More of Nagoya

Here's a few more pics to make you feel as though you are in Nagoya with me: Walking to work. Check out all of the parked bikes. Just beyond the bikes is an underground walkway entrance. The "basement" as the Japanese refer to it. More pics from that later, but it connects much of the town, including 100's of shops, subways and train lines, as well as keeps people dry during the 6-week summer rainy season :) I'm told it's packed in the mornings, so best to stay "above ground" if the weather permits. Cool steel sculpture in front of Nagoya station.

I guess this is where the swanky people shop: Cartier, Dior, Louis Vuitton, to name a few stores!

Spiral tower with more shopping inside. Makes a great identifier. My directions to work are: straight to the Spiral Tower, then left. Hard to miss!

Here's the "basement" I referred to earlier. This part is closest to my building, and obviously, there are no shops. It kind of reminds me of the tunnel at Detroit airport. Constantly changing colors, and random animals all over the walls. (No music though, so DTW is still cooler!)

Feels like I'm visiting the zoo with every "basement" trip to and from work!

I pass "Sexy World" every day, and it just makes me giggle :) Hahaha. Also makes me wonder what all of the Japanese characters are spelling out as well ;)

Cigarette vending machine in my apartment lobby. Please notice the "Under 20 Prohibited" sign on the bottom right. I'm sure that's really effective at scaring kids off...

Another one of my favorite vending machines!! Tommy Lee Jones is the BOSS!! (BOSS=brand of coffee drink.)

I want a diamond ring like this!! Probably one of the biggest things I've seen in Japan! Pop Art at it's best. It's gotta be at least 12 feet tall.

Christmas comes early to Nagoya!! Yes, that really is a cute Asian girl driving a sled with reindeer! There are Christmas light up every where around here and many holiday displays. All of the stores are packed with signs for Christmas already, and oddly Japanese are not even Christian! I will admit that Nagoya Station has their lights designed and ready to go but hasn't turned them on yet. People talk about them every day and walk by when it's dark to to see if it's lit. It's got the hype of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in NYC, so hopefully it's worth the wait!

More of my apartment

Welcome to Kerri's palace! I keep forgetting to take a pic of my apartment building, but here's my private entrance... View front my front door. Reminds me of a motel :) P.S. I'm planning on getting a bike since Nagoya has relatively flat terrain. They are quite handy on the weekends for shopping, and my apartment sells used one for around $50.

View of the train lines from the back of the building. I haven't counted them all, but it's about 10-12. The bullet train lines are the 2 farthest tracks, and I apologize for not getting a pic of them get, but it's hard to time it right since they do whiz by!! Also, look closely at the blue flying saucer billboard in the lower left. I'm told by new American friends that any building with a flying saucer or the has the word "Health" on it is a brothel!! Now that they mention it, I see them literally on every corner! But there are strict unwritten rules: no foreigners are allowed inside and certainly no women.

Mitsui

I haven't talked about work much, but I think it's worth a mention. The Japanese are so incredibly gracious, polite, and eager to speak English to me! I am obviously a foreigner, and they take that as a really good sign that Mitsui is constantly expanding. Unlike their Western counterparts (Americans), it's almost as if they like change!! Here's a perfect example, today I went to Toyota City for an introduction to another Mitsui subsidiary (MBA=Mitsui Bussan America). In preparation for my visit, they translated their entire PowerPoint presentation and Excel documents into English. When my meeting was over, I had to wait for my travel partner (Yosuke Kawakami) who was in different meeting. I waited at a table in the main office, and many people started coming over to bring me things! For instance, they brought out Japanese cookies for me to try and caramel balls (think Milk Duds) and potato chips!! Next thing I know, a cup of coffee appears in an actual china cup and saucer, while everyone else in the office is using paper cups or ceramic mugs. When Yosuke came to get me, he was quite jealous. He said no one offers him snacks or treats him like royalty! Above: You know you've made it big time when you have a 2-sided business card. Below: My full-access ID badge to Mitsui. Also works as a credit card at any Mitsui store or cafeteria, and the money comes directly out of your payroll!

