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

Getting a Working Holiday Visa in Japan During Covid-19

 When Japan announced last year that Sweden was going to be added to their Working Holiday Visa scheme I was so happy. I’ve been wishing for this for ages and it would be my last chance as I am close to 30. I also just graduated so the timing was perfect.

Then came covid and to summerize, turned my life upside down. All my plans were ruined and I lost my part time job later. When I was at my lowest in October I heard that the Japanese embassy in Germany had opened the application for Working Holiday Visas, if you had a company which could sign a Residence track (a paper stating that they take responsibility for you during the first 2 weeks when you ought to be in quarantine). To my surprise the Japanese embassy in Sweden also accepted applications, so I immediately began working on my application. Fortunatley I had contact with a small company who agreed to sign my residence track so I submitted my application during the second week in November. On December 8 they finally called and told me the visa was ready. *YAY*

At first I was so nervous being denied the visa that I didn’t really consider all the other extra stuff which had to be taken care of because of covid.

The restrictions change all the time so keep in mind that this is my experience of entering Japan on the 20 of December 2020.

 

PCR test?

The most important thing that I had to prepare was the PCR test. Japan has their own form which is recomended to use but as long as all the information is stated in the document issued at the clinic of your choice it’s ok. However, paranoid as I am I thought it would be best to try and find a clinic which agreed to use the Japanese one. Another issue I had was to find a time, many of the clinics were fully booked for weeks! I worried a lot about the PCR test as many clinics stated it could take between 24-48h, I don’t have a printer at home so I need to be able to print at my local library, meaning I need an extra day. Therefore I began looking at the form and realized that there were 3 test methods stated and one of them is the antigen test which gives an instant result. I tried to research this but to be honest, in the forest of PCR tests not even the clinics themselves wanted to give me a straight answer. I sent the Japanese form in an e-mail asking if they could sign it and also if their test methods was equal to the ones stated in that very form and I don’t think one single clinic said yes. All emphasized that I need check this out myself so that I know that I’m ordering the right test, which I find weird. Shouldn’t the doctors know this? Since no one gave me an approval of the antigen test I finally decided to go for the PCR at a clinic which claimed to give a result within 24h and fortunately I also found a timeslot which matched a flight on Saturday the 19th.

 

Finding a flight

I never would’ve thought finding a flight would be this difficult. Quite a lot of flights go to Tokyo, but other cities- not so much. I began looking into this by going to KIX webpage to see which flights were arriving there and realised only KLM/Air France did from Europe. So I didn’t have that much of an option. I then spent hours looking at restrictions in the Netherlands and France, even though I would just be passing through I did not want to take any chances of being denied entry. I checked the embassies webpages and also contacted KLM’s customer support which was not very helpful. Again, they could not give me an answer which I found weird. I finally managed to get a coherent trip where I would get the PCR test on time, a plane ticket which was not too expensive and get a pick up from the airport when arriving. That last point is crucial as you are not allowed to use public transport during the first 2 weeks. The options are to be picked up by someone you know who will drive you to your quarantine location or to use a covid taxi (I don’t think that’s the official name but whatever, there are taxi’s just for driving people from the airport to the place they are staying).

 

Starting my journey

My trip began in Stockholm and from Arlanda Airport I took a flight to Paris. I always check in online at home but this time I decided not to because they required me to leave information about my visa and I rather have someone more experienced do that so I thought I could wait until I got to the airport. Air France also had a link to this very convenient webpage called travel doc where you can input the country you are traveling to and which documents you have and it will say if you need anything extra or if you are not able to enter at all. Anyway, at that webpage I was informed that Japan requires everyone entering to fill out a form and then by the end you will get a QR code which you should bring to the immigration control.

With me to the Airport (besides my passport and visa) I had the QR code, a printed ticket, my negative covid test both the Japanese version and the standard version offered by the clinic I went to, a copy of my Residence track and also a questionnaire from Air France (it was not necessary to bring but I did just in case).

