October 2

Spent the day doing what else but administrative errands. First it was off to the nearest Ward Office to complete my Alien Registration or 外国人登録証明書. The Alien Registration card itself takes about 20 days to process (which goes to show the administrative efficiency levels here) , and on top of that, I had to buy 2 pieces of A4 paper, which acted as some sort of temporary evidence that I was not a terrorist out to bomb the Imperial Palace, for about 300 yen each. That works out to be about S$8 for paper which, after I get my registration card would be worth nothing. Talk about depreciation. Anyhow, I needed those pieces of paper to open up a bank account and to apply for a mobile service, so it's all good.

I promptly opened a bank account with Fukuoka Bank, visited the shrine right next to the bank, then went about exploring the immediate area around my school. More notably, I visited this entertainment centre called Rakuichi-Rakuza which houses some 3 stories of arcades, games the likes of which you have never seen before, and will probably never see in Singapore, well....not at least til after a few years. You see, when people in Japan get bored of a game, or when its popularity has waned, they just ship the unwanted game machines over to places like Singapore. OK, it ,may not be true, but that's just what I think is quite likely.

Friggin 'Fortune Orb' game man. The thing in the centre spins around, has plenty of screens showing jackpot like images and houses ORBS which does dunno what and goes dunno where and then before you know it, coins start flying out of the machine. I really don't get this game. I simply have no idea how to play it.

Yes.....horse friggin racing in the arcade.

When you want to, as Borat says "make the toilet", Japanese toilets offer an array of options on how you want to wash your posterior, the speed that you want to wash it at as well as the strength that you want it at. For beginners, the slow spray option is very much recommended.

A close up look at the options. Oooo....just makes you wanna wash your ass over and over again.

Visiting the shrine. This is where they house some of the many war dead.

My tutor Nishiuchi-san (everyone is assigned a tutor here) , demonstrating the "washing of hands before you step in" ritual.

Don't ask me why i'm holding up a peace sign while taking a picture. No, I am not acting cute. It's just a natural "hand-jerk" reaction that happens to everyone taking pictures in Japan.

Guess what was waiting for me at school today. An envelope containing 150000 yen, or S$2000 which is part of my scholarship money. Yes it is official. I am the proud, albeit not thoroughly deserving recipient of the Japanese Student Services Organization Short-term Student Exchange Scholarship worth about 80,000 yen each month (S$1100) . I am being paid to go on exchange in Japan. Life can't get any better. The S$2000 is part of my relocation allowance on top of this month's stipend. I foresee that this money will be put to good use: i.e. sashimi, hot springs and clothes.

I got on the wrong bus on the way home (the bus schedules are just too complicated to read right now) and found myself slightly lost. Before I came to Japan, I had always heard that Japanese people are just about the most hospitable people on earth. That statement cannot be more true, as I found out while asking for directions to the kaikan. I asked this old person sitting at the bus-stop how I could find the kaikan. He started off giving verbal directions: "massugu itte, ato 100 metoru kossaten ga aru kara....soto de magari itte...zuuuutooo massugu itte... kaikan wa ato 300 metoru ga arimasu yo", which I understood perfectly well. But you see, the Japanese are not satisfied with just telling you once. They go all out to make sure that you know exactly how to get there, and make sure that you get there. He then proceeded to stoop down, grabbed a stick nearby, and started drawing lines on the floor, laying stones all around to indicate traffic lights, intersections and major roads. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I understood perfectly well at the first instance. In any case, I found my way back without a problem thanks to that man. Japanese hospitality is really something that everyone should aspire to provide. It's simply amazing. Anyway, I had this for a well deserved dinner. Bento "packed lunch/dinner" and sushi, both at half price from Jusco. Even this beats eating at Sushi Tei or Sakae Sushi.