Sorry to keep ya’ll waiting! Things have finally calmed down so I’ll be able to write here more often :)( To make up for lost time, I’ll write two blog posts this week so you’re all caught up.
My arrival was super hectic and slow. I arrived a day earlier than my IES companions, so I spent the first day in Tokyo at this adorable hotel that our supervisors booked for us. The people at the airport tourism section were incredibly friendly and they helped me find my way to the hotel, and the IES supervisors were awake and tracking my arrival. I’m incredibly grateful for them and how often they checked in with us.
Friends arrived just a day later and we met up with Caleb, one of our IES supervisors and walked to the IES office. We bonded, were walked through a very elaborate and helpful orientation, and then we each went to our respective homes.
I’m staying at a dorm type of situation, with breakfast and dinner provided. Katori-san, another one of our IES supervisors, took the train with me to the location and helped me meet the house mom (who was so incredibly wholesome and welcoming). There were quite a few rules I had to get adjusted to, but it only took a few days, and I was fully settled into my room. The food is great, the other people living in the dorm are very friendly, there’s an onsen in the building, and it’s only a 6-minute walk from the nearest station. I’m incredibly thankful.
My first day of work happened like two days after I arrived so I was very jet-lagged and still wasn’t sure exactly what I’d be doing. I met with the head of the company I’d be working for and we discussed a little what the plans were. Everyone at work was very welcoming and super nice. It’s a travel agency, so the office is a mix between locals and foreigners who speak both English and Japanese. I met the creative director, aka my boss, the next day and we worked out my schedule and what assignments I’d be taking over. Everyone loved the dates I brought from Egypt :)) the office environment is so friendly and quite casual.
I’m in charge of writing articles, editing outdated articles on the Japan Travel website, going to events and covering them if needed, and assisting the main writer of the company. I also occasionally will help with client projects if the sales team needs an extra hand filling out some information or doing research.
So far, I’ve written food guide articles about the different prefectures of Japan, helped with a couple client projects that are very tourism-based, and covered a few events around Tokyo for the website. I still have a while here, so lots more to do in the future :)).
The first weekend, friends and I went to Sensoji Temple and we walked around different streets in Asakusa. It was probably one of my favorite outings during my time in Tokyo, we had such a good time!
Last week, people at work through me a welcoming party on Friday after work and we had a great time just hanging out in the office. We finished an entire puzzle together too :)) it was also the HR director’s birthday, so we had cake and took pictures.
After that day, I met up with friends from IES and we went to Yoyogi park in Shibuya and we saw the Shibuya scramble crossing.
So far, I’ve learned a lot about living here and adapting to all the new systems (I got lost in a couple stations..a couple of times..) and have had the best time getting to know everyone around me :))
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
