Sunday, June 22, 2014

Four Years Living In Tokyo Today!

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Sandwiches! Four years ago today I packed up my life and moved to Tokyo! Best decision of my life.

I took an aerobics class this morning. I forgot they turn off the regular lights and put on disco lights at the end. Here I was, at 11am, a foreigner in Tokyo, dancing away with a room full of Japanese people yelling 'Yew!' and 'Yeah!'. Hah. Hilarious way to mark this anniversary.


The gym classes are always a good two-in-one deal. I get a workout and get a free Japanese lesson at the same time. I pride myself on being quite coordinated when it comes to dance after years of Physi and Latin American dance (and hey, I danced in the Sydney Olympic Opening Ceremony, you know ha ha) but oh dear, today I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, wobbling around like a crazy woman, awkwardly two beats behind everyone. You know when you see beginner dancers throwing their arms up in the air only to find that the rest of the class have already moved onto the next step (where the arms are NOT in the air) and their two little arms are the only ones sticking up. That was me! Gaijin represent! At one stage the entire class was facing me because I'd missed one of the '三拍子' (triple time) or whatever the instructor was rattling on about. 三拍子, by the way, sounded very much like the pronounciation for 'three seconds' which kind of had me confused. Three seconds - no, wait - three times! By the time I'd realised this, then they were all up to the second time and I was still holding for three seconds. Jeez. I had to laugh at myself. That's what happens when you decide to launch back into a fitness routine with the advanced class at Tipness. I've decided to blame it entirely on my less than perfect Japanese rather than admit that I've lost my touch when it comes to the moves on the dance floor.

Some say it takes hearing a new word three times before you remember it. I think I've finally got 'くりかえし' (repeat) after today. The first time I heard it, I was standing in a queue in a Shinjuku department store just before one of my workshops. An announcement came over the loud speaker 'We will soon have a workshop by the very popular blogger Hello Sandwich-san, くりかえし, we will soon have a workshop by the very popular blogger Hello Sandwich-san'. Ha, very popular, I wish! They will try anything to round up the masses! It always fascinates me the way Japanese words get stuck in your word bank.

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I'm so happy to be living here.

Taking shoes off indoors, road workers who bow as you walk past, a friendly お疲れ様です(good job) said to you after you try on a dress, polka dot trucks, packaging that is aesthetically designed and also easy to open (WHY this is not the norm everywhere continues to baffle me), bleach in tiffany blue and pink bottles, being able to call up and select a re-delivery time for courier packages, Sekaido and Tokyu Hands and their endless craft supplies, nomihoudai parties, trains that come down-to-the-second on time and arrive at stations each with their own little melody, convenience stores that are actually convenient where you can do anything from send a package / pay bills / buy delicious food or even collect a package, points cards, walking home through smoky back alleys of six-seater yakitori bars, spotting men walk to the local sento with their little plastic basket of shampoo / body wash and towel, the pleasant smell of washing liquid running under the drains in Shimokitazawa, the almost curated display of Japanese books in Sanseido, shops that stay open later than 6pm and bars that stay open until 26:00, the orderly rush at Shinjuku station in peak hour, the polite nods from strangers who apologise in advance for squashing onto the train just when you are certain there is absolutely no more room (there is always more room), the glistening little red lights on the top of buildings, legal 'roadies' on cat street with friends, buses shaped like cartoon dogs, missing the last train and being able to walk home from Shibuya, making wishes at the shrine, the sweet smell of Miso soup cooking on a neighbours stove, the daily 5pm bell and it's variations in different neighbourhoods, oshibori, bike riding without helmets...gosh, and so much more.

Love you Japan!

xoxo

Related post: My first day living in Tokyo.

25 comments:

  1. Congratulations on 4 years Ebony! Thanks for sharing this lovely list. I can hardly wait to visit Tokyo again.

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    1. Thank you Elethea for your lovely comment! I hope you can visit Tokyo very soon! And please come along to a Hello Sandwich workshop if you feel crafty! xoxo

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  2. Wow 4 years today, congrats!! I remember I got your Tokyo guide when I first moved there in 2011.. it was ever so beautiful and helpful. Im in Taiwan now, which I love, but will be moving back to Tokyo next year.. can't wait!!

