japan
vlog
Finally, Classes Begin! (VLOG)
Today was my first day of classes!
I took a short vlog documenting how my day went today!
My first class started at about 10:40 am, so I walked to campus and tried to find my class. The classrooms were a little difficult to navigate, but eventually I found my classroom and had my first class! It was actually super exciting and I'm so happy I'm finally starting my education at Waseda~
After class, I texted Lily to see if she wanted to meet up and get sushi. We decided to meet up in Shibuya at 5 and then did some light shopping! While we were there, Lily expressed she wanted to get another ear piercing so we went to a piercing place! The guy who did the piercings had long hair and an eyepatch, aka very interesting dude.
I got another ear piercing as well, and it didn't hurt a bit! I got both of my second ear holes pierced before with my Mom, but sadly one of them closed up, so I decided to get it re-done. As for Lily, she was super worried her piercing would hurt but as soon as she got it done she said "What? It didn't hurt at all" LOL.
We did some walking around and found a cafe on the 6th floor of Tsukaya, which was a book cafe. This cafe was AMAZING, I wish I could go there everyday! One thing I love about Japan is the amazing selection of creative books and magazines. I wanted to buy so many different magazines, but they were all killer expensive so I settled on taking some photos instead.
I also got a little planner notebook similar to the one Lily has, because I wanted to start getting organized and plan my weeks well! I'll be keeping track of assignments, meetup dates, blog post schedules and more with this handy dandy notebook~
I hope you like my little vlog~
daily life
japan
vlog
Karaoke Nights
I've come to some realizations about my myself, how I feel about Japan, and the way I want to approach my Youtube videos from now on.
I made a little 'clothing haul' video but after watching it, I realized that it's really not who I am. I'm not really some wannabe big Youtuber person, but instead I just want to document the little special moments of my life. I put the clothes away, deleted the video, and instead opened up the videos I took while doing Karaoke. This little vlog is the product of that~
I feel like this little vlog really captures the real me!!!!
To make a long story short: Lily, Sayaka and I got some amazing Korean food, walked around Tokyos' version of 'Korea Town' and then did Karaoke from 11pm to 5 am.
The reason we did Karaoke for such a long time was because from the hours of 11 to 5 they offer a special discount where you can sing for 6 hours and only pay the equivalent of $10 !
In Japan, after 12 all trains stop and resume again at 5 am. So after we ate, it was around 10:30 pm and we decided to elongate the night until the early moments of the day~!
I can honestly say that this was my best expierence in Japan since I've arrived. It was so fun, refreshing and spontaneous! I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I've been running around doing errands, feeling honestly kind of miserable, and I kind of woke up a few days ago and realized that I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and appreciate where I am right now!
I worked so hard to be in this position, and I'm going to do my best to enjoy every second I'm here. With that said: I'm going to try very hard to film more videos that are sort of this style, because I really enjoyed capturing what my real life was!!!
daily life
japan
Art Museum and Chill?
Hi there~ I am finally back with another vlog, really trying to get the hang of vlogging!
So I decided to head over to Lily's to stay the night, and I'm really glad I did. Lily's family has welcomed me with open arms and have continuously told me 'If you ever feel lonely you can come here.'. After my Waseda Orientation, I waited for hours for my packages in my apartment, and then headed out to see her.
One thing that I really dislike about Japan is that you have to physically be there in person to receive your package. If not, you have to schedule a re-delivery date. In NY, if your package arrived, they just put it at the door and you picked it up when you got back from work/school.
So far I've wasted about 5 hours just sitting at home waiting for packages so I can move on with my day. Right now, as I write this, I desperately need to run to the convenience store to pick up trash bags, but I'm afraid to leave my house and miss my package. Sigh.
Addressing the orientation: We got a break at about 1:35 pm, and I knew I was really NOT about to sit there for another 4 hours having the presenters read off slides we literally had copies of right in front of us. I gathered my things and went home, where I set up my Waseda email account (something the orientation people didn't do until 5 pm. Heck no).
