This is it.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally set foot on Japanese soil and became a resident of the island nation. Saying that all of this still feels a bit unreal to me is an understatement. Which is why it will probably take a few days to realize that this is actually my new home.

Starting with the most obvious sights first (other than Tokyo tower maybe), I headed directly to Shibuya to see this ridiculously crowded crossing that virtually everyone has in mind when thinking of Tokyo. Suffice to say that the pictures don’t lie – I’ve seldomly seen a place as packed as this. Which is what makes it especially surprising that maneuvering around the city center is actually quite chill. Even though there are millions of people around and everyone is rushing to go places, it doesn’t feel all that stressful. But then again, that might just be my inevitable, initial fascination with the city. 🙂

Today, I’m diving straight into less touristy and more administrative stuff – getting a bank account, registering with my local city ward and starting the search for my own apartment, which may or may not become an ordeal..