Next Stop, Japan!

I’m sitting here flipping between the travel channel and the news, Every shot of any even mildly exotic location is framed by my the knowledge that I’ll soon find myself there, in a place that would normally exist as a pleasant half-hour viewing experience–not a place where you would actually be living and breathing in each and every day. It makes me anxious in a “I want to leave right now” sort of way. There’s nothing that frames how little you currently have going on in your life than when you have nothing but time to think about the great things that lay just on the horizon. Things that just can’t come soon enough. And don’t think I’m exaggerating here. Everything is going to be great. You know that scene with Jon Stewart in Half-Baked? Well, Japan is my enhancement drug. Have you ever gone shopping… in Japan? Have you ever gone through a walk in the park… in Japan? Have you ever drank a sake bomb… in Japan? Yeah? Well, neither have I, but better late than never, and better sooner than late.

Visa is in hand. All that’s left for me is to wait for my flight departure date, which is rapidly approaching on the 25th of September. It cannot come quickly enough. Sure, I enjoy fantastically my work as a shipping processor for a major paint producer and distributor, but surely there must be a more enriching and engaging experience that looms on the horizon. Ah, yes! Japan! Land of bleached medical face-masks and “moe” (read: young women in maid-costumes spoon-feeding you bean-filled fish pies).

In a continuing effort to discover exactly where I’m going to live and who my coworkers are going to be, I’ve tried to snoop as much as is humanly possible. I believe I’ve reached the limits of information that I could possibly glean from any currently available source. Let me give you an example:

I managed to navigate to the AEON school’s webpage where I’ll be working at, and their staff page. There I was able to access the first names of two foreign teachers, one of whom I’ll be replacing and the other who will be working with me. Through various combinations of key words in different search engines, and I discovered a blog and photobucket account containing highly relevant information. Of course, I don’t want to give away too many specifics on the interest of privacy.

I found this picture taken out the balcony of my future apartment.

Crossreferencing the information contained therein with Google Earth (comparing landmarks contained within the photo to satellite images), I found it’s exact location. Using diddlefinger.com to procure that particular address, I put that information to use in search engines to secure the website of the management company who owned that property. I perused their subsidiaries and properties for the exact rental company and then to the specific apartment complex. The result?

A pic taken directly from said website. Frickin’ awesome. I think I’ll be living on the left side of the building there, on the 4th floor, down at the end.

AEON called me recently with the news that my certificate of elibigility was processed successfully in Japan. That’s a good thing, because if it was denied for any reason it would take another month and a half to try and get the paperwork re-done and sent in to be looked over once more. And by then the flight I already booked would be a waste of 800 dollars since I wouldn’t be able to leave on time. But lets not focus on could-have-beens, lets look toward the future, since now one of the few remaining doors that bar my path to Japan has been flung open!

I’m also working now, and trying to save up to a target goal of $1,500 dollars for my first month in Japan. At the group information overview in Atlanta they reccomended savings of at least $1,200 going in, so I want to give myself a bit of a cushion. I’m even bumming over at a friend’s apartment in a futile attempt to shirk my way through paying as little rent as possible whilst I amass cash for future endeavors.

AEON also told me I can send my school a postcard with a short introduction, so I might do that this weekend. I’ll tell them all how much I love them and look forward to their forced and awkward English discourse.

I’ve been trying to find as much information on Tsukuba as I could, but unfortunately most youtube searches bring up ridiculous amounts of racing and drifting videos at Tsukuba’s famous racetrack, the Tsukuba Circuit. There are some great gems out there, including:

• TsukuBlog
• Tsukuba Wiki
• Alien Times

But those websites don’t encompass the exact area I’ll be living in, which is called Sakura. Just to complicate matters, any Google query I do that contains the text “Tsukuba Sakura” gives me results for a successful Japanese mangaka with the same name.

Most of the info I do glean from the harsh and unforgiving clime of the intarwebz focuses only on Tsukuba’s capacity for science. I just hope that the area isn’t filled with nothing but research centers and institutions and high-tech industrial manufacturing plants. A quick survey of the area on diddlefinger confirms that, indeed, it is. The particular branch school that I’ll be working at is right across the street from a large medical research facility.

The city streets will be full of intelligent, industrious, civic and environmentally conscious men and women, which is a bonus. But it isn’t exactly the rustic Japan I’ve envisioned for the past however many years that I’ve been infatuated with the country. At least there will be plenty of time for vacation.

In preparation for my great journey, I’ve been devoting my time each day to various incarnations of self study. I’ve got piles of flash cards, books on Japanese culture, Japanese language textbooks from college, PDF resources with kanji lists, educational language videos from the Canada’s public access broadcasting system in the 80’s, and The Rosetta Stone. I also picked up a copy of The Grammar Bible to bone up on my past participles and dangling modifiers. Though, every time I read it for more than 15 minutes I doze off. I’m reminded of the book that Prince Alexander reads from in King’s Quest 6 to put the oyster to sleep. What was that book about, anyway? I can’t remember.

My good friend found work with GEOS and will be living in Kumegawa, which is about 20 minutes west of Tokyo. He’ll be leaving a full month before I do, which is bogus. Once I move there he’ll only be about an hour away, so I’ll be able to see him often where he lives or meet up in Tokyo to rock it gaijin style.

I’ve got contracts and policy manuals galore. I’ve reviewed all the information they’ve supplied me and I’m thoroughly satisfied. Almost every question I could’ve had concerning company procedure, rules, regulations, and guidelines has been answered. They were also kind enough to provide supplemental literature regarding Japanese culture and sightseeing locations. Because of a clause in one of their manuals, I won’t be able to go into a great amount of detail. They’re looking to protect sensitive company information, and since I’m not exactly sure what aspects of their company is or is not sensitive, I’ll just play it safe and dance around policy minutia in favor of more general factoids.

I’ll be mailing my contract out tomorrow along with other goodies so they can start to process my work visa. The gears are in motion.

I’ve called to confirm and formally accept the position in Tsukuba, and so next week I’ll receive an information packet and a contract which I’ll be signing and sending back to them along with my diploma, 6 2×2 passport size photos, a 200 dollar deposit, and copies of my passport.

I’m all aquiver with excitement! But what I need now more than anything is a source of income in the interim. Suits, plane tickets, first months living expenses and rent in Japan, the list goes on. I’m trying my damnedest but unskilled labor around here is hard to come by. Thanks, English degree.