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    1. Thank you Samantha! Oh yay - great news you'll be moving back to Tokyo!!! Look forward to seeing you here!

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  3. I think Japan ruined me for other places, for all the reasons listed above and more! Congratulations on 4 years of happy times :) I hope at this time next year I might be just beginning a more permanent stint in Japan.

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    1. HAH! That's so true! Japan has ruined so many places for me, too! Would be great if you moved here next year! Do it!!!

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  4. Congratulations! What a great post. I've enjoyed your blog very much over the years, both the photos of your adorable crafts and your adventures in Tokyo :)

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  5. Congratulations! I loved reading your list. I will visit Japan next year (hopefully there's one of your workshops then, I would definitely visit it) and I really hope that I can live there some day. Until then I study Japanese as much as I can. Have a great anniversary!

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  6. Hey Ebony, what a coincidence that I just read about your article in Kinfolk today on your moving to Tokyo-;) Happy anniversary! What you write about Tokyo is so true and sweet! I work with VOGUE China in Beijing. It'd be lovely if we could meet in Shimokitazawa (I love that small and lively community too!) next time!

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  7. Big congrats Ebony! Thank you for sharing, there are so many of my favourite things included here too. You keep me connected to my amazing experiences there-thank you :)

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  8. Sandwich-san!!! hehehe! Congratulations!!! And here's to another 4. xox

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  9. 3 months living in Tokyo for me, and I feel just the same about EVERYTHING! Love this city <3

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  10. Thank you for sharing the sights and smells of Japan that my mom and the woman my children call Obachan cannot voice any longer.

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  11. Congratulations on your four-year anniversary :) Last month I visited Shimokitazawa for the first time after reading so much about the place on your blog and I love love the place!! This weekend I am going to visit Daikanyama. Thank you so much for writing about all these places!

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  12. What a wonderful list of memories and thankfulness. I lived in Japan for a little over 2 years. Though I only visited Tokyo a few times, I did live in several large cities on Honshu. Your list brings back so many happy memories. Keep up the good work on your blog. I really enjoy "living" in Japan alongside you.

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  13. You managed to make me cry (with happiness) - I unfortunately found Japan too late to be able to live there but visit as much as I can. Your enthusiasm in the every day makes me glad that other people get the wonder that is Tokyo. I adore your blog and hope the wonder never stops - give a list every year! Thank you Hello Sandwich!!!

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  14. my whole family loves Japan, my parents go every year! this year my husband and I went with them and the whole time he was saying things like 'next year we should go there...' and 'we'll have to remember this bar for next year...' so I guess we're joining the 'going to Japan every year' club! haha. especially because we live in Manila at the moment, it's such a crazy, filthy, chaotic city that Tokyo is so lovely and clean and organised in comparison!

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  15. happy anniversary, ebony ! spent a week in tokyo last year and your tokyo guide was the first guide I thought of (and purchased). would definitely love to head back again and spend more time. living in japan would be a dream - and thanks for allowing us to live vicariously through you. I thought my fascination with japan died out after my late teens but apparently it is still around, just hidden somewhere inside, waiting to be rediscovered ! bonne anniversaire !

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  16. You summed it up well DA, B! CONGRATULATIONS!!

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  17. i'm waiting for the day i can live in japan too! Meanwhile i will just read your blog :D

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  18. I have enjoyed your descriptions and thoughts on living in Japan so much, Ebony. I love your positive outlook and appreciation for all the wonderful little things in daily life :)

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  19. Wow, that's quite some time! And I am now realizing it's also four years I am reading your blog... <3 which is still super inspiring for me! Ale

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  20. Hi Ebony, I have future plans of visiting Japan after studying and I really want to go there after reading your description of it! It sounds like a REALLLY great place to go! :)

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  21. Wow, I admire you! That's really big courage - moving to Japan.

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  22. Your post just made me want to go to Tokyo – and it was never on my bucket list.

    Well done! :)

    I hope to read more about your adventures...

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