Post-Tsukuba

Everyone in my work group seemed to be worried about me and my plans for after Hitachi Chemical. I did not really have any plans myself, but I did not worry about it. Before coming to Japan I had thought of several scenarios for after my internship. My ideal plan was to take some intense Japanese classes while having a part time job and being a part of a taiko group. None of that happened, but I am OK with that. I had also contemplated WWOOFing across Japan, but in the end I decided against it because I felt that two months was not enough time to WWOOF all around Japan, and constantly moving around meant high traveling costs.

Sakurai-san’s father, who is the ex-president of one of Fujitsu‘s plants and is very well connected, was adamant in finding me a job. From working and living in a hotel on top of Tsukuba mountain to working as a translator and liaison for foreigners seeking information at the Tsukuba city hall. Unfortunately, since I had neither a working or student visa (just a special activities visa) it would probably have been illegal for me to work.

My next thought was simply to rent a cheap apartment or room somewhere for 2 months and have the liberty of traveling wherever and whenever I felt like. Most apartments are pretty expensive because they have deposits and gifts for the landlords and other random expenses which don’t make sense for a two month lease, and most contracts are for a year or two anyway.

So I then decided to stay in a Sakura House or something similar in Tokyo. These places are intended for tourists who are staying in Japan short term and their prices are pretty low for Tokyo. I think the cheapest room available, which is dorm-styled, is under $500/month, which is roughly how much a cheapish apartment in the US costs, so not too shabby. Being based in Tokyo would also facilitate traveling since this is the hub of Japan, and the city itself is pretty happening.

Still the people in my company worried about me, because traveling for 2 months is very expensive in Japan; the transportation, the accommodations, and the food, will I have enough money? Someone even estimated for me that I would need at least $5,000 for two months of travel. I agreed with them, but informed them that I did not plan to travel using the fastest/most convenient way (like by Shinkansen) and that I did not plan to stay in hotels, but outside in free campgrounds or with couchsurfers or in cheap hostels at best. As for food, I could live off of conbini food for 2 months, but I would treat myself occasionally to real meals to try out the local cuisines. This style of traveling is not common for Japanese people so maybe they continued to worry about this, but I assured them that many a backpackers from the West have survived like this, for longer periods of time. And since Japan is a fairly safe place, I did not mind sleeping in the middle of parks or in nature-y places as long as it was legal.

So this is what I had decided when one day as Maruyama and I were walking around Tsukuba center he informed me that I could probably stay at an ex-Hitachi worker’s apartment in Tokyo for free, since he lives in his lab running chemical experiments. I said that that was probably too much trouble, but sure enough everyone informed me that this was fine and that he really did spend 95% of his time in lab, so his apartment was mostly unused. I said that if it was truly OK (remember the Japanese can be very vague and it’s hard to understand them sometimes) then I would love that.

So it was settled, I would stay in Goseki-san’s apartment in Tokyo sleeping on his little futon in the corner (he offered me the bed, but I honestly prefer the floor). He lives near Meguro ward, close to the Tokyo Institute of Technology, which is where he works/lives/studies for his PhD. He gave me a tour of his lab which is pretty awesome, and his professor and fellow mates were very nice.

Before leaving Tsukuba, Maruyama informed me that there was money left over from the one time we had Sakurai-san’s BBQ, and that everyone had agreed to use the excess money to buy me an internet stick so that I would not have to worry about internet anymore. Could these people be any more awesome? So we tried several places, but they were all ridiculously expensive, especially for two (or four) months, so in the end it was impossible, but the gesture of kindness left me speechless. It’s not like I expect non-niceness from people, but usually an intern that you know for under two months, and have some difficulty communicating with isn’t someone most people would bend over backwards for. Maybe they are just really hospitable, or I made a good impression on them, or they wanted to make sure the MIT guy was happy, or who knows, but I have definitely bonded with my coworkers and I plan to continue that friendship for the rest of my life.

So I am now writing this blog in my Tokyo apartment and will use the Ethernet cord in Goseki-san’s lab (the professor said it was OK) to use the internet and post this.