August 21 -- Arrival in Tokyo and the trip to SetaAugust 1997 -- We make the Big Leap across the Pacific
August 21 -- Arrival in Tokyo and the trip to Seta
August 22 -- Unpacking!
August 23 -- Hershey arrives!! And we get the news of Monica's arrival.
August 24 -- Fireworks by the River
August 25 -- Registered aliens
August 27 -- School starts
August 30 -- Impressions of school, Yomiuriland, Stupid Gaijin Tricks
August 21 -- Arrival in Tokyo!
4PM
Hello out there!!! We made it!
The flight was uneventful, albeit long, and we managed to claim our 14 pieces of luggage without much fuss. The customs guy just waved us through, and on the way out we saw several other "gaijin" families pushing multiple luggage carts as well. Must be a big day for moving to Japan.
We found our "wagon-taxi" driver, who successfully piled all our stuff in his van, and took off to find the kennel so we could visit with Hershey. The driver asked directions a few times, but finally found the place. Then we met up with Japanese bureaucracy at its finest: they'd lost track of the appointment Kent made on the 8th to visit Hershey, and couldn't figure out why we were there. It took us about an hour of waiting and dealing with a bunch of different low-level bureaucrats to get in to see him. He looks good, hasn't lost a lot of weight, and was very happy to see us. We walked him around and had him do all his tricks many times, and gave him lots of treats. Then we piled back into the wagon-taxi for the drive to Seta.
It took just under 2 hours to get to our house, and the girls slept most of the way. We spent about half an hour hauling suitcases here and there, then Colleen and I took the grocery list and walked to the Tokyu store. She figures the grocery store is close to our house here than Addison School is to our Fife house, and I'm sure she's right. We got a few basics, like milk and yogurt and cereal (yes, you can find Cocoa Krispies in the grocery stores here), and also picked up some noodles and fireworks. Just what every family needs. Colleen and Kate played with the fireworks while Kent and I snarfed some tekka maki I'd picked up at the store -- I was starving! Then we walked down to the main street (I'm sure I'll learn the name of this street someday) and went to the top of the Takashiyama Department Store to eat dinner. We had a great meal, featuring an incredible Caesar salad, then took our tired bodies back to the house and collapsed. Everyone slept until about 4AM, when we collectively woke up, then conked out again until 6AM (me and Kent) or 7:15 AM (The kids).
Kate is now enjoying her first bowl of Japanese Cocoa Krispies, and declares them excellent. She and Colleen have also figured out how to turn the TV on -- those survival skills will always serve them well, I'm sure. The movers show up at 9AM with all our stuff, and I'm sure we'll have a busy day unpacking.
Lots of love to you all!
-- T.
Sb: Unpacking!
Hiya, folks!
The moving van showed up yesterday morning just before 9, and the very efficient crew unloaded our two tons of "stuff" in way less than an hour. Kent stood at the front door checking off the boxes and items as they arrived, the girls were upstairs unpacking boxes in their rooms, and I was stationed in the kitchen and dining room. Amazingly enough, everything got here with no damage at all. The piano got delivered in the middle of this mayhem, and both girls enjoyed checking out its various features. My favorite is the headphones so they can play without making any noise!
We spent four hours unpacking and deciding where things should go, then made spaghetti for lunch. Colleen walked down to the little sushi shop at the end of our street and picked up a bunch of different kinds of vegetarian maki (the rolls with seaweed on the outside and rice and filling on the inside), and we had those as appetizers. She even went back for seconds.
After lunch, we headed out for an Adventure, albeit a small one -- we went to Seisen to poke around a bit. There are several ways to get there; the one we chose yesterday was taking the subway one stop back towards the middle of town, disembarking at the Yoga station, then walking about 10 minutes to the school. Kate really likes this way of getting there and announced that when it wasn't raining, she'd like to go to school via train. I think the bus will be a lot more efficient, plus it will drop them off right at the front door of the school, but it's not as interesting as far as the kids are concerned. After a brief visit at the school, during which we met a girl who is going into 6th grade and her family (they live very close to us, just up the hill near St. Mary's), we did some grocery shopping and beer shopping and came back to the Futako-Tamagawaen station.
