One of the first things I noticed about Japan was the escalators. They are so quite and smooth. In Australia you can almost imagine a bunch of burly gnomes underneath shovelling wood into a furnace to keep it clattering along. "Aye, fetch me a hogshead of pine lads".. In Japan the escalators are firstly beautiful. The uh middle part is glass with the rubber you would expect running around it. Just below wnere you hold, there is a pure white light that seems to serve no other purpose than being sexy. The rate is very consistent and slightly eerie. They hum a pitch which roughly translates to "all is well". There is no perceptible mechanics to them at all and they appear to run purely on the ideal of Japanese efficiency.

Anyway so, I stayed at the hotel, ruing the expense.

It was at this point I realised two things.

1. I had forgotten my laptop charger crucial for finishing my second job.
2. I had a lot of stuff in my bags and it wasn't feasible to carry it all around.

This was frustrating.. But I realised there was a way I might be able to solve both things. I called my teacher, Sachiko and she said I could drop the stuff at her house and my Mum could send the charger to that address.

I embarked on a journey to get to her house. I caught 3 trains to do this and I was amazed by the journey. For the entire trip, there was no break in houses. Everywhere I went through on my 3 hour journey was like the inner city in Melbourne. I am flying through these districts in a bullet train and they never end. Not only that but the concentration of people barely decreases, there are so many 5 story buildings, the flow of them never ends.

I took the train as a chance to talk to some of the people. I enjoyed this, especially fumbling through my Japanese to communicate. I met a man who works at Yakult, two girls who I don't know where they were going and old man and his daughter going to her first day of work.

On the trains there are conductors who walk up and down the train. I have never seen someone so engrossed in there job. They bow before the enter a carriage and bow to the carriage again before they leave. When they speak to you there is not the slightest glimmer of personality nor in anything they do. It is like a deep commitment to their jobs drives them and nothing else disturbs the surface of their conscience.

I find this curious. Would the passengers be insulted should a conductor not bow to them before they leave? How about if one cracked a joke or teased someone in a good natured way? Is this job focused mode the result of those in power forcing their old fashioned beliefs on those below them or simply Japanese culture?

This is very interesting to me. In this example and in others I have rarely seen any personality shown to customers by shop keepers or those that serve them.

So I arrived at the station and was picked up by Sachiko, my former Japanese teacher and soon to be employer. She is such a warm and lovely person, I just love being around her. Some people are so good natured that I show no hesitation in trusting them completely. Sachiko is such a person.

I drove to her house and we sat in there lounge room. Man they have a cool invention. Instead of couches they have a table.. which is sunk into the ground and the room below maintained.. hmm not sure if that makes sense. So you slip your legs under the table and into the room below.. which is heated.. and a doona is around the table to trap all the heat in. Awesome. There is something more communal about being this low to the ground.

I soon met her family.

All in the one house they have:

Sachiko
Her brother
Her brother's wife
Her mother
Her grandmother (84 years old)
Her brother's younger son
Her brother's elder son

Such a setup would never happen in Australia. 4 generations under the one roof. I think it is better though. This way the children are able to understand there grandparents and great-granparents in a way that going to there houses twice a year and eating cake and feeling uncomfortable doesn't allow.

I enjoyed trying to speak Japanese to them and more or less communicated what I wanted to say. The kids were more difficult as they use such casual Japanese that I don't understand a lot of it. The grandmother was especially difficult as my Japanese pronunciation is far from perfect and I think due to bad hearing she couldn't distinguish what I was saying.

The kids are pretty awesome if rambunctious and naughty. One of them told Sachiko that they want me to live with them which is touching. The hospitality was profuse and humbling. I was even given someone's room to sleep in and they slept with someone else. I would have protested if I knew but it was too late by then.

The next day I left minus all my teaching stuff and some stuff for Sachiko. I went to the apple store in Osaka and bought my power adaptor. This was a big relief. I then found the capsule hotel that I was looking for. Man this place is awesome value.

For 3000 yen ($33) you get a capsule, free internet access, dinner, access to laundry facilities, which you do have to pay for but still, access to a bath. This is crazy good value. I also found a really good ramen shop which for 500 yen ($5.50) you can get a big meal. I can live for $39 a day which in the second biggest city in Japan is pretty damn sweet.

I have been largely living it up expect for one big problem. Money.. I can't get it! I managed to leave my credit card at home which is being sent by my mum, and my debit card expired in February.

This has meant that I haven't been able to go around or do much except study Japanese. I have been hungering to hit the bars and talk to some people but haven't been able to afford it. I also want to go to umeda and do some shopping.

I have also been meaning to buy a camera to show you some of this cool stuff but no can do.

It has been an interesting experience for me. I have never before in my life been majorly strapped for cash. I have had wealthy parents and since school pretty much always had a job. Now I can only afford 2 meals a day and must choose the best value place.

Anyways I have just borrowed money from Sachiko and my credit card should get here on Friday. Crisis averted. I feel quite stupid. Sachiko's friend in Osaka met me to give me the money. She was clearly quite sick and shouldn't have been outside. I feel guilty about this, but I didn't really have a choice but to accept this help. I bought this women a present to try and repay her humbling kindness to a stranger in need.

So now I am right for money and I am going to try and live it up a bit more.