 

At the airport I realised that they’ve gone back to manualy handle all check in’s to destinations which requires a PCR test, so I didn’t have to worry about not having checked in at home. The sad part about this was that people seemed to have forgotten about all the rules in regards to coid. No social distance and many did not have their masks on. They checked my PCR test and also asked if I had the QR code. I have to admit that I was so nervous there would be something from and that they would deny me entry, but everything went fine (until I was about to pay cash for a bottle of water and was told off by the staff because he now touched my money…).

 

I had never been to Charles de Gaulle Airport before so I was kind of anxious about my transfer which was only 2h. I did manage on time but I was stressed and sweating when I finally had found my gate. Before entering the flight to Osaka they checked my temperature and my PCR test as well as my visa. I had read others experiences on going to Japan and everyone mentioned almost empty planes, so I was quite surprised to realize that my flight was half full, mostly Japanese people. Makes me wonder, are they traveling now?... Besides the regular paperwork they also handed out a form regarding your health.

 

The flight went well (have to say Air France had the best food ever offered by an airline company) and once we arrived in Japan someone from the airport would board and check our documents. I was amazed that people immediately went up and wanted to get their luggage the minute the plane was parked, no thought of social distancing… Once off the Airport there was a lot of waiting but they had prepared chaires and those who had not already filled out the questionnaire to get the QR code had to do so now. The first 90 minutes was basically just a lot of waiting, but then everything went pretty smooth. The testing went fine (at least besides the fact that I had some issues to produce saliva and massaged the s** out of my neck as explained at the Airport until my throat hurt) and while waiting for the result they had reserved a gate so that we could sit down comfortably.

I have to admit I normally think the staff working at the passport control are, well not so service minded but this time I met the nicest man ever, he was so kind and funny to talk to!

I got my residence card and left the building, and to be honest I could not believe how smooth everything went! Weird thing was that no one checked my PCR test in Japan, even though they put emphasis on using their form…

So far I have been outside once, to buy some things to eat. I’m looking forward to getting  back to normal though, my jet lag is getting worse by being bored.

Sailor Moon shop in Harajuku Laforet

Last September the first Sailor Moon shop opened in Harajuku Laforet (a couple of weeks after I left Tokyo grrrr). Since then I've been dying to come back and have a look.

watched a couple of videos on Youtube recorded from the store and I have to say I was expecting a bigger shop. It's devided into two parts though, one with more expensive items, such as dolls and clothes, and one with cheaper and more usable items such as totebags, pens and smartphone cases.

Since I was about to leave for Osaka I didn't want to shop and fill my bag even more, so I just bought an accessory for my phone (or any other Place you which to hang it), in the shape of Sailor Jupiter's staff.

The store is totally worth a visit, even if just for window shopping.
Laforet can be reached from the Omotesando street.

Tokyo Bay Night Cruise

I really love Odaiba, it's so different form other parts of Tokyo. The architecture stands out and it's kind of quiet compared to the rest. During my many visits to Odaiba I've seen boats circulate in the water at night and it looks very nice, so I mentioned this to a friend who also wanted to try one of these Cruises and we decided to go.

There are different kinds of cruises in the area, the smaller boats just go between different stops (for example Asakusa-Odaiba) during the day and then sometimes during the year they will have a longer trip for which they will lie in the water outside of Odaiba for a while for the night scenery.
The cruise I went for though, was a bigger boat with 4 floors, taking off from Close to JR station Hamamatsucho.


The tickets cost 2600, but if bought beforehand 2100yen, and if wearing a yukata 1600yen. Included in that price is a nomuhodai, meaning they have drinks available for free. Smaller food is sold as well. The boat leaves at 19:15 and is back at 21:00.

They have events on the boat aswell, like dancing for those who might be interested. I went for the view, and I also like riding boats. Unfortunately we did not have much luck with the weather. It rained, a lot. To the point where we had to go inside, and we weren't allowed on the top floor either due to the weather.

I did get some good photos though from passing Odaiba, and it was a fun experience. Will probably try it out another year.

