Sudden Waking up!

This morning i was waken up by screams and yelling... I thought someone was going to fight. No idea what was going on, they spoke chinese and I didn't understand a word.

I got out of my bed (it was about time, as last night i didn't sleep well, today i was in bed until 9.00 AM woah!) and went to check it out.

i found paper boxes and plastic everywhere in the kitchen...

I was relieved...nobody was going to kill anybody. Just the two Chinese guys apparently yesterday night went out shopping and bought a new desk and chair for their room... they were just discussing how to assemble it. Went back to the kitchen and fixed myself a coffee and had "kurimu-denishui" that should be a Danish Cream something... it tastes like butter croissant but in the shape of a toast... nice ! ;)

Change of Room !

The Above pictures were taken in my previous room. After my complain at the school about the cleanliness of the place, for which they looked very surprised, i was told that unfortunately no other dormitory was available.

Luckily enough, i was one of the first ones entering the dormitory, so they proposed me a change of room. Since my first room looked like a prison with Steel bars on the outside and no natural light coming in, i was more than happy to do the trade!

The following are the pictures of my new room...

Now this is much better! I can even see a strip of sky and plenty of light from the outside!

Today two new students from China moved in as well. One took my previous room and the other one took a double room. As we didn't yet have our "Fridge Space" we choosed it. The fridge was very dirty as well. So, without a word i started cleaning it and i was surprised one of the two students (the one in double room) who's name is Tycoon was willing to help...in no time...the fridge was new looking and the previous stains of dropped ice coffee and remain of onions and other unidentifiable marks were gone.

After cleaning we had chinese Tea. He brought it from home, i must say it was really nice. Usually i don't drink green tea as it is quite bitter...but this one, made of real dried leaves, tasted good !

So we finally came to the usual questions (that by the way is currently hard to communicate as my japanese is really beginners level, but his one is Zero...and he doesn't speak english and my chinese is only based on few words that are "Ni-hao" and "Mei-Mei". so we didn't go far, but one thing was clear: He asked me how old i am. He is 18 and when i told him I'm 35 he happily said "Like my Father"! ...like his father? It turns out his father is 32... and his mother 30! Is that actually possible? Let's see later on...when our japanese improves... because this would mean his parents were 14 and 12 respectively when he was born...

Korea Vs Japan: Tense Moments

Just few people Heard the news last week, but There was a high risk of war between Japan and Korea.

Apparently Korea wanted to launch a Missile and fly it over japan.

Korea told Japan that they just wanted to put a satellite in orbit. Japan Believed it was a warhead Missile.

The US government didn't really want to enter the matter but helped japan, as they could, with satellite images and intelligence.

Japan was ready with anti-missile weapons located in the north of japan.

Even though the news was not so relevant in Europe, here created a lot of discussion and fear.

The sign above was photographed in Sannomiya station. Luckily even if Korea launched the Missile, Japan didn't react. Half of the rocket fell in front of Japan and the other Half in the pacific Ocean (on the other side of Japan)...

Korea is really teasing on this... it's already the third time they play the same trick... the only difference, is that this time, with the pressure of Australia, it seems that the US governement is starting to take the threat a little more seriously...

Sakura : Cherry Blossoms

This year I was lucky! Cherry Blossoms were expected to bloom around the 3rd week of April. Instead, because of the cold weather, the did on the first week of april and i had finally the chance to see them.

I went to sakurakawa (Cherry Blossoms River) to find out how japanese enjoy this traditional occurrence.

I thought they would just stroll under the trees and take few pictures, but what i found was really surprising!

Japanese Enjoy the cherry blossom with pic-nics under the trees. Full families meet in places like this one to have nice time and enjoy food and drinks.

Most of them were families, but there were a lot of students, probably from the university, that enjoyed them in a different way.

It didn't take me long to realize they were playing the "bottle game" where after sitting in circle and spinning a bottle in the center, the choosen one had to empty a can of beer bottoms-up!

It didn't take long for the guys to get drunk. At 3PM they were so drunk that were throwing up everywhere. Some of them sleeping and feeling sick. Most of them Boys, but girls did enjoy it too although they looked quite fine.

