As predicted, keeping a blog up to date is not one of my specialities... See it as an indication of Tokyo being a city with lots of things to do, besides keeping a blog up to date... : )
But where to begin... As it's impossible (and boring) to give a complete 4 week overview of the things done and the thoughts going through my mind, these writings will be a loose and incoherent summation of current memories and thoughts...


Tokyo is a quite overwhelming city. It still is, after being here for over a month. None of your senses is left unstimulated: you get squeezed into overcrowded trains and subways, walking around Shibuya or Shinkuju is for your ears what getting on a train in rush hour is for your body, the same can be said for your eyes, and a wide variety of all kinds of food makes sure your nose and tongue never get bored.


All these physical and mental stimulations create a healthy altering and rejuvenation of one's mindset. Combining the finding of balance between processing all this input in my mind and actually living and interacting with people, and producing a satisfying thesis to make sure I graduate in June, isn't (or at least doesn't feel) trivial and easy. But we're giving it our best shot! >>>


As previously mentioned, we went to see some sumo wrestling! I'm glad I went, but I doubt it will ever make it to my top 5 activities... There's about 5 to 10 minutes between two “matches”: greeting the other sumo wrestler after a match, getting off the stage, new wrestlers coming in, preparing themselves, about three times getting on and off stage greeting the new opponent, ... Given the fact a game lasts for about 10 to 20 seconds, there's quite a lot of downtime. This of course does ramp up the intensity and excitement of the actual (short) game. A bit like a Dirac pulse in an otherwise flat signal : ) Unfortunately my camera batteries were down and I still have to get some pictures from Emmanuel...


A strange difference concerning colds is that Japanese people never, or very very rarely, blow their nose in public! What they dó do, is put on a mouth mask and sniff all their mucus back up their noses, which sounds funny when a bunch of people on the train are doing this simultaneously. So sometimes I feel kinda 'dirty' when I blow my nose in the shop or on the train, a feeling unknown to me before... : p


Related to subways and trains: there is a fascinating amount of neatness and order in all aspects of Japanese behaviour. For example the queueing for the train: on the platforms there are arrows indicating the exact spots where the train doors will end up. So people queue up neatly behind these arrows, ordered in two lines, waiting for the train. No walking around on the platform: just random walking around waiting for the train almost makes you feel as if you're doing something illegal...


This discipline, order and respect does lead to very low crime rates in Japan and you never having to worry about the camera in your bag or just having it lying around on a table in a restaurant or bar. So on the one hand this overly ordered behaviour leads to a more trust in your surroundings and a feeling of not having to watch your belongings all the time, and people always being friendly and helpful towards others, but on the other hand sometimes makes you want to scream “People! What's wrong with you?! Are you robots?”. It does create a rather 'cold' environment, impersonal feeling, a feeling that all people are sort of the same. But I did hear a few days ago that this is the most extreme in Tokyo and that other places in Japan, like Osaka, are more laid back and more social.


In contrast to this disciplined behaviour in public is the huge range of things to do, diversity in leisure activities, etc. If you can think of an activity, any, you can most likely do it in Tokyo. And, in these less public places, people do chill down more, don't tend to resemble robots any more and can go completely nuts and crazy. And there are some really crazy places in Tokyo, I can assure you: places where you get handcuffed and chained upon entry and are guided to your “cell” where you can then order drinks and food. Ironically, while you are handcuffed and on a chain, being guided to your cell, the sexy-dressed-up female guard will kindly point out places where you could hit the ceiling with your head. Another place, very small, ran by one guy who will entertain you with dances, acts, games and making love with his hand to the menu – which is written in a children's schoolbook with crayons – is another example. Video here! >>>



I also bought a new camera, in Akihabara, the Mecca in Tokyo for nerds and the place where you can buy all kinds of electronic equipment and related items. Also there, me and Francesco walked into what seemed to be an ordinary book/comic/dvd/cd/... shop, but soon found out that the 4 floors above were filled with shelves and shelves of Japanese pornography. The higher the floor, the more extreme the 'themes' were! : p


Whether nice or bad, a lot is hidden in Tokyo. Pearls (like a nice 'secret' bar) ánd shit (like poverty and homeless people). On the outside, it's all shiny and fancy - this is often a layer behind which you can and should find the really interesting stuff, places and people...


