Living in Tokyo – again!

In September I moved to Japan for a three months internship at the Luxembourgish Embassy in Tokyo. I will stay in Japan until the end of November and it is my second time living in Tokyo, this crazy city with Pikachu vending machines and sleeping salarymen on the metro.

Living a second time in Tokyo feels like coming home and this feeling was heightened when I put my old Suica card into the machine at the metro station and realised that I still had 600 yens on it! As if my Suica card from 2018 was saying: you’re not done with riding the Tokyo Metro in full-blown rush hour yet.

I managed to find a reasonable priced and located shared house, booked a flight ticket and I was back in Tokyo. No culture shock, only jet lag. I walk on the left side, wear my backpack in the front and always know which side the doors will open on the metro. I don’t buy tax-free. No, thank you, I have maibaggu (my own bag).

I have now been in Tokyo for one month and I feel like I have always lived here. Except sometimes I still don’t know what exactly I’m buying in the supermarket. It is against my principles to use translator apps and this makes me try some new kinds of food...if I want it or not.

Harajuku streets

Meiji-dori

Tokyo Olympics 2020. In 1964, the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo and it had a lasting impact on the cityscape. It was the beginning of what Tokyo looks like until today: Akira-esque highways crossing through the city, skyscapers, infinite avenues and modern infrastructure.

***All photos taken by me***