I've arrived

So I'm back in Japan. Took the train from Narita Airport to Ueno Stn, the Skyliner express. It takes something like 1 hour. Most of what I saw at first was rice fields, small houses and shrines. Then more houses. The city getting more and more dense. Office workers in suits, school children in their uniforms, housewives in soft trousers and square-shaped jackets on bicylces. After 30 minutes this all felt normal again. No problem adapting. Another half an hour and I was in culture chock. Tokyo isn't Osaka. It's more. More intense, more chaotic, more of a mess. I had to look hard to find a straight angle. Subway trains shot out of tunnels under me. I could have touched the buildings we passed with the train, if only the windows were possible to open. The city doesn't look as if it's built, it's more like an organism. Growing, moving and puffing.

Still, maybe this is only true for Ueno. Tokyo is a huge city. 10 million people live here. The number of places to visit is overwhelming.

Me and Ichikawasan (my tutor here) went around a lot (7-8 train rides in one afternoon) to register me at a number of places, get me an insurance and so on. He's a really nice guy! I'll meet with Prof Kato tomorrow. That's gonna be cool.

My aparment is small and cosy. 13 m2. It doesn't feel that cramped. Dark wooden floors and a balcony facing down-town Tokyo helps keeping the atmosphere up. And it's cheap! 10 000 Yen / month. There are some very japanese solution for the lack of space. 1) I have a shower unit. This is a toilet, a place for washing my face and a shower, everything crowded on 1 m2! It features many movable parts and a high risk for flooding! 2) My bed is foldable and becomes a shelf when I don't use it. 3) My desk unfolds like a transformer... Ok, that last was a bit of an exaggeration ;)

So everything is fine. But I'm tired and jetlagged.

Take care.