May 2010
Eric and the Bay Blade Masters
Fri, 2010-05-07 13:00 | by Erin
Eric went to a Bay Blade Tournement, and pitted his spinning metal
top against other kids. He was pretty excited and so was Anna. I missed
most of the "event" because Anna was screaming so much. She really
wanted to get out of the stroller and walk around. I did not allow that
because it would have meant baby godzilla would have been loose to
smash and disrupt small metal top compititions.
Eric had his chance and the competition is structured like this;
Eric had his chance and the competition is structured like this;
1. The contestants face off over the "stadium"
2. The contestants bow and exchange tops to check for deffects.
3. The judge tells them to get ready.
4. The cadence is given, Ready Go SHOOT! On shoot the combatants launch their tops into the stadium.
5. The last top spinning or left in the stadium wins.
6. Best out of 3 is winner of that match.
7. Winner advances, looser is out.
Eric
lost in his first competition but we waited around to watch the last of
the competition. Eric & Kazuma realy enjoyed it. Anna was yelling
the whole time so I guess she had a good time too.
Day 3 part 3 "The good life"
Fri, 2010-05-07 13:00 | by Erin
Day 3 part 3 "The good life" 
I decided to the last part of the experiment would be taking the Shinkansen to work. I had to wake up around the same time as the bus and be on the train at 0648. It was kind of a pain to get to Mishima you need to take Gotemba line to Numazu the from Numazu it is one stop to Mishima on the Tokiado Line. It was easy going due to the fact that it was the last day of golden week. I can easily imagine that this would be a crowded pain in the getting to Mishima, fortunately I think this would be one of the times that I would need to drive to the train station either on a motorcycle or a car.
assume there would be some hassles getting a seat now and again but really I think the amount of time you actually spend traveling being almost 1/2ed would make it worth while. The problem is the cost, 3900 yen to Shibuya. That is more than 2x of what every other mode of transport was, and even with a discount for buying a 6 month ticket I think it will still be out of my price range. That also does not include gas and parking.
0610 Woke up
0823 Got on Yamanote Line for Shibuya
I decided to the last part of the experiment would be taking the Shinkansen to work. I had to wake up around the same time as the bus and be on the train at 0648. It was kind of a pain to get to Mishima you need to take Gotemba line to Numazu the from Numazu it is one stop to Mishima on the Tokiado Line. It was easy going due to the fact that it was the last day of golden week. I can easily imagine that this would be a crowded pain in the getting to Mishima, fortunately I think this would be one of the times that I would need to drive to the train station either on a motorcycle or a car.
assume there would be some hassles getting a seat now and again but really I think the amount of time you actually spend traveling being almost 1/2ed would make it worth while. The problem is the cost, 3900 yen to Shibuya. That is more than 2x of what every other mode of transport was, and even with a discount for buying a 6 month ticket I think it will still be out of my price range. That also does not include gas and parking.
Fortunately that day Satomi and the kids drove back from Gotemba to Tokyo so I did not have to go back to Gotemba. Instead my plain old 20 minute commute home on Inokashira line.
0610 Woke up
0630 Went to Iwanami Station
0635 Arrived at Iwanami Station
0648 Got on Gotemba Line for Numazu 400 yen
0705 Arrived in Mishima 0710 Purchased Ticket for Shinkansen to Shibuya 3850 yen
0722 Got on Kodama Shinkansen for Shinagawa
0805 Arrived in Shinagawa 0823 Got on Yamanote Line for Shibuya
0835 Arrived in Shibuya
0840 Got to work
Worked
Steel Balls
Wed, 2010-05-05 13:00 | by Erin
Found these steel balls in the street on my way to the data center the other day. They were probably happy little parchinco balls at one time but now looked sad and abandon.
Part 2 Day 2 The train
Wed, 2010-05-05 13:00 | by Erin
Part 2 Day 2 The train 
I knew for a fact that the train sucks. I use to take it once a week to get back to Tokyo. The trip is long, and you need to switch trains a couple of times along the way. In the morning Odakyu line is one of the main lines into the city from the country side, so I can imagine it will be very crowded with little chance of sitting, and this is a line you will be on for the bulk of the trip.
When I got to Iwanami station I saw they had a IC card reader and thinking that this a JR line the reader must be Suica capable. I pressed my phone against it and it made that reassuring beep. Augh technology.
When I rode the Gotemba line up to Shin-Matsuda I did note that the scenery is very nice and provides a s good view of rural Japan.
