We went to the Nicolai Bergman Café for a latte and a berry fruit smoothie. This is one of the nicest areas in Tokyo but today there were mice running along the walls outside.

22:00

We had our hanami today. There must have been about 30 of us spread in 4 large picnic matts. We made many new friends. Stenberg was here, Alex was here, Seiya was here. We brought every different type of beer that the Lawson had for sale.

Above is Seiya with two new friends.

17:30

I went to see the cherry blossoms with the IDEO team today. We walked around the imperial gardens in Chiyoda. I was cloudy but I took several photos.

The cherry blossoms remind me of the house I grew up in. We one in the front-yard of our home in Portugal. My mom loved the cherry blossom, but our tree never blossomed.

Spent the day wondering around Shibuya and Omotesando with Stenberg. It's good to have old friends around.

I spent the day sketching on my new notebook, drawing the spaces and the decoration. I lost all patience and attention to detail when sketching. I don't enjoy it as an activity on its own, I want to skip to having it done and finished.

Me and Mio wen to Spring Valley at the end of the day. We got a donut and walked back to Shibuya. I think these simple days will always stay with me.

Took Asuka to meet my Japanese language school friends from Korea. We had lunch at Brown Rice and bubble tea at Gong Cha.

Met up with the entire team at Tasuichi (たすいち) to have a last drink with Reynold before he heads back to Canada.

16:00

This girl is trouble. When I speak to myself I get all the red flags. She’s too old to take it slow.

20:00

I'm people-watching from the bar counter at the Wired Tokyo café. Later I'll meet Mio after almost one year without seeing her.

19:00

Playing around with the locals at Moonwalk Bar in Shibuya. This is a ¥300 bar usually full of students. Alex loves it here. I think it’s a little entertaining but I wouldn’t tell anyone I’ve been here.

21:00

Photo of people demonstrating against the American politician Donald Trump. Something to do with racist comments and post World War II sensitive topics. I’m still feeling ill.

23:00

I ran my first workshop today at the Origami office. I taught a group of 15 people how to build a tip calculator app for iOS in Swift. It was terrible. I blocked and couldn’t code. My voice was still barely hearable from being sick. I’m really disappointed with myself.

This is crappy photo of some ramen shop in Shibuya. I think my camera is broken.

20:00

People with umbrellas as the rain pours in the middle of the Shibuya crossing.

16:00

The Goodpatch office. Riccardo Parenti invited me to visit today and asked me to consider a position. I love Tokyo, I’d love to stay. But all I think about is starting my own studio.

15:00

Mio told me she's in Tokyo. I miss her so much.

11:45

This is a photo of the Takadanobaba station, Yamanote line platform 2 to Shinjuku. I’m preparing my Command Swift workshop for Thursday.

15:00

We planned going away for a weekend. We love to speak openly about things that will never actually become true. Like how I would love to learn Japanese and stay here forever, and how she would love to move to LA, Paris or Australia with a guy that makes her life amazing.

13:00

This is a photo at the Keiokaku Velodrome, where I came to see Ailda exhibiting her textiles.

19:00

Here is the best photo I could take inside the Mr. Donut in Shinjuku. My current go-to place.

I stayed at Mister Donut in Shinjuku after class to write my diary. I want to travel but I am so afraid. Afraid of wasting all my money, afraid of becoming more lost than I already am, afraid of getting lost in the middle of China. So I put the fears aside and wrote the plans I would like to do if I could just dream about doing it and not actually do it. I would spend 3 weeks in Thailand, 2 weeks in the west of Japan, 2 weeks in Seoul and 3 weeks in China. Seems like a plan.

She met me and I told her that I would be moving out of Tokyo in April. I made the decision 1 hour before. I had never seen her so sad. Where did my heart go?

16:00

The Kanji test went well today. I went back to my smokey coffee shop. A friend from London, Isabel, wants me to take photographs of whiskey bars in Japan for a book her company is publishing. Deadline seems tight and budget is pretty low, so I don’t know how much I can do. But it would be so exciting to have my photographs printed on a book. I will treat myself to sushi again tonight.

13:00

This morning I finished fixing the last bugs on the ASICS website. After school I went to the New Yorker’s Cafe to take in a little more of that mystical smoke.

22:00

My secret agent met up with me. She researched how I can start a company in Japan and sponsor my own visa. I need to have a Japanese bank account, ¥5,000,000 in that account, an office address, a mobile phone and a business plan. Incorporating the company takes 3 to 6 months and after that is done I can apply for 3 year visa. Issuing the visa would take 2 to 3 months. At that point I can move to Japan and run my own design studio.

11:00

I overslept this morning. Nothing ruins my day more than waking up late. Since I started school, I either wake up at 6.40 sharp or completely lose it and get up at 11 or 12 AM. I don’t know how to control this.

