Corona in Japan -is there a pandemic going on?

 I've been in Japan, Osaka to be more specific, for almost 3 weeks now and although it's different from the other times I've been here, it is nowhere as different as Europe is at the moment. TV still promotes going out to eat and there seems to be no social distancing. I went to the supermarket the other day and one lady even cut the line because she didn't seem to get that I was keeping distance to the person in front of me.

I went to Umeda the other day to meet a friend and was kind of shocked by the amount of people going out shopping. I know I also contributed by going there but in my poor defence I haven't seen my friend in over 1 year and he's not from Osaka so I don't know when or if I'll be able to go see him in Tokyo. I also made sure I didn't go during the rush hours.

Back in Sweden though I felt much more aware of the virus and all the safety precautions, people would stare their eyes out if someone sat next to them on the train and here people don't seem to care how close you are. I guess many think they're safe because basically everyone uses a mask, but maybe half of everyone in a mask as a high quality one and wear it properly. The thin polyester masks seems very popular and those don't even filtrate.

I work part-time at an eikaiwa and the first child arriving on my shift shows up with her mask half way down her face, coughing and sneezing. But she didn't have a fever and it seems that it's the most important thing here. No wonder the virus is spreading like crazy I thought.

Then the other day it is announced that Tokyo has declared state of emergency, but everything remains open and the limit of people who can assemble is 5000. Not sure what they think this will result in. I really hope the numbers will go down soon and that we can all go back to a more normal life.

Nabe every evening

I guess I'm not in Tokyo anymore

The reason I'm in Japan this year is because I'm doing an exchange semester at Osaka University as a graduate student. I had the option to chose a University in Tokyo but decided to chose with my brain and not my heart (Osaka had much more courses within subjects of my interest). However I love Tokyo and can't imagen going to Japan without visiting, there are also some people there I really want to see, so I started my trip for a week in Tokyo (Asakusa to be more exact) and then I took the nightbus (booked through Willer express, be sure to check them out if you're planning to travel within Japan) heading for Osaka and I arrived yesterday morning.

From the start I've felt kind of weird coming to Osaka, I've only been here once and it was ok I guess, but my heart is in Tokyo. On top of the location I felt that the University was pretty bad at keeping in contact with me. For example the first contact I got was in late May, and that was because they needed me to sign a contract in which I agree to respect the school's rules etc. On top of this my visa application was very late and I didn't receive my document needed to apply for a visa until 4 weeks before departure! Up until then I had not received any information whatsoever on how my time there would pass, the curriculum or other very basic things. This made me feel very uncomfortable, and unfortunately my worries were confirmed yesterday when I arrived.

I'm placed on a campus for foreign and japanese language, nothing I intend to study (I'm assuming they just place all foreigners in the same spot), they showed me to my room and then left me there without any explanations for anything. To be honest, I was kind of emotionally upset just by the fact I'll be here for 5 months without knowing anyone, but just being placed in a (very dirty!) dorm without explaining anything made me feel like I just wanted to get out. My room was dirty and I had to start with cleaning (I mean dirty for real, the previous guest had left trash), and I didn't even know when the supposed orientation will be, how to use the kitchen and other facilities, where my mail box is etc. I had to go find staff myself to get these things explained.

I've been on exchange once before, at Chuo University in Tokyo, and had a great time. They really took care of us, even had japanese students help us get to the city office for registration (do I need to point out I was just handed a map here?). Everyone kept telling me at my home University that this is the first time they have this exchange so things are kind of unclear, but this is just a mess. Truthfully, I hate it here and I have no idea how Osaka University can be one of the top universities in Japan (not sure how they rank them though, it can obviously not be based on the administrative). I can't wait for classes to begin so I can occupy myself because since I arrived I'm just counting down the minutes.

It's so depressing here I really need to get out, so tomorrow I'm gonna take a trip into the central parts of Osaka, so that I can think of something else than this shitty place.