Kent and Kate walked home with the groceries while Colleen and I picked up a few things at the hardware/homeware store near the station called Tokyu Hands. We needed a dish drainer, some picture hangers, and a few other odds and ends. Colleen decided to see if she could get home by herself, and took off while I was going through the checkout line. She navigated the way back home and was very proud of herself.
We got all the big pictures hung up, and the place looks a lot more like home now. We started one "family picture" wall in the dining room, and put a few more of your faces in a corner of the living room. You all look very happy to be here with us
We'd invited our friends Marge and Kelly over for dinner -- Chris was off playing basketball, so he missed the opportunity to be one of our first dinner guests. I made chicken with yogurt sauce and mushrooms, using shiitake mushrooms (yum yum!). It turned out well, though the yogurt here is a lot runnier than what I'm used to using in the U.S. Getting the rice cooker operating was a comedy of errors -- this machine has a whole bunch of buttons on the front, color-coded to some mysterious scheme, and it took us several tries to hit the right combination of keys. I must say the rice turned out very well, once we figured out what the
Everyone conked out around 10PM, and we were all up and showered before 7AM. Kent is heading to the office, and the girls and I will drive (yikes!) to Seisen shortly.
Happy Birthday to Dawn, and "best pushes" to Lee and Bobby ... we're thinking about all of you!
Love,
-- T.
August 23, Saturday, 4PM.
Konnichiwa!
We've been having a fairly low-key day, mainly because we've been expecting two important deliveries: my computers and (most importantly!) Hershey. The computers were supposed to show up this morning, and Hershey was supposed to arrived at 3PM. As it turns out, Hershey showed up at 1PM, and my computers have yet to arrive -- go figure.
Hershey was really happy to see us and couldn't wait to get out of his crate. I sprung him loose, and of course he ran around in circles on the front steps and peed profusely. He scampered up and down the stairs, chasing the kids from room to room, and was basically a happy guy. And we're happy to have him here too! I fed him and put down a bowl of water; so far, in classic Hershey style, he's just nibbled at the food. He looks significantly thinner than he looked on Wednesday, so I imagine our visit shortly after our arrival must have upset him. (Actually, our visit probably didn't upset him that much -- but our leaving did.) He doesn't want to let me out of his sight and is currently laying on the floor behind me. What a good pup. I've missed his furry little face.
We'd originally planned to receive my computers around 9AM, then go shopping for a fax machine, returning by 3PM when Hershey was supposed to arrive. That schedule got thrown out the window by noon, when the computers hadn't shown up yet. I guess we'll find a fax tomorrow; the stores near Shinkjuku should be open. That will be Colleen's first trip to a really busy part of the city, and I'm interested in seeing her reaction.
Colleen and Kent are currently off shopping for tonight's dinner. I took a little nap
Keep those emails a-comin' ... we're enjoying them all!
Love,
-- T.
August 23, Saturday 6:45PM
I just got a very excited phone call from Mom, giving me some wonderful news. Monica Lee Wilkinson was born at 10:10PM on 22 August, in Berkeley, California. She weighed in at 7lbs, 13oz. and is 20.5" long. Mom says she has dark hair, very pink skin, Lee's mouth, and Bobby's hands and feet. We're sending hugs and kisses to the whole Wilkinson family!
Kent and the kids and our friends from Palo Alto, the Oppermans, just left to walk down to the river to watch the big fireworks show. I stayed here to hang out with Hershey; I don't think he should be left alone tonight. Plus the guy who was supposed to deliver my computers this morning called and said he'd be here around 7PM -- great timing considering the fireworks show is due to start right about now. Oh, I hear some ka-booms -- I think it just started! It's also raining as of a few minutes ago ... wonderful timing on that, too!
Mom sends the news that she found a renter for the house ... Way to go, Mom!!
Off to watch the fireworks from our bedroom ... see ya!
-- T.
24 August, Sunday, 7:40PM
Are you sick of these notes yet??
A few things we've done every day:
1) Grocery shopping. Sometimes more than once. I've purchased things that gave me few clues as to their contents on every occasion, and will probably continue to do so. So far, I haven't made any major blunders, but I'm sure I will in time.
2) Walked out the door of our air-conditioned house and gone, "GEEZ! It's HOT!!!" then looked at the humidity percentage. It's usually over 90% though it was way down in the mid-70s today. I almost considered the weather pleasant, then gave myself a smack. Second-generation Californians are not designed to deal with major humidity.
