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4/8/2016 0 Comments The semester has started!!! Here are the classes that I will be taking & other info about classes:
One thing I've noticed about hanami (cherry blossom viewing) is that it brings everyone together. Coworkers, friends, families, foreigners and locals all gather to witness and appreciate the beauty of the sakura blossoms. These precious flowers attract all walks of life and hanami doesn't stop at "flower viewing" but it really is a social event, where you can bond with those around you. There was a large group of salary men next to us at Yoyogi park and they were eating pizza and drinking beers and they got quite loud. But they seemed to be having a lot of fun. At Shinjuku Gyoen, there were many families with young children running around on the grass. Some of them were blowing bubbles and others were jumping rope. I really enjoyed Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden because although Shinjuku is one of the busiest places in Tokyo, the park itself is like an oasis where time moves a little slower and your surroundings are quieter. Of course, at the ticket gate it was crowded, loud and crazy. But when I walked further into the park (it's huge by the way), I found myself relaxing and really taking in the beauty that surrounded me. I could see that others were doing the same, finding tranquility in the midst of chaos.
Side Note: If you ever hanami, bring your own mat or picnic sheet to sit on! I saw many people using tarps at Yoyogi Park, which helped because the ground was muddy. I didn't have any with me but it would have been really nice to sit under the dancing cherry blossoms that fell from trees each time the wind blew. ........but have no fear! The Apple Store is here!So on Tuesday, I came home from a long day, went to turn on my laptop and this appeared:
I also read some reviews online that Omotesando is a bigger/newer store and you don't have to wait as long to be helped because it isn't as busy as the Shibuya location.
So, I got to the store at 3:58PM, my appointment was at 4PM and as soon as I walked in, I was greeted by a nice Jamacian man who spoke both Japanese and English. I was really happy to see that the first employee I ran into spoke English. He politely told me that the Genius Bar check-in was downstairs. When I got there, three employees greeted me and they all spoke English! OMG. I was so grateful. I checked in, waited less than five minutes and was helped by a very nice Japanese guy (who also spoke English) and he ran diagnostics on my laptop. Btw, I had my hard drive replaced in December because it was giving me problems then. This time, we found that it was the cable connecting to the hard drive that was having issues. He said that he would check with the people in the back to see about how long the repair would take and he would get back to me. I waited for another five minutes or so and expected for him to say that the repair would take like a week. When I had my laptop repaired last time, in Hawaii, that's how long it took. But he came out and said "It will be finished at 8PM, are you willing to wait?" Only a few hours??? What???? Yay!!!! I said, "of course! thank you so much!!!" and left the Apple Store to do some exploring down Omotesando and Harajuku. I came back at 8PM, saw that my laptop was completely back to normal, thanked the man a hundred times and then returned home. I am really happy with the customer service that I received today. Thanks for reading this Yelp review. Lol!! But seriously, if you ever need help with your Apple product, I recommend making a Genius Bar appointment at the Omotesando location.
sit under the trees and enjoy like a "real" hanami. Instead, you could walk the length of the river and there were food booths set up alongside it. As you took a stroll down this beautiful place, you would take pictures, eat, drink, and have a very merry time! This experience really exceeded all of my expectations. Everyone was so friendly and I got some really nice pictures of the sakura blossoms. I think that you should visit Japan at least once in your lifetime during sakura season. It is absolutely beautiful.
3/24/2016 0 Comments A tour of my Dorm!Sooo I moved into my dorm yesterday, got settled, and Mr. Kotani (our dorm manager) cooked us dinner. He's so nice!!! I feel like I had a really warm welcome. Even though I'm a little under the weather right now, I feel really comfortable in my living quarters.
Today I went to register my residence at Musahi-kosugi (two stations away from Hiyoshi, one station away from Motosumiyoshi). Prepare for a wait, it kind of reminded me of the DMV. I filled out an application (a really nice worker gave me an english translation for the app), turned it in and was given a number to wait. They said it would be about an hour until it was my turn so I had time to grab some lunch. When I got back, I waited for about 5 min then they called me up and then I went around to the other counter to get my health insurance. I waited a little more, then I was all set! I went with my friend and it helped a lot to be with someone who spoke more Japanese than me. 3/24/2016 0 Comments My first few days in Tokyo...
Everyone that helped me along the way was sooo nice. I brought omiyage from Hawaii (chocolate macadamia nuts, Kona coffee, etc.) to give to people that helped me.
