Just Another Day May 31, 2007
Posted by Kristen in Tokyo Adventures.1 comment so far
My advisor at Wellesley had a favorite saying: “Everything is either trivial or impossible. If you know how to do it, it’s trivial; if you don’t know how to do it, it’s impossible.” Of course, Prof. Hirschhorn was talking about incredibly difficult theoretical mathematical proofs. But the saying comes back to me so frequently that I believe it really applies to just about everything new we encounter.
And so it is with life in Japan. Everything starts out impossible. But if you can deal with that, you just might find that it gradually becomes trivial.
Today I had an adventure full of impossibles.
I met Mark for lunch and planned to do some shopping afterwards. I thought I would go by bicycle to give myself more flexibility and explore the city a little. I knew I could get to his office in 10-15 minutes, and then from there to Shibuya in 10-15 more. Going to Shibuya is one of my regular reminders of how small New York is in comparison with Tokyo. Like Times Square on steroids, Shibuya is one of the many big, crowded commerical areas dotted around the city. It is centered around a commuter rail station, crammed with departments stores and shops, dotted with neon and an enormous video screen. The streets come out in a star from the station and it is easy for someone like me (with little sense of direction) to get lost. It’s also very crowded. I have been there several times by train but never by bicycle. I’m not sure why I thought this would be a good idea, but it seemed worth a try.
Here’s what Shibuya Crossing looks like at night; it’s just about this crowded during the day.
I knew it might be a challenge to park my bicycle. Lots of people travel by bicycle in Tokyo, but it seems to be illegal to park your bike almost anywhere on the sidewalk. Everyone does it anyway. The police do routinely ticket illegally parked bikes and even cart them away, so there is some risk. I still can’t figure out where it’s okay to park. When I got to Shibuya today, however, I found an actual bicycle parking area. So I put my bike into one of the slots and locked it up. Then I saw that there was a machine to pay for the parking. Okay, kind of a drag to have to pay, but no big deal, I thought. Except for this: the machine was labelled only in Japanese. I had no idea how to use it. So I decided to go back and remove my bicycle. But when I tried to take it out of the slot, I found it was locked. Then I realized that you would have to pay in order to remove your bicycle. But of course I couldn’t pay because I couldn’t read the machine. Hmmm. I stood around for a bit, hoping someone else would come and park their bicycle so I could see what to do. Then I stood around a bit more, trying to look vaguely confused and helpless, hoping someone would offer to help (this often works). No luck. Then I called Noriko to ask if she knew how to use this kind of machine (maybe it was very common, I thought, and everyone would know how to use it). Unfortunately, she had never used one before. And then, of course, I couldn’t read the instructions to her for me to translate because, and this is the thing that I just can’t get over . . .
I AM ILLITERATE.
Yup, that’s me. Competent, intelligent, well-educated; yet I can’t read or write in my host country. A very strange and unsettling fact, which is unlikely to change anytime soon.
So anyway, back to my adventure. I did the only thing possible, which was to walk away and go on with my errands, hoping that when I returned I’d be able to find someone to help me. As I walked away I wondered: would I be able to find my way back here again? Could I possibly remember in this urban maze where I parked my bike? All I could do was check for a landmark or two and hope for the best.
Next, I went in search of Bic Camera again. This is the same store I was looking for when I got lost in Shibuya the first time back in December. This time I thought I’d look for the main store instead of the smaller, older branch I’d gone to before. I thought it would be bigger and easier to find. It still took me a long time to find it. When I finally noticed it, I realized it was the biggest store on the corner of the main street that I had looked at 10 times. This time I knew it would be labelled in Japanese, and I knew what the katakana letters looked like. It is just so very strange to read symbols and letters that are not Roman characters that I still often miss the obvious even when it’s right in front of my nose.
In the store, I was looking for a specific kind of cable to hook up the new TV in the bedroom. I couldn’t find it, so I asked a salesman for help. He didn’t know what I was looking for. Eventually, we each took out our cell phones to call for translation help. At one point, I was talking to his colleague in English and he was talking to Noriko in Japanese. Though we still didn’t manage to communicate much, it seemed clear that they didn’t have the cable. Strike 2.
