Settling In & Cafe Shy

Welcome back to another post! 

So in this episode, the blog post will be vastly superior to the video (in my opinion) because I filmed kind of randomly. I have been feeling a bit under the weather since arriving to Japan, and I think the weather has a lot to do with it. It rained a lot yesterday so I didn't film much, and today I did a lot of legal/financial things so filming wasn't really appropriate in those places. I will, however, explain my experiences!

September 7th was my best friend Lily's birthday, so we had cake for breakfast! I couldn't eat the cake due to my plant based diet, however her Mom gave me a ton of strawberries (lol).

After that, I headed to my apartment to grab my key and move in. 

The landlord gave a simple explanation of the facilities and then let me move in. The place is actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be so I'm really happy ~ 

Shortly after moving in, I met with my friend Mai and did some light houseware shopping at Daiso (my hands were so full of stuff that I couldn't film anything!) and then headed to a vegetarian restaurant. Originally Mai thought it was a vegan place, but it just had some vegan options, which I was cool with! 

The cafe had such a pretty atmosphere, and they had cute little dogs working there as well~! 

When we got our food one of the dogs stood next to our table. I think he wanted some...

The food was pretty good! I'm used to American portions so the meal didn't fill me up, but gradually I'll get used to the meal sizes!

After we ate, we headed to the vintage store. I'm not entirely sure I would call it a store, but more of a little hole in the wall. I really liked it though, and because it was raining the shop owner gave us a 10 percent discount, which I thought was so funny! I got two skirts there, which I will definitely show off at a later time when my clothes are such are more organized.

After the vintage store, Mai and I wandered around the Waseda campus/ area and found some cute looking places! I really love the area that Waseda is in, because there are so many adorable cafes and sweet shops!

Today I ran tons of important errands, the biggest one being registering my residence with the Shinjuku municipal office, which needs to be done up to 14 days after your arrival to Japan. I decided to get that done as soon as possible to take the stress off, and I highly recommend going there with someone that's done the process before, because it is a little confusing. 

When you walk in, you go to the right and go to the the counter on the side to complete a form. I would suggest asking the staff which parts to fill out, because I didn't complete the entire form. After that, you go take a number and wait for them to call you. When your number is called, you'll go up to the counter and present your residence card. They will take it from you, ask you to keep your number, and then will call you again in a few minutes after it has been stamped.

I brought my housing contract and passport as well, but surprisingly they didn't ask to see either of those. I think it really just depends though, so I would suggest bringing both of those things with you!

After that, I did some more houseware shopping, and bought a few appliances and furnishings for my apartment. I will show everything I got tomorrow, when my things are delivered to me!

Lastly, I want to tell you all about a place that has already become my go to cafe. 

It's called 'Cafe Shy' and it's very close to the Waseda campus. While I waited for the secondhand shop to open I stayed in that cafe and had some coffee with soy milk. I asked her if she offered soy milk, and she said 'Sure, I'll go run to the store to get some'. Instantly I loved this woman.

The owner also provided some cookies, and I struck up a conversation with her and the other person in the cafe. The tables are limited, and the space is so cozy and intimate, I ended up staying there for an hour just talking.

What really took me by surprise was that, because I finished my coffee and she was pouring the other customer some tea, she gave me tea as well! Not only that, but she also gave me some mixed nuts and dried fruit with my tea after I polished off the cookies! 

I decided in that instant that this was my signature cafe now, and so I encourage you all to go visit!

Stay tuned for more!!!~