Japan

Day 3 part 3 "The good life"

Erin — Fri, 07 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Day 3 part 3 "The good life"

I decided to the last part of the experiment would be taking the Shinkansen to work. I had to wake up around the same time as the bus and be on the train at 0648. It was kind of a pain to get to Mishima you need to take Gotemba line to Numazu the from Numazu it is one stop to Mishima on the Tokiado Line. It was easy going due to the fact that it was the last day of golden week. I can easily imagine that this would be a crowded pain in the getting to Mishima, fortunately I think this would be one of the times that I would need to drive to the train station either on a motorcycle or a car.

assume there would be some hassles getting a seat now and again but really I think the amount of time you actually spend traveling being almost 1/2ed would make it worth while. The problem is the cost, 3900 yen to Shibuya. That is more than 2x of what every other mode of transport was, and even with a discount for buying a 6 month ticket I think it will still be out of my price range. That also does not include gas and parking.

Fortunately that day Satomi and the kids drove back from Gotemba to Tokyo so I did not have to go back to Gotemba. Instead my plain old 20 minute commute home on Inokashira line.

0610 Woke up

0630 Went to Iwanami Station

0635 Arrived at Iwanami Station

0648 Got on Gotemba Line for Numazu 400 yen

0705 Arrived in Mishima

0710 Purchased Ticket for Shinkansen to Shibuya 3850 yen

0722 Got on Kodama Shinkansen for Shinagawa

0805 Arrived in Shinagawa
0823 Got on Yamanote Line for Shibuya

0835 Arrived in Shibuya

0840 Got to work

Worked

Part 2 Day 2 The train

Erin — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Part 2 Day 2 The train

I knew for a fact that the train sucks. I use to take it once a week to get back to Tokyo. The trip is long, and you need to switch trains a couple of times along the way. In the morning Odakyu line is one of the main lines into the city from the country side, so I can imagine it will be very crowded with little chance of sitting, and this is a line you will be on for the bulk of the trip.

When I got to Iwanami station I saw they had a IC card reader and thinking that this a JR line the reader must be Suica capable. I pressed my phone against it and it made that reassuring beep. Augh technology.

When I rode the Gotemba line up to Shin-Matsuda I did note that the scenery is very nice and provides a s good view of rural Japan.

At Matsuda there was no IC reader "Doh!" so I paid for my ticket in cash and tried to get on the next train. Now my IC chip in my phone was blocked from use because I had not checked it out "Doh!" so I went to the ticket counter and wasted 5 minutes waiting in line and explaining what happened. The cleared my IC chip and I was able to use it to get on the Odakyu line, but I missed the train that I wanted to take and ended up taking the next express train. This set me back 15 minutes on my already very tight schedule. I thought for sure I would not make it to work.

The train itself was pretty crowded for a holiday at 715 in the morning. I was able to get a seat the whole way but it was not very comfortable and working on my laptop was next to impossible. The trip seemed to take forever and when we did arrive in Shimokitazawa I bolted from the train that by this time had become packed. I do not want to see what it would look like on a Monday morning.

I made it to my office with only a few minutes to spare but I was still on time. Started in on some of the things I needed to get done.

I ate my lunch outside in the park next to my office and had 1 beer with it. Worked some more but the beer and travelling dragged me down and I could not complete too much.

To get back I decided to see if I could get the bus route back right this time. I did not want to take the train even though the purpose of my experiment was to try all routes there and back. I know the train sucks, I have taken it enough to know that and did not see a point in practicing to be miserable. But in order to make the bus there was no time to eat. I bought a Chuhi and a snack got to the bus.

The bus trip back was surprisingly comfortable and I almost fell asleep. I made it home at 2010, gave Anna a bath and then passed out putting her to bed.

As in my initial assumption the train sucks, although it is more reliable then the bus and costs about the same amount.

Train
Cost 1,470 yen Distance:105.0 km Time 133 minutes

0525 Woke up
0600 Left the house
0605 Arrived at Iwanami eki (SUICA like machine)
0622 On the train

0710 Off at Matsuda to change for Odakyu line had to pay

0716 Miss the train cause of Suica SNAFU

0729 On the next Express train Got a seat w/o having to hipcheck any old ladies for it .... but just barely
0835 Arrived at Shimokitazawa

0850 Arrived at Shibuya
0856 get to work (gi di gi di safe)

1810 got out of work
1835 got to Shinjirigaoka
1845 got on Tome Highway Bus
2010 arrived at Gotemba Tome Intersection
2025 Got home and gave the Babu-Chan a bath
2130 In bed

Steel Balls

Erin — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Found these steel balls in the street on my way to the data center the other day. They were probably happy little parchinco balls at one time but now looked sad and abandon.

Gykogojin invasion of Kichijoji

Erin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0000

New Dr. Martin Store
There is a new Dr. Martin Shoe store in Kichijoji. Some Ska shoes for those who love em.
I had a pair back in the day. They were comfy and nice but,

New Sbarro
Grease cheese and more grease ....in Kichijoji. I was never a fan back in the USA there are just too many good places to get pizza or calzones, but here in Japan, while it is a little pricey it suffices when needed.

Another Starbucks
What can I say, Kichijoji is a place for lovers, and people who like over priced, supper sweet caffeine laced cocktails. With the closing of one Starbucks, in the same building as Yuzawaya, I guess some one thought we needed another. This place is a bit more swank then some of the others I have seen. I meant to take a pic on the into the office this morning, but forgot, maybe tomorrow.