Next stop, Citibank, to pay a bill. There are two ways to pay bills here in Japan: in person, in cash; or by bank transfer. No checks in the mail. To do a bank transfer, you have to go to the bank and either fill out a form with the teller or enter the information in the ATM. In general Citibank is pretty friendly to English-speaking customers and the ATM’s have menus in English for the basic transactions like withdrawals and balance inquiries. Not so for the bank transfer function, however. That is only in Japanese. So in order to pay a bill, I have to go the bank during regular banking hours and ask a bank employee to help me enter the information into the ATM. Today I got to the bank at 3:15, only to find that the branch closed at 3:00. So there I was again, with all the tools available to accomplish the task I needed, yet unable to use them. Because, of course, I can’t read. Strike 3.
At this point I just wanted to go shopping and buy something, anything at all. Last time I had an impossible day I came home with a waffle maker. This time, I very nearly came home with an ice cream maker (but it was a very silly bright red thing made by DeLonghi in cooperatin with Disney, and it cost about $100). I contented myself with a small canvas shoulder bag to hold all the extra stuff I seem to be always carting around. (I’m still longing for an ice cream maker, however, so I can have something other than vanilla, green tea, rum raisin or mediocre chocolate flavors!)
Finally, it was time to go back and face the bicycle challenge. I found my way back to the station and then, somewhat to my surprise, back around to the bicycle parking area. And as I had hoped, this time there was someone standing around whom I could ask for help. The machine turned out to be ridiculously simple: you enter the number of the slot where your bike is parked, then push a button. The display tells you to insert 100 yen; you put in your coin, and then you can pull your bicycle back out.
Just like Mr. Hirschhorn said: if you know how to do it, it’s trivial.
And then, I even found my way home without getting lost. (I did have one further scare, however, as the sky darkened and looked terribly threatening. Why didn’t I think to put in a raincoat? Luckily, I beat the storm home. Whew!)
Even after 8 months, it seems that I still regularly find myself in situations that are completely unfamiliar and appear impossible. I thought that I would gradually learn how things work and then I would be able to do whatever I need to without getting stuck. But now I think it will take a very long time to get to that point. In the meantime, however, I find that I am learning something even more valuable: being in a completely unfamiliar situation and not knowing what to do is actually okay. I can just ride the wave of anxiety, slow down, look at the situation, and do whatever I know how to do. I have a cell phone and know how to use the trains, so I can never be completely lost. And I am surprised to find that it’s kind of liberating to be able to face an impossible situation and, in a very normal and mundane way, without any brilliant flashes of insight, work your way out.
Of course, it sure helps to come home to mediocre chocolate ice cream and an episode of Grey’s Anatomy downloaded from iTunes!
Gaijin-san May 23, 2007
Posted by Kristen in Tokyo Adventures.add a comment
Today I planned to meet my friend Heather to go to a Japanese crafts store in a neighborhood that was unfamiliar to both of us. We agreed to meet at the subway station, but didn’t know exactly where to find each other since we didn’t know the layout of the station. Heather found the name of one exit and suggested we meet there.
When I got to the station, I went to the exit where I thought we were supposed to meet (though I wasn’t entirely sure since the names didn’t match exactly). I went up both escalators and out onto the street, but I didn’t see here there. I looked around a bit, checked my watch, and read the name of the exit again. Then I decided to call her on her cell phone. I listened to the voicemail greeting in Japanese, caught the words “name” and “phone number”, hoped I had the right number, and left a message. Just as I was finishing up, a 50-ish Japanese businessman came up to me and started speaking in Japanese. I couldn’t understand most of what he said, but I caught the words “gaijin-san” as he pointed towards the entrance to the station and indicated the other direction. Clearly, he had seen another gaijin (foreigner) wandering around looking for someone. And obviously, we had to be looking for each other. I walked back down the stairs and there she was.
It’s quite an experience to be living in a city of 26 million people and yet to never be anonymous.
Christmas Scenes around Town December 20, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Holiday, Tokyo Adventures.add a comment
I know that everyone has been wondering what Christmas is like in Tokyo. So here are some pictures to give you an idea of what it’s like here this time of year.
Some of the leaves have fallen, but there’s still plenty of color. It feels strange to prepare for Christmas when it feels like mid-October.