One last item, I rode in my first driver on the right-side car today! Our old TF president (Shin Shimada) gave Yosuke and me a ride back to Nagoya to avoid a rush hour train trip. I also got to experience the Mitsui parking garage, which has an elevator for cars!! It was very cool! Also, Mitsui has about 12 assigned parking spaces, and Shin's was the only car. Just goes to show you that most people prefer to walk or take the train each day.

View from Balcony

Here's a view of the Nagoya skyline from my balcony!

Yes, it's really always this loud. The back side of the building faces the train line--about 8 of them including the bullet train. Just wait until I take a picture of that view!! It's loud all night, that's for sure!

My Nagoya Apartment

Welcome to Nagoya!! Here's a personal tour of my home for the next year--Below you will see my entrance door. To the right is a coat closet, and the floor is tiles, meaning take your shoes off. Also, Dad you'd be proud--notice that my chain lock is in place! The box on the door was originally for mail, but is no longer used. I have a combination mailbox downstairs in the lobby I must check. View when you first walk in. Straight ahead is kitchen/dining room/living room and balcony. Washer can be seen on the left, and to the right is an empty room right now. Not sure what to do with it!

Just before the washer... here is my sink/vanity. Shower/tub is on left. Toilet is on right.

Room with tub & shower. It is very old school. I have to start up the gas each morning just to get the hot water flowing!! Overall, not as bad as I expected. Shower hook is taller than me, so no crouching needed :)

Toilet room. Also no crouching needed. (Asian squat toilet are very popular!) When you flush, the faucet on top of the toilet also runs so you can wash your hands immediately!

Entrance to my bedroom. Doorways are 5'9", and I'm 5'8". Constantly ducking thru doorways because I'm paranoid. Did smack my head when wearing sunglasses or a clip in my hair!

Bedroom closet + sliding doors to kitchen/dining room.

Bed + balcony (where I will dry my clothes because no clothes dryer!)

Stove top, kitchen sink, cupboards, and mini fridge/freezer and microwave on far right.

Dining room. Kitchen on right and bedroom on left.

Living room + balcony. I am a giant in this room :)

Contact Info!

I have finally settled in my new place in Nagoya, and now you can really contact me! Feel free to send me some non-perishable American snacks, a few words of wisdom, or just call to chat:

If you decide to call, remember that Japan is 14 hours ahead, so the best times to reach me are in your early mornings or evenings. (Examples: 7am Michigan = 9pm Japan or 6pm Michigan = 8am next day in Japan.) If you leave a voicemail on the Magic Jack phone, and I will return your call ASAP.

More food

Here's another pic of Japanese cuisine. It's loosely translated as "omelet rice". It is a fried egg, smothered in ketchup, and underneath a ball of rice mixed with cooked pork. The patty on the plate they compared to a hamburger, but it's really like bits of beef mixed with onion and fried. The other red stuff on the plate are Japanese pickles, and the green stuff is likely garnish because they didn't make me eat it! A vending machine full of beer!

Health Check up

I survived my health check-up today. It was bizarre since I know very little Japanese, but most of the time a guy from work was there with me to translate. I went to 7 different stations in about 20 minutes. They checked my vision, hearing, blood, urine, weight, height, blood pressure, breathing, chest x-ray, and one more crazy test I've never had done. They put 6 suction cups on my chest & abdomen, and then clamps on my bare wrists and ankles. I had to lay there for about 60 seconds. No clue what that measures!! Overall, I'm in very good health. All Mitsui employees have to go through this before they are even hired. They took a chance with me since they didn't know my health before I arrived! In addition, every employee gets an annual check up (more thorough if you are over 30), and if they find anything wrong, you will be put on an improvement plan, medication, or maybe even fired! This is quite common at workplaces in Japan. When asked if USA was like this, I just laughed and told them "No, it's actually illegal"!

Bullet Train

Today for work we went to visit the Yamaha plant in Kakegawa, which required a 6am bullet train ride. Top speeds = 400 kph, so ~250 mph. The train ride was rather smooth, calm, and much more spacious than an airplane. I was thinking how great it was, and then I got super nauseous from all of the objects whizzing past my head. Maybe there's a downside to everything. View of Mt. Fuji from the train. This is a rare sight, as usually the weather is not this clear. We were able to see it in the early morning, as well as on our ride home in the afternoon!!

