randomberries

We took Odakyu Romance Car train straight to Hakone Yumoto, and  couldn’t resist buying cute things with train-shaped packaging. The bigger train was the Romance Car bento which was not really good value for money food-wise; but it was really for the cute train-shaped container, which reincarnates as a planter and now sits in my room. The smaller paper train contained two dainty, delicious cakes.

Hakone-yumoto was a quaint little place with bustling main street, many tourists, and beautiful mountainous backdrop. It instantly set our holiday mood. We spent a little time strolling around this town leisurely, dropping by for souvenirs, lunch, and snacks. 

A delicious mushroom dish, it was very refreshing, tasty yet clean!

It looked intriguing, so I decided to try this Yamakake soba dish, topped with a strange white-ish foam. Google search later revealed that it was grated yam. Wasn’t a big fan of the taste nor texture, but apparently it was very nutritious.

Lake Ashi cruise: it was seriously beautiful like a painting, with blue sky and the fresh spring air around us. 

Mount Fuji was supposed to be visible at this spot, proudly standing between that faraway hill and the lush tree-covered land, as a backdrop to this picturesque torii gate. Sadly, it was covered by clouds. Indeed we have to be double lucky to see Fuji-san from Lake Ashi as the sky has to be clear both around Lake Ashi and around Fuji-san itself. 

Our unnecessarily gallant looking cruise ferry :)

The highlight of this Hakone visit was of course, our first time ever stay in ryokan (Japanese traditional hotel). We stayed at Shinanoki Ichinoyu. Once we entered the room, we regretted not coming there right after check in time.

The tatami floor, the mattresses and futons... the Japan-ness of the whole experience continued to overwhelm. There was a private open-air onsen in the room, overlooking a small garden. The water was so inviting and the afternoon air so chilly... I wanted to get in right away but needed time to adjust to the hot water temperature, resulting in a few seconds of awkward half-squat pose. Afterwards, the feeling of soaking in hot spring and melting the day’s tiredness away, surrounded by wispy steam and breathing in crisp cold air... it was pure bliss. 

Inelegantly worn yukata by us foreigners. I belatedly realised it should be left over right! Sipping tea and eating sweet snacks, sitting down on the tatami floor. Overwhelmed with gratefulness because life is beautiful. 

Dinner was pork shabu-shabu, which was served in the dining room, plus many little dishes I couldn’t name. It didn't look much but we were so stuffed by the end! We had a bit of fun with people watching the other guests: mostly Japanese people who acted completely nonchalant and at ease. Most were couples, there were also a big family with an austere looking grandpa, and everyone clad in yukata. 

Breakfast was this delightful rice and fish set. Again, we were completely stuffed. It was my first time tasting natto, which I completely dislike.

After enjoying private onsen for the last time, sadly it was time to check out. The weather was drizzling so we decided to opt out of the Hakone Open Air Museum and went to the Little Prince Museum instead. 

We went with no expectation but it was quite a pleasant experience. A serene and beautiful place, with many gardens, and European looking facades (indeed some of the buildings were facade only). I use to have the book as a kid but had forgotten the story, little did I know that Little Prince was big in Japan.

Then it was time to go back to Tokyo. Overall it was a low-key, pleasant trip with the highlight being our ryokan stay. 

I didn’t do too many research on this trip because I was still figuring out “how to Japan”. But some ideas / notes:

We used the Odawara Free Pass which was an easy, non-fuss way to travel from Shinjuku. We took the Hakone Tozan bus quite a bit so having the pass was convenient.

I would go to Hakone Open Air museum the next time

I’m also curious to check out the Yunessun Spa Resort! We actually passed by this place without having any idea what it was. Then, a few months later I found out about the amusing flavoured spa baths (green tea, wine, etc) there. Next time!

One was an apartment in the second floor of a metal can shed-like building. The access was through a tiny spiral staircase and it was pitch dark in the evening, we had to use our phone flashlights. It has a loft, but turned out to be a very tight low attic space to store things like luggage, not a sleeping human being. 

Another was a good “ typical single girl apartment”, as the agent put it, which I took seriously into consideration. It was located at a quiet residential area approximately 10 minutes walk from all the conveniences and the train station of a good suburb, which was very decent but could not compete with my current accommodation which is located right next to a supermarket.

I saw another unit in a trendy, swanky and pretty suburb but didn’t fall in love with the unit itself which felt small, somewhat dated, and did not have any balcony.

The most tempting offer was a unit with a really big floor plan located at the second floor (28m2, huge for 1LDK Tokyo standard!) with a big balcony; but with several flaws such as a noisy site right next to the train tracks, access through staircase only, and high moving in cost.

With time running out (I only had one month to look before having to make a decision); finally I decided to stick with my current place, converting into a long term contract. This option always existed as a back-up plan therefore I was never too stressed, nor was there a real risk of being homeless.