There are a lot of Christmas decorations up around town, and they have been up since early November. The Japanese seem to like Christmas but have no sentimental attachment to it. Here are some of the Christmas decorations from the big shopping area in Shibuya:
Some of the decorations are pretty silly. Juliet loves these singing dwarves, as do all the children who pass by. You often see kids standing next to them as in this picture. They are inflated by some kind of air hose and their heads bob up and down to the music. I found this a very strange sight. First of all, they’re the Disney dwarves from Snow White. Secondly, they are “singing” a random collection of soft pop songs. And finally, as I realized a few days ago, the music comes from a stereo that is left unattended outside 24 hours a day. It may be bolted down, but it has not been damaged, harmed or vandalized in an way.
And here is the equally silly inflatable Santa which, like the dwarves, is at the main intersection of Hiroo a few blocks away. He also has music, though he doesn’t bob.
Many of the decorations are understated and elegant, as this Christmas tree in a nearby shop window.
Christmas is not a time for family; it is a time for going out and for parties. Here are some of the things you can buy to prepare for a party:
We plan to have a fairly traditional family Christmas at home. We will have to do most of our celebrating on Christmas Eve, however, because Christmas Day is a regular work day and Mark will have to go to work. We considered buying a real tree when they were available at National Azabu, but quickly decided it was ridiculous to pay over $300 (plus delivery and removal). So instead I bought a nice-looking artificial tree that we can fold up and put away until next year. We are decorating the tree with origami ornaments, most of which have survived Juliet’s exploration. I will write more after Christmas and tell you how it all went.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
People watching on the subway November 29, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Japanese Culture, Tokyo Adventures.1 comment so far
I like riding the subway because it gives me a chance to observe people up close. Because we live in an expat neighborhood, I often encounter Americans and other foreigners when I walk around near home; on the subway, I’m quite often the only non-Japanese person.
In some ways, everyone looks alike. They all have black hair, except for the women who have lightened thiers to one of a few shades of dark brown or auburn. They all have “Asian” eyes. I have been thinking about this for some time: what is it that distinguishes the eyes of Asian people? They’re brown; they’re narrower and less round than ours; they have a little fold of skin on the inner corner. It’s hard to characterize, yet we recognize them immediately by their eyes. What do our eyes look like to them? Are they noticeable for being large, round, blue?
Despite the sameness of a few obvious features, they all look completely individual and distinct from one another. When I look at their faces I can pick out many of the same “types” of people I might see on the subway in New York. We tend to describe people by their hair and eye and skin color, as though those are the things that differentiate us from one another. It’s interesting to see that these are really not the things that set us apart after all.
Today I saw a young woman on the subway who was well-dressed, with her hair neatly styled, a perfect manicure, and makeup. And her teeth were crooked. What a surprise! When was the last time you saw a young person with crooked teeth?
Branching Out November 21, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Kids, Language, Tokyo Adventures.add a comment
I started this post over a week ago, then got overwhelmed with preparations for Thanksgiving. Here, belatedly, are some of my recent adventures getting around this unusual city.
A couple of weeks ago, I went in search of an electronics store to buy a webcam and headset for my computer. I decided to go to one called Bic Camera, because I’d been to the store before and I have a “pointo cardo” (they’re really into point cards here). I set out for Shibuya, thinking that was the location of the store I’d been to before. It turned out this was a different store, and I wasn’t sure where to find it. I wandered around for awhile and tried to just enjoy exploring without worrying too much about finding anything. This worked for some time, but then I began to get annoyed because I really wanted the webcam and headset. I found a map near the subway station and located the store on the map. I set off in what I thought was the right direction, but couldn’t find the store. So I checked the map again, and found another location for the store in another direction. I walked up that street and looked, still to no avail. I walked many blocks, knowing it was too far. This is when I stumbled upon Colonel Sanders as Santa Claus. Finally, I found a policeman and asked him. He pointed me back in the direction I had come and added helpfully “right-hand side”. By this time I was determined to find it, so after walking back several blocks, I began walking slowly and looking for electronics. I listened closely. At last, I heard it: “bic-a bic-a bic-a bic camera!”, that inane little jingle that they always play outside the store. I looked up, and sure enough, there it was: The sign. Plain as day. Written in katakana.
It had never occurred to me that the sign would not be in English.
(Okay, in my defense, most big stores have signs in English–even those wtih Japanese names like Takashimaya.)
