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This weekend was my first weekend in Tsuchiura and I travelled up from Okayama on the Shinkansen which was awesome - We left the others at Okayama station when they boarded their shinkansen that stopped at every station along the way, ours was an express to Tokyo - only stopping at the major stations … What an experience - We kept looking out the window to try and find Mt Fuji but the heat had hit and the haze was surrounding it so we went past the mountain and didn't see it - just wait until Winter.. We had our food packed and couldn't get over the speed and the service of the train - and it was making me a little ill - the tracks are made especially for the shinkansen and sometimes are on a sideways 45 degree angle when turning to keep up the speed and aerodynamics - every time the train turned, I felt a little ill… but it didn't distract from the awesome fact we were in one of the fastest trains in the world! Another thing we have noticed about Japan is service standards… In Australia, you get the conductors saying Tickets Please, pushing the stamp on and moving on… In Japan, the conductor, the bathroom attendants, the food trolley ladies all bow when they enter the carriage, and bow when they leave - and no yelling here - quietly stating they are selling, cleaning, needing tickets and moving on… Hard to believe and Im sure there will be many more to come. We arrived at Tokyo station and were met by my manager. Krysta was then transferred to her train to Takasaki and we went on our train to Tsuchiura. It was my first experience of the journey between Tokyo and Tsuchiura and Im sure there would be many more to come. It took about 1 hour to get there, and about 30 mins out of Tokyo, we were in the countryside… Rice paddies, green fields and the traditional pitch roofs of the Japanese country houses - WOW! On the way up, the manager was outlining the school, the staff and chatting to me so before we knew it, we were here! She walked me past the school and then to my apartment and first impressions were wow!!! I walked in and couldn't get over the size of it! You walk in via the entryway, take off your shoes and into a dining room per se. Turn right to the laundry, bathroom and toilet, left to the kitchen, straight ahead to the tatami bedroom and to the left and ahead for the living room - with a couch, TV and desk provided… Im sure I can cope with this… The only downside s due to the high moisture content in the air in Japan - my place has a bit of a musty smell to it.. Try my best to get rid of it but I live on a main road so I cant keep my windows open for too long.. PAIN!!!! But oh well the place is huge! The manager walked me through the apartment inventory and how to use all the appliances cause the buttons are in Japanese Kanji (of course) and then left me to it. My co - net Jackie met me at 5pm to take me on a tour of the town so we saw the department store, 100Y store and grocery store, then we headed to the Keiten Sushi place (Sushi Train) near her place for dinner - YUM!!! Afterwards, I headed home, finished setting up my room and apartment and had an early night after watching some trashy Japanese Game Shows and News - trying to improve my Japanese slowly cause there is no English in my town… On the Monday, I chilled around and went out to the grocery store for my first full grocery shop - phrasebook in hand, it took me one hour to fill a trolley with food and go through the checkout, and being completely proud of my efforts to find food that was edible and of a decent price, I even took a photo of my first shop when I got back home. During the training week in Okayama I was living on fast food - Japanese style cause it was much easier then grocery shopping and I can somehow see myself doing the same thing here…
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Dorcas I loved visiting the gaerdn in Okayama City. The city in general had a very green' feel compared to most other Japanese cities I've been to. Plus you can get mexician food by the station! Always a bonus.
Sercan Jason,Check back later (next year) for the 2008 meetup! I hope to see you then.Jim,I miessd to answer this part of your question: any customization tips? Actually the presentation were less tutorial-like (they hardly showed codes even on the second day: developer day). But like you said today I would have liked it a lot if they had a little more technical session on best practice in plugin writing' or something.