Goodbye Tokyo!

Last days in megalopolis! Having left my room with its great view, said good bye to all friends and collegues, i am on my own now once again.

To miss no experience i decided to stay the last night in a capsule hotel in Akihabara, the part of town where all the computer nerds an otaku kids make their shopping dreams come true.

Tomorrow i take the plane down to Naha, Okinawa's main town and from there take the overnight-ferry to Miyako-Jima the same day, an island even farther south, already close to Taiwan. I'll stay there at Minshuku Kuromonchou, the house having been built around 100 years ago, something really special regarding the past, as okinawa islands where the only part of Japan being conquered by US-troops.

I hope to find calm weather there, it's said to have around 20°C, unfortunately it'll be rather clowdy. nonetheless i hope i can go swimming, as the beaches should be magnificent. Saturday i will go on to Ishigaki, the most southern Part of Japan, before returning to Naha, and from there going north again up to Kagoshima.

Some Akiba-Fotos.

What I'm up to....

Going to Japan, that is!
I got my sabbatical leave of 6 months which I will spend most of the time on the island of the rising sun.
I'll attend a language school in Tokyo.
Before returning home I hope to travel somewhat around, in any case stopping by in Ottawa visiting my grilfriend there.

But for now it's going east!
I will arrive at Tokyo 19th of september. My intention is to stay there for two days, then travelling up wrongfully neglected Tôhoku (Northern Honschu). One destination will be Aizu Wakamatsu.
The beaten track including Kyoto and Nara I'll probably take up later on during my stay.

29th of september I'll move to a host family. Course will start 1st of october.
So that's the plan so far....


Here an updated To Do-List

Travel Preparations

• Writing down and memorizing graphic characters of locations I will visit. --> DONE!
• Buying O-miyage (small presents) for host & others. --> DONE!
• Make reservation for a room in Tokyo. --> DONE!
• Asking for fees for a change in booking for my flight (so i can go to canada). --> DONE!
• Buy a train ticket. --> DONE!
  

Insurance & Medical Matters

• Take out a foreign health insurance --> DONE!
  
• Vaxxination --> DONE! (except Typhus)
• Collect Information about travel isurance --> DONE!
• Filled out insurance-form in casd of emergency return --> DONE!
  
• Visiting a dentist. --> WILL
• Visiting a physician. --> WONT
  

Job & Educational stuff

• Looking for the right language school --> DONE!
• Try to get an arrangement with my employer. --> DONE!
  

Finance & Money

• Opening a savings account. --> DONE!
  
• Put back some money --> DONE! (hehe...)

Now it's set!

I finally applied for a language course!

The school I chose is GEOS Kudan, who I have already been in contact with.
The nice contact is one main reason I chose them. Responses have always been rather swift, and they tried their best to help me with my questions.
Furthermore, the price is reasonable (150.000 JPY/term) and they are located not far from the emperors palace, so i hope it will be situated nicely. (In fact it seems to be quite near the (at least internationally) disputed Yasukuni Shrine, so I'll probably be right at the focus of controversy about japanese history).
Lastly, they will organize homestay at a reasonable price either. (By the way, there's a worldwide homestay marketplace online too....)

Anyway, the last few schools I wrote to, didn't reply at all (except one), so it seems to be silly season in Japan too. Actually I'm rather curious how the school will turn out to be.

Have to clear out my appart now, as I'll move out by september 1st.
Ahh, getting rid off all the piled up stuff, that'll be purifiying!

Directly into latest news.....

So i have been working through about hundrets of Tokyo-based language schools, which are more or less very similar. What I'm disappointed of, i found no new ones that organise homestay. So the choice here's quite hard limited down to the three or four Institutes I have been envisaging from the beginning on.
Another thing that astonishes are rather flat tuition fees, which never leave the range between 150.000JPY and 220.000JPY for a term, everything included.
So now I included some more contacts which I think are good picks, for the one or another reason. See the list below:

LABO Japanese Language Institute
focused on "cultural exchange", has severeal language foreign langugae courses, so no Ghetto, about 140.000JPY/3months. No Infos on accomod.
Located:Shinjuku

Tokyo Central Japanese Language School
Includes Teacher-Education, nothing on accomodiation. Course 44.000JPY/month
Located: Shibuya (near Shinjuku, Yoyogi Park)

Tokyo Riverside School
Fall-Term fpr 175.000JPY, no infos on accomodiation
Located:Taito (Ueno, Asakusa, really just at the riverside)

AN Language School
Nice site, only to mention its-"Learner-Based" System, price is 150000/3mon
Located:Toshima (Ikebukuro)

Tokyo Shibaura Institute of foreign Language
No Short-Courses, perhaps on request.
Located:Minato (directly at the harbour!)

Shurin Japanese School
Nice Site, 150.000JPY/term, school-owned dorm, no further infos, Jap.-Teacher education.
Located:Koto (East)

Language Course Research

I'll have to force my search for an aprropriate language school now.
I took me somer time to find it again, but here it is:

Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education

The have a list of all the schools over there, included a search by conditions (such as area and price).
So 'ill have to work through it now the upcoming days.

MAPS

Another thing relevant for choosing the rigt school: its location in Tokyo.
Here some links to maps
Tokyo City Map (at japaneselivestyle.com)
Tokyo Special Wards Map (TravelWiki)
Tokyo 23 Wards Map (J-accomodiation)


So long.

Preparatory News!

As the project is official now, i'll step out of the shadows!

The bosses have been granting me the leave without any problems. I'm quite pleasently surprised!

Starting date will be the 18th of september 2007, i'll return at the end of march 2008.

I even booked the flight already. After a little dispute with the travel agency, i got the there and back ticket for laughable 600€s.
Next step will now be selecting an appropiate language school. But that shouldnt turn out to be too much a hassle, since the correspondance i had so far is quite positiv.
The final unknown so far: should I try to apply for a pre-college visa or not. If so i will have to book a course for 6months at once, meaning augmenting fixed costs: Visa assistance by the school is extra. 1300€ plus.
The consulate told me, i could stay for 6months visa free, only thing required: alien registration as late as 90 days after arrival, followed by extension for another 90.
Let's see...

No Yuippie!!!-Now-Me-Too-Im-Writing-A-Blog-Stopping-At-Once-After-
Two-Or-Three-More-Posts-rubbish here!
Practical stuff is to be put here!

What I'm up to (aka My preperations for going to Japan)

Job & Educational stuff

• Looking for a language school
• Try to get an arrangement with my employer.
• Looking for possibilities for jobbing in Japan (Including getting in contact with the chamber of commerce, putting my profile online)

Insurance Matters

• Collect Information about travel isurance
• Get in contact with employment agency (so they wonct cut my claims by wangling interpretations: i paid my dues).
• What help can really be expected from the visa travel insurance?
  

Finance & Money

• Opening a savings account.
• Put back some money (naturally!).
  

Health

• Vaxxination.
• Visiting a physician for preventive examination of health.
• Visiting a dentist for preventive examination of teeth.

I know Im little bit pendantic.