3) Until yesterday, we missed Hershey. It's great to have him here, being his usual Hershey self: nibbling at his food, following me from room to room, begging to be taken for a walk.
4) Put something on The List Designed To Make the House Complete. Unfortunately, more things go on than get checked off; I expect The List to keep me busy for a while after the kids start school.
5) Done several loads of laundry. Considering the washer holds about 8 articles of clothing, or one king-size sheet, that's not too hard to do.
6) Taken showers. (See paragraph #2 above for the reason.)
------
Our friends the Oppermans showed up for a visit, and everyone but me went down to the river to watch the big fireworks show. I stayed home with Hershey because I didn't think he should be alone so soon after getting sprung from quarantine. I could see the fireworks show quite well from the upstairs bedroom windows, though what I didn't know was that it was actually *two* shows about 3/4 mile apart. I felt like I was watching a really fast tennis match, whipping my head from one side to the other rapidly -- the displays all looked like 4th of July finales, and they went on for over an hour!
Anyway, the gang left about 3 minutes before the skies opened and rain started pouring down. So they were all back, dripping wet, in a few minutes, and I had a lot of company upstairs watching fireworks from bedroom windows. The rain stopped, or slowed to a light drizzle, so the gang took off again for the last half hour of the show. Dinner was stir-fry over rice washed down by Cabernet, followed by brownies and ice cream.
Kate and Tessa couldn't bear to be separated yet, so Kate ended up going home with the Oppermans and spending the night with them. They're about 40 minutes away from us -- a combination of two trains and a taxi ride -- but Kate and Tessa stayed up until after midnight goofing around together. Tessa starts school tomorrow (she goes to Nishimachi, which is very close to their house in Hiroo) and is looking forward to seeing her friends again, but I think she'd rather hang out with Kate.
This morning, Colleen and Kent both woke up before 6AM, but I managed somehow to sleep until about 7:30. They went out for a bike ride (Colleen) and jog (Kent and Hershey) while the temperature and humidity levels were still low enough to ensure survival after that level of exertion. We left Hershey in charge of protecting the house, and headed into Shinjuku around 10 so we could go In Search of a Fax Machine. This was Colleen's first real train ride, and she really enjoyed it.
Once in Shinjuku, we found Yodobashi Camera -- which is actually a huge electronics emporium -- and checked over the plain paper fax machines until I was able to figure out which one I wanted. The one I picked has a built-in answering machine and an extension phone as well. What it doesn't have is instructions in English. So far I've managed to put my name and phone number on the banner, but the answering machine greeting is still the voice of a nice Japanese lady who entreats the caller to leave a message or start sending a fax. However, the greeting is all in Japanese; I'm hoping to figure out how to change the recording soon! We also bought a couple of alarm clocks (battery powered, so we can bring them back to the U.S. and they'll still function). Then we called the Oppermans to arrange a time to pick Kate up. We decided to meet at the statue of Hachiko at the Shibuya station in about an hour.
Hachiko is a legendary dog -- he used to show up at the same time every day at the Shibuya station, and wait for his human. His human died, but Hachiko kept coming to the station to meet him ... and would sadly go home when it got dark, realizing his human wasn't coming home that night. Hachiko continued to do this until he died at about age 17, but his display of devotion made him famous. Now there's a statue of him placed at the spot where he used to wait, and that statue is now a popular meeting place. "Let's meet at Hachiko!"
Once Kate, Tessa and Ghislaine (Tessa's mom, who was born in France) showed up, we went to the top of the Tokyu department store for lunch. Then we came home to try to figure out the fax machine (current score: Fax machine 4, humans 1) and enjoy a relaxed afternoon. I got a chance to talk with Lee and Bobby and find out how my newest niece is doing. Mom was able to send a fax (the information on the rental came through -- yay Mom!!) so I know we can receive faxes ... but I haven't figured out how to send one yet.
Today's "I have no idea what this is" grocery store purchase was a bottle of sauce that turned out to be fabulous with tonight's "Leftover Stir-Fry." The TV addicts are now in watching "Return of the Jedi" and I'm about to return to my trashy novel ("Lily White" by Susan Isaacs -- very entertaining!).
