And so it begins...

It is Wednesday evening in Tokyo, and we (thankfully) have no rain tonight, just a lovely cool breeze. Today was a very productive day--I did all of the programming for our first week (all by myself!!) and started working on posters for the room, which I will continue to do tomorrow and possibly Friday as well.

Before I say anymore, I have some good news: this quarter wasn't a bust after all. I think I did extremely well considering everything I had to do to get ready for Japan.

Now that that is out of the way, I would like to talk a little about Kamata, the area we live in.

Kamata is a basically-residential part of the city in a ward called Ōta that houses one of the biggest stations on the Keihin-Tōhoku Line. Ōta borders part of Tokyo Bay, but the only parts of Tokyo Bay we have seen are in the rivers and estuaries that dot our neighbourhood. Kamata is an interesting place because of the kinds of people who live here. There are definitely a lot of young people living in Kamata because of it's proximity to some Tokyo U extensions and its affordability. The shops around the station cater to this younger crowd and are generally inexpensive and trendy. Kamata is also a place where a ton of bachelors live--in fact, 85% of the residents in our boarding house are single men ages 21-35. As a result, this area also has its share of Host Clubs, Night Clubs and some of the biggest Pachinko (Gambling) houses in the area.
Walking around our specific area, however, one can see the kind of place Kamata used to be. The houses that are here bear the signs of the poor economy, but harken back to a better time in Japanese history when they were inhabited by young families. There are a lot of apartments in this area now, and the existing houses are either in bad shape or have been converted to boarding houses like the one we live in. There is a small park across the street from us which has fallen into disarray because of lack of use. Most of the current home owners in the area are seniors who purchased their homes for their families, who have been priced out of nicer areas in Tokyo. Now these seniors are forced to cope with the constantly changing landscape and never-ending flow of young and unmarried students, workers and gaijin (foreigners) and all of the kinds of businesses they bring with them.
Despite some of the seedy aspects of this area, Kamata is very safe. Stores close early around here and the patrons of the Pachinko houses, nigh clubs and bars tend to keep to themselves--we haven't heard a lot of noise at night since we came.
So...THAT is Kamata. I will have post some pictures latefir because I don't feel well and am fighting to stay awake. I have had the most terrible headaches since I arrived and have been having a hard time staying up late enough to adjust to the new time...I will have to do something...

Hope you enjoyed my blog today, stay tuned for more of my life here in Japan!