Hakone: Electronics between the mountains.

And people wonder why Japanese achieve alot!

Since it is the start of the year in Japan, the professors, my lab mates & I went on a field trip to Hakone, a place 2 hours by bus outside Tokyo. The reason behind this trip was to do some relaxation accompanied with electronics discussions about the plan for next year's work.

I never saw a more beautiful place (seems ill be saying that sentence alot in Japan!). Huge mountains all covered with forests. The trees were so tall that I couldnt even see where they end. The green color ruled the scene and it was very relaxing.



Yet, I thought this is gonna be my only surprise. I found that we will be staying in a Japanese style hotel. Japanese from A to Z. Once I entered I had to take off my shoes, ofcourse. It was very neat & clean yet very simple. By entering my room I was amazed, this is the first time for me to be in a real Japanese bedroom. I looked through the window and god what a scene that was.





After we settled down, we went into the meeting room which looks like a class room. We started our meeting and we spent time talking about electronics. Using my Japanese language to the limits I could catch what they were talking about, yet I missed alot. There, looking around, I couldnt believe that this is actually happening. Talking about electronics in the most beautiful spot on earth..

After the meeting we had the Japanese dinner. Actually the crab in the middle was very delicious I liked it especially combined with some rice.


After dinner my lab mates went inside the Onsen, which is the japanese style bathroom. Well, I didnt go with them because out there you have to take all your clothes off while enjoying the hot water. (Why? I dont know. Why I didnt go? Its Haram).

Then we resumed our electronics discussion, each member talking about his plans for the following year of research. We stayed awake until late at night eating snacks and drinking. I appreciate that my professor and the rest accept that it is haram for me to drink alcohol, so I kept on drinking Pepsi, along with another muslim friend with us.


Next morning, It was my turn to talk. I talked for about 3 minutes in Japanese, then after they started asking me questions I switched back to english. It was a very nice experience.

My professors are very very nice, and also have strong knowledge in their fields. My lab mates are very nice and funny also.

I enjoyed my trip to Hakone, where science and nature were combined to produce two of the most beautiful days of my life..

Fuji-san, Hajimemashite..

Fuji-san, hajimemashite. I have read about you alot in Jordan, and I saw many pictures of you. and now, here I am, infront of you. Fuji-san, watching you this close means I can scratch another dream off my list. Yorushiku onegaishimasu.

Hibiya..

Hibiya is in the middle of Tokyo. The pictures will talk for themselves. I can only think one sentence: Its the perfect place for relaxation.

Tokyo Metro.. Flying underground...

To be honest, talking about Tokyo metro needs a separate blog spot, not a single blog post. Tokyo Metro is the main transportation method used in Tokyo. As you can see in the map below (which is actually a portion of the original map of the Metro), it is spread all over the city with some very complex lines to cover most of the areas.


I live within the area on the left, marked with the dark blue circle. My lab is in Nezu, marked with a red circle while my Japanese language class is in Yushima that has a light blue circle, one station before Nezu.

The trains
The trains move in a very organized way all over Tokyo. It has a precise timing and it never misses except in some very rare cases. As a result, you can check on this website, the time you need from a station to another & the ticket price. This incredible feature of calculating the shortest distance has made things easier on me! eh! and people ask me how I adapted so fast on life in Tokyo! They are so organized that it makes the transition from anywhere in the world to here much easier.

From Komaba-todaimae station, marked with the dark blue circle, I need about 23 minutes to arrive to my lab, in Nezu. As an experiment, I calculated my timings using my mobile's stop watch in this trip over one week (5 days). The results were (in minutes): 22 23 22 22 24!!!!! Ofcourse this is considering only the time travel for the train and waiting is not included.

Waiting?! They should remove this word from the metro's dictionary! Sometimes I wished I had to wait for the train. Everything goes so fast. The time between one train and another is about 1 minute in the morning and about 3 minutes afternoon. 3 minutes max people!!!! Sometimes I need to feel the "joy" of waiting for the train, but i just cant!

Getting in
Before getting into the train, you have to stand in a line. Oh what a line that is: It is so neat and organized. Each line is usually divided into two lines, just like how we used to stand in the elementary school before we go in to class. When the train arrives, the two lines standing infront of a train door are divided such that one line takes the right side of the door, and another takes the left side. Why? to give a chance for those who want to exit the train. After making sure nobody else is going out, people start going in quietly and in an organized fashion.

Inside the train
Once inside, if you find a seat, ull sit. Else, you can stand up which not very annoying. The train has air conditioning and actually standing up makes the trip more enjoyable. Each time I am inside the train I actually find it getting cleaner & being even newer! I cannot believe how they take care of such a public thing this clean! Before reaching each station, the train alerts you that you are about to arrive 2 minutes before. It calls the name of the station twice and thanks you for using Tokyo Metro. Each time I hear that I wish for ME to thank them even if for once and only once.

Getting out
Getting out is as organized as getting in. You have to prepare your magnetic card so that the reader reads it and charges you for the trip. Which is shown in the picture.


Each day the same story, each day the same road. But I never get bored of watching people in the train. Some are sleeping, some are reading, some are looking at me and some are looking at their feet!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...

Tokyo Metro is a story by itself, Ill keep posting about it from time to time :)

Kobayashi sensei, thank you so much...

Kobayashi sensei is my Japanese teacher who taught me Japanese language in Amman. Beside being a great teacher who knows how to deliver an info, she is very kind. In the picture, Kobayashi sensei is the one who is wearing the arabic woman's uniform.

The sensei has invited us to her house in Yokohama, 40minutes by train outside Tokyo. While we enjoyed the view during our train ride, we enjoyed Yokohama even more. Once we arrived she welcomed us wearing the traditional Jordanian dress with a big smile on her face. It was my first time entering a traditional Japanese house so I was looking everywhere around me to find that the house is very very neat & organized. Ofcourse, you have to take off your shoes before you enter, as this is the Japanese tradition.

We were shown a very warm welcome. There were the sensei, her mother & father, and some of her friends. She also has prepared LOTS of food we enjoyed. In the picture you can see what kind of food we ate.


The most incredible idea we faced, was that she prepared an icecream on za3tar flavor! yes guys, vanilla icecream with lots of za3tar on top. It was REALLY delicious!!!!

We had so much fun. I would remember this day for ever. Japanese people are so nice and welcoming.

We were 4 people from Jordan. Me, Ahmad-san, Taymoor-sensei & Othman-san.

Kobayashi sensei, thank you very much for one of the greatest days in my life.
- and thank you for allowing me to post the pictures in the blog - .

Can you guess where am I in the pic?!