On the street was possible to purchase a small glass of sake for 100 Yen (CHF 1.20) and you would get a complimentary wasabi-peanuts pyramid shaped small bag.

I finished the sake...and tasted (just) a few of the wasabi peanuts...

Dormitory: What a Nightmare!

I would start saying that some picture are worth thousands words! I've checked and re-checked the dormitory pictures and description a few times before chosing one. In the end i was told that only one was available, as the other two are for girls. (Dormitories are defined as Male / Female depending on the number of students). In any case, a reservation has to be done well in advance as places are limited

The above were the pictures published on the website. It looked neat and clean. Unfortunately I guess that the pictures were taken ages ago.

The Following are some of the pictures i took when i've entered the dormitory, I will not comment them

Even though I could not believe it, and wanted to leave straight away, I've instead written to the school principal and asked for an appointment. I'm not sure how much they know about the condition of the place.

In the meantime i've bought a full Sleep-set: Futon + Pillow + Blanket + Bed Sheets = Total Investment 9,870 yen (CHF 120.--) at Daiei.

I spent a day more at the hotel so that i had time to clean up at least the room and getting the Bed ready. Even so, i could not sleep if not after 3.00 AM...

First Few Nights: Union Hotel Sannomyia

The first few nights, i've slept at this hotel. I must say it: It is a really nice and fine hotel! The courtesy of the staff was impressing. Now you may object here saying that "it is so everywhere in japan". Well... it might be so, but it is not the rule. Another hotel not far away where i was staying last year (the Kitagami Hotel - 北上ホテル) was not so. I really suggest staying away from that one!

You might wonder, what is different in a japanese hotel compared to western hotels? Well...a few things...

1) The hotel had vending machines on the 2nd floor. First of all, drink can be found cold or warm (you can have hot or cold coffee in cans)

2) You can buy some snacks, which taste really nice. In western hotels we would find Potato Chips or Chocolate bars. In a japanese vending machine you would find bread and other snacks that would be suitable for a breakfast

3) This is really nice, you're going to love it ;) : In some japanese hotel you have a Mobile phone recharge corner! Yes...you understood right! Did you forget your phone charger? no need to worry about...they have all Japanese Mobile phones chargers. Normally, if you need to charge your phone, they have a "coin-locker" style drawers, where you can put your phone, close and lock the door and come back later to pick it up.

4) The price! The price for this fine hotel, was about 6,000 (CHF 70.-- ) yen on Rakuten travels. Is always worth to surf around a little, since this hotel was listed as around 10,000 (CHF 120.--) yen for a single room!

Day ZERO: Flying to Japan

Today I finally boarded the Finnair flight to Japan. The evening before i went to sleep at 2 AM... Finishing all the things to do, packing and weighting my luggage. Final weight was 21.9 KG. The maximum weight is normally 20kg but if they are not too strict, sometimes you can get away without too much trouble for a couple of KG more ;)

I woke up at 5.45 to say goodbye to my father. We had coffee at home togheter and when he left, it was at that time that i've realized i would be gone for a long time.

The evening before leaving i greeted my sister, her husband, my nephew and niece. I think i'm going to miss them, especially my nephew. He is now 2 and started to say some words a while ago. Some of them are not yet clearly spoken, but we know what he wishes to say. I'm sure i'm going to miss him calling me "tio dade"...

At 7.00 AM Jim picked me up at my parent's home and we headed to the airport. The plan was the following: while i was doing the checkin, he would keep my hand luggage (18kg!!) since i've already had a backback (7kg!!). He had this idea: they normally check you during checking, not at boarding for the carry-on luggage. It went great, no checking at the counter and no checking at boarding, and there i left with my over 50kg of stuff ;) amazing uh?

The flight was quiet, but i couldn't sleep well, just a couple of hours. By the time i've arrived in japan i just wanted to sleep...but i had to hold on, even though i took a 2 hours nap ;)

On the airplane, next to me, was sitting a Japanese man. Amazing! He was a professional sleeper i guess. He slept 80% of the time...and even without lowering down his seat! That was some performance!

After quick checking of my travel documents and stamped visa i was allowed thru immigration and customs without any troubles... Japan, here I am!!