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Tokyo Impression

After I spent a couple of days in Tokyo, I find a few interesting things here:

  • Clean than any big cities that I have ever been.
  • People don’t talk much in the public places such as the subways.
  • People don’t eat things in most public places such as the subway.
  • People are extremely polite to their customers. For example, the waiters and sales people in the super market.

You can see small creatures such as pigeons even in the downtown.
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© Zhu Xinquan. The place where I live in Tokyo

Fruits are so well prepared or, rather grown up in a pre-determined shape. Therefore, the price is also eye-watering, 1500 JPY ( that’s roughly 100 CNY, or $15) !

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© Zhu Xinquan. Goods are more expensive than Shanghai

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Ebisu Garden Place

Morgan Stanley’s Tokyo office is located in the Ebisu Garden Place, a complex building with a host of restaurants and shops.

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There are a few european style buildings.

In Tokyo, most of the sky-scrapers charge you some money to view the landscape of Tokyo such as Roppongi Hills. Ebisu Garden Place is an exception. You can take a free lift to the top of the Garden Place Tower where you can get one of the best scenic views of Tokyo.

It is connected with the JR Yamanote Line Ebisu station by the well marked “Yebisu Skywalk” on which I walk everyday to work.

[Update: 2014/01/02]

These clocks were removed from Ebisu Garden Place since Morgan Stanley relocated their office to Otemachi.

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Trip to Tokyo

After waiting for two weeks, I finally got my Japanese working visa. This is going to be my first time going abroad for long-term assignment. I will stay in Tokyo for about 3 months for business and training.

In the old days, when there was a trip on the next day, I would be often too excited to fall asleep the night before. I remember these exciting nights at university. This time, strangely enough, I was composed and slept well the night before departure. It is good to travel with a great deal of energy.

My flight departed at 13:10pm. It is time to pack my belongs, with my father sending me to the Pudong Airport.

The food in the plane was palatable and exquisite.
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The equipment of ANA aeroplane is quite well and there is an even screen in your seat. You can play video games, watch movies.

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© Zhu Xinquan.
And the view outside the windows is splendid. It has been quite a long time since I once saw such cerulean sky, thanks to the bloody air pollution in China.
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© Zhu Xinquan.
After immigration at Narita Airport, I took the Narita Airport Limousine bus to the Shinagawa Prince Hotel and then called a taxi to my apartment: B-site Osaki. It took me about 1 hour to arrive there.

tokyoapartment.jpgAlthough it is such a small apartment, which probably is less than 25 square meters. The rental price is about 220,000 yen per month. (2200 USD), extortionate and unimaginable with the same size back in my hometown.

The Japanese capital is truly one of the most crowded cities in the world, with these incredibly tiny apartments in central Tokyo!