Robins Japan

One thing that is funny in big cities like Tokyo is that sometimes you see people you normally don't see. Like yesterday when my girlfriend and I wanted to buy something at 7/11 and we endet up standing in the line right after Miss Slovenia. Somehow there must be a beauty contest in Tokyo couse the 7/11 was crowded with misses like miss Russia, China, Portugal, Honduras.... but we didn't wanted to disturb them with making pictures, sry for that :D I didn't found miss Japan and Miss Germany but hey I think my Girlfriend and I can represent that countries very well ^^ So and Today there is Halloween. Somehow here every store and schools are decorated with Halloween accessories. The Japanese love this. Also today is the Big party at Shibuya. Even so some Japanese are concerned about that couse shibuya is crowded on normal days and on Halloween it can be insane and maybe dangerous. For me I spent my last night with my girl so I used the afternoon to take a look at Shibuya an...

Well I found out all it needs to make in impression is to be a white guy with blonde hair and order a chai latte. That's all :D Maybe someone remember the story of the Starbucks where they reserved a table for me. I was there again and the barista actually asked me if I was there before and if I normally want a chai latte. I said yes two months ago. After she said she remembered me I asumed she  reserved the table for me in the summer. Those things happen to me me here sometimes. We were also at these incredible Indian Curry Restaurant near Nakamurabashi station and there they also seem to remember me :D So it's easy to be remembered here. But on the other side hard to be undercover^^ Also these days I visited the buildings of the Tokyo University. It's a huge university with some nice buildings! Beside that I drove the Rollercoaster at Tokyo Dome and hanging around in Starbucks or Excelsior a cafés watching people. Eating outside is also a thing here. You can get a go...

My first days runs so fast again! Yesterday I had a day full of meeting people who tried to speak Japanese with me. I was at a school festival where we met friends of my Girlfriend. There I experienced my first Japanese tea ceremony. I found out that I sometimes can follow a conservation with body language and lot of words like "intresting" or "no" or "repeat". So actually I maybe understand 2 percent of the talking. But hey its more than nothing! Later at the day I met family of my Girlfriend. There also was lots of Japanese and a little bit teaching English :D There I also wished to know more Japanese. After greeting, hobbys , job and talking about weather my Japanese is over. But it's a good training to be forced a little bit to try to speak. Yeah and today my childhood dream from long ago got true. I was in a real Pokémon Center! It's funny that those shops really can exist here^^ And now I do what I always do. After I was at a café I fo...

Finally the day has come I fly again. And the more and more you fly you get more experience how to do things. Seat at the emergency exit for more space? Check! Empty plastic bottle to fill it after security check with water? Check! This one is not so needed in tokyo narita. There they don't rip you off with water like at German airports... Another good thing is if you travel with the German train with some luggage, make sure you get into the Waggons with the bycicle sign on it. You Have way more space to stay at least somewhere with the luggage. Now, couse I'm way to early and everything went smoothly I have time to wait for my plane. I only have to resist the urge to buy more snacks. Good thing I brought something with me which is empty by now :D I hope when I'm in Tokyo I have some more intresting stories to tell. See you soon ; -)

Wow that was fast. In one week I'm going back to tokyo. I'm only staying for one week this time but I'm glad I have the possibility to do so. The main reason of my stay is my Girlfriend. And main reason to write again is that I missed writing a blog :D  Actually not much happend here in Germany. Except lot of talking to people how japan is and how my Girlfriend and I manage things. Sometimes surprising things coming up like my grandmother who found a 30 years old sake which my grandfather  got as a present from doing business with a Japanese company. I'm not sure if I can drink that but I think it's intresting that I thought I'm the first in family with contacts to Japan and then it turns out that grandparents have a story too. My grandfather told me lot of story's from his life but this was a new one. Maybe it is the benefits of interculture relationship that brings us to new story's. Back to topic. Tokyo again. I tried to learn much at home and wi...

Now im sitting at the airport and the trip is nearly over. I whish i could stay. I had so much fun in this country. I ate so much things. I learned much. I did lots of karaoke singing.... I think the only bad things are the damn mosquitos, really really huge bugs in front of my door, that i tend to pay to much money and that i have to leave. I even like the Japanese summer. It's incredible hot, for shure. But at least it is a summer and not a rainy something :D I can't describe how many things i will miss. But sometimes you have to go when its at the best. So saying goodbye... It never felt so hard like today with my kanojo. Thanks for spending the time with me! Going to germany is a path i have to go. Like in the picture, a path from the shrine i have to go. But that only means that someday i can go the same path back.