At Matsuda there was no IC reader "Doh!" so I paid for my ticket in cash and tried to get on the next train. Now my IC chip in my phone was blocked from use because I had not checked it out "Doh!" so I went to the ticket counter and wasted 5 minutes waiting in line and explaining what happened. The cleared my IC chip and I was able to use it to get on the Odakyu line, but I missed the train that I wanted to take and ended up taking the next express train. This set me back 15 minutes on my already very tight schedule. I thought for sure I would not make it to work.
The train itself was pretty crowded for a holiday at 715 in the morning. I was able to get a seat the whole way but it was not very comfortable and working on my laptop was next to impossible. The trip seemed to take forever and when we did arrive in Shimokitazawa I bolted from the train that by this time had become packed. I do not want to see what it would look like on a Monday morning.
I made it to my office with only a few minutes to spare but I was still on time. Started in on some of the things I needed to get done.
I ate my lunch outside in the park next to my office and had 1 beer with it. Worked some more but the beer and travelling dragged me down and I could not complete too much.
To get back I decided to see if I could get the bus route back right this time. I did not want to take the train even though the purpose of my experiment was to try all routes there and back. I know the train sucks, I have taken it enough to know that and did not see a point in practicing to be miserable. But in order to make the bus there was no time to eat. I bought a Chuhi and a snack got to the bus.
The bus trip back was surprisingly comfortable and I almost fell asleep. I made it home at 2010, gave Anna a bath and then passed out putting her to bed.
As in my initial assumption the train sucks, although it is more reliable then the bus and costs about the same amount.
Train
Cost 1,470 yen Distance:105.0 km Time 133 minutes
0525 Woke up
0600 Left the house
0605 Arrived at Iwanami eki (SUICA like machine)
0622 On the train
0856 get to work (gi di gi di safe)
1810 got out of work
1835 got to Shinjirigaoka
1845 got on Tome Highway Bus
2010 arrived at Gotemba Tome Intersection
2025 Got home and gave the Babu-Chan a bath
2130 In bed
I knew for a fact that the train sucks. I use to take it once a week to get back to Tokyo. The trip is long, and you need to switch trains a couple of times along the way. In the morning Odakyu line is one of the main lines into the city from the country side, so I can imagine it will be very crowded with little chance of sitting, and this is a line you will be on for the bulk of the trip.
When I got to Iwanami station I saw they had a IC card reader and thinking that this a JR line the reader must be Suica capable. I pressed my phone against it and it made that reassuring beep. Augh technology.
When I rode the Gotemba line up to Shin-Matsuda I did note that the scenery is very nice and provides a s good view of rural Japan.
At Matsuda there was no IC reader "Doh!" so I paid for my ticket in cash and tried to get on the next train. Now my IC chip in my phone was blocked from use because I had not checked it out "Doh!" so I went to the ticket counter and wasted 5 minutes waiting in line and explaining what happened. The cleared my IC chip and I was able to use it to get on the Odakyu line, but I missed the train that I wanted to take and ended up taking the next express train. This set me back 15 minutes on my already very tight schedule. I thought for sure I would not make it to work.
The train itself was pretty crowded for a holiday at 715 in the morning. I was able to get a seat the whole way but it was not very comfortable and working on my laptop was next to impossible. The trip seemed to take forever and when we did arrive in Shimokitazawa I bolted from the train that by this time had become packed. I do not want to see what it would look like on a Monday morning.
I made it to my office with only a few minutes to spare but I was still on time. Started in on some of the things I needed to get done.
I ate my lunch outside in the park next to my office and had 1 beer with it. Worked some more but the beer and travelling dragged me down and I could not complete too much.
To get back I decided to see if I could get the bus route back right this time. I did not want to take the train even though the purpose of my experiment was to try all routes there and back. I know the train sucks, I have taken it enough to know that and did not see a point in practicing to be miserable. But in order to make the bus there was no time to eat. I bought a Chuhi and a snack got to the bus.
The bus trip back was surprisingly comfortable and I almost fell asleep. I made it home at 2010, gave Anna a bath and then passed out putting her to bed.
As in my initial assumption the train sucks, although it is more reliable then the bus and costs about the same amount.
