I was too excited – even after a very long day I couldn’t sleep too long, and wound up waking up a little after 5:00 in the morning. I tried to go back to sleep but simply couldn’t. After getting up and taking a shower I tried to be as quiet as I could as I was the only one awake in the house. After spending some time alone reading others started to wake.
Now, one of the problems that I encountered was electrical. I didn’t expect this. My computer uses a traditional 3 prong plug. Apparently nothing in Japan is grounded, so the third prong is very unusual – so unusual that I wasn’t going to be able to plug my computer in. I had hoped to connect to the internet and at least email my family to let them know I had arrived safely, but that was not to be.
The solution was to be unexpected. I was going to start the day off by travelling through one of the many districts of Tokyo, which I had planned on doing anyway, but searching for an adapter that took a three-prong device and enabled it to plug into a two-prong outlet. Stephen pointed out that one of the electrical extensions that was plugged into a wall outlet with a number things attached was just like one he had and he was able to use it by plugging his three-pronged tool into it by having the ground plug simply hang over the edge because it was oriented in a way to as to be as flat as possible. I tried it out, and my computer is plugged in.
Now there is another matter of actually connecting to the internet.
Have you ever tried trying to log onto a secure wireless network in another language? Yeah, it’s not easy.
The solution was to be found later that day, as we wandered around Shinjuku, I purchased a small CAT-5 cable. Plugging directly into their router later that night proved as simple and effective as it sounds.
This was only a small problem, really. I knew that if I couldn’t connect to the internet with my computer I would be forced to actually take a break from work and not update the website. It’s not like I would be spending all of my time working. A had spent a considerable amount of time before leaving scheduling a few reviews to get posted in my absence, with the news and screenshots simply having to wait. What I really was hoping to do was post a few blog entries about what I was doing. Now I will be able to.
I wind up waking earlier than my friend Stephen, and since I am rather lost completely I can’t strike out on my own here in Tokyo. While I am sitting around the house doing nothing (such as at 5 in the morning) I can get some news posted and work on my blog chronicling the trip.