I recorded as much as I could of my first few days in Tokyo and just finished putting the footage together. I actually had a really hard time making it flow! *Note to self, talk to the camera more* But I actually just moved into my dorm today so I have more time to edit and such. I'm hoping to have my dorm tour and disneyland footage uploaded by the end of the week :) 3/22/2016 2 Comments Dear SPRINT and T-MOBILE users,Apparently your phone will have unlimited data and text while you're in Japan! You might not even need a Japanese SIM card or wifi device if you have one of these networks. I only know that T-mobile offers this because my friend who studied abroad in Japan last year was able to use her phone the whole time and she said it worked great! As for Sprint users (like me) I went to Sprint before I left the country and told the guy that I would be studying abroad. He did something on his computer and then said that my phone was ready for Japan and that I would have unlimited data and text. I asked him if my phone would be okay for at least five months like this and then the guys said "just use it until it stops working", which worried me a lot. So I bought a pocket wifi just to be safe. When I got off the plane and went through customs, I took my phone out to see if I could connect to the airport's wifi (I wanted to double check the hotel address because I was shipping my luggage there). When I pulled out my phone, at first it said "no service" in the top left corner where it usually says "Sprint". Then after a couple minutes it said "SoftBank 3G". Yaayyy. Even though it's not 4G LTE, at least my phone is connected and I was able to look up my hotel, post to Snapchat, and contact people on LINE. I received the texts pictured below as soon as my phone connected to SoftBank's network. And I clicked the link about international roaming to find out more. Data is free but the speed is just slower. It's fine for me, and a great backup for my pocket wifi in case of emergencies. I was using my phone's data on the Shinkansen from Nagoya to Tokyo and the service was spotty. But I anticipated this because we were moving so fast and there isn't coverage in every corner of Japan. When I got to my hotel, the service was fine but when I used my phone this morning, it said "No Service" again for a couple of minutes. I think that this option isn't 100% reliable but it's still nice to have. I was able to make calls on LINE and I could hear everything crystal clear. I used it for Instagram, YouTube and Facebook and it worked great. Unfortunately, when I used it for Google Maps to help guide me to my hotel, it took a really long time to load. I found the hotel without its help lol. Dear AT&T Users:
So I used to have AT&T before I downgraded to Sprint but when it comes to international data use, Sprint has a better deal. My mom is still with AT&T, which is why I have the following information. When she turned on her phone after we arrived, she received similar text messages except hers said that talk is $2.50/min, text is $0.50/text, sending picture or video is $1.30, and data is $2.05/MB. It then offered a "passsport" for $30 in order to get unlimited text, talk reduced to $1.00/min and 120MB of data with $0.25/MB for overage costs. 3/17/2016 0 Comments My Wifi SituationAfter doing research about getting a Japanese SIM card or a pocket Wifi device, I've decided to go with the pocket Wifi. For more info about these two options, see my past blog post... I just thought the pocket Wifi would be a better fit for me. The downside is that I have to carry it around with me everywhere, but it's pretty small so I'm okay with that. If family/friends visit me, they will be able to connect to my Wifi (up to 10 devices), I have unlimited data, and I'll be able to connect my ipad and laptop rather than just having service on my phone. Also, most of the SIM card companies only offer data (no talk or text) so it's pretty much the same thing. Below is my experience with submitting my order.
UPDATE: I checked into the hotel last night and my wifi package was there waiting for me! Below is a picture of the package it came in. I was very happy by this because I actually ended up procrastinating and didn't order the pocket wifi until yesterday...haha. So far this company has been very time efficient and has communicated with me via email to keep me informed on the whereabouts of my package. I kind of regret ordering the extra battery because I don't think I will need it. I already have a portable charger/battery thing with me so I probably could just use that to charge it if I need to. The wifi device itself is smaller than my phone. It's also really easy to use. My laptop is connected to it right now and it works great. I'm happy lol.
3/10/2016 0 Comments A Checklist of Places to visit:
Shibuya Crossing
This is a huge intersection and a prominent landmark in Shibuya. I want to go back to Shibuya for all of the shopping. I love shopping. Go out through the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station, take a pic with Hachiko's statue, and have fun exploring the hundreds of shops and nightlife! Harajuku 原宿 Location: Harajuku Station, between Shinjuku and Shibuya Station on the Yamanote Line If you're okay with crowded places, another place for shopping that I want to go back to is Harajuku! Even if you're not really a shopper, Harajuku is known around the world for its unique fashion and I think it's worth a visit. Akihabara 秋葉原 Location: Akihabara, Taito, Tokyo 110-0006, take the JR Yamanote Line to Akihabara Station If you like anime, manga, gaming, electronics, or want to try a maid cafe, then Akihabara is the place for you! I went to a couple maid cafes on my last trip to Japan and they are interesting! Some of the girls have to stand outside and try to bring customers into the cafe. I felt bad because it was December and standing outside was so cold. One cafe was smaller and not on the main street. I actually preferred that one because it was not as crowded and the Japanese girl who was waiting our table/entertaining us was super sweet, funny, and really made an effort to speak english to us. I think that since it wasn't as crowded, she was able to spend more time at our table. The other cafe I went to was bigger and really busy. It was also filled with older Japanese businessmen so I felt extremely out of place. I was literally the only girl there other than the maids -__- But Akihabara has soo many cool shops and I recommend visiting the area, no matter if you're otaku or not haha.
More of Japan:
There are sooo many other places to visit in Japan that I haven't mentioned but this is just a list of some places that I really want to see. If I added every single place, I'd be blogging for hours. Hope you find this useful and get a chance to visit these places too! A lot of the information was taken from Japan-Guide, their website is extremely helpful :)
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