Another day, I decided to walk to the American Club. I had been told by a couple of different people in my building that it takes about 25 minutes to walk. I had never tried before, and thought it was time. Why had I never walked this relatively short distance in the 2 months I’ve been here? Well, because it’s nearly impossible to find things in this city. Why?
There are not street names in Tokyo.
Okay, to be fair, there are some major avenues that have names. Think University Avenue, Franklin Avenue, the West Side Highway, Broadway. But most streets are tiny little windy roads that are barely wide enough for 2 cars to pass and usually have no sidewalks. And they have no names. So you can look at a map, but you can’t actually find any of the streets unless you have really good spacial reasoning, which I apparently don’t. I took my map with me on this walk and I still got lost several times. But I persevered. I even asked directions from a Japanese person, a friendly-looking woman with young children. Later, lost again, I asked a policeman who spoke very good English. He directed me in a very roundabout way that didn’t seem to make sense according to my map. I asked if I couldn’t go a more direct way, and he said no, that wasn’t the way people go. So of course, being the stubborn, independent American I am, I had to try it my way anyway. And he was right: the “direct” way got me to the service entrance of the club with no way around to the front door. I had to walk around several blocks and up a hill with the stroller to finally get to the front entrance.
After an hour and 5 minutes, I finally made it to the entrance to the club. At this point, I hardly needed the workout–but would you have skipped it after all that effort? I went to the gym anyway.
I think I finally have to accept the fact that in order to learn my way around here, I have to be willing to get lost. Many times. This will be a challenge for me because I am very uncomfortable when I’m lost. And can’t read a map. And can’t ask for directions. It will be a good exercise in letting go, I think. It’s time to branch out a little more.
I’ve met some new people in our building during the past few weeks. Two women who live on the floor below decided to host a coffee for all the stay-at-home moms in the building and I got to meet and talk to several of the women I have seen in the elevator and the halls. It was a great relief to talk to new people and make new connections. And of course, several of them have children close in age to Isabella and Juliet. I was especially glad to meet our new neighbor down the hall, who had just moved from New Jersey with two girls, ages 4 and 6, who are also going to the New International School. To top it off, the older girl is named Isabella! The girls met soon after, and have been running down the hall to visit each other almost every day. Even better for my Isabella was getting to meet Rachel, 10, and Hana, 8, who live just downstairs. They grew up in Tokyo with a Japanese mother and an English father and go to an international school nearby. Isabella likes to hang out with the older girls and get help with her Japanese homework. It makes a big difference for us both to add more people to our social circles. And I think it’s great for Isabella to have friends she can visit completely independently. Finally, she can say “Bye, Mom, I’m going to Rachel and Hana’s. See you later!”
Now, if I can just figure out how to get her to come home on time . . . .
A City Scene November 15, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Food, Japanese Culture, Tokyo Adventures.2 comments
I stumbled across this yesterday when I was out shopping. I thought it was just too silly for words, so I had to share it. It seems they think St. Nick is a Kentucky Colonel!
A Day Out at the Science Museum November 13, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Kids, Tokyo Adventures.1 comment so far
Most exhibits were labelled in English at least somewhat, and when they weren’t, we just had more opportunities to experiment. We practiced our katakana, too.
It was really nice to get out and do something fun as visitors in this city. We hope to make lots more visits like this in the future.
A Visitor From America October 26, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Language, Tokyo Adventures, Visitors.1 comment so far
Earlier this week we had our very first visitor from the U.S. My brother Jon is here in Japan for his annual Aikido training, and was able to extend his visit by a few days in order to spend some time with us. He arrived in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon and had no trouble getting into the city on the comfortable airport bus to a nearby hotel. He astonished us all by sleeping until nearly 11:00 am Monday morning, a near impossibility with the 14-hour time difference!
We had a low-key day on Monday. We began with a stroll through nearby Arisugawa Park, a beautiful and lush landscaped park a few blocks from our apartment. Juliet enjoyed watching the ducks in the pond and we discovered a surprising black and yellow spider on a web between some trees. 