Today was my last day at my language school (Genkijacs in Tokyo). I really enjoyed it. I think i learned much and fast for the time i was there. I also booked my apartment over the school. That was a easy way to get a cheaper place to live. Then i started in a total beginners class even if i had japanese lessons for some months at a adult school. But you can't compare 90min learning a week with 4 hours a day plus homework and beeing in the country plus sometimes learn even more just couse you are motivated. So i think after 3 days or so we all were at the same level and i learned only new things after this. Also it was good that we were a new class. So everyone was new. That makes it easier to bond with the people. Even so i didn't met not nice people at the school. We all have the same goal and paid to be there. That makes learning another thing. It was a bit like school when i was younger. But here i had more fun and was motivated and my classmates also. So it was a good le...

Today i played roadie for a japanese band i know. They are playing guitar and a drum set with a Cajon and doing calligraphy while playing. It is really awesome! They had a gig at a temple in Takasaki in the gunma prefecture and i filmed it for them. So i got actually outside of tokyo and that fast as hell with the shinkansen! The temple, the priest and the people who lived there were really nice!  I wished my japanese would be better couse we couldn't talk much couse of my lack of japanese and there's in English. But anyway the acting was cool in this beautiful temple. After the musik there was a speach. I only understood some words. But the short translation of my friends referred to me a speach about life and changing in life. It reminds me a bit of some speaches i heared in germany in a protestant church. So with all our culture differences and different religions maybe our thoughts and hopes are equal. And also intressting was theat the people who gone to this event w...

Well... since i had so much fun in my first weeks and i feel like i learn much and i want to do more with someone special and i have some vacation days left, i extend my stay for some days! So i have 5 more days at the Japanese school and 5 more days full of adventure, beeing tired and have much fun with people all over the world. Sorry to my people in germany for this!  At Thursday i had a great evening with cool people, lots of eating, laughing and of course karaoke. We need more karaoke in germany. Its just fun if you do it with some friends! Today i thought i should do a bit of a tourist thing couse the last week was more like living as a language student in my second home here. I visited asakusa. If you search things for tourists and a huge tempel: thats your place!  The tempel is really nice. Even it is awkward for a german to see swastikas everywhere. Of course they have a complete different meaning here! The stores and the people were a bit to tourism like for me ...

Just imagine you are a Starbucks junky and think you know everything about how orders in Starbucks work on the world. But if you weren't in a Starbucks in japan you don't know! Somehow if the Starbucks is crowdy the cashier actually mention this and say that there is no place free and you either wait or buy something togo. But if its full they tend to say that there is no free place. A bit confusing if you are used to be fucked if you buy something for stay and end up hanging around like an idiot with your chai tea if there is no free place. So actually i find this great here. Today actually the cashier was running through the Starbucks and looking for a free place for me and saved it with a reserved sign! Where do you find that?! And did i mention they have macha frapuchino over here? :D Other topic: today we were finally forced to learn katakana. I started to learn it slowly but forced by the teachers, that gives you a huge push. So today i ran through the city and was fin...

So yesterday we wanted to go to a firework at Odaiba. Many japanese kind of suit up for those events with wearing yukatas. With a little (actually a lot of) help i bought also a yukata. The cheapest one looked not good. But then we went to a better shop and found a really cool one with dragons. Until that it was easy. But try to find traditional shoes as a European with big foot... I tried a lot.... and at some point we decided to look for sandals instead of traditional shoes. That was not easy too but we found some. I like them and it looked good with the yukata! Really a big thanks for the help! Maybe i wear the yukata on a convention sometime. Couse of that we needed so long we was way to late to meet the other people. We arrived just as the fireworks startet and forgot to bring snacks and such things: big sorry for that! The firework was nice. And really long! Couse of the others we had a great spot at the beach. I also met new intressting people from France, Italy, Swiss and...

Wow that was fast! My first week is over and im feeling like, why do i stay such a short time here? Im pretty sure im getting japansick again when im going back. So anyway what happens the last days: We learned a lot of things at school! I think its a good way how they let us repeat and repeat and repeat.  Or maybe i should say repeato xD somehow many words japanese use are japanized english and adding an "o" or a "tsu" sometimes helps that people understand you. It got to a running gag with a friend here :D At Wednesday we watched a movie after school. The ghibli movie with the moving castle (dont remember the actual title at the moment) After that i went to karaoke with some mates of my class and many french people. Karaoke is just the thing to go here! Yesterday i was at ginza. There are a lot of expensive shops like gucci and the buildings are mostly designed. We found a store there where they sell star wars chopsticks (you also can find them in akihabara)...