Taking the trains were a super stressful expierence, but after you do it once you can kind of memorize the route and know where you're going. All I have to say is, thank god for Google Maps.
Bonus Info you didn't see in this vlog:
Lily and I were actually interviewed to be on TV. We went to a small Halloween shop and the local Machida news was there doing a piece about the shop. They interviewed us and took some shots of us walking around the shop. It was really a cool, kind of awkward, expierence! lol
So I'll be looking for the broadcast and recording it when it comes out~
Hope you liked the vlog!
daily life
japan
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
After the last vlog I took, I've sort of put my camera away for a few days, for a few reasons. I've been feeling pretty ill since arriving in Japan, which I'll chalk up to the changing weather and jet lag, however I've also not been in a 'vlogging' mood.
In this post I'm going to detail some good and bad experiences I've had in Japan so far, some of which are exclusive to foreigners. Warning, this post is long.
Mini disclaimer: This is simply my expierence after living here for a few days. There is no doubt in my mind that my opinions can and will change over time~!
The Good
I've found Japan's strict trash regime to be a really refreshing wakeup call to how much paper and plastic I use, and how I use to usually discard something without a care. At the bottom of the staircase on the ground floor of my apartment there are several trash bins with various labels on it such as 'PET Bottles' (aka water bottles) and 'Combustible'. I now pay more attention to my garbage than I ever have before, and I kind of like it.
I really enjoy the trains here. They are on time, affordable, relatively easy to understand, and very clean. I can travel tons of places and only spend like 200 yen on my ticket. I also really like the train pass cards such as Pasmo or Suica. I can just scan when I get on, scan when I get off, and charge the card as I need to. Not only that, but I have to admit that I feel cool when I just touch my wallet to the scanner and it reads my card. Lastly, the AC is a blessing in the heat.
Restaurant prices for full meals are relatively cheap compared to NY. I can get a decently sized meal for under $10. I go to a local place called 'Mama Kimchi' for Korean food, and I can get Kimchi fried rice (sans egg) with two side dishes for 800 yen. Also, Japan doesn't have a tipping culture, so I don't have to worry about that at all.
I love the style. Japanese stores take pride in their decor, and I love being surrounded by incredibly stylish restaurants, clothing stores and cafes. I will often see themed cafes or stores that painstakingly decorate their windows to attract customers. A lot of up and coming cafes have either that woodsy homey vibe or a very millennial, black and white with plants chic that's popular on Instagram. I love both those styles, and I get to expierence them a lot more than I did back in suburban NY.
I actually enjoy the language barrier I encounter in my everyday life because it helps me fill in the gaps in my Japanese. I've found myself downloading dictionary apps and keeping a notebook on me at all times to write down new words I encounter.
The Bad
Despite living in this bustling city, Tokyo, I find that I've never felt more alone. This is my first time living on my own, and so I knew some loneliness would come with the territory, however I could have never imagined that I feel how I feel now. I went to a cafe today to have dinner, since my groceries haven't come yet, and I sat alone and ate my food. Sitting there, eating in silence as I watched others chat with their tablemates, I can't really describe what I felt. I ate, paid and got out as soon as possible. I think this loneliness will fade as I build up confidence as someone living alone, but for now it hangs over me everytime I go shopping alone, eat alone, or come home to an empty room.
I'm spending a lot of money. Okay, this one isn't really about Japan so much as it's about living alone and stocking up on stuff. It's hard enough to make the initial investment in getting things like furniture or appliances for your place, but it's even worse when you know you're only going to be there for a short amount of time. Since I won't be able to take anything I buy here back with me, I'm making an effort to get the absolute cheapest things I can, however I still feel like I'm spending (and wasting) a lot of money, and the guilt is unshakeable.
I tend to feel out of place. Perhaps this is because I'm alone, but a part of me feels like I don't really fit in or belong. I also think this is due to the fact I'm a foreigner. The past times I've been to Japan I've been okay with, even embraced, this feeling, but right now it makes me feel very 'othered'. I'm not sure how to shake it, and I know it's just something I have to get used to.