Hanami in Shibuya

Erin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Looking at flowers or lack there off.

I am not really into the whole hannami thing that happens every year. The cherry blossoms bloom and you sit under the trees in a park and admire them, while getting drunk, ussually.

I like to drink so it is a good time for me if I can go. Plus it is a very big social event for most Japanese especially here in Tokyo where the people out number the trees 1000 to 1. If you go too late in the afternoon it can be pretty messy. It is best not to look at the ground but instead look up at the flowers, you might see the results of someones over indulgance.

This year I was unable to attend a single hannami event due to other engagements and just generally being busy with work and family. I did how ever manage to grab a shot of a few seasonal sites near my office.

Beer Machine

Erin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Spotted this beer machine in Shibuya while on a stroll. You can still find beer machines if you look for them in Tokyo but they are not as common as they use to be. This one is fitted with what looks like something that reads your drivers license.

Not a complete failure

Erin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:34:52 +0000

Not a complete failure.

At the end of 2009 I set out to take and pass a few certification exams. I took the RHCE exam and did not do as well as I would have hoped. As a kind of warm up to that Comptia was offering a Project Manager 2009 Beta exam. I HATE computer based examinations, certifications and tests in general, but I wanted to get the cobwebs out on something that would be nice to pass, and would be nice to have as a certification. The comptia exam was free, and it offered a chance to clear out said cobwebs.

I am happy to report I received the examination report, and that I passed. Now on and up, lets get that RHCE, and maybe a some networking credentials.

Erin Hughes, CompTia 2009 Project+ (2009 Edition) Certified

Yuzawaya Closing

Erin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:49:23 +0000

Yuzawaya Closing

We went to Yuzawaya the other day to pick up some model glue for Eric and I to do some projects with.

I was wondering why it was so jam packed and where most of the stuff was... whole sections of merchandise had seemed to disappeared and been replaced with close out tables filled with purses and wallets.

I liked Yuzawaya and will miss how convenient it was for getting hobby type stuff, but the building that houses Yuzawaya is pretty old so it would be a good idea to tear it down and put up another.

Private Line

Erin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:37:25 +0000

This is my Private Line!

On the train last night I was sitting there and this REALLY drunk guy got on the train and started screaming his head off about some "Private Line" I was not sure if he meant the trian line was his private train line or he was talking about a private phone line that some one was talking on. Either way my Japanese listening is not really that great and he was not making any dam sense.

I remembered that I had my camera on me in my handy carrying case so I tried to get this clip of him acting foolish.

It was pretty funny to see the Japanese way of dealing with a problem like that, ignore him and maybe he will get off soon.

That is what happen too. The part that I did not expect is when he did get off the old woman siting next to me started laughing. ALLOT and then 2 other people started laughing till finally everyone was having a lite chuckle, then the train started moving and it was back to the silence of a normal train ride.

Bacon & Chicken YEAH!

Erin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:01:06 +0000

Home Cookin'

I cook food that I think will be good. I love bacon. I love chicken. I love cheese. All 3 together are great. I cooked this receipt from allrecipes.com it was chicken and bacon with Cheese and BBQ sauce, and it turned out GREAT!

I had 2 types of mustard so I tried the all American home grown Buffalo brand Webbers Horseraddish mustard VS. a fairly fancy looking Japanese brand. In the end both were outstanding!

When it was done the cheese and BBQ sauce ran together and there while the edges of the bacon where
slightly seared. It was plump and juicy inside as well. I plan on making more stuff from allrecipes.com in the future.

E./

Let it snow!

Erin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:11:29 +0000

It snowed last night in Tokyo. It typically snows once or twice every 2 years or so and not a heck of allot when it does snow. For me it is the perfect amount. Just enough to remember how much fun I had in Derby in the winters, and not enough to be annoying. Lots of people stayed home and my morning commute was very nice and not so congested.

Tateno Pool

Erin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:00:01 +0000

Tateno-pool

There was a really nice warm December day on a Saturday a few weeks back, which happened after a big rain storm. Some of the kids thought it was nice enough..... to go for a swim in the huge mud puddle that had formed.

Eric was fortunately smart enough to avoid the water but still came home a mess.

Conbini Bento Plus

Erin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0000

My Combini-Bento

Cash is low and money is tight these days so I usually bring leftovers from home for lunch. I forgot it the other day and could not find anything in the convenient store racks that suited me, so, I made my own. I bought a 400 yen ($4) bowl of pasta and sauce and a 100 yen piece of chicken and was able to get a semi decent meal out of it. The Marie's Hot Sauce definitely helped.

CNN Does The Daily Show in Japan

Erin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:01:00 +0000

CNN Japan

Apparently confused about what network they are or what is news and what is comedy, CNN has been showing The Daily Show with John Stewart at prime time. WTF?

Have they no news of their own?

Dont Drink and Ride

Erin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Don't Drink and Ride

This a Odakyu Train line poster reminding riders of the dangers of drinking too much during the holiday season. Hazards like falling onto the tracks, falling down trying to get on the train, fighting with other passengers and of course, being too drunk and missing your stop.

I assume puking every where is part of it too but they kindly left that visual out of it.