Tag: Monzennakacho

Nerdtour 2012: almost done

So, today is my last day in the apartment in Monzennakacho, I’m going to miss this place. Doesn’t seem likely that I’ll ever be back, unless I win the lottery or something. At any rate, I may sign back on in Narita before I fly out. If not, my next post will be from my apartment in Alexandria.

Nerdtour 2012: Apartment

I did a video walkaround of my apartment in Monzennakacho, just like the one I did of the hotel room I stayed in on Day 1. No video trickery was used to make it look smaller!
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Nerdtour 2012: A Typical Tokyo hotel…

The first night in Tokyo, I stayed at a hotel, partly to unwind and rest from the trip, and partly so I could keep the stuff I’m hauling around close to the apartment I’m going to move into. All campaigns succeed or fail on logistics, and I was determined that this one would succeed!
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Nerdtour 2012: Day 1, and lessons learned (the hard way)

Land ho!
I only took a couple of pictures of Chiba, just south of the airport and the first land seen when coming in to Narita.

So, okay, technically it’s Day 1 and 2, but I don’t feel like counting the day that I travelled here, although it was semi-eventful, in that I navigated the Narita airport support system as well as the Japan Rail system, at least to a small degree!

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Nerdtour 2012: Touchdown!

Oh, man, what a flight! I definitely think going without sleep helps on long international flights (of course flying first class doesn’t hurt!) because I was too tired for even my basic take-of and landing fears! I slept enough during the 13 hours from Dallas to Narita to arrive alert enough to make it through immigration and customs with only tiny goofs.

I wasn’t awake enough to avoid one big problem, though, but it turned into a learning experience, more on that later!

Back to sleep, off to get the keys to my apartment in a few hours!

Nerdtour 2012: T-minus 31 Days: Apartment reserved

Monzennakacho BAnother milestone in preparation for Nerdtour 2012: I have an apartment in Tokyo reserved and ready to be moved into on October 22!

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Nerdtour 2012: T-minus 35 days and counting, some thoughts…

Inou Tadataka, a role model of sorts

Only 35 days till I leave for Japan! I’m making some final plans, getting things lined up and ready to go. There’s a lot more information available online for trip planning in Japan than there was, even in 2010, especially in the area of figuring out costs. With the exchange rate hovering at about 77 yen/dollar (effectively 70 yen, depending on where you exchange it), it’s going to be more important than ever to save money. ( Continue reading “Nerdtour 2012: T-minus 35 days and counting, some thoughts…”