Disney sea and Disneyland!!

I love Donald!!

I think I went to Disney sea and Disney land 6 times during my 8 months in Tokyo. I love Disneyland in Tokyo. Everyone is so happy and friendly. Unlike California. When I went there the staff seemed angry.

I went during school time so they were not busy. We all went on the rides until we felt sick. If you are going to Tokyo, you have to visit one of them. I prefer Disney land but others like Disney sea more.

My leaving day out!

Donald Duck

Everyone wears them!!

Happy staff

Enjoying Tokyo. Shibuya

Shibuya

One of my favourite places in Tokyo was Shibuya. I was a lot younger when I lived in Japan, therefore it appealed to me.  I also felt it was what I had imagined Tokyo to be. Busy and colourful. I heard Shibuya crossing is the busiest crossing in the world. There is a Starbucks just next to it so I enjoyed sitting there watching the crowds.

Shibuya was also fantastic for shopping. I spend many hours window shopping looking at clothes I couldn't afford. I really want to go back one day for a big shopping trip.

Shibuya

I once went to a horror restaurant there. All the staff were dressed up and the tables were in cells. There was also a horror menu. It was great! At point one the light went off with a scary clown running about. It was also someones birthday so they bent him over and pretended to put a giant injection in his bum.......   Oh Japan!!

Horror drinks

It was dark when I took this picture. 

Birthday boy

 It also has a Disney shop! They love Disney over there!!

Disney shop!

My first experience with teaching.

Leaving meal with students and the new teacher

Two months into living in Japan, I got a job as a English teacher at a private academy. I moved next to Tsurukawa Station.

They nearly put me off teaching for life. They wanted me to start the next day without any training. They knew I had no experience but didn't care. My friend who got a job at a different academy got training before starting. All I got was observing one lesson. And looking back I realise this was not a proper TEFL lesson. The old teacher didn't do lesson plans. I had nothing to refer to, except some bullet points. They blamed my accent for the lessons not going well, but in truth I was clueless and did not give the students the lessons they deserved. This was one of the worse points of my life. I felt powerless and I eventually gave up. I felt this ruined my whole experience by this points and decided to leave Tokyo 8 months after I arrived.

But, that being said, I am glad I had this experience. I used it later on during my training as what NOT to do. I did really well during my CELTA course and was told by my peers and students I was a great teacher. I have also been re-signed two times at my current job in South Korea. I could of given up teaching after what happened but instead I used it to improve. I did a TEFL course with classroom training before I came to South Korea with i-to-i and it was the best thing I ever did. If you are thinking about Teaching English then training is a must otherwise you will be over your head like I was.

Living in Japan. The start of my adventures.

First apartment

I arrived in Tokyo on my birthday in 2008. I had gone there with a working holiday visa. With a working holiday visa, you can work and travel as much as you like for a year. It was my first time abroad without anyone else, therefore I booked a package with a travel company. I think this was with Realgap. They helped you by collecting you from the airport and they were SUPPOSED to help you find a job. They really didn't.

The job office was the opposite side of Tokyo from the hostel they put us in. They also didn't have ANY jobs. Also, I later found out the sign up fee was so cheap. Considering the price of this service was 500 pounds, well, none of us were happy. Plus, I realised how easy everything was when I got there. You could do everything yourself for the fraction of the cost.The one thing they did help with, was meeting other people in Tokyo. I met some Japanese friends via Facebook, but I feel you need people from your own country when you miss home or just feel like complaining.

Japanese apartment

Japanese apartment

I mainly did everything myself. I got my first apartment from Shakura house. I have fond memories of this area and apartment. It was between the Asakusa and Ueno stations. I stayed here for only two months until I got my first teaching job. I worked as a waitress during my time here in Suji's restaurant near Roppongi. Working at Suji's was tough. We had to eat lots before work as we didn't eat until 4pm!!!!! No food since breakfast! ><

Tokyo tower

I also got to go on a tour with that rubbish company I mentioned before. I remember loving my first two months in Korea even though I was so busy with work and I had not much money.

View from Tokyo tower

Earthquake drill outside the tower

View from Tokyo tower