Neil Hopcroft

A digital misfit

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I went to look at a couple of flats today, two in Kawasaki and near Shibuya. I think Im going to take one of the Kawasaki ones, but I dont know yet, I need to understand how much its going to cost – I think its not too much as its only a small deposit (normally you have to pay five or six months rent as the first payment). The place itself is on a small alley just off the main street of Kawasaki, so fairly convenient but quite quiet too. Ill probably go to see another place tomorrow, one near Yoyogi, but thats a good deal more expensive.

Wandering back to Shibuya station there was dog fight going on in the mall leading to the station, two miniature hounds were being prized apart by their owners…

Looking for food in Shibuya I noticed someone sat in a fast food place using a laptop…which gives some kind of indication of the difference between the society here and that back home, youd think twice before even taking a laptop to Soho, let alone sitting blatantly in a fast food resturant using it. I didnt eat there though because the menu looked too confusing, but I did find a honey mustard burger a couple of doors up.


Categories: Livejournal, Memories, Source.

/ 12 Comments

12 comments

  2. ex_lark_asc

    Beware of dodgy flat deals; in Madrid i moved into a flat with a very low deposit only to find that the monthly rent was astronomical by local standards and the landlady was an alcoholic psycho who made her money out of screwing over foreigners and dodging tax.

    Reply
    • neilh

      I’m looking for just such a dodgy deal, the initial deposits here are stupid huge – something like five months. Theres a kinda halfway deal where you rent a *fully* furnished place on a month by month basis. Not as cheap as renting properly, but not so much deposit either.

      Reply
        • neilh

          They are helping, one of the admin people is coming with me to translate, so the deal I’ll get isn’t quite as dodgy as I’d get on my own…but I’m still unconvinced I’ll get a good deal. Still, doesn’t matter that much.

          Reply
  3. evilmandykins

    i will call kaytea tonight (err.. yer morning. whatever) and ask her about the areas so see if there is something you should know….
    i will also take a beautiful piccie of the very disturbing pinochio sculptures for you. cos i think you need them

    Reply
    • neilh

      Thank you – I heard from Kaytea, will see if shes got any info for me.

      When I asked the people here about bad areas they just looked at me blankly and said that some people take three hours on the train to get to the office.

      Fear 200ft mutant inflatable Pinocchio.

      Reply
  4. edling

    Questions….

    Kinda related to your questions post, and kinda-related to all the others too, but this is the first time I’ve had the chance to put fingers to keyboard, sooo….
    Some questions for you, they’re all getting at the same thing, but “What’s it like?” is a little too open-ended:

    • Does it feel like you’re somewhere with a very different cultural inheritance? ie: Could you be out wandering round the city and imagine it was maybe somewhere in the west, but with a huge asian population and an awful lot of local colour?
    • How do you think the average Japanese in the street regards you?
    • Any obvious generation gap?
    • What’s the weather like?

      • Thassit from me for now- going to take the opportunity of actually being at home at a reasonable hour to get some kip….

    Reply
    • neilh

      Re: Questions….

      Does it feel like you’re somewhere with a very different cultural inheritance? ie: Could you be out wandering round the city and imagine it was maybe somewhere in the west, but with a huge asian population and an awful lot of local colour?
      Its very different. While lot of things are familiar the entire social structure is different, so everything is based on a different foundation. They don’t seem to have a heritage of family in quite the same way we do, most of the apartments I’ve seen have been single room places obviously designed for individuals (partly because thats the kind of thing I’m looking for, and partly because thats all there seems to be). In some parts of the city you could almost imagine you’re somewhere in the west, but even there you see things that aren’t the same somehow. Its almost like they still think of McDonalds as a cool place to eat, rather than an emergency I’ve-got-ten-minutes-and-need-some-food kinda place.
      How do you think the average Japanese in the street regards you?
      With tolerance. I was expecting Tokyo to be a more culturally diverse city, given the amount of western influence it has seen. I feel…different…sometimes, but its not threatening, just like they don’t really understand why anyone from outside would want to come to their city. The people in the office are from such diverse backgrounds that theres no confusion whatsoever, though they keep thinking I’m Finnish.
      Any obvious generation gap?
      Not that I’ve noticed, though places like Shibuya and Shinjuku are full of young people, in the same way Soho and Camden are.
      What’s the weather like?
      Rainy. But its a hot rain that would feel quite pleasant if you didn’t have to sit in a damp suit all day after getting caught in it.

      Reply

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