Shopping!

If you move into a room that is completly furnitured, it will always feel like a hotel at first. So the first thing to do is to turn it into a home by personalizing where possible.

I didn't know when my stuff from Germany was to arrive, so I started anyhow some shopping - just the most necessary things. E.g. a WLAN router to get rid of the LAN cable I had to use. Unfortunately, this one wasn't the same simple thing we used to have in Germany, but some high tech piece of crap that needed some special software. To be able to install this, I bought a USB CD drive (obviously, they don't sell "CD drives" any more so I had to buy a RW-DVD drive).

Of course my computer used to have a CD drive, but this is somewhere in a packing case in Germany...

Also, I bought a webcam to stay in touch with my friends all over the world.
Of course, I used to have a webcam, but this is somewhere in a packing case in Germany.

A few days later my stuff from Germany arrived. When I was unpacking everyhing, I found out that my webcam has not been in a packing case in Germany, but on its way to Japan. So I'm still looking for a way to enhance communication by applying 2 webcams... any ideas somebody?

But not only in electrics, also the kittchen needed enhancement. First of course, a cup and a glas. Bowls and plates. A frypan. A pot. Having all this, I neatly stored it in my tiny kittchen kabinet and never touched it again because I eat all every day. But it's good to have it anyway, just in case.

Also I needed a coffee machine (urgently!). They sell hot coffee in cans here out of vending machines, but it's too sweet, too milky, too much out-of-a-can... So I looked for a nesspresso machine in the department store and of course, they had some. Starting from about 300 Euro. 70 Cent per espresso for the capsula.
I kept looking.

Finally, I was asking my new good friend, amazon.co.jp, and he knew where to get one. It arrived a few days later, together with coffee and everything. I'm still looking for the right water to make a perfect espresso, until than I have a pretty good espresso every morning (after buying some espresso cups....).

Of course, I used to have a espresso maker, but this is somewhere in a packing case in Germany. And for some mysterious reasons, all my espresso makers are red...

Further shopping: today my 2 new Karategi arrived. So no more telephone-conferencing with Germany after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...



Also with some help from my friend amazon, I found some cocktail ingredients like bar syrup and lemon juice. It's much more expensive than in Germany, so I will keep it to a minimum, but I already have everyhing I need for e.g. a Planter's Punch....

Next thing I would like to buy: a new notebook - this one's driving me crazy! I spent the double amount of time it took me to write this waiting for the computer to be ready to work again. To request that this f***ing multi-media device plays some music meanwhile was too much anyhow.

Getting started

My first contract in Japan was cancelled one day before my flight to Japan because Daimler sold Mitsubishi Motors.
My second assignment never came to the stage of having a contract because the position I should take was never created (although all my job interviews went well and everybody wanted me in this position - this is at least what I've been told).
My third contract for a job in Japan wasn't cancelled but its content was changed from "onsite in Japan" to "offshore in Germany" due to the impact of the financial crisis.
It was then when I decided not to try to work in Japan anymore.

So here I am now in Japan with a 3 years assignment...
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First things first, so I was looking for an apartment - next to a major station, not too far from work and also going to Karate should be comfortable.

Internet is such a great invention, so I found an apartment complex in Ikebukuro, 100m from the station. Ikebukuro is where my university was, a quite nice place with all you need: restaurants (best ramen in Tokyo!), shopping, karaoke...
Nightlife here is not to be mentioned, but Shinjuku and Shibuya are close. And:

• no changing trains when I go to work
• no changing trains when I go to Karate in Komagome, Myogadani, Iidabashi or Akabane
• the apartment is big enough for all my stuff, but not too expensive
• incl. furniture because I don't wanna invest a lot of money in things I will have to sell in 3 years.
• plus I have a washing machine that washes with warm water
• a balcony
• and a quite big television.

But renting this apartment turned out to be not that easy. The process demands that the customer (that's me) has to view the apartment first before he applies. It didn't matter too much that it was of much greater interest of the customer (that's again me) to move in directly when he arrives in Japan and not after some days or even weeks. To make a long story short: I had to send a friend to view the apartment on my behalf but still this didn't accelerate the process too much - after 2 month of negotiating still no contract was in sight.

So you may think that things like this just take their time in Japan, however it took my company one day to get the contract ready once they got involved.
I'm sure this has nothing to do with a very polite form of discrimination against foreigners, but is a pure coincidence... ;)

Well, in the end I have my apartment and I'm very happy about it.