Where would you live in Tokyo? August 20, 2007

As I’m sure you know, Tokyo is a really big city. How big is it? You can see the subway map here:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/rosen/rosenzu/pdf/rosen_eng.pdf

I’ve not ever counted how many lines and stations there are in Tokyo, and also, there are many railways. You can guess how big Tokyo is now.

If you move to Tokyo, you may wonder where you should live. Of course, it depends on your situation; work, school, etc.

Usually, the west side of Tokyo is a more expensive area than the east side, apartment fee, food at supermarkets and so on. In the same way, north is cheaper and south is expensive.
How about the centre? You can find apartments or house there but mostly it’s a business area, not suitable for daily living. Far from the shops, far from the supermarket, you can find only small grocery stores and even then it’s weekdays only.

As for the apartment fees, it depends on the station and how long it takes from station to the apartment. Usually if you walk 1 min. more from the station, you can get an apartment 80US$ cheaper.
If the express stops at the nearest station to your apartment, that area must be expensive.

Now, you may consider it prudent to live a little bit towards the outskirts of Tokyo but I have to tell you if you live in that area it takes one and a half hours from the centre of Tokyo, and you’d end up taking a bus or walking for 20min from the local station to your apartment.

Of course, if you don’t mind the possibility of living without shower room, share the toilet with neighbours, live in a very old building or only have one tiny room, you can live cheaply in Tokyo.

Where would you live in Tokyo?

Morning shower? Evening shower? August 16, 2007

Tom is an everyday accountant. Tom worked so hard today…. he woke up early this morning, he got on such a crowded subway to the office, he had to visit the client for a meeting during the day time and he went to a bar for a drink with friends….so, now Tom is very tired.

So, can you tell me, if you were Tom, would you take a shower before you go to bed or when you wake up tomorrow morning?
In Japan, you might notice that many Japanese take a bath or shower before they go to bed.
You might say Japanese cannot go to bed without taking a bath or shower…

Why?

Maybe, it’s an old custom I guess.

As you know, Japanese always take off their shoes whenever they go home. They never go past the entrance area of a home wearing shoes, but do so building, public places…
Japanese must separate cleary “Outside” and “Inside”.
That explains why many Japanese are so nervous to keep the inside of their house clean. Also: no dust, no smell.That’s why many Japanese take a shower or a bath before going to bed. The bed is almost like a sacred place that is the cleanest in the house. No dust from outside, no sweat from working and walking, no smell from the bar……

Are you reading this blog lying on the bed wearing shoes?
Are you sure you didn’t step in dog dirt today?