During my brief apartment saga, I have learnt a thing or two about finding an apartment in Japan though:

You really feel there is less freedom. In Australia, you just rock up to open houses  as you like and/or deal directly with the leasing agent. Here, you really need a “tenant agent” who’ll note your requirements, work on your behalf, and find options for you. Only then you can move on to inspections.

So, even if you find and like apartments A, B, C, D and E on the internet and wish to see them, it might not be possible. Most of them would already be leased or you are rejected by the landlord for being unqualified (maybe because you are a non-Japanese speaking foreigner?), or the universe just did not allow it.

Initial moving in costs are high. Expect to pay 1 month rent as agent fee, 1 month rent as deposit, and sometimes there’s this thing called “key money” which is really a gift to the landlord, money that you’ll never see again. Oh, there are also insurances. Therefore it’s common to rake up to 3-4 months worth of rent when moving into a new apartment.

All apartments are always in an empty condition and impeccably clean. I love this. No mess, smell, dodgy current tenants. You could move in right away.

Self apartment inspection is weird even for Japan standard.

Boy, apartments in Tokyo are small.

Take off your shoes. TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES!!!

Need more information? Eat your kimchi has a really good article on this.

Did I mention that my budget is a bit low? 

I was okay-ish with my temporary unit settled by my company, which was livable but not perfect and in no way hipster. I had made up my mind to find a better place and move.

Sooo.... On Day 3 in Japan, I met with one real estate agent. After talking for a while, we shortlisted 20 something apartments and agreed to meet at a later time to see how things progressed. Twenty something! I was positive and hopeful! So many choices!

How naive. I am a gaijin (foreigner) and I speak no Japanese. Since it is also high moving season for the Japanese, my competitions were at better odds than me.From twenty something, only two were available for me. Um... okay.

The real estate agent continued, due to the fact that:

I could find my way around;

I have a working mobile phone; and

I am a structural engineer and therefore appreciative of buildings

... They trusted me enough to do MY OWN inspections. Unaccompanied. 

I didn’t know how to react; to be proud of my trustworthy self or to conclude that they’re a bit lazy??

Anyhoowww.. it turned out to be quite a fun adventure. Armed with maps and the agent’s phone number I went on to do my own inspections. Once I reached the front door; I called the agent for instructions and pass codes to open the key / mailbox / door. Then I rode the elevator up, and called them again to open the next key.  I must take off my shoes while inside, not use any water / toilet, and not break anything.

Navigating these pretty suburbs that I saw so often only on Google Maps and finally saw in reality, in a foreign country where I could not read nor communicate, I felt like James Bond on an important mission or a solo Amazing Race contestant. It felt pretty good!

Look! A random flower shop at Meidaimae. 

Afterwards I mentioned this self-apartment inspection to a friend, and she said that was VERY weird even by Japanese standards. Ah...  

Anyway I didn’t end up taking those two places. Cute suburbs but the living spaces are so small! Most of the already small space was taken by spacious corridor, separate bathroom and toilet, kitchen, leaving the bedroom / living space tiny) 

So this was when I ventured out to the supermarket with one simple mission. The vegetables and fruit section was kind of fun. I was happy to see cheap Asian mushrooms, marveled the many types of fishes and roe and ready-to-eat dishes. But, no, I am a proper adult and I will cook my own food.

Then, it’s time for basic pantry ingredients…. I was not mentally prepared for what to come: rows and rows of colorful intimidating bottles, no English. Why is everything in Kanji?  

I am a proud person who likes to think that I am quite independent… so I did what any other tech-reliant Gen-Y would do: whipped out my phone, opened the voice translate app, and started commando-ing: Salt. Pepper. Oil. Soy sauce. The app dutifully spat out the kanji.    

….. Nothing seemed to match. Too many words. Too many bottles. I started to get really hungry. It all got kind of overwhelming as panic started to set in.  

Never in my life have I felt so relieved to see a Caucasian woman… I desperately pleaded her to please help me find such and such. Bless her, kind woman with European accent who walked through the two aisles to help and even showed me sugar as a bonus. God bless you.  

I didn’t cook that night. I bought a prepared bento instead.

But on the next visit to the supermarket, I have come prepared. On a scrap paper I’ve written down the English, kanji, and romaji pronounciation. I was not in a hungry state. I was cool, calm and collected. The supermarket music / theme song was like an arcade game theme, cute and adventurous, cheering me on.

I found sesame oil and oyster sauce ON MY OWN. I made my first dish that day.

This… maybe is just a humble bowl of quick pork and vegetable dish. It didn’t even taste that great… in fact my cooking will probably all taste the same since I have very limited pantry ingredients. But to me, this is a symbol of perseverance, hard work, and sweet, sweet victory.