Touge Session

Yokohama pt. 2

Well i didn't have much to do today other than walk up to the office and get some paperwork for my apartment. I stopped at the "underground mall" in the Kannai train station and picked up some food. Then headed back to the hotel for a while. After spending some time online talking to Lourdes I went out for some more sightseeing/exploration. I went all the way up to the Yokohama Landmark tower, although I didn't go in. I hear you can go to the top floor and there is a bar so you can order a beer and sit along the glass 70 stories up. Maybe I will do that when my family comes. Anyways I took lots of pics so they are here to come.

On a mental note it is really weird being the foreigner and a minority. I see very few people other than Japanese and that's here in a really big city. Its also very weird not talking, I literally don't say more thank hi and thank you more than a couple times a day and that is all that comes out of my mouth lol. It is very difficult not knowing the language, so I can't wait until I learn more. I don't even go in the restaurants I really want to because they are swarmed with Japanese people and its annoying/embarrassing having to order by pointing to a picture and not even really knowing what it is. I have done that several times now and every time it had been good though. Its all part of the adventure though, I just cant wait to be less ignorant of the language. I hear elementary is kinda tough because students know 0 english and a lot of teachers don't speak it either. I guess it will just push me to learn quicker.

On a car note. Today alone I have seen probably 8 skylines from the amazing 70's classic, r32, r33, r34 2 door and 4 door, as well as a r35GTR, and a normal r35. I will probably stop taking pics of skylines now unless they are modified well, because seeing them is about as common as seeing a corvette in shreveport bossier, its pretty much anytime you drive somewhere. A supra, rx-7, several s15's, a couple s14's, a 180sx and a silvia. Nissan and toyota own the market in Japan from my observation, I see very few honda's and to my group out there since I have been in Japan I have seen 1 civic lol..all those jdm fanboys, nobody here wants them!!! Lots of mark II's, cefiro's, and a mark X. I also seen a 370z and 2 or 3 lamborghinis. More bmw's and mercedes than I have seen hondas. Maybe its just because I am in the city, but 90% of cars here are nice. So many K cars and really cool vans, many of them lowered with decent sized wheels.

Ok so driving in Japan is extremely expensive. First you have to pay for the car, then the registration, insurance, plates and crap like that. Gas is now like 110¥ a liter, which isnt to bad NOW, that equals about 4$ a gallon, gas was at 300 something ¥ a liter not to long ago, which is about 12$ a gallon. So I guess we were still lucky in america. Ok so you have the gas, but wait! Parking costs almost everywhere in Japan, at least here in the city. You have to park for any space whether its on the road, in a garage, or in a lot. THEN on top of that you have the emissions junk that you have to pay like every 2 years or something which is a good $1000. BUT WAIT heres the best part, all highways are toll roads here. Only normal streets are free, when I the guy our highways and interstates were all mostly free he couldn't believe it. And tolls are not like 50 cents or something, they are a couple dollars at minimum. So yea owning a car here is hard work, not to mention usually slower, only more convenient. Riding train here usually cuts your travel time in nearly half! From Yokohama to Yokosuka it costs about 4 bucks on a train and takes 20 minutes. Now think about all the gas/parking/toll roads ect, and take about 40 minutes, riding a train isn;t such a bad deal. Plus the trains are nice! Very clean and well kept, people sleep like baby's on them, and you get to sit and chill for a little bit, which is def nice here, bc people are always running around and going crazy like they're going to die soon. Oh the note of money, sales tax is only 5% here, and apparently that is recently up from like 3% or 4% not to many years ago. I thought it was a lot in Shreveport with like 9% or 9.5% whatever it is, the girl who was riding with to go to her apartment said their sales tax in Jamaica is 16.5% !!! Frick that crap

Lets see what else, fashion is crazy cool here. I feel like a newb walking around because everyone is so fly here. So many people wear suits and if they're not they wear such cool stuff. Guys sometimes I mistake for girls because their haircuts are as lavish as women's. Fashion is huge here, I cant even really describe it. Also yes you do see people dresses in practically cosplay just walking around, and no one pays any mind, its just common. So many people wear stuff that would be crazy back home, but its perfectly normal here.

Today I at twice, I at the food from the train station, which was like rice, chicken (i think lol) and some udon noodles with this sauce to dip them in. Then I ate at mcdonalds lol, I told myself I wouldn't but I was just to curious as to how it would compare to the US. Burger and fries tasted exactly the same, although the from when I ordered till when I received my food it took about 30 seconds, and ketchup comes in different packages. I don't know if they use different grease or what but I didn't feel like my arteries had been pumped with fat as they usually do back home. Also on the food note, last night I went to this shop and got this bowl of rice with some meat and sauce on top, i duno what it was called I just pointed to a picture lol. I walked in and was greeted with a bow and some words that i dont know, as I was sitting down my cup of hot tea was already being placed in front of me, and it was less than a minute before I received my food. It was amazing. People here rush to serve you so quickly its amazing. The only reason I wasnt out of the shop in less than 5 minutes was because the tea was too hot. But yea tons of little shops here where you walk in and sit at a stool/bar and eat quickly. Oh, and mcdonalds is 3 stories where I went. The first floor is wide open just for ordering and has a small room where you can smoke while you eat, all sealed off. (Lots of people smoke in Japan). And then it had 2 other floors to eat. It was the first time since I have been here I felt like I could just eat and not feel like everyone was judging me lol. For once I was like..yea this is my peoples food, and I felt like the few locals felt judged be me lol. (Prolly all in my head but thats the way I felt lol)

Lets see what else, bikes here have kickstands that lift the back of the bike like a motorcycle stand or whatever. Also instead of rope or chain locks, many have like a big brake on the back with a key that locks the brake so it cant be ridden. People leave items and everything in baskets and just leave it. I have seen some crazy bikes too, and many have like a basket made to fit a baby, instead of like a baby seat like back home. Oh, dvd movies here are like 35-40 dollars, and I hear it costs like 15$ to go watch a movie in a theater too, really expensive. I duno what else, there's more but I am tired and still have to load pics up..

Oh and I was supposed to go to Daikoku Futo tonight with some car guys but they ended up not going, so hopefully one of these upcoming weekends I will make it out there. Its still pretty cold late at night anyways.

Im making the pics small to save space on the page, but they can all be clicked to view fullsize.



























Comments

  1. Fuck, I'm so jealous. and LUL at the s15 with those offsets

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  2. that last pic of food looks so good lol.

    Are these car friends white guys? and what do they drive?

    I read everybit, sounds tasty as a nish stain...

    Told you your going to be eating at mcdonalds haha

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  3. hi bud wow looks so colorful and clean.
    Im totally ready to visit u. nice job on
    the pics. yep we always end up at Mc D's.
    Good night be safe love u lots..
    MoMoxoxox...

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  4. It's so interesting reading your blog. we feel like we are there too. The city looks nice and clean but those night pics look busy and so colorful! You probably can't wait to get your own apartment. That hotel room looks way too small for me!I think I would go crazy in there! I can feel for you when you say you literally say more than a few words. It must seem funny. You seem to have met a few people who have told you a few things tho ...like the tower building and the car friends. You amaze me the way you get around and learn things! Good luck tomorrow when you start your training. We will be thinking about you and wishing you the best! Love you!

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  5. Cool Brian!
    Glad you made it there safe.
    I enjoy the pictures a lot.
    Good luck with everything and hopefully you can adjust soon, I can only imagine it being frustrating not being able to communicate verbally haha.

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