19:00

I had a meeting at the Bento Graphics office for a final look at the ASICS website. Benjamin asked me if I would be interested in a larger UX project for Lexus.

23:00

I haven’t seen her in too long. We went to Blue Note together.

I was in a bad mood when I met her because of work. And then I was annoyed at myself for letting work affect my relationships. But minutes after sitting down with her for dinner I felt calm, I felt relaxed, and Blue Note was phenomenal. When I feel tired, and stressed, or I don't feel like the relationship is working, I'll try to remember today. Because she and the music made it all ok.

16:00

I’m at Mister Donut café in Shinjuku, along with many other people who are spending Valentine’s day alone. I like this place. They offer unlimited coffee refill.

12:00

It’s Valentine’s day tomorrow. I’m contemplating all the bridges I’ve burnt.

17:00

Asuka took me to Ootoya, an amazing Japanese restaurant chain. Might become my default go-to place. I haven’t seen Asuka in months.

1:00

Today, as a first, I organised a night out for my friends. I invited them to meet me at Hachikō at 7, have Okonomiyaki at my favourite restaurant in Shibuya, go with me to JBS, and after that we can continue going out, clubbing or karaoke.

17 people showed up. We went to the Okonomiyaki and it was closed for renovation. Everyone but 4 people left. We had a drink at JBS. I felt like shit. We went to bar bridge and did karaoke all night. I forgot how amazing Asuka is at singing. This makes everything ok.

23:00

Today was national holiday and I spent all day programming Swift at a Starbucks in Shibuya. Met Alex, Ryleigh, Beer and Seiya for a drink at the Moonwalk bar. Life is simple.

22:00

No news here. We delivered the first version of the ASICS website. Benjamin and Julien left the office for their holidays. I’m going to continue working on the next version of the site.

2:00

Went home straight after class again to work on the ASICS website. It’s 2AM again, I just stopped working and I don’t really feel like sleeping.

1:00

For every time we see the feeling gets stronger. I might be all you need to sleep well at night. But I’m just a messed up man.

17:00

I went to Streamers Coffee Company and it was packed. Every Starbucks had a queue of about 15 to 20 people. And this is how Sundays look like in Shibuya if you’re trying to relax and have a coffee.

3:00

I finally took Jinssol to Trump Room so she could show off a bit.

22:00

Night out drinking with Beer—whose real name is Piyanut—and his friends.

16:00

I can’t focus. And I don’t know what to do. I haven’t written for days. I miss it. I am tired of carrying this camera. Of taking instant photos that I can’t edit. Of not being more daring with my photos. I feel so dull, so quiet, so shy. I feel so trapped.

19:00

Tonight I've learnt how to dine line a Korean. We just had a lot of sochu until the first person collapsed on the table. I think we ate some food too.

19:00

I’ve continued working for Bento Graphics today.

My hiring manager from Apple told me today, after weeks of silence, that I’m not the right fit for the company. These rejections hurt me, they make me doubt of what I am capable to achieve. Friends tell me that working for a big company like Google or Apple is just like being inside a golden cage. But I want to be where I can grow the most and I don’t know where to go.

8:30

A beautiful sunrise this morning. Worth getting up early just for this. I'm also really enjoying studying Japanese. Would love for these days to last longer.

14:00

I don’t know when I started thinking that the path to my happiness was money and fame. Relationships, meaningful friendships, a life filled with people that is my path to happiness. That’s what I should focus on. To live for the ones I love.

2:00

We went to JBS. I can never forget what a dude said when he met me, Jonathan and Cory:

Look at you three: One wearing a cap, the other has a huge beard, another pair of frame eye glasses. If you were fucking, you’d be Brooklyn.

Clearly a New Yorker.

22:00

This is the beautiful duo behind Bento Graphics: Mr. Benjamin Thomas and Mr. Julien Wulff. They took me to the Narukyo Izakaya, where we took this photo, and to the trendy Red Bar.

17:00

This is the entrance to ISI, my language school. As usual, I studied in the morning, went to school 5 minutes the class starts and had 4 more classes. First class is kanji, second class is homework review, third class is speaking and fourth class is writing.

Honey is coming back to Tokyo in April.

17:00

Chapter 10: Directions. We learnt how to refer to a location of things. Like a book on top of a table. A cat on a tree. A postbox in front of a building. A shop next to another shop, or next to a garden, or in between.

19:00

Today I had the first meeting with Benjamin Thomas, from Bento Graphics, to talk about a new project we’re working on together.

17:00

Chapter 8: Meeting friends. We studied how to make plans with friends, how to describe different activities and hobbies, how to say one will be busy or free.

17:00

I had four cups of coffee today. Too much even for me.

