Day Three - No Bin

Productive. 

Bank account? (After a brief stop back at city office, to get my proof of address) Check. Phone? check. (Soft Bank, Ropongi made it super easy and I am on a $20 month plan that is deducted from my international credit card each month, and I even got a phone. Super daggy, I am a bit embarrased actually.  It is white, and it is an emporio armani phone, the name lights up in blue on the side. totally gross.)

Next? Bike, better job and a boy/boys. 

I suppose what I left out yesterday was all the little moments that I noticed. At coffee yesterday loz had told me about how there is rules for everything, even how you stand on the train platform.  I noticed it only when I was obviously not in the right spot.  There are small markers on the platform to tell you where the doors will stop.  These markers desiginate a new line, so if you arrive first, stand on that marker, if you arrive second, stand behind that first person.  Then you get on the train in that order, after letting everyne else off of course. 

 

Then I realised how everything is scaled. Great for me, I can actually hold onto the rails in the train.  But to give you an idea, there was a dutch family on the train, dad, mum and little girl about 6 or 7 (she was almost my height, no joke, maybe she 8 or 9 years old).  When the dad sat down on the chair (and they are low to the ground) when he put his arms in the air, he could touch the rails.  Yes, he was a big guy, but, jesus (said with a silent j)

I am excited about the shopping, so glad to have ZARA back in my life, I have already got my eyes on a navy winter coat, and I found MUJI, well I think it is muji, but I can't really tell because it is all in kanji... 

   

The lady at the bank wrote my name in kanji today, that was pretty exciting.  

But I suppose the hardest thing for me today was not being able to find a bin.  After my first trip to Shinsei bank in Roppongi (open an account here, the staff are amazing), I had to head to my ward/city office to get my proof of address.  It was about midday and I had not eaten all day so after city hall, I chomped down on a banana before i jumped back on the train.  It was then that I realised that I had not seen any other people eating on the go, or on the street for that matter, but I was hungry.  Then what to do with my peel.  I was already stressing about which bin to put it in once i found one (burnable, non burnable, then recycled etc) but at Nakano station and outside it there was no bins, at shinjuku there was no bins, so I am walking around with a banana peel in my bank that starting to take over the cheese smell from my bag and I am desperate to get rid of it before I sign up for a bank account.  I don't want to be known as the foreigner that smells like banana.  Anways get to roppongi station, no bins, it was only when i got to the mori tower in roppongi hills that I found a bin.  

Hint for the day?  Pack a zip lock or something to put rubbish in.

And if that was the hardest thing today, then things are going pretty well.

Move into new room tomorrow. Excited