last post was so long I decided to split it in half. I hope it was helpful. During the trip I had some time off to explore and get a feel for what Japan is like. As well as be kinda of touristy. 

Seeing as we were staying in Tokyo we spent a lot of time exploring there, however we also poked our noses round Utsunomiya as well as the National Park and the Shrines near my mums work (Nikko). 

Tokyo

We spent most of our evenings exploring as well as some time on Sunday in Tokyo. The three main parts of Tokyo are; Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro, they are connected by the JR Yamanote Line which can get quite busy due to this. I did the first 2, Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Shinjuku

I know we are staying in Shinjuku and I mentioned it before but not in detail. While we were there it was sunny and hot but overcast so it didn't make much sense to go over to the famous Tokyo sky tree which was on the other side of Tokyo. However something that most people wouldn't know is that the government office is almost as tall and has two views decks which you can go up for FREE. Typical English always up for a bargain. Also on the other side of the station there is a shopping hub with shops that you might of heard of like; H&M, Zara, Forever 21. As well as a lot of Luxury shops like; Louis Vuitton, Coach, Gucci and Tiffany & Co. I would compare it to Oxfords street or Regents street in London mostly. One night we went there and found a department store called Isetan Building which looks a lot like Selfridge in London, it has that sort of feel. However this department store has a garden on the roof that has a beer garden and looks out, totally Instagram worthy. 

Shibuya

Most famous for the Crossing, where basically you can cross to wherever you like. I tell you Starbucks must be making a fortune because opposite the station on the second floor they have a shop that looks directly over the crossing and every guide book suggests you go to Starbucks to view the crossing in action. However its much more fun being a part of the experience. Shibuya has much of the same shops as Shinjuku but it also has a very interesting Disney store, I can't explain but if you ever find yourself in the area go! It also has an Apple shop and most exciting to me right next door is a Ballet store full of international brands. I'm such a ballet nerd, but you would never see that in London so that made me happy.

Utsunomiya 

Utsunomiya isn't very interesting itself or maybe I just haven't discovered it yet, I wasn't there very long. I managed to do the rounds of the shops near the train station. It was much more of a normal shopping experience, however I'm not sure how normal Japan can get. The main shopping centre is called Lala square and  the building has eyes. As I said Normal? These are the little things that make my day. Some normality it has a Starbucks, a Subway and a McDonalds. But then again have you seen the Menus?

Nikko 

Is a little town at the bottom of the National park in Japan. There is no other way to explain it; it is beautiful, and such a breath of fresh air from the hubbub of Tokyo. There are two parts of Nikko; the Nikko Shrines and the Waterfall just above. This time I decided to go to the shrines. The Shrines are breath taking, the Architecture is so intricate and I am amazed that they are still here, especially as there are so many earthquakes. Well unfortunately they don't always survive, in the 2011 major earthquake one of the Shrines, collapsed. However they are meticulously putting it back together as well as making improvements to the foundation by installing anti earthquake structures. (sorry Architecture enthusiast) The Shrines also have a interesting story behind them that you can watch in Anime version, which is typical for Japan. Nikko shrines are also home to the birth place of the saying 'hear no, speak no, see no evil' which is illustrated in carvings above the monkey cage. 

Strange things about Japan 

- Ok, so in the UK there are only as few luxury stores, right? and mostly in London. Well in Japan every Department store seems to have one. you think I'm joking but while we were in Shinjuku I saw 2 Louis Vuitton stores and every place I've been so far has had a Tiffany & Co. Are they super rich out here?

- Tokyo is super into tax-free so if your a visitor you don't have to pay tax on top of it being cheaper in the first place.

- Why is tech so cheap and fruit so expensive? We were looking at the Ipad Sir 2 and you can save around £100 however if you want to buy a watermelon it will set you back £30 that's normally about £1 in the UK!

- Most of the tourists in touristy places were Japanese, there were not many 'foreigners'

Maria xx

Moving to Japan

0

Familiarization Trip - Week

On the 10th of June, just after all my exams had finished, my mums company funded a trip to Japan. I thought great holiday! I couldn't have been more wrong, of course the trip had a purpose and an itinerary; so that everything on a very long list could be done. These things included; house hunting in different areas, looking at schools and looking at ballet classes. Although we went for eight days in total it was very short lived; as you lose a day on the way there & back, and there was a weekend right in the middle, so I did get to be a tourist for a few days; which will be up soon.

So we left at 13.30 from LHR on the 10th and arrived at NRT at 09.10 on the 11th, Tiring to say the least. After making our way to the hotel in Tokyo on the Narita express, we got off at our stop; Shinjuku Station. Little did we know that this particular train station was the biggest, busiest train station in the World!!! Not fun when you've been awake for more than 24 hours. Once we made sense of the signs we could hardly read and made it to the hotel we spent the rest of day around Shinjuku, trying to keep ourselves awake.

Shinjuku - First impressions 

Apart from having the largest train station it is also most definitely the business district of Tokyo. I would compare it to Canary Wharf and the surrounding area in London. The hotel we stayed at was opposite the government building which is very tall and very proud that Tokyo is holding the 2020 Olympics as it had banners up everywhere, which I guess is understandable. The first thing I noticed during my walk around was that the town was centred around the train station and in fact a lot of the big shopping centres were directly on top of it, I thought this was strange but, I find out later that that is very ordinary for Japan. In fact unlike the UK, Japan build their towns around the train stations so they are always in the epicentre of the town. (Pun intended) It is also extremely expensive in this part of Tokyo, so I wouldn't recommend staying there unless the company is paying.