22:00

I met Minami, she is going to Amsterdam tomorrow. I had a Chai Latte. She was taking photos of me to send to Alvaro. We met at the Tstutaya book lounge in Shinjuku. She took me to the L’Occatine café and I must confess they serve incredible food there. I also bought a Japanese vocabulary book.

17:00

I met Maika again. She took me to the 7th floor of the Tsutaya book shop in Shibuya. On the 7th floor of the most well-known book shop of Japan there is a quiet coffee shops full of magazines from all over the world. Might be my new favourite secret place.

15:00

I feel so afraid and so lost. But I am trying to tidy up my time and focus on the things I really love.

Today I collected lists of books, design books and places to visit. I also want to do things away from the computer. I feel like the digital medium and the internet don’t allow me to relax. I’m too connected to my friends and to work when I’m the computer or on the phone. I feel like my brain runs on a lazy mode when I’m using a digital device and I find it really hard to switch off from that mode.

22:00

I interviewed with GitHub today for a Product Designer role.

1:00

I’ve spent too much time of my life in relationships with people I don’t love.

22:00

I was just browsing the condom isle at ドン・キホーテ today and two girls approached me to join their catholic church on Sunday.

10:00

It’s the first day of snow in Tokyo. The prettiest I’ve ever seen.

19:00

Another day of school. I met Maika for coffee after class. She accepted a job offer as a secretary, which is a step up from being a masseuse. I'm happy for her.

22:00

The first time I met Maika was at Erika’s nabe pot party a few weeks back. We started texting after that. Her relationship with her boyfriend was not going well and they broke up recently. This seems to be a common story in her past. We have met a few times but nothing has happened between us. I don't feel like I have energy to put on short lived relationships.

18:00

I went to gym after class today. It’s been a long time. I feel guilty for eating 1 kilo of udon yesterday for dinner.

The gym I go to is called Tip.X Tokyo, which a more specialised type of Tipness gym. In Tokyo, other gym options are Anytime Fitness and Gold's Gym. I joined this gym originally because it was the closest to my apartment in Sangenjaya.

The photo above was taken on the elevator on the 5th floor of the Tip.X Shinjuku.

23:00

I met Taru, Su Bin, Misato and Su Bin’s friend at the Roppongi Hills Tokyo City View. We saw an amazing exhibition of the Foster + Partners exhibition alongside the glowing city view. I wish my sister was here, she would love it.

After a good couple of hours on the 48th floor of the Mori Tower we hunted down a famous udon shop in Roppongi called Tsurutontan. I ordered the biggest size bowl.

Above you can see Taru on the left and Su Bin on the right just before having their delicious udon.

22:00

I met Mr Mendo for dinner today. We outlined and specified all the work for The City Reporter app. I really want to get this done. It might be my first iOS app. Finally. After years dreaming.

Luis took me to the thai restaurant Kaffir Lime. Incredible and authentic. Next to a seemingly popular gyoza restaurant called Harajyuku Gyozalo.

Above is a photo of Kohei Okada and Julie Skogoreva at BANK Gallery, where I met Luis before dinner.

23:00

Today was the Go! Go! Nihon international students welcome party. Go! Go! Nihon is a start-up that helps students find and enrol in language schools in Japan, for free.

The party was nothing special. But Su Bin, Svieta and I went to Medaka after the party for some drinks and food. We had a really great time together.

17:00

I had another meeting at IDEO this morning. Things seem to be going well and I have a feeling I could get an opportunity to work with them.

At school we had a different teacher today. I have only 3 hours and a half of teaching every day, but it feels like a whole day of classes.

17:00

Today was the first day of language school. The teachers are Japanese and don't speak any English. The pace is very fast.

18:00

Maika took me to Café Dub today. I took her to JBS.

18:00

My mum texted me today.

Docinho, ontem fui a revista com a tia, já não me ria tanto há muito tempo. Obrigada.

Me and my sister offered her and our aunt tickets to a musical in Porto. After all, what is a better present than a nice evening with someone you love?

1:00

Today was Erica’s birthday. I invited all my new friends from yesterday, we had some drinks and went to Karaoke. Kanae is an absolutely incredible singer. As usual, I sang a lot more songs than I should have.

23:00

I was placed in class 1-4, met a group of fellow students and we went to the Hub. After a few drinks we went to Ikebubukro, had a bento box and some more drinks at Su Bin’s apartment.

22:00

Today was the induction into ISI, my language school. We were introduced to life in Japan and did an exam to evaluate our level of Japanese. Tomorrow we will find out which classes we are placed into.

This evening I went to the Canvas event. Just drinks, friends and lots of photos. Here is a photo of Shiho and Michael acting silly.

19:00

I still have a long way to go.

