February greetings
- Nadja Herbig
- 16. Feb. 2022
- 6 Min. Lesezeit
Hello, my dears!
Greetings from Tokyo again! Probably for a long time.
There are already a few work in progress on my laptop. That's how it is when you want to travel a whole country in a short time and with a child. But I thought I'd pack it today. Because a thought occurred to me...
I was at the "Family Mart" this afternoon.
This is a Combini or also called: a convenience store.
I stood there at the printer, waiting for the photos that I wanted to hang up in our apartment and realized how well we had settled in:
“I use a printer in the Combini and was able to print out photos without having to ask anyone for help. That felt really good,” I thought. I look around. Printing would take a few more minutes. A bug-finding game was shown on the display to keep you from getting bored.
Behind me was the shelf with the cosmetic and hygiene products. I liked checking here to see if there was anything interesting. It felt like strolling through the local "dm". Just shorter. And the prices here were more expensive than in a drugstore. But for emergencies there was everything here. Even “heattech” clothing and emergency underwear. You never knew...
I was also pleased to note that I could read most of the product names without a translator. By now I could read hiragana and katakana and, with a little imagination, recognized the English word behind the katakana.
For example: hand cream = ハンドクリーム.
(Yes, Japanese is composed of three fonts. Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.)
Has learning been worthwhile if I can manage well when shopping? Of course, it is not enough for all products. Especially special local products such as noodles, pastes, oils, types of fish. Since the names are sometimes squiggly in Japanese on the packaging. That's where my reading skills stop at the moment or the translator can't tell.
Today is Sunday. A very relaxed Sunday. I was allowed to stay in bed for a long time. I wasn't used to that anymore. Otherwise, our apartment is happy and bustling, but today my husband even went out early with the child. So that I could have peace. It took some time getting used to. So much rest.
Upon their return we had breakfast and enjoyed a very slow morning in our small apartment. Doing laundry, cleaning windows, making coffee, documenting my child's development (I haven't done this since November). Lying prone on the floor. Paint with mum and build Lego with dad.
Such a nice family Sunday. Such a beautiful moment. From my cozy ground quarters I could see the blue sky and soft veil clouds passing by.
But right now we were on our way to lunch. In Japan there are large chains of family restaurants where you can conveniently order using tablets placed at the table. Almost every table has its compartment and you are a little more undisturbed. The prices are moderate. I often see people sitting here working on their laptops. Some look like entrepreneurs, others like students or pupils. Sometimes parents and their children are busy doing their homework here as well as eating. But it all looks more comfortable than stressful.
Do you see that more often in New York and other big cities? Working people in cafes and restaurants?
The chain restaurants we ate at are family friendly. Here are some names of the restaurants we went to: Gusto, Jonathan's and Saizeriya.
There is a bookable drink bar with a moderate price of around 200 JPY, where you can help yourself. Coffee, tea and juices are always available. In more expensive restaurants there are also all kinds of coffee-milk drinks (latte, cappuchino, mocha,...), cocoa. Then also lemonades, which are special in Japan. At least I haven't seen them like this in Germany: Melonen-Fanta, Calpis Soda, all flavors of cola and syrup lemonades from Qoo, which I don't really know. "Milk tea" is also popular here and came to Japan through British influence in China. And of course there are also some Matcha flavored drinks. My husband isn't too fond of the taste, but it doesn't bother me. I've been drinking green tea since I was a child and I'm used to the slightly tart taste. Of course, this is not the full range of flavors of the drinks, but I think it's enough for a brief insight.
Children can get free toys from "Gashapon" vending machines if they had a children's menu. You get Gashapon Coins. This brings joy to children and parents. My child is also currently looking forward to a walk to the drink bar. It provides entertainment and she can press the buttons on the machines for me.
Relaxing music with birdsong is played in the restaurant, which really slows things down. The food is delivered reasonably quickly after ordering and tastes good. For example, today we had a ramen and tomato soup with lots of vegetables, a crispy chicken burger, which is more of a bullet, and a hypoallergenic children's curry with rice.
My knowledge of Japanese is now also sufficient for small phrases with the waiters or a small talk with the table neighbours. This is often triggered by our child. Blonde children just stand out here. But the latter didn't happen today.
In the following pictures you can see the tablet, lots of drinks, a Japanese menu order with chicken, rice, miso soup, fermented vegetables, Sesame-Sunday-ice cream for dessert and quite typical: proud parents when the child drinks from the cup alone.
Furthermore, I can tell you that we are doing well. However, we also adhere to the rules of social distancing, as "C" is also rampant here and the curve continues to rise.
Fortunately, there are beautiful parks here where we can enjoy fresh air and beautiful nature. You notice in everyday life that Tokyoites tend to stay at home. The city isn't quite as busy between the rush hours. Not quite as quiet as a lockdown in Germany, but definitely quieter than Tokyo in normal times. At least in my range of motion. I experienced that in Shinjuku, for example, when I went on a trip to "Shinjuku Gyoen National Park" on Thursday (see pictures). Or from time to time in Ikebukuro. It is another entertainment area with numerous restaurants, pubs, bars and shops. There is also an aquarium there that I like to go to when I don't know what to do with myself and my daughter.
Back to Japanese: My vacation has begun! Yay! But I'm already waiting for the new registration date for the next level and will repeat the lessons until then to be able to keep up. In the end, the grammar progressed very quickly. Apparently I will also be allowed to participate in the course as a "spouse" (wife). However, students and researchers are prioritized beforehand. However, the teachers encouraged me and said there were enough free places. The kanji course has now ended and I recognize more and more kanji in everyday life. But it's still a fun game to guess if the two consecutive kanji now make up a word with this or that meaning, or if they stand alone. Or whether they are read in "on-yomi" (hiragana) or "kun-yomi" (katakana).
My husband and I have now realized that there is still a lot to see in Japan and have already booked a few vacations. For example the cherry blossom. You definitely have to have experienced that. Hopefully that all works out.
I'm sitting on our sofa right now and typing these lines for you. I hope you feel a little taken along on my adventure. There have not been many reports so far. But I understand that I cannot promise any release dates.
Since my husband works late, I am alone with my child for a long time and there is not much energy left for writing in the evening. Then I usually repeat Japanese lessons or take care of organizational matters. Excursions usually have to be researched beforehand or official texts translated in order to be able to keep up with everyday life here.
But I've found a few websites so far. They offer me a lot of inspiration for trips to Japan.
For example:
· travel.gaijinpot.com
· timeout.com
· bestlivingjapan.com
· tokyocheapo.com
· savvytokyo.com
· match-jp.com
· jw-webmagazine.com
Unfortunately, the entry ends here. I'm glad to have written down a few lines again.
Wherever you are, I hope you're doing well!
We'll see each other again soon and stay curious!
Your Nadja