Oyasumi nasai ... keep those emails comin'!
--T.
25 August, Monday 6:30PM
Lotsa running around today...
With the help of the relocation assistance people, I got my voice on the answering machine this morning. I hope I can remember how to change it! The relo folks also took us to the Setagaya city hall, where we filed our papers to become officially registered residents of Japan. There's an incredible amount of bureaucracy to deal with, but that's probably true of non-U.S. citizens trying to live somewhere in America as well. While waiting for the clerks to deal with my application, I perused a book called, "Life in Setagaya," and found out that there's a planetarium nearby. I love those things. There are also a couple of sports clubs in the vicinity that they're inquiring into on our behalf. I know I'll be doing a lot more walking here than I do at home, but we can all use a few more excuses for exercise!
The next chore was opening a bank account -- more bureaucracy. The banking system here is really different in that you don't write checks for stuff -- you just authorize direct transfers from your bank account. I could, for instance, pay the phone bill from an ATM machine, but only if I can figure out the kanji for the phone company! Some ATMs have instructions in English, whew. I picked up a statistic that about 2% of the residents in this part of Tokyo are not Japanese citizens, which means there really isn't much of a market for catering to those of us who are illiterate. But I'm glad they do it!
I spent some time on my own in the Takashimaya shopping complex, and managed to find a few items from The List. Not that many though, to my disappointment. One thing I'm trying to find is a bath mat, which you'd think would be easy. But most of the linens round here are emblazoned with the designer's name -- apparently a major status symbol. I don't happen to like walking on logos, or wearing them either for that matter, and it's not easy to find towels or bath mats that are just ... plain. Or with a very simple design. (I must be part Amish.) I'll keep looking. I found a book called "A Guide to Food Buying in Japan" which I'm sure will come in handy, and also located some small drinking glasses and a tea kettle. For some reason, a few really obvious things that should have come with us are now taking naps in storage.
I was going to make paprika chicken for dinner, but I must have hallucinated having paprika in the spice cupboard. So I'll either send Colleen to the store (again
It's great to have Aunt Dorothy on the mailing list! She's DottieHowe@aol.com, so put her on *your* mailing list too. And many thanks to brudder-in-law Steve for getting her all set up.
-- T.
Sb: School starts
27 August, Wednesday 11:15AM
Kent spent his first full day at work Tuesday, and I hung around and played Mom. Pretty strange!! Colleen invited Lauren, who is going into 6th grade, over yesterday. We met Lauren and her mom and brothers briefly while visiting Seisen last week. Her family is from Portland, Oregon, and her dad works for Nike. Lauren started 6th grade today, and the three girls had a good time. She's moved quite a few times in her short life, but this is her family's first overseas assignment. I took them to McDonald's for lunch, against my better judgment, but it wasn't that bad. I ate a Teriyaki burger which was a lot better than anything else I've eaten at a McDonald's in the U.S.! Colleen had a inked stamp made that has her picture on it, and I'm sure you'll all see it soon. She and Kate both got stickers made with their pictures on them. These machines are really neat -- you pick a background, then line your face up where you want it and hit a button. Sixteen stickers for 300 yen. I may have some made too!
I spent most of the day yesterday setting up my office computer and printer. We'll see how well the electrical circuits hold up in this house now. My fax machine beeped at me just this minute, and Monica's tiny little footprints rolled out. Looking at Colleen's size 11 feet, I sometimes forget how small they start out!
Colleen and Kate got all dressed up in their Seisen uniforms this morning and headed off to school. They have a 5 minute walk to St. Mary's, where they catch Bus #9 to Seisen. Ten to twelve girls get on at this stop; today quite a few Moms were riding too. I asked the bus driver if Hershey and I could go, and he said sure. Hershey made a few friends on the bus, and Colleen sat with Lauren. Colleen hates wearing a skirt to school, and repeatedly whined about how stupid she looks, but I think she looks fine. Kate looks pretty cute in her little plaid pleated skirt, and she knows it
Kent and I are both really happy about the new renter Mom found. I will write them a little "Welcome" note today.
Hershey is a little more excitable here than he was at home, and any little thumping noise sets him off to barking and growling. That's what he's doing right now, silly guy -- I just set my coffee cup down on my desk and he thought there was a knock on the door. Well, I feel protected!
