{"id":799,"date":"2020-07-05T13:54:43","date_gmt":"2020-07-05T13:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailysack.com\/?p=799"},"modified":"2020-10-25T10:42:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-25T10:42:20","slug":"3-nice-things-about-living-in-kamata-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailysack.com\/travel\/2020\/07\/05\/3-nice-things-about-living-in-kamata-tokyo\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Nice Things About Living in Kamata, Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have been living in what’s called a “social residence” in Kamata, Tokyo for 3 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamata is on the border of Kawasaki. In other words, Kamata is about as far West as you can go before you leave Tokyo prefecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s nice out here, with fewer bells and whistles and lights flashing everywhere. Still, there are sushi restaurants, dive bars, and karaoke places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a bit of what I’ve been up to since I moved out here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Yokohama Day Trips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Yokohama
Yokohama Subway<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It’s easy to take a day trip to Yokohama from Kamata. The Keikyu <\/em>train line runs past neighboring Kawasaki all the way to Yokohama, which is a large city in its own right, and totally different than Tokyo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel like the difference between Tokyo and Yokohama is like the difference between New York and Philadelphia. They’re both cities, but one of them is taller and has more lights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trick to getting around Kamata is to master the Kaikyu <\/em>train line. You can get lost if you don’t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a local line that stops at every station, two limited express lines, and a full express line. I found that I had to start memorizing all the important stops, which wasn’t too hard once I started feeling comfortable in Kamata. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Catan in Japan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Catan
Settlers of Catan (I was white this game, muahaha)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the nice things about living in a so-called “social residence” is that everyone is always out and ready to make friends. So when I found a bunch of people sitting around a table playing Settlers of Catan one night, I asked to join them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before too long, I was in on all the weekend Catan games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun fact: You know the special cards you draw in Catan? The ones that cost a wheat, a sheep, and a stone? Well, over here, they call those cards \u3086\u3081\u304b\u3042\u3069 or “dream cards.” I don’t know whether that’s Japan-wide or just local table-talk, but it’s definitely interesting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Neon Genesis: Evangelion Chips & Snackies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Neon
Neon Genesis Evangelion Snack<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Look: anime-themed snacks are far from Kamata-specific. Hell, you can get them practically anywhere in Tokyo! But the fact is, I got the damn things at “OK Supermarket” in Zoshiki, Kamata. So this is my number three nice thing about living here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I could have talked about the beautiful butterflies all over the place, or the gorgeous river that cuts between Tokyo and Kawasaki, or several other major features and landmarks. But I didn’t do that. I talked about Evangelion chippie things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(if you want footage of the Tama River, you’ll find it at the bottom of this post)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, in celebration of the upcoming Evangelion movie, I’ve been seeing some varieties of Eva-themed snacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Evangelion
Evangelion snacks: inside the bag<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bag of snacky, chippy things. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

They tasted crunchy and spicy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The striped texture was especially nice because a lot of orange flavor gets stuck in the grooves and it pops out when you chew it or suck on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese
Lookit that texture! Yummy Eva Snack!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Evangelion Ramen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Evangelion
Evangelion Ramen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This Eva ramen was actually surprisingly flavorful. It was quite salty, and contained various shapes inside, including your run of the mill dehydrated scallions, some cute brown fluffy meat-like shapes, and even tiny white discs that resembled miniature fish cakes. In fact, if I had one complaint at all, it was that the soup was too salty. I know that’s a feature of Japanese cuisine, but this was really too much for me. It might have been my imagination, but I thought I felt my blood pressure spiked after I ate it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s All, Folks…except<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Except for your Tama River footage. Here it is. Enjoy, and thanks for reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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