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! ; )