Beautiful rainbow bridge.

This was when all the water from the roof ran down the side... it had rained a lot.

This cruise is only available between June and September!

www.nouryousen.jp

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.

Back in Japan

It's been a bit over 1 year since I left Tokyo, and tomorrow I'll return to Japan. 

Starting in Tokyo I will spend some exciting 6 nights and then I'll head for Osaka where I'll do an exchange semester at Osaka University as a gradstudent.

Of course I'll attend different concerts like always but since I will be staying in Osaka not as many. I will however this time try and travel more around Japan, on my to do list is a definite visit to Kyoto and Nara, as well as Hiroshima.

As for bands, so far I will attend Schwarz Stein's outevent on September 15th in Shibuya, Tokyo. 

Later in November I have tickets to see Buck-Tick in Osaka on their standing tour (23rd) as well as for their Fish Tanker's only gig on the following day.

I hope this will be a just as fun experience in Japan as always!

Tokyo big Buddha (Daibutsu) Jorenji Temple

This was my second time living in Japan for a longer period of time (not that long, but almost a year) and I rented an apartment in a suburb area on the subway Mita line in Tokyo. When you go to the city office to register (I mentioned that procedure in another entry) you'll get like a welcoming package with information, map etc. I thought I should have a good look around the area, because I'm a bit sad I didn't in the place I lived last time. On the map I found some interesting temples and I marked them for me to go at a later time. Time flew by and I had still not gone anywhere in the area. I had made plans to go see the big Buddha in Kamakura with a friend since I missed the opening hours last time I was in Kamakura. I felt fairly excited and decided to see if there's any hidden gems left for me to see. The big Buddha in Kamakura is really famous and mentioned in every guidebook there is. But I had the feeling Japan should have more of these big statues, so I began googling for the biggest statues in the world. On second place I found that Japan, close to Tokyo, was listed and I'll make an entry about that very fieldtrip later!

Anyway, I also found that in Tokyo area a Buddha of almost the same size as the Kamakura one was located, no less than two stations away from my apartment! I checked my map and saw the temple and now I really had to go.

So on a free saturday, in a burning August day I took the train the two stations needed and went for it. My sense of directions is worthless, it took me one hour to get there, eventhough it was like a 15 minute walk. In case there are any other people like me, I'll have a walkthrough with pictures below how to get there!

First thing to do is take the Mita line subway to Shintakashimadaira station. Takes about 25 minutes from JR Yamanote line Sugamo station.
Once you've arrived at the station you want to take the south exit and cross the street on the left!

To the left is a picture of the station, and on the right is the street which should be visible when you've exited the station and walked a bit up on the street.
Now all you have to do is keep walking straight forward!

You'll pass a 7/11 on your right, as can be seen in the picture below.

 After a while you'll reach a high way, with a bridge, cross the street and go up the small road.

 Just follow the road straight ahead and you'll see a small shrine on your right and this sign to your left.

While I was passing by I thought I might aswell have a loof. It's very small though.

Now, this is where I got lost. Because when you've passed the shrine it looks as if there's just apartment buildings and greens. But keep goign straight forward until you reach the 7/11 in the photo above and then turn left and keep walking until you reach the building in the picture to the left. As you can see there's a sign and an arrow pointing to the right, that's for some garden, but you have to turn right here too. 

After a while you'll reach the sign in the photo to the right, saying 東京大仏, Tokyo big Buddha. Congratulations, you've made it!

Go up the stairs and you're there. This temple is very pretty, and since a lot of people don't know about it, it's not crowded at all! I arrived one hour before closing, and it was very peacefull and nice to walk around. The Buddha is pretty big, BUT, it's only almost as big as the Kamakura one because of the elevation it sits on. So the Buddha itself is smaller, still worth seeing though! Besides the Buddha they have a statue of a 我慢鬼, gaman oni, oni of patience, a pond, and of course a shop from which you can get a mamori. I found a really cute one for my phone, in plastic, shaped as a bag.