Welcome back. Im full into the tokyo life style. Always on the run, so less writing. At Sunday i visited harajuku. It's still crazy there!  Later i went to shibuya to met a friend. While i was waiting a model scout talked to me and asked if she could send some pictures of me to her boss. And im like wtf?! But hey why complain if people think im good looking. I don't think i hear ever again from them. At least of my short stay (they asked about that). But hey: a great ego-push :D Than i experienced cinema in japan. The western movies are only subtitled in japanese. So its no problem to follow up if you know English. And then the classical thing: karaoke :D  Than at eating i discovered a fish i like. That's really rare. But it is couse of the Japanese thing to share the food. It makes it easier to just try things. If you don't like it, someone other will eat it. So to my school. I finished my second day today. It's cool i think. There are really nice people in my...

Today i somehow managed to squeeze the amount of the adventures from 3 days  into one. I met my japanese friend. After a short break in Shinjuku we decided to visit a huge budha statue in kamakura. But beware: this thing is big but it also can appear out of nowhere! After that we went to the beach. And guess what i found.... a german restaurant! These germans seem to be everywhere xD On the way home we thought Yokohama is right in the way!  If you are a fan of pikachu go there! You can't get out of the way of pictures of him. There is even a park with roller coasters and a big ferris wheel where you can see Yokohama at night. Its great especially if you do this at night ;-)

Wohoo, welcome to tokyo to me :D After a great flight with really huge space (i even could transform my seat into a bed! ) i landed in Tokyo Narita. There i realized finally: my smartphone is too old. The thing is i wanted to by a data sim card so i can surf the net while im around (or navigate my self at home if i get lost). Last year there was no problem at all with this. If i had a newer smarteit wouldn't be a problem, too. But mine still uses a regular sim card and nearly all shops only had micro and nano... After an hour or so i found one with regular sim cards. But only for 7 or 14 days. Great thing that i stay longer. Im to special for them xD So if you travel here with an old smartphone,  buy yourself an adapter or something before coming here. It makes things easier. I also had the option to rent another smartphone. But fuck this. Im using my old friend and bought a 14 day and a 7 day card. There goes my money. Hours later i arrived at my apartment after a short heart...

So im gonna be a more and more positive men and appreciate the advantage of a hardcase luggage.  You have a seat everywhere with these things :D also i had fun hekping some kids to get to their festival somewhere in mühlheim. I thought it was fun to just help them. Maybe someday i get it back or not. I don't care. But now im totally flashed! So i thought this post is about how im gonna pay 3,50 € for a bottle of water couse of security reasons. Also i wanted to tell you how i find a cool song today which i cant play on my ukulele which im taking with me (just to scare the Japanese xD) But hey im flexible in things. After i found my check in counter they sayd today we have a special offer for business class. Im like wtf "yeah special...,  i seen those prices..." than i heared the price and my brain kinda blocked. (Especially i knew i had a bad seat in the middle of the plane and thought: great opportunity to come close to two intressting people. ) So the price was in ...

So while it is not long till my trip starts, i bought some last things like these strange little travel shower bottles. Also some clothes have to be washed. So far, so normal. Then i rewatched "The Ramen Girl". It is really a great movie which is in english and japanese.  It transports how lost you can feel in tokyo while everyone is talking japanese and you understand nearly nothing! But it made me feel like i was there again. It was confusing but fun and feels like adventure. The thrill is to discover the things you don't understand. What made me really proud was that this time i watched the movie i really understand some japanese words! So hey, learning does help! I talked with a japanese friend of mine about the movie and it turns out that one of the co-producers of the movie is the principal of the school where she is taking drama classes. Seems again the world is small. And it made me feel more connected and anticipation for this small city im about to visit again...

Welcome to my freaking awesome blog. First: yes i fucked up finding a decent name for this blog and the worst is my blog Adress. But hey since there is a full southpark episode about this problem im at least not alone! So what i am doing here? Somehow people were intressted in me traveling again to japan,  so i want to try to keep you up to date. Even if i don't know if i have enough time for this or just post some pictures to my fb friends. W hy am i writing in English? Couse i want to improve my English plus get a wider audience. So maybe two persons read the blog instead of one :-) What you will expected here? Expect nothing. Im just writing stuff of my brain while im travel. Maybe there will be also some pictures. Time will show how motivated i am. That's it, first post! yeah :D