Chiba City Blues

Literally not a just title I am borrowing here. As Chiba City is rather far away and it takes about 20 minutes to get there.
The town I am living at is Hamano, still part of the never seeming to end agglomeration of Greater Tokyo Area, inhabiting around 35 million people (it's 20 more minutes by car farther south that urban area finally ends).
Despite its name (Hamano meaning “seaside fields”) you never see Tokyo Bay from anywhere here, as heavy industry, which Chiba prefecture is known for, is spreading down along the seaside and entering is prohibited (i tried to).
But just like of the nearby coastline, you never notice anything of all these kind of plants, power-, petrochemical-, what so ever, at the house where I stay.
It is situated in midst of a nice residential area, a shrine or workshop here and there, some traditional restaurants, as well as your “conbini”(-ent store) just around the corner. The hosts are incredibly friendly people and I like them really much. Of course there are these rules you have to stick to, but as we (there are more guests) are staying in a separate building, there is at about enough privacy and yes! there's space too!
The traditional room I live in might have 15-20m², opening up to a small garden with tiny crooked trees, full with strange fruits that are only not edible (probably for the best).
You might think you are living in a small town just like anywhere in Japan.
And a swift ride by train is probably the best cure from such delusions!
It takes about 90 minutes to get to school, but only if you get the rapid train, which in fact is quite popular among commuters, meaning you won't sit down for most of the ride. (It's crowded just all the time. From 11:00 to 16:00 it might be, let's say, less crowded.)
Of course there are the local trains too.
So enjoy reading a book during 1h45. Or find out why all the mobile gadgetry packed with the latest killer application, just no one cares for back home, is such a big thing over here!

Only that a plain tourist visa exempts you from the merits of postpaid-service. So no mobile plugging into the net for you, cowboy! (In fact I know quite a few people who didn't manage to get a mobile phone at all).
Another funny thing about commuting 90 minutes in one direction, is that the worlds best working public transport system situated in the worlds largest metropolitan area simply stops at about midnight. So when you go out make sure to head home at 22:30 at the latest, or otherwise be prepared to stay up all night. Much time to spend at home therefore!
Despite my hosts having put up a WLAN router, i hoped if not mobile so i could simply connect to the internet, without having to walk over to the noisy entertainment-center. But the thing just didn't work. Flatline! Eventually I spent two further weeks without permanent internet-connection, experiencing just how dependent on it one is today. Dependent, as it actually fullfils a purpose. But I tell you, this was cold turkey!
No skypeing with my girlfriend, no news, no getting organized on a more than basic level, checking train connections, anything...!
By now its fine. No more hanging around at strange manga-shops, or slipping onto the next seat released at school, to check emails and occasionally write one...
Junkie-time definitely is over!