 Especially if you're staying in Tokyo, and might not have the time, money or just don't feel like doing the 1h train ride to Kamakura, this is a very good option! Also this area, around the Buddha and also Itabashi, rarely has any tourists, so it's a very calm and quiet place, highly recomended to visit.
In the area around the temple is a small bakey (if you keep going straight and don't turn right with the sign to the garden), and right by the parking lot by that sign is a soba restaurant. I didn't visit the garden or the art museum, but I think it might be fun things to do while in the area. If going right, instead of left by the second 7/11 you'll reach the museum.

I hope this guide will have helped you reach the Jorenji temple and the Tokyo daibutsu!

Artnia

 
In 2011 on my first visit to Tokyo I got lost in Shinjuku one day, and while cursing over my bad sense of direction I found a Square Enix store! It had a kind of weird location, by the highway between Shinjuku and Harajuku, but I made many visits and spent a lot of money in that store... (among many random stuff, I bought a Sephiroth perfume).

Not only was this store really cool because it had a lot of Final Fantasy items, but it had an innersection which was kind of dark and had a lot of reflective glass. In this section they sold more expensive items, like perfumes and jewelry, and most importantly, they had a realsize Sephiroth lying under glass in the floor! They also had Gackt's outfit from the Redemption PV standing in that section.

When I went back to Japan in 2012 I went back to the Square Enix store of course, this time during the evening and I was just planning what I should buy and then get back another day. When I got back another day the store was closed. Close, closed. I was so angry that I didn't buy what I wanted that evening!

A couple of months ago a friend of mine told me there was a Final Fantasy café in Shinjuku somewhere and that we should go there. After a little google:ing I realised it was the Square Enix store which just changed location, and last saturday we went there to check it out!

I was very excited for this restaurant/bar they opened since they had some Final Fantasy themed stuff on that menu.
The store is located a bit away from the Shinjuku station, but I don't mind walking. Just walk down to the area with Forever21 and MaruiOne etc. The building looks very special, almost like a tiny spacecraft, white and somewhat eggshaped. They had cute decorations outside with Chocobos and Cactuars!

Just like the old store, it had two sections, the first with the café area and regular shopping, then they had a similar "dark" room with jewelry. Unfortunatley Sephiroth was nowhere to be found, instead they had a very impressive rainfall and materia in the middle of the room!

As for the restaurant, since it's so small you have to write your name on a list and wait for a table (unless you're lucky and there's acctually a table available). They have food, like meat and pasta, but the themed food is sweets! There's parfait with a tiny chocolate sword or Yuffie's shuriken! Cocktails called potion or named after aeons, like the awesome looking, blue "Shiva".
I decided to try a cappucino and pancakes! When ordering they acctually ask if you want Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest themed food, so here's what my order looked like!

One of my friends acctually got a tiny chocobo on her pancakes aswell! I wont lie and say it was the best coffee and pancakes I've ever had, but it was fine and most importantly, I went there because I love Final Fantasy and just seeing a chocobo in my coffee made it worth the price!

Of course I made some shopping, this is what I got with me;

Cactuar glas and a clearfile

I really liked the old store, especially because that Sephiroth statue was one of the most awesomest things I've ever seen, but on the other hand I think it was a great idea to have a café/restaurant, I love how there's so many themed cafés in Tokyo! It's totally worth to visit, and to stand in line for almost 1 hour to get a table!

Link: http://www.jp.square-enix.com/artnia/en/

Next up will be livereports from BUCK-TICK's FISHTanker's ONLY live tomorrow and their Tour2014 metaform nights final gig on sunday! (yes...I'm going 2 days in a row...)