Train
Cost 1,470 yen Distance:105.0 km Time 133 minutes
0525 Woke up
0600 Left the house
0605 Arrived at Iwanami eki (SUICA like machine)
0622 On the train
0710 Off at Matsuda to change for Odakyu line had to pay
0716 Miss the train cause of Suica SNAFU
0729 On the next Express train Got a seat w/o having to hipcheck any old ladies for it .... but just barely
0835 Arrived at Shimokitazawa
0850 Arrived at Shibuya 0835 Arrived at Shimokitazawa
0856 get to work (gi di gi di safe)
1810 got out of work
1835 got to Shinjirigaoka
1845 got on Tome Highway Bus
2010 arrived at Gotemba Tome Intersection
2025 Got home and gave the Babu-Chan a bath
2130 In bed
Part 1 Day 1 The Bus
Part 1 Day 1 The Bus 
The Bus seemed easiest way to make my way to Tokyo, although the pick up point for the bus is quite far, if we moved I would buy a car and parking is free if you take the highway bus in a lot that is very close to the stop. The trip on the bus to Tokyo was quite easy and uneventful, and put me in Shibuya in plenty of time
The trip back was much less fun. I missed 2 buses that could have gotten me home because I was in the wrong place. I ended up going back to Shinjuku to get on the bus. When I got to Shinjuku there was a bus leaving at 730 but it only had "juseki" or fold down center seats available. This is equivalent to riding on a milk carton on roller skates in the center isle. I chose to take the next bus at 2000. I had a 1/2 hour before the bus left so I used it to get a 1/4 Pounder from Mc Donalds, and beer from Family Mart. I sat down on a side street and chowed down.
At 2000 I caught the bus and was finally on my way home 2 hours later than planned.
At 2130 I met Satomi at the interchange bus stop where I got on the bus almost 15 hours before. We went to a friends house to pick up my niece and then went home. Some where around 11 I got to sleep.
Tomorrow will be a tougher test, the train to and from Tokyo, wish me luck. Below is a breakdown of the day.
Cost 1,540 yen Distance:115.0 km Time 105 minutes
0555 Woke up 
The Bus seemed easiest way to make my way to Tokyo, although the pick up point for the bus is quite far, if we moved I would buy a car and parking is free if you take the highway bus in a lot that is very close to the stop. The trip on the bus to Tokyo was quite easy and uneventful, and put me in Shibuya in plenty of time
The trip back was much less fun. I missed 2 buses that could have gotten me home because I was in the wrong place. I ended up going back to Shinjuku to get on the bus. When I got to Shinjuku there was a bus leaving at 730 but it only had "juseki" or fold down center seats available. This is equivalent to riding on a milk carton on roller skates in the center isle. I chose to take the next bus at 2000. I had a 1/2 hour before the bus left so I used it to get a 1/4 Pounder from Mc Donalds, and beer from Family Mart. I sat down on a side street and chowed down.
At 2000 I caught the bus and was finally on my way home 2 hours later than planned.
At 2130 I met Satomi at the interchange bus stop where I got on the bus almost 15 hours before. We went to a friends house to pick up my niece and then went home. Some where around 11 I got to sleep.
Tomorrow will be a tougher test, the train to and from Tokyo, wish me luck. Below is a breakdown of the day.
Cost 1,540 yen Distance:115.0 km Time 105 minutes
0620 Left house
0635 Got to bus stop
0655 got on the bus 1540 yen
0740 couldn't hold it and had to use the bus restroom
0755 Got onto Shutoko Expressway LOTS of traffic but it thinned out quickly
0813 got the train from ikijiri-ohashi to Shibuya, Monday on non-work week, still pretty crowded. I think I can walk this part on nice days, just need to check out how far it is.
0835 at the office no one here but me :(
Around 930 another 2 guys showed up and sat in the corner having a meeting. I had 2 Red Bulls and some bread and felt OK. I got to work and quickly finished 2 tasks that I thought would take much much longer.
Around 12 I got some lunch and around 4 or 5 started feeling the effects of being up so early and the travelling.
Having a hard time concentrating and a slight headache, but with only a hour left I just sucked it up.
1810 leave the office
1824 got to the !#$? bus stop?
1830 no bus
1845 no bus
1824 got to the !#$? bus stop?
1830 no bus
1845 no bus
1850 decide to go to Shinjuku cause I must be in the wrong place
1920 get to Shinjuku try to buy a ticket but all the seats were taken
1925 get ticket on 2000 bus
1940 got a 1/4 pounder a beer and sat down outside a chowed
2000 on the bus, head hurts and feeling very tired
2020 found out where the Ikijiriohahshi stop is I was off the mark by about 100 meters FML1920 get to Shinjuku try to buy a ticket but all the seats were taken
1925 get ticket on 2000 bus
1940 got a 1/4 pounder a beer and sat down outside a chowed
2000 on the bus, head hurts and feeling very tired
2130 Satomi picked me up at Tomie Gotemba
2200 Went to friends house for 1 beer
2240 Got home
2300 Got into bed
Mt Fuji from the bus stop
Tue, 2010-05-04 07:43 | by Erin
Picture of MT Fuji from the Tokyo interchange bus stop. The great commutation experiment
The great commutation experiment
On board for 125 minutes (Traveling for 137 minutes)
One-way fare:1,470 yen Distance:105.0 km
140 minutes starting at 620 AM sounds sadly unmanageable for me.