Further along, we went up the hill and found a lovely little waterfall. The park also includes a fairly nice (though rather dirty) playground that I visit with Juliet almost every day. We had a slightly adventuresome lunch at a noodle shop that had no menu in English but did have plastic food on display outside so that we could point to what we wanted. We found that there is something unexpected about ordering more than one of something: when Jon pointed to one bowl and said “ni” (which means “two”), the woman did not seem to understand and kept holding up fingers to ask how many. Mark and I had experienced the same problem before when ordering food. We resolved to find the answer to this puzzle soon.
Monday night was our now regular treat, kaiten sushi at Roppongi Hills. This time was a first for me, however, as we had a babysitter for Juliet and I got to eat my sushi without any little hands grabbing for my food! Isabella ordered several special plates by herself, to be sure she got her favorites without wasabe. It was exciting to see her trying out new words and being so brave.
On Tuesday Noriko came to babysit for Juliet and Jon and I set out for a day of sightseeing. Before we left we asked her about the mystery of ordering two of something. The answer is that in Japanese, they don’t use the same numbers for counting 1-2-3 as they do for saying a number of objects. If you want two of something, you have to say “futatsu”. (That is, of course, unless it’s something flat. Then it’s “nimai”. Long and thin–”nihon”. Two people is “futari”. Got that? There will be a quiz tomorrow). Jon and I resolved to use this at lunch today.
This was my very first day as a tourist in Japan! Knowing almost nothing about sightseeing in Tokyo, we went for the most obvious sites. First we visited the very famous temple Senso-ji at Asakua. 
It was a cold and rainy day but we still enjoyed walking around the temple and surrounding shrines, and browsing the nearby tourist shops. Jon was especially interested in all the elegant hakama in different designs and colors. They wear these for Aikido, but only in basic black. We found a tempura place for lunch and tried out our new word, “futatsu”. Hooray, it worked! Another mystery unlocked.
Next we got back on the subway and headed for the Imperial Palace. Although the palace and most of its grounds are off-limits, there are many other beautiful gardens to stroll through. We walked by the Budokan, which wasn’t much to see. We found the Science Museum but decided not to go in, as it would be a good place to visit with Isabella. Eventually we found our way to the Crafts Museum and perused the special exhibit, a display of modern Japanese jewelry that is at times elegant, avant-garde, whimsical, or even silly. It was the kind of unusual and pleasantly unexpected site that one occasionally happens upon during this sort of stream-of-consciousness sightseeing. Back home with aching feet, there was just time for Jon to pack up his one compact bag and head for the train.
Catching up October 22, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Gripes, Kids, Tokyo Adventures.add a comment
I have found it a challenge to keep up with this journal, though I very much want to. While Juliet and Mark snooze and Isabella watches High School Musical for the 8th time, I thought I’d breeze through a quick summary.
Last weekend was Isabella’s birthday. Mark had to go to New York on business the week before but was able to return Friday night in order to be here the whole day. The day started out with a bang as we experienced our first earthquake. Mark, jet-lagged, had been up for 2 hours and Isabella, excited for the big day, was up with him. I was still asleep at 6:30 am when I felt the bed shake. At first I thought it was Isabella coming to ask if she could open presents, but soon I realized she could not move the bed like that. The bed rocked back and forth as though moved by invisible hands as I gradually awoke, puzzled. It was hard to tell how long it went on, perhaps 2 minutes. It was a very strange sensation, but not frightening. I was glad to have been half-awake; Mark and Isabella were a little more worried, I think. And then it was over. Nothing rattled, nothing broken. It was a reminder that we need to get our earthquake kit in order.
We celebrated the birthday at the American club, with swimmng and bowling. We went elsewhere for dinner: Isabella’s favorite, kaiten sushi. At this kind of sushi restaurant, plates are placed on a conveyor belt that rolls continually by the tables. You just pick up what you want as it goes by (the plates are color-coded by price). As you can see, Isabella enjoyed her dinner very much! 
Juliet’s favorite part of the dinner was feeding her tamago (egg) sushi to Mommy.
The following week was another busy one, as always. Tuesday I had my first Japanese lesson and then headed off to the American Club for my first workout in nearly 2 months. I was so pleased to be exercising again and even managed to make a decent dinner on Tuesday night, mushroom ravioli with a shiitake-cream sauce. But then on Wednesday morning I woke up completely exhausted and feeling thoroughly sick. I spent most of the next 2 days in bed. Luckily, Noriko was here to help me out during the day. Thursday evening Mark had a late phone conference with New York and didn’t get home until 11 pm. Then he had to pack for his business trip to Beijing the next day. He awoke at 5:30 am on Friday morning to catch the bus to the airport. I felt somewhat better on Friday and was able to stagger through the day alone with Juliet, as Noriko has another job on Fridays (Mondays, too). My new rice cooker and some frozen chicken meatballs got us through the evening.
