Japan, day ##

As promised, this is the first in a series of postings about my daily experiences while living in Japan and the many technological marvels that I'm sure to discover while here.

Please note that these posts are in addition to my normal "Microsoft and Technology" based posts.  In other words, I'm doing this because I thought that is might be interesting to talk about how a run of the mill IT Geek adjusts to living outside in a very foreign land.  Ok... disclaimer, Japan is not that foreign.  I've been to Japan numerous occasions for either business, vacation, or to see family.  :>)  In either case, my experiences should make from some interesting reading.

Anyhow, moving on...  Actually living and having to function in Japan has been a very eye-opening experience.  Granted it's only been a week, but I've started to notice things at a completely different level then from my past "short stays" here.  For starters, I've been very dependent on my wife for a number of different things.  For example, just getting an Internet connection installed at your house can be daunting task if you don't have a native speaker in tow.  And, this isn't because you can't do it, Japanese customer service is amazing and most people here will do almost anything to help you.  Instead, trying to do certain things yourself is very time intensive, not to mention the numerous chances for miscommunication about what you are actually buying.

Like most things in Japan, you can figure things out given enough time.  And, in my case I've been spending a lot of time figuring simple things out even with my most basic of understanding of the Japanese language.  Errr.... What was the Kanji for Tamachi Station again?  Luckily, as I hinted upon, customer service and Japanese people in general are rather amazing in how they will go out their way to help you.  I can't tell how many times I've solely relied on a Tokyo's amazing taxi service to guide me home, or stopped someone the street for directions only to end with a guided tour to my destination, or even had a complete stranger ask me if I needed help while I perplexedly studied at a street map.

What makes that observation even more amazing is with how densely populated Tokyo is.  After all, we have all see the pictures of Tokyo's train crammers (yes they are true).  This is a very crowded place and space is at a very high premium.  This premium was very relevant when we are looking for apartments.  During this process I discovered that the average size of a decent three bedroom apartment ranged anywhere from 600 to 800 square feet.  This is not very big, by our large American standards.

However, despite being the largest city on earth, Tokyo does have a certain human aspect to it.  For one thing, people seem to walk everywhere.  Which makes Tokyo a very street centric city in that there are actually people on the street walking, riding their bike, or taking mass transit.  When compared to how we Americans just sit in our air conditioned cars never interacting with each other while.  Tokyo's street culture creates an interesting environment that allows for interactions with other people, if you want.  Needless to say, not being able to jump into my car, nor be able to use my car to carry things home has been the biggest adjustment in my life.

Cool Technology Finds

Two quick ones... think talking refrigerators that yell at you when the door has been open to long and toilets that open for you when you approach.  I'm going to leave it at that for now.  This weekend, I'm making my first of many trips to Akihabara (Electric Town).  I'll keep my eyes open for cool gadgets to report on.

Interesting Social Notes

• We were buying something at a store, and the sales lady (without being requested) folded the receipt into a very neat rectangle so that it fit my wife's wallet.
• There is almost not garbage cans anywhere.  But, there is almost no garbage on the streets.  Talk about a paradox that would never work in the states.

Pictures of the Day

Our train station, Meguro.

Road in front of our apartment building.  Notice the new with the old!

Shibuya on Friday Night, which is crazy crowded.