Arrival Week / Departure Week

Has it only just been a week?! Steve and I arrived in Tokyo and spent the week in a combination of settling in activities and adventuring together before his return home.

Arriving on Campus

After a long-but-smooth flight (14 hours, to be precise), we arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, got through customs, and took a cab to the Righa Royal Hotel at the edge of the main campus of Waseda University in Shinjuku City. After grabbing some convenience store favorites for dinner (there will probably be a whole post about this), we crashed until the next morning and started with a visit to the Waseda campus store for swag and a much-needed cup of coffee. I picked up my welcome packet from the wonderful staff at the International Scholar Services center and then we headed to the library to get my library card (VERY important).

The School of Human Sciences, which contains the clinical psychology program, is located to the west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa and so next we boarded the train to Kotesahi station, which connects to campus via shuttle bus. Steve very bravely rented a car and we both repeated the mantra "STAY TO THE LEFT" as we navigated our way to around Tokorozawa--finding my on-campus lodging and doing some freshman-year-style dorm shopping, We were then hosted for a tour of campus and a lovely dinner of Japanese cuisine by my new research collaborators.

While in Tokorozawa and given that I am married to a librarian, we really had to stay at the In the Library: Hotel and Books--a library-themed hotel that allows guests to check out books and records and provides in-room breakfast for all guests so that you can keep reading. The hotel is inside of Tokorozawa Sakura Town, an entertainment complex built by publisher and purveyor of manga and anime Kadokowa Corporation. It was a great launchpad for a few days of exploration--traveling by train, booking rooms as we went, and planning a bit but also wandering/stumbling-upon things along the way.

First, we traveled back into Tokyo to the Akasaka area, known as one of the lower-key vibe areas of town. In our wandering around, we're pretty sure we saw the filming of a reality show and then dinner was my absolute favorite - cold soba noodles and tempura - served with mixed mushrooms for the autumn season. The evening's entertainment was an Argentinian-style jazz quartet at the B Flat jazz club, which was fantastic and also fortunately wrapped up by 9 P.M. given our ongoing jet lag recovery.

The next morning, on the recommendation of my research collaborator, we took the train towards the coast and stayed at the Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu, overlooking a former shipbuilding inlet that has converted into a recreational area with hotels, restaurants, shopping, event spaces and an amusement park. Despite some rain, we headed out and ate a healthy lunch of soft serve ice cream. Known here as soft cream, it's creamier, fattier, and less sweet than American soft serve. Next we poked around the amusement park and did a cheesy-yet-delightful haunted house that allows guests to choose their level of scariness (we chose Level 3 out of 3, billed as "Scary as Hell." It was not. But that was totally okay with us!). Next, we lucked into a major stumble-upon...

As we made our way down the waterfront, we came upon YOKOHAMA OKTOBERFEST! If you know me, you may know that Oktoberfest is one of my favorite holidays, given my German heritage and my love for the fall season, big parties, and loud singing. What a joy to celebrate this holiday here in Japan! The event featured both local and German beers, myriad German-ish food selections, a giant beer garden tent full of long tables of joyful attendees, and a lederhosen-clad band playing popular Japanese favorites in a polka-adjacent style.

One of my favorite moments of this past week appears in the video below: The entire huge tent of Japanese people celebrating a German holiday by singing John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads, word-for-word. Joyful intercultural perfection.

Oktoberfest attendees sing the world's most popular karaoke song together!

The next day, I woke up at 5 AM (involuntarily) and decided to go for a run along the waterfront as the sun rose (pictures above). The cool morning air, the beautiful views, and the artistically rendered layout of the waterfront itself made it feel like I was on a tour rather than a workout. The only downside was that I had to wait until 7 AM for any coffee shops to open. (I tried not to look too creepy whilst hovering outside...)

After eating chestnut (marron) cake, a Japanese autumn favorite, for breakfast (vacation, right?) we checked out and took the train to Shinjuku so that Steve could visit a well-known used camera store, Map Camera. He was able to purchase the used digital camera model he was looking for--meanwhile, I entertained myself by trying to locate the most expensive item on the floor (917,000 yen, or about $6,000). From there, we headed toward the Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku and happened upon an outdoor vintage market. I had been on the hunt for a robe to wear around my dorm room and was able to purchase a lovely vintage kimono for 2000 yen (a little over $13). After visiting the shrine and saying a prayer for Steve's safe journey back to the U.S., we took the train back out to Tokorozawa so that I could be close to the train station in the morning for my "first day of school" at Waseda.

Steve accompanied me on the train, walked me to the shuttle bus stop, and waved goodbye as the bus pulled away. Because I'm a crier, I cried, of course. I will miss him and the boys but I am so grateful for this opportunity and I'm going to make the most of it. I'm so lucky to have the support of Steve, my collaborators, and everyone else in my life to embark on this adventure.

What's Next?

As of yesterday, I've started my studies here at Waseda University. Stay tuned, dear readers!