I find it hard to describe Tokyo in words, it's a city that has to be experienced. In a way, Tokyo is the ultimate place of irrationality. It learns you to be less judgemental towards irrational behaviour and choices people make, choices which can get weird. As life in the industrialized world is not that much about surviving any more, there is no large need for rational behaviour and planning, and a large part of life is just about choosing those (irrational) activities, attitudes and standards and values that you feel comfortable with, that make you happy, that you feel give 'added-value' to your life (or not : p ). As there is no Greater Purpose to life (in my view), any way of living you're life could be considered irrational. But enough semi-philosophical talk, back to Tokyo now! : )


Two weeks ago me and Vi were in a creative mood and went up to Yoyogi park and did some self-made-kite-building. Unfortunately they did not really fly as expected... You might wonder whether it wasn't to cold to play in the park, as it's winter. Well, here it was a surprisingly 18°C! Damn nice, I can tell you, walking around in T-shirt in winter!

Ooh, and Japanese women have absolutely NO skill to walk on high heels! I hope I manage to post some video later to show you this.

Last weekend me and three other people (Vi, Dave and Kristen) went to Nagano and Yudanaka: Onsen! Or: hot springs! Insanely hot! Borderline painfull when you're in, but a nice feeling afterwards. As it was in the mountains there snow and where throwing snowballs and making snowmen. It really made me want to go skiing. The first day was blue sky and besides hot springs we visited a monkey park where the monkeys swim in the hot springs to warm themselves in winter. Cute animals. The second day, which started off with a traditional Japanese breakfast, it was actually snowing, which made me even crave more then before for some skiing... It made the landscape overwhelmingly white again. We visited a large Buddhist statue and temples, visually improved by the snowfall! After another temple visit in Nagano, we took the bus back to Tokyo: over 3 hours of welcome sleep after a nice and intense weekend.
Ps: the train between Yudanaka and Nagano was quite fascinating: you could sit at the complete front of the train which had a big window and made you feel like riding a theme park attraction, the theme being Japanese mountain landscape (see pictures). I probably would've taken the train just for that! Pictures! >>>











My thesis work (office building is on picture) is finally going towards full speed, although the unavoidable troubles and frustrations associated with doing simulations are unfortunately very present... I spent a day trying to find why my design didn't behave as expected, only to find out (at 19h30) that I had made an error in units, mixing up 1/m³ and 1/cm³... Apparently all the attention given to this at high school, the teacher pointing out over and over again how important units are, didn't help me 3 days ago... : )



Ooh, and last week there was (although a bit late) a welcome party/dinner for me and Francesco: our worldwide famous and respected professors getting drunk, giving us tips and hints on hitting on Japanese girls and singing karaoke as if their life depended on it: the so-manieth unforgettable moment...



Upcoming event:
The coming weekend me and Francesco will attend a seminar by Toyota on solar cell in Nagoya. Saturday = solar cells, Sunday = visiting Nagoya: second trip outside of Tokyo, this time with the bullet train instead of the bus and local train. And we'll get a local guide: a friend of a friend who loves in Nagoya!

I could go on for a while, but I think you'll noiw have at least a vague impression of what I'm experiencing here. Photo's will hopefully help a bit at this.

Adios! ; )

One extra picture: at the nearby Tama river you have a nice view of the famous Mount Fuji in the far distance, recognizable by the the small, trapezoid shape. "Where is Fuji?".

Sunday evening, time to write a little more and post some more pictures!

Last weekend, my first weekend here, I met Jan (Van Liempt, the boyfriend of the sister of a friend of my sister, a whole mouthful : p). He took me to a bar – 'Alps', one of those very nice, non-commercial, not so expensive bars with a small, unnoticeable entry (but large interior) that's impossible to find on your own – where I met some of his friends (a lot of French people). Later that night we went to some cool club and we put on our dancing shoes. Last train/subway going around midnight to one at night means taking an early morning train after going out is the most practised option. Main thing learned that night: Big stations in Tokyo, like Shinjuku, are just one big maze where it's near to impossible to find the right place you have to be from your first try. On our way to that club, our group of about 9 people got split up into 3 groups due to all the confusion in finding the correct subway to take and platform to go to. Unbelievably, we all managed to end up in the same place in the end. Fun fun fun! : )

The week itself was actually not really noteworthy ... I still had to finish an assignment from last semester in Stockholm, so I spent 5 days sitting in my room on the floor, behind my laptop, getting a painful back. Expect for some finishing touches, that job is out of the picture now: a big relief and I feel I can finally start “my time in Tokyo”, getting to know the city, other people and, at the academical level, focus solely on my thesis on solar cells.

