Transportation

So, how do the Japanese travel around Tokyo? As some of you know, there are about 34 million people in Tokyo metropolitan area. Even so, the roads are not overfilled with cars - the Japanese prefer to use the trains and metro.

This is a crossing near Ikebukuro station, as you can see, there are not so many cars around :D

One thing that nobody can survive without is a Pasmo or Suica card:

Other cards will be probably without all that blue print on top of it. It's a magnetic card, which you can fill up with cash in ticket machines and use it for any train ride. Well, there aren't any discounts for any train rides with this card, it just spares you the time you would use to buy a ticket. It is one thing you realy come to appreciate, when the rush hours begin.

A little more about university

So, if you don't want to spend 820 yen to see the view from the Tokyo Tower, there's a great possibility for Rikkyo students to see a great view from McKim hall:

This is the tallest building of the campus, and from its 12th floor you will see this:

Rikkyo University

This is the main gate of Rikkyo University, where I'm studying. Unfortunately, I didn't take a better picture - there are always too many people around and, as you can see, there's a construction site on the right. The history of the university goes all the way back to the end of the 19th century, where it was established by a missionary Channing Moore Williams. Later, in the beginnig of the 20th century, the campus was moved to Ikebukuro district. Many of the campus-buildings are influenced by wester-type constructions:

- the main dining hall

- the main library

- the chapel

First days

It's not Europe, obviously :D Therefore, I finally got to enjoy some summer-warm days, which I hadn't had a chance to experience in Denmark this year. Well, there were some sunny days back in DK, but they were not enough.

- weather at 8 AM. And it's even not the highest temperature I've experienced. Upon my arrival there was about +32-35 degrees Celcius. Now it's around +20 degrees - the autumn begins.

The first impressions

My trip started from Germany, Hamburg. This is a picture of a German hostel where I staid for a night before the flight. Well, it was exhausting - I had no sleep at all in the plane and all the bags that I carried were too heavy. But you begin to feel it was all worth it, when you finally get into the bus headed to Tokyo.

- the view from a window of the bus. Amazing, isn't it?

Sooo... Finally

Well, as I promised long ago to some of you, finally, I created a blog. Here will be posted only subjective thoughts, feelings, etc. I hope you'll enjoy it :D