A Long Overdue Update

Apparently it’s been so long since my last blog post that many people thought I’d given it up. Well, I don’t give up so easily, but I am easily distracted and Tokyo has many distractions to offer. My new goal is to do a weekly post even if all I can manage is a few pictures and a paragraph or two about what I’ve been up to. But don’t hold me to it- you never know when I may get distracted again and I don’t make commitments I can’t keep ;)

It’s hard to capture the past 8 weeks thoroughly in one post so I won’t even try! If you’ve been checking my facebook page somewhat regularly, you’re pretty up to date on what I’ve been doing: enjoying my first karaoke experience, eating my way through the city with friends, climbing Mt Fuji in the rain, continuing Japanese lessons for better or worse, visiting beautiful Hakone, and most importantly, meeting new friends and admittedly missing the last train home a wee bit too frequently in the name of good times.

I mentioned before that being in a new place can give you the courage to do things you wouldn’t normally do, and I find more and more it’s true. If I were a millennial I’d use some corny expression turned acronym, but since I’m not, I’ll just come out and say it really is true that you only live once. Meet friends for drinks at 10pm on a school night at the very bar where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson found themselves Lost In Translation? Sure, why not. Never mind that I used to be the girl who went to bed at 9 every night. That’s so Bay Area April 2015, this is Summer in Tokyo!

I am also learning that developing a routine in a new place does not mean you bring your routine with you- rather, you adapt to the routine of your new environment. I work approximately 9-6 with an hour lunch break every day. At home I typically worked 7 or 8 – 4ish. I sleep from 11-7ish instead of from 9-5. I run or swim in the evening instead of the morning even though I swore I’d always be a morning exerciser. I wear tights (or as my mom says they are called, pantyhose, but I don’t like that word!) to work instead of jeans. I eat a largely Japanese diet and have all but become dairy and gluten free without meaning to. (And feel really healthy because of it despite my lack of sleep and late nights out but that’s a topic I won’t delve into) 

Do I miss some of my old routines? Absolutely. I miss swimming during sunrise at Stanford and knowing when I walk into work that I’ve already done something for myself that no amount of work stress can take away. I miss running on the trails at Edgewood and Wunderlich parks on Saturdays. Most of all, I miss my close friends and think of you all the time, even though it looks on facebook like I’m so distracted by my fabulous new life that I couldn’t possibly be wishing I was with you or wondering what you’re doing – there are many moments when I do just that.

Which leads me to what I’ll call the flip side of being courageous and adaptable and doing new things: I am more raw and vulnerable here than I have ever been in my life. I’m 12 weeks in and a few weeks ago the reality of it started sinking in: how long it takes to build the kind of friendships I left behind, how excruciating it is to establish credibility at work and define my role in a new organization and in a culture where the unspoken rules are completely different and foreigners are a relatively new concept, how daunting learning a new language is, how far I truly am from home despite the connections technology facilitates, just to name a few. I have very high highs but also lower lows than usual and look forward to a time when things are a bit more even keel, but I also recognize I’ll be stronger for surviving this initial phase where everything feels magnified. And in the meantime, I am experiencing a world of new things that will forever change my perspective and probably affect the course of my life. I just need to stop being so darn sensitive about it J

Lastly, lest my last paragraph mislead you, let me say with conviction that I absolutely love my life here and I have never for a split second questioned my decision to move to Tokyo. I am meeting other internationally-minded people with shared perspective and life outlook and making friends of many of them. Work is progressing even if I can’t see the impact I wanted right away. I love my apartment and my neighborhood, I LOVE Japanese food, and I even love studying Japanese! (Right, I know, for how long remains to be seen…) My intent with this blog is to be authentic, and that means being vulnerable and sharing my challenges as well as my triumphs. You can go to facebook and see glitzy posts of all the fabulous things I’m doing, foods I’m eating and people I’m meeting. 90% of the time, those posts reflect my experience. But the darker 10% is important too. I wouldn't be real if I didn't share that some days I have a few minutes where I am literally so unsure of myself that I get physically nauseated and need a small chat with myself and to recite a few memory verses to convince myself it will all be OK. This adventure is fabulous in many ways, but it is hard too. My friend Lindsay sent me this article recently and I think it's a great read and more articulately describes a lot of what I am feeling.

Hydrangea ( あじさい) festival with my friend Taeko

Rounding out this post are a lot of pictures with some very informative (and some not-so-informative) captions- enjoy!          

You can take the girl out of California, but don't take away her California wine! Ridge. Tokyo Tower in the background.

The next few pics are random things I photographed while running one day

Start of Mt.Fuji hike- I look dry and warm, but it doesn't last long!

Avalon and I managed to take the wrong route down and along with 3 other gaijins, and spent hours getting back to the official meetup point. A true adventure to say the least. The full Mt.Fuji story requires a post of its' own but words can't do it justice!

Huddled in a hut with Avalon, Belle, and Laura after we made the sane decision to bunk for the night when the temperature dropped to almost freezing with constant wind and rain. The rest of the hikers soon followed suit.

Summit! This was taken at about 530am. The view looks just like the google images of Mt Fuji sunrise, wouldn't you say? ;) Summit closed a few minutes after we took this pic due to high winds. Felt like knives in the face!

Tsukiji Fish Market. 230am arrival, 3 hour wait in the dark, and this pic pretty much captures what it was- a whole lotta frozen tuna!! Worth it? Hell no, but the girls and I were glad we did it in the best of company. Box checked!

Redeeming aspect of Tsukiji fish market: sushi breakfast!

First Yakiniku- you grill your own meat at the table. It's a lot of fun! Just pay attention to your simmering meat, don't do something like get distracted by chatting and char your meat (as my family knows, I NEVER get distracted trying to order or manage food at restaurants or the dinner table! uhhh.....)

Beautiful Hakone- I have to say I was actually really pleased it was rainy for the first few days there- it's easy to appreciate a beautiful place when it's sunny and gorgeous outside, but the fog, drizzle and clouds swirling in and out gave the place a very ethereal feel that I couldn't get enough of. And outdoor onsen in the rain is pretty amazing too.

View of Mt Fuji from the hotel grounds

It finally did clear up in Hakone on my last day

Another example of the truly kind spirit of the Japanese. ANA flight attendants saw me doing kanji worksheets and asked about my story- why was I studying Japanese, etc. I told them I had moved to Tokyo a few months ago and we chatted a bit. They came back a few minutes later with this dessert- I can't even say how touched I was. I might have cried. Because you know, these days, as indicated in my post, I cry at just about everything in my life, good or bad :)

Jet lag robbed me of sleep my first day back in Tokyo after a week in the US for a business trip and my mom's birthday. SO, I was up at 5am taking a picture of this hazy sunrise. Beautiful!

Found a good craft beer place in Roppongi and allowed Avalon to convince me to stay up past my bedtime to sample some hops on Friday evening this week. Good decision!