What better time to explore than my first weekend in Japan. Eugene had a work ski trip in central Honshu the next week so we caught the Shinkansen to Nagano, home of the 1998 Winter Olympics. I have seen comparatively little snow in my life and was apparently a little too enamoured with the countryside which was covered in (clean!) snow.
On the bus to Zenko-ji, a non-denominational Buddhist temple, the elderly lady behind us struck up a conversation. After telling us how to pay for the bus (our original attempt where we put money in the slot when boarding the bus had resulted in us having much more change but no less money), she mentioned that she worked with a free volunteer tour guide group at the temple and that she would take us to them (while acting as a tour guide along the way). We opted to walk through the pitch black tunnel in order to touch a metal key which is the key to enlightenment, because, well, why not?
We stopped by the small town of Obuse to see the museum dedicated to the works of Katsushika Hokusai, including a collection showing all the steps used to create The Great Wave off Kanagawa with plates. We also bought some chestnut treats :) Our accommodation for the night was a "modern" ryokan where I almost fainted in my first onsen. Fun fact: tatami mats (the straw mats on the ground) are the unit of measurement for rooms in Japan rather than square feet or metres.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Our room
We had come to Nagano to see the snow monkeys. The path to see them was beautiful.
The monkeys hang out in their own onsen, mostly oblivious of the tourists
even though the tourists put their cameras within centimeters of them. Of course, when I did that, this little one decided to grab my lens!
They apparently also enjoy cleaning each other, digging in the snow, and pulling up ice to find things to eat under it.
Sunset from our balcony. On the right is the Mori Tower where Eugene works
At Christmas my Dad gave me one of those tiny pocket diaries. He also showed me his diary from when I was born. Apparently he bought his first computer nine days after I was born. I don't know when I bought my first computer, so perhaps he is onto something. Having said that, I may or may not make a habit of writing about my life for posterity's sake.
On January 14 I got my visa for Japan in Sydney and I arrived at Narita late on January 15 (delayed by snow) where I was lucky enough to have an apartment (with heated floor, toilet seat and lots of buttons) waiting for me.
Lounge / Dining
Master bedroom
Second bedroom
Tokyo covered in snow with
the Tokyo Tower from our balcony
Despite the apartment being furnished, I have still spent quite a lot of time acquiring things:
Residence card with registered address
Suica/PASMO card. Tickets for trains in Tokyo are priced by distance, and it's not uncommon to have to use more than one of the three major companies for a single journey. To avoid having to work out which tickets/tranfers to buy, you can simply swipe a suica/PASMO card when entering and exiting and the fare will be automatically deducted. The card can also be swiped to pay at vending machines (which dispense both hot and cold drinks!) and most convenience stores. If I hold it near my NFC phone, the phone displays the current balance and details of my last 20 or so transactions.
Bank account from Shinsei bank. This required generating a phonetic Katakana name (mine is ナレル カズンズ) and would usually require a seal. Since we are gaijin, we were allowed to sign with a pen, though Eugene had to fill out his forms numerous times because they were not accepted due to his signature not being consistent. Much to the amusement of everyone, he ended up just printing his name :)
Two data only SIM cards ordered entirely in Japanese. The second one is for you to borrow when you visit :)
Groceries, also ordered entirely in Japanese from a site I can't even find a reference to in English. Right now this is easier for me than going to a real store because of automatic Google translate. Unfortunately there is a significant lack of any sort of variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, and even those that are available are expensive. Seitan is also hard to find despite the fact that it was invented here.
Stuff from Amazon - ordering before 1pm with prime gives you same day delivery!
