I feel like this week was very long and exhausting. Work was just draining... its been the case that I've been so exhausted with the day-to-day that I haven't had any energy for anything else.
The end of September means the end of our first full calendar month in Japan and the end of our first month in Hachioji. We've been getting a lot of bills lately and its been tough to see the money disappear. I won't get my first full paycheck until the end of October so we're still skating by on the last of the money we brought with us. Luckily, it looks like all our bills (not including rent) will add up to around $200 a month for both of us- and thats for health insurance, electricity, water & sewage, gas, etc, etc. Rent is about $670 and thats for the apartment and some appliances like the fridge and washer. One of our bills is for National Health Insurance, which we pay twice a month from July to March and not at all from March to July. Its cheap for our first year, ten dollars per person per month, but it will shoot up after that. And once a year we will pay a residence tax of a couple hundred dollars or so, but not for a while.
Last week was a bit odd at work- I was at one school from Monday-Wednesday and then switched to another school Thursday-Friday. On Wednesday someone from Interac came out to watch me teach. It was just a routine observation, everyone will be having one or two this year. He gave me some tips and good ideas and pointed out the things I should focus on improving and thats about it. It was kind of neat. I was incredibly nervous beforehand though.
Friday night we had a big storm. It was rainy and windy and in the middle of the night we had some very close thunder and lightning. Our apartment is drafty, which isnt unusual for homes here, and the wind was causing the sliding doors in our home to shake. Around 3AM I woke up to some loud thunder. Even with the blinds closed the lightning was lighting up the whole room, then about ten seconds later we'd here long, rolling thunder. It was pretty neat to fall asleep counting the seconds between lightning flashes and thunder.
One day after work I met Kris down at our local station and we went grocery shopping. He walked around for a while and my feet were killing me. We decided to take the bus home, which we rarely do because it's free to walk the 15-minute trip. However, we were tired and a bit cranky and we just wanted to get home so we ended up getting on the wrong bus. And, of course, this bus headed in the exact opposite direction. After two stops we got off but OF COURSE the only way we could get home was just walking. So no instead of just walking the rest of the 10 minutes from the bus station, we actually paid to walk from 20 minutes away. As we walked back the exact way the bus brought us we passed by a small shopping center we had never seen before, but as it was late everything was closed. The next day after work we decided to go check it out. Turns out theres a CVS or Walgreens type store there that has a great selection and decent prices. Then across the street theres a great little grocery store that has good selection and THE CHEAPEST PRICES we've seen at any grocery store so far! We could not believe it- all our favorites are nearly half off the cheapest price we've found! This place is a tiny bit longer walk than the station but the savings are beyond worth it. Eventually we plan on getting bikes and then from this grocery store we can ride the all-downhill scenic walking path back home!
Today was finally another Saturday and we decided to see Shibuya!
We have been trying not to spend much money but today had a little splurge. Theres a great all-you-can-eat shabu shabu place in Shibuya that we've been wanting to try, and today was the day. I'm starting to learn my way around Shinjuku station (where I usually get lost) so getting to Shibuya was a breeze today. Just outside the station is the Hachiko statue.
Hachiko is a famous story in Japan- about a loyal Akita that waited at the train station every day for her owner to come home from work until, one day, he passed away at work. She continued to wait at the train station every day until she passed away as well. Her perseverance, or "gaman", made her a national star and this statue is to commemorate her. And today there were kitties on it!
Then we went through Shibuya crossing, the famous, giant intersection in Shibuya that is flooded with people every couple of minutes. Our restaurant was only two blocks down so we didn't see much on the way. We ate at Nabe-zo, and the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink (soda) price per person is $30. That buys you 90 minutes. We did the pork and beef option so we had unlimited trays of that coming, plus we had two broth flavors- shabu shabu and sukiyaki. There was a salad bar that had both salad ingredients and ingredients for the shabu- from cabbage to potatoes. Then there was a noodle bar and a large rice steamer. Finally there was the soft drink station and a small sherbert (or sorbet) selection that had four flavors- hazelnut (very good), pumpkin, salted milk (why?) and something berry.
We ate for about an hour before we couldn't do anymore. They bring you a raw egg too- so you crack the raw egg into a bowl, whip it up with your chopsticks, then after you cook you meat you dip it into the raw egg and eat it. Its very tasty and very safe- raw eggs aren't as much of a risk in Japan and they are very common in Japanese cuisine.
Next we headed to Tokyu Hands, a large (8 floor) store that has all sorts of interesting things from DIY materials to decor, toys, or clothing. Each floor has multiple levels so there was actually 24 different areas to see. We spent nearly 3 hours in there and just about ran out all the padding in our feet. This, more than anything, is what causes us to call it a day- our feet hurt so bad we have to head home before we're hobbling on stubs. Since we walk everywhere now our feet always hurt at the end of the day. Bad. After that it was nearly 8pm so we headed home. We definitely can't wait to go back for more! We crossed Shibuya crossing once more (videos on my Instagram) and took the 45 minute train ride home.
Tomorrow we plan on doing laundry, cleaning up the house a little, and maybe buying a cheap kotatsu at the secondhand store, if its still there. Kris is tired of eating off the floor and soon it'll be cold, so a heater will be nice.
Last weekend someone from the apartment office came out to see under the sink. They took some putty and smushed it around the base of the pipe under the kitchen sink. Through broken English (thankfully most people here know enough to help us) they explained that this should cover the gap that the "smell and bugs" are coming through. Maybe it worked because the sink in the bathroom started to smell soon after. I took some putty and plugged that up too. It still smells under the sink though so I've told Interac that, after a month, we still can't use this cabinet space because of the horrid smell and we want more permanent results. They now want to come out and see the problem themselves to see how they can better support us. No plans have been made yet, some Monday I'll shoot them an email to see when we can meet.
Theres probably more that I'm forgetting to write about but I'll have to get it next time. Its 1:30AM here and I'm pretty tired!
K+K
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