The weather is very hot and humid, even though it's September. I'm a naturally sweaty person in the summer and I really do not enjoy looking shiny and feeling hot.
Because I don't have a car or bike, I have to carry everything by hand. Meaning I can't have more than two bags of groceries because I have to lug everything back to my place. Because of this, I ended up ordering a good amount of food from Costco Japan, which will be shipped to me hopefully very soon.
The Ugly
I'm sure most Japanese people have some expierence with this, but two nights ago there was a roach in my apartment. I have no idea when or how it got in, but it was sitting there right in the middle of my floor. I threw my slipper at it and killed it, but then I struggled to clean it up and put it in the trash.
Usually my dad or boyfriend would 'take care of it' when there was a bug, but being alone in this situation and doing this myself for the first time, I burst into uncontrollable tears. It was a mixture of loneliness, fear of the bug, and disgust for the situation.
After several failed attempts to clean the bug up, and probably hearing my cries from next door, my neighbor came and saved the day. I thanked him with my tear stricken face, thoroughly embarrassing myself at 12 am. I thought that was the end to my terror. I was wrong.
Not less than 10 minutes later I noticed another roach. Again, I threw my slipper, but this time I was more annoyed than afraid. I dropped a wet paper towel on the bug, used two pieces of plastic to scoop it up, and threw it away.
Now I was looking for bugs. I called my boyfriend and decided to head for the convenience store to buy some bug spray to arm myself. This was around 1 am. I asked the man at the counter if they had roach spray, but sadly the store was not stocked.
I returned home empty handed, only to see the biggest bug I have ever seen in my life (about as long as my pointer finger and black as night with WINGS), wandering around the corner of the room. At this point I was angry, my apartment was infested with bugs!
I headed upstairs and knocked on my landlords door, and informed them that there was a bug issue. The landlords daughter came downstairs with me, and now the big bug was on the ceiling crawling around. As it crawled, it made a small scratching noise that made me shudder. After a few minutes, it fell off the wall and unto my table, then unto the floor, and the landlord's daughter sprayed it with bug spray for 10 seconds straight.
Alas, it was dead, and she cleaned it up for me. However, the damage was done. I was now afraid of staying in my apartment, for fear of another bug. She gave me the bug spray and promised that tomorrow she would get repellant, and tried to keep me as calm as she could. Honestly, she was really kind about the entire situation.
Bug spray by my bedside, I stayed up until 5 am, watching the floor like a hawk to find any critters. I knocked out from exhaustion and woke up 4 hours later, and continued to watch for bugs.
Conclusion
All in all, I'm trying to not only adjust to life alone but also to life in a foreign country, and it's a bigger plate than I thought I was taking on. As time goes on, I'll become stronger, wiser and hopefully happier! That's not to say I'm not happy right now, but adjusting has put a bit of a damper on my initial excitement.
Tonight I made my first meal, and it helped me feel a lot more comfortable in my own space. I know as time goes on I'll continue to grow and acclimate to my new life here!!!
Hopefully I'll have another vlog up soon, or at least some photos to share~
daily life
japan
vlog
Settling In & Cafe Shy
Welcome back to another post!
So in this episode, the blog post will be vastly superior to the video (in my opinion) because I filmed kind of randomly. I have been feeling a bit under the weather since arriving to Japan, and I think the weather has a lot to do with it. It rained a lot yesterday so I didn't film much, and today I did a lot of legal/financial things so filming wasn't really appropriate in those places. I will, however, explain my experiences!
September 7th was my best friend Lily's birthday, so we had cake for breakfast! I couldn't eat the cake due to my plant based diet, however her Mom gave me a ton of strawberries (lol).
After that, I headed to my apartment to grab my key and move in.
The landlord gave a simple explanation of the facilities and then let me move in. The place is actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be so I'm really happy ~
Shortly after moving in, I met with my friend Mai and did some light houseware shopping at Daiso (my hands were so full of stuff that I couldn't film anything!) and then headed to a vegetarian restaurant. Originally Mai thought it was a vegan place, but it just had some vegan options, which I was cool with!