I'm going to visit the household supply store and the grocery store, and then knuckle down and write a "New Stuff" column for Microsoft Interactive Developer. Kent's boss from Palo Alto, Wahguih Ishaak, is in town this week so he's going on a few visits. Kent had to get to the Century Hyatt -- the hotel where we stayed in June -- at 8AM, so he left the house about 7:15. I don't expect to see him until pretty late tonight.
Thanks to Jennifer and Myrt for today's emails!
Smooches,
-- T.
Saturday 8/30, 10PM
Well hello there!
It's been a busy few days since I sent you all an update. The kids have survived their first three days of school and the reports so far are mixed. Colleen doesn't like it at all, and Kate is having a ball -- not the reaction we were all expecting earlier this year! As it turns out, most of the girls in the 7th grade at Seisen are "locals" and Colleen is the only new kid who isn't already fluent in Japanese. For some reason that I can't quite discern, she seems to think that her best bet for making friends is among the other new kids. She's complaining about everything, from her placement in the low intermediate level of Japanese to the four flights of stairs she has to climb to get to her classroom. She came home Friday asking if it was OK for her to have a friend come visit next Friday; of course I said that would be more than fine. I hope she settles into it a little more this week and finds a few bright spots.
Kate is the only new girl in her class, Room 3B, and she's very happy about that. She gets to be the center of attention, and has lots of "buddies" willing to show her around. So far, she's only complained about the choir director, who spent one whole class showing them how to stand, and then another class making them sing "ooh-oooh-oooh" scales. Hearing her mimic the choir director is a riot, though I'm sure the director herself would not agree! From what I can tell of the math homework both girls have gotten, they're both way ahead of the level the school is expecting. I don't want them to fall behind Palo Alto levels; we'll see how it's going.
I met with a Japanese teacher on Thursday who showed me how much I've forgotten since June. Pretty bad! I'll start twice weekly lessons with a tutor, Ms. Maeguchi, on Tuesday. One of the moms at the bus stop, Jane from Australia, has taken me under her wing and is hauling me to a couple of luncheons in the next few weeks. I also plan to locate the Foreign Correspondents Club and drop in on them.
On Friday I made a real bonehead mistake ... in an effort to save a few minutes at the subway station buying tickets before every trip, I bought two at the Futako-Tamagawaen station for my little journey to Shibuya. The ride in went just fine, but I found on the way out that the system is not set up for lazy people like me. The ticket gates can only handle tickets purchased at the station where you're boarding the train, so the Shibuya gates refused to read my ticket purchased at Futako-Tamagawaen. I talked my way past the station agent, who kept telling me to go buy another ticket -- "But I already *bought* the ticket," I whined, and he let me through. At Futako-Tamagawaen, I had to bluff my way past yet another station agent. I felt like an idiot. There doesn't seem to be a BART card sort of thing, where you buy a ticket for, say, 2000 yen and just use it until it's used up. You really do have to buy a new ticket for every trip, at least on the line we're on. Sigh. What an affront to laziness.
We took the kids on An Adventure today -- we met up with Marge, Chris and Kelly and went to Yomiuriland. This is an impressive amusement park just northwest of us, though there's no straight line from Here to There so it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get there. They've got some great roller coasters, including the Bandit, which has a 75 meter drop and attains speeds over 110km. It's a really long ride and covers a lot of ground ... no upside down stuff, but a lot of good drops and spirals. Kate and Colleen and
I also rode on "Crazy Hyuuuuu!" which is like the Big Shot in Las Vegas -- you're zoomed up about 250 feet in a very short time, then dropped and bounced up and down a few times. Big fun. Except for the sound of whining as we left the park, it was a fun outing. Kate is spending the night at Kelly's tonight, but she missed a great dinner back here at the ranch.
There was yet another fireworks show over the river tonight, though it wasn't as impressive as last Saturday's. I suppose it was in honor of brother-in-law Bill's 50th birthay -- Happy Birthday Bruntski!!! (though I know you're in Montana and won't see this for a week and a half, we were singing a few bars of "Growing Older But Not Up" in your honor).
I hope all of you are having a fab-oo weekend. I've got to finish up the roll of film in my camera so I can send off the pix of the girls in their uniforms. Kawaii desu ne!!
Love,
--T.