Mark returned Saturday afternoon. Now I’ve had a day to recover and feel almost back to normal. Do I dare try to work out again? Of course the longer I put it off, the more likely I am to get sick. It’s a tricky thing, getting back into shape when you’re overtired and (dare I say it?) on the far side of 40.
Today was another adventurous day. We all piled into a taxi and headed off to a big department store to try to do some home shopping together. We came home with a fancy lunchbox set for Isabella (they’re really quite elaborate here–now I’m going to have to learn how to pack Japanese lunches!), a nice pair of chopsticks for each of us, and some exercise equipment. We were able to get a set of weights and a sort of simple stepmaster-thing and will have them delivered next week. Then, for a treat, we added on a new espresso machine. We can’t wait to try it out! As much as I love regular coffee, I’ve found that nothing beats the punch or speed of a good strong cup of espresso when you’ve got a one-year-old to chase around!
Furniture in Translation October 11, 2006
Posted by Kristen in Food, Gripes, Kids, Language, Tokyo Adventures.add a comment
When I woke up this morning, the day ahead seemed relatively simple and manageable. The plan was this: in the morning, the furniture rental company would come to pick up our rental furniture; in the afternoon, our new furniture would be delivered. As I had already braved Ikea on my own last week, and had all of that furniture safely delivered yesterday (well, all I was able to buy–but that’s still a story for another time), I thought this would be very easy.
I had asked Noriko to come at 9:00 so that I could be sure she would be here when the rental guys came. Once she arrived, I finished up the task of stripping the beds and cleaning off the tables. The guys finally arrived around 10:00. The removal took a little longer than I had anticipated but went smoothly. They were helpful and accommodating when I asked them to move the TV from the living room into the den (it’s their TV, but we’re keeping it for awhile longer). At 11:30 they were gone. The furniture delivery was supposed to come between 1:00 and 3:00, so I decided to go out for lunch and do some errands. As Isabella’s birthday is coming up, I had to buy cake making ingredients and supplies (cupcakes to bring to school tomorrow, and a cake for the family celebration). After a quick sushi lunch, I managed to find everything I needed for the cake. Granted, the cake pans cost $9 each, but I was happy to find them. I had better luck with the plastic boxes in which to transport the cupcakes, which I found at the 100 yen store–which means they cost 100 yen apiece, around 85 cents. I got home right at 1:00. The furniture delivery team from IDC arrived at around 2:00. Consistent with the high level of service in Japan generally, and with this rather upscale store in particular, the salesman who had helped us came along to oversee the delivery. It seemed like overkill at the time, but I soon found out that it was a very good thing.
After they rang the doorbell and I let them into the building, it took quite some time before they came up to the door. I wondered if they were moving the truck or something. When they finally arrived, the salesman told me that they were here to deliver the furniture but that there was a problem. Apparently, they were greeted at the front door by the superintendent who informed them that they would have to put up protection on all of the walls, including the stairwell and elevator, before they could move any furniture. And, apparently, this was very unusual and they were not prepared for it. The super had told them that if they could not do it, they would have to come back another day. Now if you’ve been following the story carefully, you’ll realize that we had no furniture at all in the apartment at this point.
Our helpful salesman told me that he would do everything possible to deliver the furniture and suggested that I come with him to the building office to talk to the super. What followed was about 45 minutes of me listening to people talk to each other very politely and with strained smiles on their faces, after which I would be informed by Mr. Salesman that they still said no. The main office was called. The man authorized to make the decision was in a meeting and we were told to wait 20 minutes to speak to him. Mr. Salesman politely said no, they should call him out of the meeting to talk to us (at least that’s what he told me he said). Then Mr. Super decided to come and look at the truck and see the furniture to be moved. The verdict at this point was no, it could not be moved without required protection. At this point I explained that I had a child to pick up from school in an hour and a half, after which I would have to sit them down to dinner somewhere and put them to bed, all of which would be very difficult without furniture! Finally Mr. Guy-in-Charge was out of his meeting and called Mr. Super and everyone spoke to him, except that Mr. Super wouldn’t let me speak to him. This was very frustrating, as Mr. Guy-in-Charge turned out to be the real estate agent who had showed us the apartment and who has been our main contact on all apartment issues. In short, he’s the one person I could have actually asked for help. But finally, for a reason that was never clear to me, Mr. Super decided that they could move the furniture if they were very careful and if he supervised to make sure they didn’t scratch the walls.
