Oh Hey Japan, So Nice to Finally Meet You!

The blog post that I’ve been so anxiously awaiting to write, my first time in Japan! This whole home finding trip was super eye opening for me and I’m so excited to share the adventure that we have had in just a few short days. Albeit, it did take a couple of days to get to feeling excited. I’d say the perfect word to describe my first 24 hours in Japan was overwhelmed and with a serious “wtf am I doing” mind set.

I’ll start with this, no one and I mean no one can really mentally prepare you for what it feels like to move across the world (and I haven’t even done it yet). Specifically, to a country that does not speak your language and has a culture completely different from your own. That doesn’t mean that I’m not excited to immerse myself, however, I will say that as a first timer I just didn’t know what to expect. But Japan, it’s great. My short week here, preparing to move and finding a place to live, was just what I needed to feel that this is exactly what John and I need to be doing with our lives…living it and enjoying the opportunities that are given to us. It’s pretty amazing, plain and simple.

With that being said I would still highly recommend reaching out and putting yourself out there to meet people who have been through a similar experience. Everyone we’ve met has been so helpful and willing to answer whatever questions we have or just lend a listening ear. And because of all that I’m positive this move will likely be one of the most exciting things John and I do together. I will also throw this little shout out to my husband, it really helps when you married the most patient and supportive person ever. Seriously, I couldn’t have got any luckier. John is just there and always understanding when I have a melt down or a “wtf are we doing” moment. Makes a HUGE difference people!

Alright, so lets get down to it, home finding. Literally, if I could imagine what it would be like to be on an episode of House Hunters, this would be it. The first day we hit the ground running looking at place after place, I’d say at least 10 if not more. TIP: Jet lag and house hunting do not mix. Unfortunately, in this situation there was no choice and I went home after the first night hoping we picked a good place since I was in a fog most of the day. Fortunately, the next day things were a little bit clearer and I discovered that Starbucks has American size coffees, so when I went back to the place we chose I knew we picked a good one.

Here are a few photos of the new place:

Now that we have a place to live and I’ve actually been to the country of Japan, I’m just ready to get there and start this adventure! I touched on this in my last blog post, but now after knowing what home will look like for the next year and half I’m ready to just start living it!

Things I like about Japan so far:

Toilets- actually I should specify that it’s the western toilets that are pretty amazing (they are heated), but for a county so advanced I did encounter eastern style toilets, not a fan
Food- um…so I had this grand plan to get skinny in Japan, now my new concern is gaining weight. Food in Japan in amazing, enough said
Cleanliness- I’ve only been to Nagoya so far but honestly the cleanest city I’ve ever been in. Seriously, their subway stations are spotless (get it together New York and Chicago)

Things that will take some getting used to:

Smoking in restaurants- this my friends will definitely take some getting used too, especially in the small bars and restaurants with like no ventilation
The language barrier- I’ve been taking Japanese lessons for the past three months and I know nothing, this week was proof of that

Also, Japan is an interesting place lots of weird things placed in the most unlikely locations…example this photo was taken inside a restaurant bathroom.