From one share house to another share house will have a lot of new experiences waiting for me. Even though I was in Miyakojima share house for about one month, I got used to where I lived and I was very comfortable. I met some of the house mates and we did have short conversations, but I figured that everything takes time. So when I heard I had to move again I had mixed feelings about it. But I tried to think of all the new opportunities that it could bring me. And of course, somebody bought my room so I didn’t have a choice but move. The best I can do is just be positive about it.
What the worst thing is for me is all the baggage I have to carry, and since I am from the Netherlands, trains and metro’s are designed differently compared to Japan. In the Netherlands trains do not get that busy on a daily basis compared to trains and metro’s in Japan. My biggest concern is that I bring trouble upon others. Since this blog allowed me to be personal, I use this post to comfort myself cause for me I don’t like having luggage when it is crowded in the trains or the station itself. Another problem is that I have to take the bus. I am not small, I am pretty tall so I feel that that is going to be even more of a challenge for me.
1 July, 2019
Right now it is July 2019 and this is the day that I moved. It was an experience for me. I firstly did some research regarding at what times trains are the most busy. Trains in Japan are best to avoid inside the rush hour which is 7-9 in the morning and 5-7 in the evening if I remember correctly. The original plan was to move on Sunday, but it was raining so heavily that I decided to go Monday morning. The new resident was moving in my room at 9am so I had to head out before 9 and somehow manage to avoid the rush hour in the morning. So I decided to take the first train which was really early. I actually was not in time to catch the first train, so I took the second one. This was because the weather was still really bad, so I regretted not going on Sunday. The trip to Toyonaka was not short for me at least, because everything that I had to do, I had to do for the first time. Also, finding the other stations, having the right transfer made my head stress.
However, The train part went smoothly and I found my way to Toyonaka station. After was finding the share house. It was still raining really bad and it made my mood really bad too. The walk was supposed to be 15 minutes, but my heavy luggage made 15 minutes into 30 minutes really quickly. I also got lost, and the heavy rain made everything worse. The traveling time should have been around 1 hour, but I ended up taking 3 hours to get from point A to point B.
When I arrived at Toyonaka Share house, it was quiet. And I am so thankful for it being quiet, because the rain was so heavy that morning, and it was not just a little bit of rain. No, it was constantly pouring without stopping. And my umbrella was too little for both me and my heavy luggage. So my suitcase got wet, and I did not have time to check if my clothes were wet, because I had to go to the office the same day. So I would suggest that if you are an in intern at Come on up, there might be a chance that someone will buy your room, so you have to move, so have light luggage with you, and know that there is a possibility that you have to travel.
Another tip is, that if you don’t have money like me, a taxi is going to be to expensive for you. So the possibility of walking at some point during your travel is 99.9%. Also, keep the weather in check, because meaning that it rains one day, makes a high chance of rain the next day too.
It was a good learning experience to find the way to my new share house, but the new environment is something that I am not used to yet. For example, in the area where I live there are a lot of busses that are being used and I never took the bus before like this. So I got lost all the times I took the bus, and I recommend if you have money, to purchase data or WiFi. Also, maybe look for other apps, compared to Google maps. Google maps was not beneficial the last couple of times I used it, and it made my travel time only bigger. But all in all, I just need to adjust to this new environment and explore (when it is not humid) the surrounding area and maybe try to find the best route to the office myself. Because relying on Google maps had me thinking that I should follow my own instinct more.
The new share house is different compared to my first share house. The neighbourhood is completely different compared to Toyonaka’s neighbourhood. The neighbourhood in Toyonaka made me think about the houses in a sub urban area in the Netherlands, so for a second it felt a little bit nostalgic to me. Also in Toyonaka, the rooms are smaller and closer to each other, compared to the room I had in Miyakojima. Every share house is different and I think that makes it more special and unique. I hope I will encounter some good memories here, cause I met someone that I thought was really nice but then I had to move.
