My friend from Hong Kong lives here. It's pretty far out there, from the city proper. But it's also pretty cheap to live, and there is a decidedly "spread out" feel to it. If you mainly spend your time in Tokyo, you may not have any idea what I'm talking about. It reminds me a little of South Carolina, the sky is a little bigger this far from the metropolis.

I walked here, because I thought it might be closer to my house then the station I usually use (it wasn't). It's a local stop, small and quaint, but with a health club, large sound absorbing wall near the station, and some upscale shops being opened. I walked around, saw a cool looking restaurant that I might want to go to (HananoMae, I think). It was pretty early, so I wanted to get coffee, and the only place around was Mister Donuts.

This is a totally Scott-esque way to start off. I picked Kanda first, because when I came here last year to visit, (before I ever decided to move here) it was where I stayed.

Only it wasn't. I stayed in Ochanomizu, which is close but not the same. Oh well. I walked around, found an udon shop that wasn't too full of salarymen, and had a 300 yen lunch of noodles and seaweed. Very healthy and cheap. There are ways to save money in Tokyo, don't believe everything you hear.