Hikarigaoka School- First Week!

Last Saturday rained a lot, so on Sunday we did the classic 'tourist thing' around Tokyo. The temperature was 29'C and Tokyo was PACKED!

We visited..

• Shinjuku and the Metropolitan Government Building Observatory: It was on the 42nd floor and had an amazing view over Tokyo! Took some great photos! Despite it being a perfectly sunny day, there was a fog haze obscuring Mt Fuji :(
• Harajuku: Famous for attracting the more, shall we say, non-conforming youths, on a Sunday afternoon. Took some snaps of a few goths, punks and a strange, pink, man. Harajuku is also home to huge western shops for example a multistorey H&M and Topshop.
  Harajuku is also famous for the Meiji Shrine. It dates back to only 1922, however it is huge and beautiful, and I made a wish :)
• Akihabara: The electronics district. We conveniently went about 8ish pm when it was all 'lit up' and I purchased a battery charger. There were come interesting shops; we had fun in the bb gun store and in the video game sections of a large department store!

Here is a slideshow!

On Monday I was picked up at Ikebukuro station by the head teacher at my school, Kaoru-sensei. We drove to Toyotamanaka (my town.. or city) and visited to the city hall for my Alien Registration Card. Next was a bank account, where I had to write everything officially in the characters and use my own ink stamp. I also got a mobile phone! Regrettably, Japanese mobile phones cannot send nor receive SMS texts internationally :( SMS texting is apparently `not cool` in Japan, and everything sends emails to each other- from a computer to a phone or phone - phone.
My email is claredery@ezweb.ne.jp so if you email me there from a computer, I will receive it to my phone straight away, free of charge. I can also email you back if you`d like as long as I'm awake and not during my work hours!!

Apartment

Moved into my apartment. I spent 4 hours unpacking, rearranging the furniture to personalise it and putting up photos! I'm looking forward to visiting the 100 yen (60 ish pence) shop to buy lots of little things!

Apartment opinion:
Pros: It's bigger than I expected. Third floor so no cockroaches!
Cons: No microwave, no oven, just one hob.

I think it's pot noodles for me all year..

First day of work
I met so many students I can:t remember anyone`s names! I observed classes all day and took notes. I didn't know where anything was so I felt a bit out of my comfort zone. But I was made to feel very welcome by the staff and students. Marilyn-sensei, the person I`m replacing is super helpful! Had a burger for lunch, and the kids class was definitely the most fun, but one of them was a little naughty..

First official lesson is on Friday, but I have been contributing in class to ease myself in.

Wish me luck!!