During the week I took some pictures of the area I live (you will find some of those and other new pictures as usual on http://picasaweb.google.nl/Vincent.Vanderputten). It's a really cosy and calm neighbourhood with no cars and the sound of children playing in the street, very nice and only about half an hour from campus and the centre. All in all (location, room, rent, housemates,...) I'm very happy I found this place. Anyway, except for a walk and putting some pictures on the wall of my room, the week has been sleeping, eating and working.

This Friday Francesco (see picture) also arrived in Tokyo. Having a heavy jet-lag, he looked (and was) pretty tired when I met him in his place, in the centre of Tokyo, the next day (Saturday). Also a bit funny (for me at least): he got kept up most of his first night because his (French!) neighbour from next door was having some friends over and they were doing some karaoke and making a lot of noise... Poor Francesco! : p Now even more funny was that I met this guy, Victor, at Francesco's place, a guy who was one of the people from the group I went out with the previous week when meeting with Jan. And the most funny thing – maybe you're already connecting the 'French' dots – was that he was also one the people keeping Francesco awake the previous night. The walls were even so thin that Francesco was able to follow Victor's life story when he was telling it to the others, which made the three of us meeting in the kitchen a quite funny encounter! I guess one could get the impression that Tokyo's actually just a small village where everyone knows everyone... : )

Later that evening I wanted to take Francesco to that nice place, Alps, I went to the previous week. But as I wrote earlier, it was a very obscure entrance in some small back streets of Shinjuku area. And believe me, remembering you way around Tokyo or parts of it is no sinecure! Well, not the first days at least. Anyway, after walking around for some half hour, I suddenly recognise a street corner and “feel we're close”. Found it! Me happy, Francesco too – as he was tired and hungry – so we go in and eat something as well. Nice place, cheap and good food: Francesco likes the place too.

While we're eating we get “merged” with another group of foreigners (mostly Americans), start conversation, get introduced, are having fun and are making new friends. Nice! : ) As it was one of the girls' birthday, they were going to Shibuya to dance and party and they invited me and Francesco to come along. As we're not asocial beings (or at least don't want to appear that way : )...) we were happy to come along. On the way we pick up some more people and meet new people who join our group. I guess being foreigners in such a different place like Tokyo takes away a lot of social barriers present in our Western world, so it's quite easy to meet new people, in contrast to what I had feared. Meeting a lot of new people also means meeting more interesting people to share thoughts with. My guess is that “interesting” will be the most appropriate word to describe my 5 small months here.

Today, Sunday, I properly met the sixth inhabitant of this house, who was never here the last ten days because of loads of work: Mehul (left). He's originaly from India, but was born in Germany and worked in Singapore, so one of those people who's a bit from everywhere. He's also here for studies and seems like a cool and nice person. Spending time in the kitchen is also nice to get to know the people in this house better, who they are, what they're doing, etc. It's not really the habit here, but I'd like to try to have some “cook-all-together-evenings”, or something like it: a recipe for an interesting evening : ).

Well, that's in a (maybe oversized) nutshell what the last days have been like. Next days I will get started properly on my thesis work and start spending time at the university. Jan also told me they were going to a special Sumo wrestling championship this Wednesday, something I'm quite looking forward to!

And ooh yeah, for those among you who remember the movie 'Lost in Translation' and the character of Bill Murray making a commercial for the Japanese whisky brand Suntory (“Suntory time!”) in it: as it's one of my all-time favourite movies, I couldn't resist the urge of buying a Suntory Whisky bottle at the supermarket (even though I don't even really like whisky : p). You can find a picture of it at my pictures on Picasa. And Jan knows where the bar from the movie is (where the main characters meet each other), so he's going to take me there one of these weeks. Woohoo! : )

OK, this was really it! : ) The last word I'll make you read is (no lies!) this.

