Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

[Cross-posted from In Your Basement, because I’m busy!]

I think one of the reasons why I’m going out to different districts every day, is that I’ve already been here before and the whole touristy vibe has worn off. I want to trawl through each neighbourhood slowly, get to know the place at my own pace and not just madly snap photos while ignoring everything else going around me. So I do beg your pardon if I don’t seem to be traveling around a lot. If you’d like a different kind of look /experience to the whole one year exchange in Waseda thing, do check out my schoolmates’ blogs: Chris, Julia, Jessie, Dan, Bryna, and Douglas! Which reminds me, I need to update my blogroll.

I’ve been walking around Nishiwaseda 西早稲田 and Takadanobaba高田馬場 pretty often these days, because the only way to the JR and subway station (other than the bus), is a 15 minute walk. I don’t mind the walk because the weather is easy breezy Japaneezy here, unlike the humidity-laced weather back home. I could live here really well, especially in Fall. Summer would be unbearable, as it has been close to unbearable for me the past few years I’ve been here, what with the layer that sweat that condenses on your skin the moment you step out. But the weather now is awesome. Slightly dry skin, but nevertheless, I’m saturated with excitement. Tsu says that I’m more at peace here, and I suppose that’s true. Then again I get riled up by random culturally ignorant things people say and/or do, so that’s not too great idea.

So here’s a little tour of my neighbourhood, what I’ve been seeing during this past week! Photos taken with my SLR, iPhone and S3IS!

This is one of the neighbourhood cats. It must belong to someone because it has a collar? Anyway, it was a pretty playful cat and scratched me a bit while I was playing with it.

The streets of Nishiwaseda are lined with powerlines. It brings the whole gridded effect to a different level.

The streets around my dorm are pretty much like this most of the time — quiet and empty. Perfect for slow walks back or maybe, even some jogging.

Quite obviously tinkered with in the ever useful photoshop. But the skies do look like this sometimes.

Bicycles in Japan rarely have the need to be locked. I’m not saying that they don’t get stolen — they do; in fact you have to register your bicycle to make sure that it isn’t a stolen bicycle — but the likelihood of it getting carted off by some hobo is pretty low. Bicycles with baskets are often called mama-chari (ママチャリshort for “Mama Chariot”).

And what’s a trip to Japan without a photo of their often talked about vending machines? The myth of having little to no dustbins around the streets is true. You can usually find them in front of conbini (コンビニ Convenience Stores) or beside the vending machines. It’s just beginning to get cold, so most of the drinks are still from summer. Soon hot (温かいatatakai) drinks will appear with their red buttons.

A huge paper lantern by the shrine that’s near my dorm.

This should be a shrine (神社jinjya) and not a temple (寺tera/dera). I need to check it out properly.

CocoIchibanya, where my tongue nearly died! I’ll be devoting a whole post on the food I’ve been eating this past week.

The alcohol (酒sake) store that’s just across the street.

ORIGIN Bento, which feeds hungry students! They’re open 24 hours, if I remember correctly. So if you’re feeling peckish…

My tuna-mayo onigiri (おにぎり).

In Japan, you have to sort our your trash according to what it is. However, in Shinjuku ward, we don’t have to sort out the 燃えるごみand燃えないごみ (burnable and non-burnable trash). As shown by this curious dustbin, nearly everything can be burned in this ward.

My friends trying to buy a SUICA. SUICA is one of the two electronic train tickets (it works like Singapore’s EZLINK card, and Hongkong’s Octopus card) that you can buy and use. The other is PASMO. These usually cost around 2000yen to make, and carry a 1500yen value and 500yen deposit when you first get them. You get the latter when you return the card. There is also a commuter pass (定期券teikiken) which you can get for both SUICA and PASMO but since my campus is just a 10minute walk away, there’s no need for me to get that.

At the platform of Takadanobaba Station.

Have any of you been to Takadanobaba/Waseda in Tokyo?

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