Meguro Girl

3/26/04 11:37 pm

Fourth day in Tokyo…drizzly and cold. I was expecting cherry blossoms, I guess I have to wait. It has been very hectic..left Manila in a rush and now I’m still in a haze. I haven’t really had time to breathe and absorb my surroundings. Just now have I found the time to sit down and chronicle this life changing move…

Day 1 March 22

Started the day with extreme paranoia. Just finished repacking for the nth time Sunday night because Northwest had to have a strict baggage limitation (27kg per passenger). I almost busted my back weighing and re-weighing my box. Good thing James, my boss, was flying in with me for a meeting over at “headquarters” so got his other 20kg! Another good thing was his brother was Northwest ground staff who turned a blind eye to my other 15kg excess!!! Wahooo…owe you one guys! I still have one big box due for shipping in Manila-yikes! = o.

So after a 5 hour plane and bus ride we arrived at the Narita Airport. We got to the office baggage and all. First impressions:

a. OFFICE- “Wow, so this is headquarters” – bright, clean, streamlined with a clutter of boxes which is a healthy sign of business
b. OFFICEMATES – “Oh so this how they look like” – finally got to see the people I’ve been emailing and “msn-ing”. Didn’t get to form an impression of them until the second day though.

After the introductions, we proceeded to walk to the hotel and got settled. Thank god, I didn’t have to carry my luggages =). We then had our first Shibuya dinner complete with Japanese beer and Japanese sweet potato wine called “socho” or is it “sochu”? I slept like a baby afterwards.

Day 2 March 23

Got down to business first thing in the morning then went out to lunch with some of the office people and had “Japanese pasta”. Imagine Italian noodles topped with shredded nori and squid strips in olive oil with red ginger and horseradish mustard on the side. Interestingly enough it was yummy!

Afterwards, I left the office to move in to my “monthly mansion” in Meguro which was 20 minutes away by train ride (with a little tutorial) and by walking….Impression: really nice: clean, modern and new. It was a one bedroom affair-furnished with kitchen and t&b. Nothing fancy it’s actually as small as a one bedroom hotel room.

We then sped off to big boss’ “aparto”, to attend our welcome party. It was there that I saw my first cherry blossom tree. It was right in the middle of their building’s courtyard where it stood tall and proud…elegant in the soft yellow light. To top it off…an old Japanese lady in a kimono was pointing it out to her grandchildren. Totally picturesque.

Dinner was fabulous…loved Shoko-san’s mushroom dish and the warm sake…most of all the warm welcome!

Day 3 March 24

Work…work…work! But it’s good to be busy. Gosh…must learn Nihongo!

Examples of my hilarious attempts:
“Watashi wa sushi-o tabe-mashita!”…”Oh yes…KFC furaaaaido chicken-ga firipin are-masu”.

Day 4 March 25

On this day, what stood out was the fabulous ramen house we went to. Actually, getting there was an event in itself…Shibuya, where our office is located, is simply thriving with youth and commercialism. Around the office everything is a bit modulated. But that night was the first time I saw the Tokyo often portrayed in the movies…loud and unique!

Big boss took James and I to the MIRAC to have dinner. He ordered this ramen dish that just blew me away. The egg in the dish was the best ever…it looked like a light brown (soy marinated) hard boiled egg but inside it was the softest yummiest yolk!!! Hmmm…just love ‘em!