Ooh yeah! I already ate a lot of seaweed and even duck yesterday. For me, that's quite an achievement : ). But the duck was accidentally, because Anton (guy on the picture above) had incorrectly translated some word as "chicken" while it actually meant "duck". Anyway, it was OK and I'm still alive! : p

Time to put some pictures online! And a few more words... : )

Let's start at the start: monday the 5th of Januari, snow in Brussels and an airport in chaos are the cause of a 4 hour delay of my first flight and me missing my connection flight to Tokyo in London. Of course this was understandable as there was "a lot of snow": a full 2 centimeters! : p How well... At least, for a reason I don't know, I got to fly in business class (more space then my legs are long, my God, am I really in a plane??) and we get free accomodation and meals at the Ibis Hotel in Heathrow as compensation for a 24 hour delay of schedule (they put me on the same flight, but a day later). As there were two Japanese girls with the same problem, we started talking and I had made my first contact with 2 people from the Japanese civilization, Mariko and Junko, huray! While waiting for boarding on the Tokyo flight the next day, we also got into a conversation with a guy from the UK, Luke, who is now teaching English for a few years at a Japanese school outside of Tokyo. He lives at a place next to a skiing area, so when I visit him I might go for some skiing! An unexpected potential fun activity! : ) (of which there will hopefully be more!)

Arrived in Tokyo and carrying along 3 bags plus an 8 hour jetlag, I make the 2+ hour trip from the airport far east of Tokyo to my guesthouse in the west of Tokyo: first impression -> good and efficient but very expensive public transport. Second and next 118 impressions will be published later in a 500+ page report. I'm only here for 2 days now, but it's already clear that Japan and it's people are a mix of known and unknown looks, habits and characteristics. One funny habit is that most restaurants or food bars have perfect plastic replicas of what their dishes look like on display in their display window (see picture). But people are very friendly I must say. Apearantly theft and crime is almost non-existent here.

Arrived at my room it strikes me what a quite neighbourhood I'm in. I knew it was a certain distance from central Tokyo, but still, I hadn't expected such a quite and calm area. Good for my sleep at night : ). My room (see pictures!) is really nice! "When I grow up" I want to have tatamis (Japanese mats) in the rooms of my house as well. No shoes in the house, only slippers (or something like it) in the hallway and kitchen etc. and bare feet or socks in the bedrooms, which is very nice, clean, relaxing and comfortable I must say. In this house there are also 2 Japanese girls/women, a Korean girl, an Indian guy who's never here and again (like in Sweden) a German person! : ) Tracy's her name, and she's studying Japanese and is here on a working holiday for one year. She's very kind and has helped me already quite a lot showing me around (the cheaper shops etc.) and assisting/translating when I went for alien registration, traincard and for a mobile phone (of which the number is 080-3345-2772, should you have urgent messages).

Thursday I went to University and what I expected to be a half an hour introduction talk, turned out to become a completely filled day with meetings and presentations (which was mostly accidentally). But the people were really friendly and happy to have an extra member on the solar cell research team and the atmosphere and group of people was really lively. The nice thing is that the solar energy research group in Nakano lab is only half a year old and they're still in the growing/exploring phase, so in the next five months I'll be part of and actively participating in this "growing". And as I really have the feeling that my thesiswork and help can make a difference, I'm really looking forward to the next five months!

Today (Friday the 9th) consisted of shopping, getting a mobile phone, getting a public transport card, some cleaning and sorting things out and lunching in central Tokyo (at Shibuya, where this very cool picture by night was taken thursday evening when I went shopping for a power plug adaptor, as I had forgotten that the plugs here are different...). Shibuya was really really busy! But fun to walk through, it's the typical movie scene of Tokyo, as you might guess from the photo.

Well, there's probably loads more stuff to say, which's just slipping my mind right now, but this is a first general impression. Ooh yeah, people do indeed often stare at me and my hight. Better get used to it. : )

Knowing myself, don't expect blog updates every week, I tend to get lazy at this kind of stuff... Please forgive me... : )

I only post a few pictures here, a larger selection you can find on:
http://picasaweb.google.nl/Vincent.Vanderputten
I will blog and post more when I have more interesting photo's and things to tell!

All the best to everyone! ; )

Dear friends and family,

This is the place where I will post (from time to time) what I am doing here in Tokyo and how fun or boring or lonely or whatever it is here. This first post is mainly to tell you I have arrived well here in Tokyo. More to follow! : )

greets and kisses

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Dierbare vrienden en familie,

Op deze blog zal ik van tijd tot tijd posten wat ik zoal doe hier in Tokyo, hoe het met me gaat en hoe leuk of saai of eenzaam of wat-dan-ook het hier wel niet is. Dit eerste berichtje is bedoeld als test en om te melden dat ik goed ben aangekomen. Meer volgt later! : )
Moest het nodig zijn: alvast een zalig paasfeest!

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