My new tin can

So after two painful days of packing, cleaning and signing papers (sounds easy enough, but then again you haven't been subjected to Japanese beaurocracy) I've finally made it to my new place. This place is situated right beside the Kanda River (which actually flows a few metres away from my window!) in Nakano Sakaue, a district near Nishi-Shinjuku. It's about 20.000 Yen more expensive than my old place in Matsudo, but this place has the invaluable location: 10 minutes to Shinjuku Station, by foot! Some people would trade both of their legs to be able to walk to Shinjuku station! I really like this place. (Videos available at the end of this post)

The immediate neighbourhood is has that classic japanese feeling with low-level buildings packed together, forming small narrow streets in between. Add the aforementioned river, and wait for ｓpring to bring the Sakura into bloom and you have your ideal living place. However, craziness is only 10 minutes east from here. The Shinjuku centre!

When living in Matsudo I spent about 90 minutes on the train every day, counting both coming-and-going from school. Now I have the luxary of being able to walk to school! It takes about 25 minutes, depending on how many Japanese people are getting in my way.

The company which owns this building is Sakura House, probably one of the largest guesthouse companies in Japan. They, as the rest of the companies in Japan, are a big fan of paperwork. I think I spent two hours filling out information at their office before they gave me my keys. Then I got this funny little Japanese dude talking to me about the furniture in the room, and if I were to break anything I'd have to pay for it: Then I, being a fan of sarcasm, said something in the lines of "So if I take the chair and throw it through the window and down to the street I have to pay for it?" with a smile, the poor guy got all nervous and said "Yes... well, no... please call and inform us before you do that" and that's when I remembered that sarcasm is one of two "Japanese cryptonites", the other one being liquorice. (I told you about that before, didn't I?).

Anyway, I love my new tin can! I live right next to the kitchen/living room too! And wheras my view in Matsudo brought forth mental imagery of post-war Berlin, my current view is downtown Shinjuku!

Beats Matsudo

A big difference with this place is that it's crowded with Brits and Americans. Of course, there's plenty of Korean and Chinese people as well, although the Americans are by far the most prominent. Not because they are *that* many, but they do have the tendency to be utterly loud. And as we all know, God is an American so that's just their way of being. They're cool people though, and I'm not one to be bothered by noise. Oh! And today I found out that there's a Lawson 100 right next to the guesthouse! Lawson 100 is a supermarket where every item costs only 100 Yen (One dollar/9SEK approximately). Awesome!


What else what else... ah, going to Roppongi again today! We had the best time last weekend so we decided to go there again. We've found a very good formula to party there for a very cheap price (Roppongi actually has a reputation of being extremely expensive, which it actually is to the average tourist). I mean, most clubs have an entrance fee of 3000-5000 Yen (About 300-500 SEK) and that will only get you *inside* the club, which is usually extremely packed with people to the limit where you can't move. Add to that ridiculously overpriced alcohol and you have Roppongi in a nutshell =) Then you have the hostess clubs (also known as "Gentlemens' clubs". These places are usually frequented by tourists with thick wallets and a strong scent of desperation.

None of that! The magic word is... "Don Quiote!" ;) When you guys get to Tokyo we'll show you how to have a long, great and surprisingly cheap Roppongi experience! (Batteries not included)

Video 1 (Room)
Video 2 (Also room...)

And I just couldn't resist posting this video of "Suteki da ne?". There are not many people in this world with the voice of Rikki!