The cafe had such a pretty atmosphere, and they had cute little dogs working there as well~!
When we got our food one of the dogs stood next to our table. I think he wanted some...
The food was pretty good! I'm used to American portions so the meal didn't fill me up, but gradually I'll get used to the meal sizes!
After we ate, we headed to the vintage store. I'm not entirely sure I would call it a store, but more of a little hole in the wall. I really liked it though, and because it was raining the shop owner gave us a 10 percent discount, which I thought was so funny! I got two skirts there, which I will definitely show off at a later time when my clothes are such are more organized.
After the vintage store, Mai and I wandered around the Waseda campus/ area and found some cute looking places! I really love the area that Waseda is in, because there are so many adorable cafes and sweet shops!
Today I ran tons of important errands, the biggest one being registering my residence with the Shinjuku municipal office, which needs to be done up to 14 days after your arrival to Japan. I decided to get that done as soon as possible to take the stress off, and I highly recommend going there with someone that's done the process before, because it is a little confusing.
When you walk in, you go to the right and go to the the counter on the side to complete a form. I would suggest asking the staff which parts to fill out, because I didn't complete the entire form. After that, you go take a number and wait for them to call you. When your number is called, you'll go up to the counter and present your residence card. They will take it from you, ask you to keep your number, and then will call you again in a few minutes after it has been stamped.
I brought my housing contract and passport as well, but surprisingly they didn't ask to see either of those. I think it really just depends though, so I would suggest bringing both of those things with you!
After that, I did some more houseware shopping, and bought a few appliances and furnishings for my apartment. I will show everything I got tomorrow, when my things are delivered to me!
Lastly, I want to tell you all about a place that has already become my go to cafe.
It's called 'Cafe Shy' and it's very close to the Waseda campus. While I waited for the secondhand shop to open I stayed in that cafe and had some coffee with soy milk. I asked her if she offered soy milk, and she said 'Sure, I'll go run to the store to get some'. Instantly I loved this woman.
The owner also provided some cookies, and I struck up a conversation with her and the other person in the cafe. The tables are limited, and the space is so cozy and intimate, I ended up staying there for an hour just talking.
What really took me by surprise was that, because I finished my coffee and she was pouring the other customer some tea, she gave me tea as well! Not only that, but she also gave me some mixed nuts and dried fruit with my tea after I polished off the cookies!
I decided in that instant that this was my signature cafe now, and so I encourage you all to go visit!
Stay tuned for more!!!~
japan
Travel
Flying to Japan~
Hi there~ I've created some vlogs you can view on my channel 'Sincerely Alice' on Youtube!
My most recent video includes details of my flight~
This whole journey really became real to me as I sat in my seat on the plane. The gut feeling of nervousness finally sunk to the pit of my stomach! There was an hour and a half delay while sitting on the plane, so I had all the time in the world to sit there and soak up the feeling.
What really impressed me about this flight, besides the great vegan options, was how polite and apologetic literally everyone on the crew was. I received apologies from every stewardess, and from another woman who I believe was selling goods sponsored by JAL.
By the time the food came I was absolutely starving, so please excuse my terrible vlogging at that time !!! After I ate I knocked out for about 9 hours and actually slept pretty well! I woke up super groggy and ate my next meal, though I didn't really feel hungry.
I spent the rest of the plane ride playing the most frustrating game of tetris ever. The controller was super sensitive so sometimes my thumb would slightly shift and it would just send a piece wherever. Not cool!! But it kept me entertained for another 2 and a half hours.
Going through immigration, I had to go to the 'Mid to Long Term Resident' area. Including time on line, it took me about 40 minutes to go through immigration and customs. I couldn't take any photos or videos because there were many signs indicating that was a very illegal thing to do.
After that, I met my driver at the arrival gate and I hopped in a car to go to Lily's house! That's about where this vlog ends, but I'll pick up the next day!
Stay tuned!
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