At this point, I came back up to the apartment to see how Noriko and Juliet were doing. Juliet was in bed, and Noriko had decided to help out by starting to put together Isabella’s new dresser from Ikea. A truly kind and thoughtful gesture, really, but now this meant that we were committed to finishing the project today. Now Ikea furniture is relatively straightforward to assemble, but it is not trivial. You really need to have 2 people (thanks for the tip, Caryl!) to fit some of the pieces together. It went fairly smoothly until we got to the point where you were supposed to put the back on. Step 1, nail in top left corner of back piece. Step 2, nail in top right. Step 3, nail in bottom left and right. Step 4, nail in the rest of the 30 nails provided.
In spite of the 30 nails (and managing to only poke one through to the inside of the drawer), we were nearly finished by 4:00, time to leave and pick up Isabella. I asked Noriko to go and stayed to finish the dresser. Juliet, thankfully, continued to sleep. The lovely furniture from IDC was progressing nicely. Finally, the day was winding down. At around 5:00, all the new furniture was in place, Isabella was home and Juliet up. The only problem at this point was that I had never managed to get anything simple to make for dinner. Then a brilliant idea struck me–why not have Noriko help me order a pizza?
They have Domino’s and Pizza Hut here; the only problem, of course, is that you need to be able to actually communicate to the person on the phone if you want to order a pizza. Therefore, we had not tried this before. I didn’t have any menus, having thrown them all away because I couldn’t read them. So I decided to go on the internet. You can follow along on my journey at http://www.dominos.jp/ . When I saw the website, I got the idea that I could create a web account so that I could order by myself in the future. Okay, if you’re following along with me, you probably see that this is a ridiculous idea. But if you’d had the day I had, you’d understand my desperation! With Noriko’s help, I got as far as entering in all my personal informatin (including, for some reason, my gender and birthdate). But when I tried to click on the button to create the account, I got an error. It seems you have to type your name in Katakana, one of the 3 Japanese scripts. I guess I was getting a wee bit obsessed at this point, because I decided to try to figure out how to do this on my computer. I thought maybe I could enter the text in Word and then cut and paste. I checked Help for Word, which then led me to Microsoft Office help on the web, and on and on. I found that support for Asian languages in installed by default in Windows XP, and even managed to get a little drop-down menu on my toolbar. But even when I set it to Japanese, nothing happened. Alas, I was foiled. No web account today.
In the end, Noriko called in my order. We got a large pizza with sausage and mushrooms, for about $20.50. I guess those stories about the price of pizza in Japan are at least partly true. But on the positive side, you don’t tip here. And the happy ending is that they now have our name and address in their computer and can retrieve it with our phone number. We also learned that there is usually someone there who speaks English and that if we speak slowly, they may be able to take our order. This is a major breakthrough in dining convenience! And the pizza, despite the very strange-looking yellow cheese, was very good. The crust was definitely superior to Domino’s in New York.
Now if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll recall the bit about the cupcakes above. Ah yes, the cupcakes. For tomorrow at school. Once Juliet was in bed, Isabella and I had cupcakes to bake. At least here, I had the sense to take a reasonable shortcut: I bought a Duncan Hines cake mix at National Azabu, the international supermarket down the street. Now, finally, the cupcakes are baked and cooled and merely await topping with the violet-colored buttercream frosting we made. (Yes, they have food coloring here–but it is a powder. We opened the little boxes to take out the little bottles and found tiny spoons. You dip the tiny spoon into the powder and dump it into your food, trying not to get it all over your clothes in the process. Thank goodness Isabella had the idea for us to put on aprons!)
And now at long last, I will put the sheets on my new bed and then sit down for a few minutes on some of our very comfy new furniture. The new day will start too early once again, and I have cupcakes to deliver.
