Settling In: One Month of Life in Japan

My First Month in Japan

My first month in Japan was so jam-packed with activities that I’ve been putting off writing this post—which has also unintentionally delayed the launch of this blog. I realized that if I don’t just sit down and write it now, my second month will be over, and I’ll be too far behind. This one’s going to be long, but I want to be able to look back on everything someday. So, here goes nothing.

Rain, Rakuten, and Room Setup

On my first day living in Tokyo, I met Amir—who would become my first friend here. I didn’t see him again for a few days though, because it poured nonstop for the first three days. On the bright side, the weather made it easier to stay in and get my room unpacked and set up.

Before I moved, I had transferred my phone number to Google Voice. It was great because I kept my U.S. number of 20 years—but not so great because I had no service unless I was on Wi-Fi. So, my first mission in Japan was getting a local phone plan and taking care of city hall paperwork like registering my address and enrolling in health insurance. Besides waiting in some long lines, the process went surprisingly smoothly. A few days later, I had a Rakuten SIM card and everything was set. And the rain still hadn’t let up, so I wasn’t missing much outside.

Sunshine and Sakura

Finally… sunshine. Amir texted me and said he was heading to Shibuya to walk around and grab lunch. On the way out, he introduced me to Ava (aka Spriggs), and just like that, my first real day of exploring began.

We had no destination and, of course, immediately walked the wrong way out of Shibuya Station. After wandering some narrow backstreets, we ended up at a cozy little Japanese restaurant. I had my first Highball as a resident of Japan—and for some reason, it just hit better than the ones back in New York. Maybe it was the jet lag, maybe it was just Japan.

Afterward, we walked all the way back to Shinjuku to get ready for the sakura (cherry blossom) viewing party our residence was throwing. On the way, we stopped for ice cream, passed through Yoyogi Park, and even caught a small ceremony at a local shrine. Back in Shinjuku, we split up briefly to get ready for the night’s event.

We headed to Shinjuku Gyoen Park to see the cherry blossoms, which were in full bloom—somehow surviving the week of rain. We lounged, took some photos, and walked around before heading back to the residence for games and drinks. It ended up being a pretty successful night, and many of the people I met there became my core group of friends.

School Starts & Nakameguro Mishap

A few days later, some of us went to check out the sakura light show in Nakameguro… except the event had ended a week earlier. Still, the blossoms over the canal were beautiful, even without the lights.

That outing marked the end of my pseudo-vacation—language school started the next day. Classes run five days a week from 1:30–5:00 PM, so they take up a good chunk of the day, but weekends are wide open for adventure. I met another great group of people in my class who plan to stay in Japan for at least a year. We ended our first week with drinks and karaoke—hopefully the first of many nights out together. (More on school in another post.)

Nights Out & New Faces

In the second week of April, the crew from the welcome party and I hit up Shibuya for a night of dancing and drinking—my first proper hangover in Japan. But it also gave me my first chance to actually have some Japanese conversations out in the wild. Amazing what a couple drinks will do for your confidence. One thing I learned: Shibuya clubs have outrageous cover charges for what you get. Still hasn’t stopped us from going back, though.

The next day I met up with Julie, a former colleague from Estée Lauder, for coffee and a stroll through Roppongi. We caught some of the last sakura in bloom. Sadly, I learned she’d be leaving both Lauder and Japan soon—but it was really nice to see her before she left.

Late Trains & Last-Minute Decisions

The following weekend was classic Tokyo. Another night in Shibuya with friends, another missed last train home. I tried to walk back to Shinjuku, but after 30 minutes of walking and seeing my estimated arrival time barely budge, I gave in and grabbed a taxi.

The next day, I explored solo. I hopped off the train at Kichijoji, wandered through the park and zoo, then headed to Shimokitazawa for some vintage window shopping. I stumbled on an American vintage shop that reminded me of my little brother.

Then, at 11 PM—still in bed—I spontaneously bought a ticket for my first professional baseball game in Japan. Out of the 12 teams in the league, half are based near Tokyo. I picked the Yokohama BayStars as my team, even though they’re technically not in Tokyo. One of their pitchers is a former MLB player who started a vlog about his time in Japan, which I watched a couple years ago and took a liking to the team. The game was wild—nothing like American baseball—and I left with BayStars merch and a handful of new Japanese friends. But that story deserves its own post.

One Month Down

And just like that, month one in Japan was over. I got settled into my new life, met some amazing people, and started to find my rhythm. I may have indulged in a bit too much nomihoudai and tabehoudai, but hey—you're only a student once. Well... sometimes twice, I guess.