Our First Week - Settling In
The next three months of our “year off” will be spent in Tokyo studying Japanese. It is a dream of ours to be able to live here long-term and this is our first step. Our first week was spent settling into this new city where we are truly beginners to the main language.
How We Got Here
We flew into Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Tokyo has two main airports and Haneda is less than 30 minutes to central Tokyo- making it a much more convenient airport when possible. We are on US & UK passports which allow a tourist visa for 3 months. Immigration was simple, but with COVID-19 virus concerns, we did have an extra step of filling out a lengthy medical form given to an officer in the quarantine area.
Getting a Mobile & Data Plan
After doing a bit of research online, we decided to purchase our sim card with Mobal. They provide plans which include unlimited voice, data and text if you purchase a monthly plan (no minimum length). We ordered the sim cards online and you have the option to get it delivered to where you are or pick up at the airport. It is a better option to have it delivered as you need to activate it online then wait anywhere between 2 to 24 hours for it to start working. We had it sent to Haneda, but the pick-up was easy and it was working by the next morning.
Getting Around
Taxis are incredibly expensive in Tokyo - we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel and it was near 7000 Yen (64 USD = 49 GBP). It was a 30 minute ride. Locals and tourists alike rely on public transportation. When we have traveled here previously, we would just buy tickets each time we took the train. Since we are here longer, we decided to get a rechargeable card. There are two options: 1) Plasmo and 2) Suica. They are effectively the same and can be used across all public transportation, EXCEPT, Plasmo does not work for the JR Trains which go longer distances. So we went with SUICA. It was an easy purchase through the machine, inputting your name and date of birth so that if you ever lose it, you can easily get it replaced with your balance.
To give you a sense of how extensive the train network is, this is a map of Tokyo Metro:
Making our Furnished Flat into a Home
We rented a place for 3 months through Oyo Life after spending a great deal of time on Airbnb and seeing prices fluctuating due to cherry blossoms and the Olympics. The closest train is a ten minute walk and two stops from Shinjuku main station - very convenient. We are happy to have found what is called a 1LDK - one bedroom with a large room that forms the living, dining and kitchen area, along with a separate bathroom that has a wet room and washer.
The place has all the basics and after five days here, it is truly starting to feel like home. This has been helped by the usage of Amazon Prime - free next day delivery. Our purchases haven’t been that exciting unless you love cleaning supplies. But here are some of the key products for any home. If you want to see the full list, we created an Amazon List here.