高幡不動尊 Takahatafudoson Kongoji Temple

Last sunday I decided to do some sightseeing in my neighbourhood. Every day on my way to school I pass the station Takahatafudo, and see part of a huge temple there, but I never went there because when I first arrived I blamed the weather for being to warm saying I'd go when it cooled down a bit. Now I realised it's winter and soon it will get really cold so better start doing everything I won't enjoy doing in 5 degrees :P

This isn't just a temple, it's like a whole area! It was dedicated to the deity called Acala, and was built somewhere between 794-1185 (Japanese Heian period).
There seemed to have been some kind of event when I visited because people had like a market, selling various things and I saw several people dressed up (among them an adorable little boy dressed in the traditional hakama which is a rare sight).

I left with a bunch of photos in my camera a new charm for good health.

This gate (ironicly modern with the sign and everything) shows the way from the station Takahatafudo.

 Horinkaku

 This is the pagoda, the part of this area you can see from a very long distance! I read somewhere that it's said that monks stayed on each floor depending on your skills/wisdom, so best at the top. These kinds of templebuilding has its origin in China, but you can find them in many asian countries, like Japan.

Maybe it's not that noticable but the  statue to the left was very big, bigger than human size. Really cool, and I also love these lion/monster statues that often sits by entries to temples in Japan (right picture).

Kichijouji

Today me and a friend went to Kichijouji! It's twn outside of Tokyo (it's part of Tokyo but Tokyo consists of many small "towns"). I've never been there before, and I can tell it won't be the last time, I really enjoyed it. They have this big BookOff, and I just love those stores. I did some shopping there aswell! I got my first Pokémon game, books and a LOT of socks!

 

But, one of the most important things was to find the Lindt café! I'm not really a fan of japanese chocolate to be honest, so when my friend told me about this café I got really excited, and it was just as nice as I expected.

                                      

I can really recommend everyone to check this out when you're in Tokyo, it had a really nice atmosphere and the chocolate was delicious :3 A bit expensive, but it was totally worth it. 

We walked around the station for quite some time and I've never seen so many shops selling socks and so many restaurants with pizza on the menu! (seriously, pizza feels kind of rare in Japan...)

I had a lot of fun today, I miss just doing random shopping, I rarely do that at home since we barely have any interesting stores :P

I just realised I totally missed taking any pictures of the actual city...

Saturdaynight in Shinjuku

We had a class today eventhough it's saturday :P so with all the afternoon free I and a friend went to Shinjuku! I mentioned it before, but I love Shinjuku! To me, Shinjuku shows the perfect image of (what I'm guessing) most people assume of Tokyo. Lots of tall buildings, lots' of neon and big screens, and of course lots of people! For the first time in my life I went to karaoke XD I hate singing so I've avoided that as much as possible, but it seemed like a fun thing to do, and it was to be honest XD The only band they had, and which I know the lyrics to, was BUCK-TICK, so now I'm well prepared for their concert next week XD

I also got myself a ticket for Schwarz Stein's one man live at Shibuya Rex on the 3rd of november, so if anyone wants me to get them something from the concert you can leave a comment here!

I'm so happy I got a good number too (7), hopefully I'll make it to the front row so I can stand before Hora again <3

Arrived

I arrived at Narita yesterday morning, and without sleep for about 16h I was exhausted. I'm living a bit outside of Tokyo (30 minutes with semi express train, took me about 1h last night with the regular one), so it's kind of peaceful here.

This is the view from outside my window. Since I had not slept and I arrived at my dorm around 12, I really didn't want to go to bed and not being able to sleep in the evening, I wentto Shinjuku with 2 girls from my class and we walked around and had Korean for dinner (really tasty)

Today I woke up by a small earthquake (felt big to me though, the stuff I have on my shelf fell down...), to be honest it felt kind of surrealistic, to see the room shake XD but I'll get used to that hopefully :P It felt really good to be back in Japan, and very much to see Shinjuku again (my favorite place and also where I've stayed the past times I've been in Tokyo). I payed a visit to Puresound, which also felt awesome XD But, hmm, Tama (where I live) feels a bit, weird. Like I don't feel that much at home, maybe because I just arrived :P But also because I really enjoy the busy parts of Tokyo. Tomorrow's the first day of school, 頑張る!!