Back in Tokyo: JAL, LiveInAsia, etc.

It's good to be back in Japan! I made the trip yesterday from Shannon to Heathrow, and then onwards to Haneda Airport in Tokyo.



After a very orderly boarding process, the first thing I noticed was how spacious the economy class on Japan Airlines was. As a six-foot-plus guy, I am used to being squashed on planes, but this was surprisingly roomy - not luxurious, but more akin to economy plus on other airlines. The multimedia system was pretty good too.



The service on JAL is great - I forgot my pen, they gave me one (to keep); they put toothbrushes in the bathrooms around 'bedtime'; and even put in some little origami birds to add to the ambience.



I am staying in an apartment from liveinasia.com, so after two trains to the area I'm in (Nishiogikubo), I was met at the station by Vacance Corporation's Makoto-san, who was very friendly and gave me all the tips as we walked from the station to the apartment.



Makoto reminded me that the Suginami Animation Museum is near here, and I was happy to see Ken/Mark from Gatchaman/BoTP on the flyer! Also there's a "Totoro Tree" nearby and of course the Ghibli Museum isn't too far away.

The apartment itself is a good size, 45m^2, so roomy as Japanese apartments go, and fairly reasonably priced.

I did some shopping in Seiyu - there's a big 24/7 branch three minutes from the apartment and just under the rail lines (the train station is equally close, although you don't hear too much through the triple glaze) - managed to get some dairy-/wheat-/soya-free food options too.



Later on had a nice walk around the area, which I was somewhat familiar with from Google Maps! I found a great CD in a second-hand shop for ¥100, and there are apparently lots of antique shops in the area.



Here's a picture from the apartment's balcony (Nishiogikubo train station on far right).