Japan - Day Four

First things first:

http://www.mustlovejapan.com/howto/howto_restroom/

My purpose for today was to do a dummy run into a town? city? area? Not sure exactly, but a place called Namba which is just under an hour away. I have a job interview there tomorrow so needed to practice taking the train to Umeda/Osaka, transferring to the Midosuji line to get to Namba. The train stations are massive, kind of like our biggest malls, so the practice was necessary. I made it, and thought that Namba was cool so took some snaps!!

A view from my uncles place, today was such a clear and beautiful day that I saw the port for the first time!!

My train arriving to my local train station, this is the one taking me to Umeda where I transfer. About a 40 minute trip, seems to go fast when you're a gawking tourist.

View from the train, took this photo to show the green mountains that surround Kobe. Apparently locals would never live there, preferring to cluster near to the train stations for conveniences sake. Atop those mountains there are lodges etc that hold weddings. You can cable car up there.

This girl was dressed like Little Bo Peep, she got on the train that I transferred to. Couldn't get a good enough photo without feeling like a stalker.

I think this street is what I thought I'd see when I imagined Japan. This is in Namba.

A cool colourful building.

This building blew my mind, don't know why. Probably the sheer size and minimalism of it!

Everyone here rides bikes, from the elderly to the young, and they're all awesome bikes that you wish you had. This is just one of them, took it for the Marks and Kits out there.

Biking.

After I found my job interview place, went for a walk and found this park. It was a little bit grotty but it was really nice to sit in a big open space.

Couldn't resist this sunset shot, took it when I got back to Rokko.

OK. So I made some food purchases today which are noteworthy. Number 1 - Corn Flavoured Doritos, which really turned out to be Corn Soup Flavoured Doritos. Not that nice; think chicken and corn flavouring from 2 minute noodles on corn chips.

An Oreo Bar - just tasted like a Milo Bar.

POCARI SWEAT is a healthy beverage that smoothly supplies the lost water and electrolytes during perspiration. With the appropriate density and electrolytes, close to that of human body fluid, it can be easily absorbed into the body.

It tasted like sweat.

Japan - Day One

So...here I am in Japan! Arrived on Sunday night, airport was a crazy experience. Colours, people waving at me come this way, go that way etc. It has been pretty hard so far - it's really crazy not understanding what people are saying to you, or not being able to read signs, or food labels. The culture shock makes me feel like an alien; and in fact I am just that. Got my registration yesterday, and the guy didn't speak English. I went to a supermarket yesterday and could have spent hours in there just looking at everything. I also went to a bookshop and saw that the number one J Pop group of the week is "Lonely Town". Sounds emo.

Started the morning off with a cup of tea - Janat; the flavour of Sicily, the taste of Paris. It's classy; my cat feels the same.

When you flush the toilet at my uncles place, this tap automatically goes over the cistern. I don't know how to feel about it...

Heard a strange noise as I went outside to the small garden - it was a crow!! The first I've ever seen. They are beautiful looking, quite large and scary. This photo doesn't do the size of the bird justice.

Oh yeah - my uncle lives right by a graveyard. The crows hang out there and are constantly swooping over it...

The biggest spider I've ever seen in my life. I want to go back to New Zealand now.

Another one eating a butterfly.

A view of a street in the Rokko neighbourhood, where I live.

The first night I got there, my uncle said that we would be taking the rubbish out, but to watch for wild pigs. Apparently Kobe is known for them, and my uncle lives up a hill nearer to the mountains. If you see one, you're supposed to freeze as they can attack. I had a nightmare about this that very night.

Arrived home after a long day feeling tired and crap, only to be greeted by FIVE identical black cats hanging out together. These are two - the others were spaced out evenly atop of this wall. They wouldn't come to me.