Culture Day with Mika

November 4th was a national holiday in Japan: Culture Day. I received a private tour of Tokyo from Kelly's friend from CMU, Mika Ogawa. We had a busy day, including: The Imperial Palace, Asakusa, Sensoji Temple, rickshaw ride, Shimbamata Taishakuten Temple, Shibuya, and Takeshita Dori. Kerri in front of the famous big red lantern in Asakusa.

Busy streets of Asakusa.

Asahi Breweries Bldg affectionately known as the "poo building" by locals!

Kerri & Mika on a rickshaw ride!

Off we go... being pulled down the streets on Asakusa.

Mika is mixing our bowl full of surprise!

Cooking our "okonomiyaki". It's like a pancake stuffed with all sorts of odds & ends.

More food we got to cook on our own, but I can't remember the name!!

Parade for culture day. This pic goes with the one below it. These lovely ladies turn into swans.

You won't see any tractors or pick up trucks pulling floats in this parade everything was man power. People pushed the floats!!

Takeshita Dori. Great street for shopping near Shibuya.

Blood Types

I survived my first full day in Japan. Everyone at Mitsui was very nice and has great English. Low expectations are key. They were quite impressed when I threw out a "domo arigato" (thank you very much) at lunch today! Just wait until I can speak a full sentence :) Oddly enough, they took me to an Italian place for my first meal in Japan. No worries though, we went all out with sashimi and sushi for dinner. Here's a pic of the "appetizer". Mind you, this came out after about 5 other "appetizers", and I thought we were getting close to being done. After this plate of raw fish, we had about 3 more courses to go!! When I left the table at dinner, they started a conversation about blood types and were convinced that I was a type B. Apparently, blood types are kind of like our astrological signs in the USA (http://unexplainedmysteries.yuku.com/topic/703). They were shocked to find out I was a type A- but still tried all of their new and bizarre foods!

Here's one more pic of me getting ready for bed in my hotel issue robe and sash. Sorry I forgot to put on the standard-issue slippers!!

Hotel room

My hotel room in Tokyo Bathroom... the toilet is pretty fancy, but I haven't tried any of the features besides "flush"! And the showerhead did get moved up to the higher position. No crouching needed here!

The lights will only come on if your key is in this little cubby. That way you can't have the lights on if you're not in the room!

Land of the small. Check out the mini toothbrush and toothpaste. I put mine from home next to it to give you a reference point. View from my window in the morning Traffic at 6:30am. They drive on the opposite side of the road. That will take some getting used to! Smoking is welcomed everywhere, except in bed ;)

Finally in Tokyo!!

I arrived safely in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon! After a 13 hour plane ride, 90 minute bus ride, and 15 minute taxi ride, I now reside in my hotel room for the week. I was shocked to see that it was completely dark here at 5pm already, so I guess I will have to save my exploring for tomorrow! I'm glad Mitsui had someone meet me at the airport because now that I'm here, I realize how terrible my Japanese really is. I must keep practicing. I did get a new cell phone, but I haven't figured out how to use it yet! That will be a project for Monday.

Good bye to the USA

I'm down to my last 5 days left in the good ol' USA, and I've been busy visiting friends and family. Here are a few of my fave pictures... My old pals from Evansville (Amy, Kevin, Yuki) came to visit me even though my apartment was full of packed boxes!!

Transfreight friends (Lindsay & Rene) made a sweet picture book for me to take to Japan and everyone signed it yearbook-style!

It even featured some old Transfreight cronies who weren't at the farewell party :)

Kelly and Rylan flew in to Michigan as a surprise so I could see them one more time before my big move!

I got a preview of Rylan's Halloween costume... she's one cute ladybug!

Time Difference

Have you ever wondered what the time difference is between Michigan and Japan? Mystery solved... Japan is 13 hours ahead. Example: When it's 10pm Friday in Michigan, it's 11am Saturday in Japan.

Last Work Day & Flight

Progress is slow, but I did find out my last day of work at Transfreight is Friday, October 23rd. Also, I booked my flight to Tokyo for October 31st... hello frequent flyer miles :) If anyone asks me what I'm going to be for Halloween this year, I have several options: tourist, jet-setter, time traveller!!