Finally the bus. There is a highway bus between Gotemba and Shinjuku. The second last stop is 1.7 Kilometers from my office. I initially thought I could walk from Ikijiriohashi but now think that in the winter cold or summer heat or spring and fall rains..... I will just take the train.
The bus departs 0655 and gets to Ikijiriohashi at 810, a quick trip on the train, although it will be a very crowded train it will get me to the office around 830. The cost is 1540 yen and you always get a seat, unfortunately the biggest problem with the bus is if the bus is late they do not give out "inconvenience tickets" which tell your employer you were late due to the bus/train/plane ect, and when your company is very aggressive about docking pay for lateness it could get expensive.
For this experiment I will try to check for my own sanity, how difficult it would be to go to work in Tokyo from Gotemba. For day 1 I will try the bus, then the regular commuter line, then finally the Shinkansen to see which is fastest, easiest and cheapest. I think in order to stay under budget and still make it back every night it will take some usage of a combination of the bus and other routes. Stay tuned the next couple of days to see what the results and side effects are.
Pay cuts suck but they are better than loosing your job. Recent changes at work and home, if you do not know, number 3 is on the way, have forced us to rethink our financial situation. For reasons unknown to any rational thinking adult I am considering commuting to work (Tokyo) from home in Gotemba. It is a 2 hour trip one way.
If you ask Satomi she will tell you that "Lots of people do it." I have not seen lots of people doing it as a matter of fact when I asked how much my company would pay for commuting from Gotemba the HR women all looked at me like I was holding my own bloody head in my hands and making it speak through some sort of devilish sorcery. When the shock wore off they started laughing and saying we will pay for what ever the "cheapest cost is to commute". This will most likely be JR line from Gotemba to Matsuda then Odakyu to Shimokitazawa to Shibuya.
Here is a break down of what that would look like. On board for 125 minutes (Traveling for 137 minutes)
One-way fare:1,470 yen Distance:105.0 km
Iwanami
06:22am
07:08am
[46min.] 35.1km 650yen
Matsuda/Shin-Matsuda
Odakyu Line
Express 07:16am
08:28am
[72min.] 66.9km 700yen
Shimokitazawa
Keio-Inokashira Line 08:32am
08:39am
[7min.] 3.0km 120yen
Shibuya
140 minutes starting at 620 AM sounds sadly unmanageable for me.
The second option is to take Shinkansen and is probably what people think when think of traveling to work by train.
I do not dispute the fact that it would be faster and probably more comfortable, but it is almost 3 x the cost. They have commuter passes for that but I am afraid that it would still be such a huge chunk of change each month that it would just be cheaper to live in Tokyo.
On board for 84 minutes (Traveling for 107 minutes)
One-way fare:4,910 yen Distance:141.5 km
Iwanami
Gotemba Line 05/04/2010
06:48am
07:07am
[19min.] 14.9km 2520yen
Numazu
Tokaido Line(JR Tokai) 07:10am
07:16am
[6min.] 5.5km
Mishima
Kodama No.704 07:22am
08:09am
[47min.] 113.9km Reserved 2390yen
Shinagawa
Yamanote Line 08:23am
08:35am
[12min.] 7.2km
Shibuya
Finally the bus. There is a highway bus between Gotemba and Shinjuku. The second last stop is 1.7 Kilometers from my office. I initially thought I could walk from Ikijiriohashi but now think that in the winter cold or summer heat or spring and fall rains..... I will just take the train.
The bus departs 0655 and gets to Ikijiriohashi at 810, a quick trip on the train, although it will be a very crowded train it will get me to the office around 830. The cost is 1540 yen and you always get a seat, unfortunately the biggest problem with the bus is if the bus is late they do not give out "inconvenience tickets" which tell your employer you were late due to the bus/train/plane ect, and when your company is very aggressive about docking pay for lateness it could get expensive.
For this experiment I will try to check for my own sanity, how difficult it would be to go to work in Tokyo from Gotemba. For day 1 I will try the bus, then the regular commuter line, then finally the Shinkansen to see which is fastest, easiest and cheapest. I think in order to stay under budget and still make it back every night it will take some usage of a combination of the bus and other routes. Stay tuned the next couple of days to see what the results and side effects are.