House hunting 

The first full day and we jumped full throttle into the itinerary. We met Martyn at 9, he's our relocation adviser from a company called Relo Japan, seriously wouldn't have coped without him. He's English but he speaks incredible Japanese which was a life saver, not to mention he looked a bit like Eddie Redmayne. Anyway seeing as my mums work is in the middle of nowhere really and my school would most likely be in Tokyo we had to meet somewhere in the middle, either Omiya or Utsunomiya,
First stop Omiya, I was extremely impressed with the process, I've moved once or twice in my life and of what I remember you see hundreds of properties, whereas this time we saw 3! They all fitted our criteria in some way. I'm not sure if it was a blessing or a curse, there was so little to choose from because Japanese only tend to move in April and we are in June. We saw one apartment and two houses, totally unexpected as we were convinced that a house would not be an option in Japan. The one that stood out the most for us was one of the houses, it was incredible, it was huge and very modern the only downside was that AC and white appliances were not included which seemed to be a recurring theme. Omiya is quite a big city but not like a capital, more like Reading.
Next day we went to the next destination, Utsunomiya, on the Shinkansen which is the fastest train in the world. Utsunomiya is a large town like Guildford. The search was very much like the first very concise. We saw two property's, both of which we liked. Making the grand total 3! Now for the hard part, deciding, the two houses were very nice, however it made commuting slightly more difficult as they were not very close to the important stations. Therefore we decided on the Penthouse apartment, which came with AC. :)

Things I learnt about homes in Japan

-  white appliances are not included, like fridges and washing machines which is bad when washing machines can cost up to £2,000 esh! right?!

- There is a good side and a bad side of a train station, you want to be on the West side not the East.

-  Houses can be rented in Japan

- If you want to live near the train station, apartments are extremely small and Japanese try to fit as many rooms in a space as possible. 

- The Japanese only move at a certain time of year, April, possibly because it is the start of their year

- Estate Agents give you green tea even if you only sit down for a few minutes and it is sometimes hot and sometimes cold and always tastes different, you will be sick of of green teas by the end of your experience. 

Schools

There is a limited choice for a English student, especially when you are in the middle of your A-Levels. You have three/four English speaking options, all in Tokyo, 

1) Go to the only British School -  aptly named the British School in Tokyo or BST for short, which is also the abbreviation for British Summertime Clock. (I thought was funny)

2) Go to the American School 

3) Go to an English speaking Japanese school, yes they exists, there a few 

4) Home Schooling/Tutoring 

Because I am in the middle of my A-levels only 1 & 4 would be applicable to me. we looked at tutoring but they were not able to meet us. So we went to the British school, which is near Shibuya, on the campus of the Women's University. The School goes up from Y1 to Y13 and has English Curriculum as well as English term times. So I still get my summer holiday as Japan's is in April. They were really nice and I met some students that were from all over the place. The only down side they don't quite do the same Chemistry syllabus I am currently doing.

Ballet

As you know my other passion is ballet and it is my only extra curricular activity. So to me it is quite important to me that  can still train during my trip. So on the Sunday I went to watch as class, well that is what I thought. In the end I had to join in, I was totally unprepared, but it was fun. The style of dance was completely different to what I am used to and I wish my mum had told me it was a two hour lesson. The main thing I took away from the experience was that they are all so bendy and they are so young/small. I hope to look at a few more before September. 

Moving to Japan

0

Introducing Maria, Why a Blog? and Name Explained

Hi, I'm Maria

I'm 18 and in the middle of my A-levels. Getting my AS results on August, 13th to be exact, scary. However, instead of going back to school to study A2s in England at my school, I thought I'd be a little different. I plan to study in Japan for 6 months.

Crazy right and why you may ask?

Well... my mum travels with work a lot and I normally get left behind, aw poor me :(. Well about a month ago my mum was told she was going to Japan for about a year. Her company calls it a 'Global Assignment', anyways I get to come with! Ah!

My Mum got a tonne of paperwork and advice about what it's like and the dos and don'ts of living abroad/Japan. But there is little information about what it is like for Teens, Students, etc. So I'm going in blind almost. So I thought I should create my own blog so that any of you fortunate enough to have the opportunity to live abroad don't have to go through the same. Or if you're interested in what Japan is like or are just genuinely nosey like me, then join me on the crazy adventuresome people call life.

I choose to call this blog; How to solve a problem like Maria, because well my name is Maria and I just so happen to love the sound of music. I didn't want to specify too much with the blog name because then it gets difficult; like if I called it 'Maria in Japan' or 'Solving a problem like Japan' it gets a bit typecast. It becomes a blog only to do with my time in Japan, we'll see how it goes as I've never done this before, but what if  I enjoy blogging I wouldn't want to have to stop or change the title. Let me know what you think? It might be terrible.

More about me; 
In England, I live in Surrey. I love to dance, mostly ballet, and I recently did my Intermediate exam (went so bad). Next year, Sept 2016, I hope to go to university to study architecture, not entirely sure where yet but that doesn't need to be decided yet. 

I have a Dog, called Belle, she's a rough collie. She is so cuddly and soppy most of the time, I have had here since I was 7 so we are really close. I have an amazing family, they are always there for you and they are hilariously funny. I have 2 Best friends; Erin and Trevyn and they are just amazing, always there for you. I also have a Boyfriend, we've been going out for a while now (2 and a bit years). All these things make leaving considerably hard, but I won't go into too much detail, as this is only meant to be an introduction and it will have its own post in due course, plus I could be here for hours if I don't stop.

Thank you, talk soon  

Maria xx

Update

0