18:00

I went to the Tsutaya book lounge in Shinjuku to work on my Swift exercises. This is the perfect discreet workspace.

16:00

Shiho made tacos for me and Mr. Mendo. Mr. Mendo and I talked about working together to turn one of his guides of Tokyo into an iPhone app. This is exciting. We had donuts and coffee at Camden’s Blue Star Donuts in Daikanyama. National holidays in Japan are special.

I was also inspired by Luis to buy a notebook and start drawing.

10:00

I went with Erica and Kanae to the Zōjō-ji today, to make my new years wishes. I just wished for happiness for my friends and family. We had Japanese foods and sweets at the stalls in front of the temple. Above is a photo of Kanae on the left and Erica on the right. Below is my fortune:

We’d like to have such a strong mind as if a mossy rock has never moved an inch for a thousand years.

Your Fortune: Very Good. With a firm mind don’t get irritated, and work hard as usual. Don't poke your nose into anything. Always be modest.

Wish: It will be arranged. Don't go ashtray.

Expected visitor: You’ll hear from her(or him), though he(or she) won’t come.

Missing thing: It can’t be found, hidden behind other things.

Travel: No problem.

Business: No loss, little gain.

Study: Don’t be lazy. Set your target early.

Speculation: Take a risk, and you’ll get a big profit.

Game and match: You’d better be modest.

Love: Good. Tell your parents.

Removal: No profits.

Childbirth: Take it easy. No problem.

Illness: Don’t worry too much.

Marriage proposal: Think it over yourself. Don’t trust others.

I know I must be more modest. Could the expected visitor be Mio? What am I missing? Should I extend my Japanese course? Could the risk be starting my own studio?

24:00

Kevin is one of the people I like the most in Tokyo. He is moving back to London in two days, so a group of us gathered to wish him a good return home.

Kevin could not speak any Japanese at all when he moved to Tokyo and now, two years later, he is fluent in day to day conversation. I made an effort to speak in Japanese for most of the night. Forcing yourself to speak Japanese, even when you can’t, is the only way to learn it. The main point of conversation was Seiya's fox jumper.

In the photo above you can see Masa, Ayaka, Kevin, Seiya, Anthony and Saori at the Hobgoblin in Shibuya.

00:00

あけおめ！ことよろ！

12:00

I moved in to Takadanobaba today. Takadanobaba is busy, young, bright, noisy. I love it. This is a photo from the JR platform. Every time a train arrives at this platform, the theme song from Astro Boy is played in the speakers. It's beautiful.

14:00

It’s the last week of the year. For the last three weeks everyone has been meeting all their friends for drinks, going to company dinners, industry parties, as if the new years eve was happening in slow motion.

23:00

Tonight was Erica’s much promised Nabe party night. I met some of her friends and we stayed in, cooking, eating and drinking. This had to be the most heart warming evening so far for me. I never realised how hard it can be open doors to your friends, and how good it can make you feel.

On the photo above you can see from left to right Keita, Cassie, Maika, Erica, me and Kanae.

10:00

There used to be drunk talks at the bar. Some irrational one-night flirtationships. Some fake emotions and fake friends. A lonely morning aftertaste.

19:00

Tonight I’m meeting Kevin and some of his friends for a Bo-nen Kai, a end of year party. The gist of it seems to be that people drink to forget the year that’s past. Japan never runs out of reasons to drink.

Above is a photo of Takadanobaba. I moved some of my things to the new apartment this morning but I won't start living here until next week.

11:00

Alex and I walked around Shibuya today. We met for coffee at Streamer Coffee Company, as usual, and chatted a bit. I don’t feel like we’re as close as we used to be, or as we though we would be. Maybe that’s ok. We are very different. But he is a good friend. And no matter how different, there is always space for good friends.

14:00

I thought Christmas had lost its meaning. But the fact that none of my family is here, none of my oldest friends are near me, that I have done no shopping, no drinking or no rushing, and that I am spending this day thinking of them, how much I love them, how much I miss them, how much I want the next year to be special, makes me realise Christmas has not lost meaning at all. I never felt this happy and warm before. 

To all my friends and family, I wish you a Merry Christmas.

This is a photo of me in some street in Omotesandō.

23:00

I took Star to Cicada, my favourite restaurant in Tokyo, for our Christmas eve meal.

Something changed about us. Our a fiery, addictive, unhealthy mutual obsession matured. This date was platonic. We had food, and talked, walked each other around Omotesandō. I love her smarts and her looks. She’s a friend I never expected to have. Or she is just another perfect girl I’m too afraid to commit to.

00:00

Christmas is nearly here. We went for a drink at Two Rooms Bar. One of those places that I found by accident, fell in love with, and kept going back to. Tokyo seems to give travellers many places like this. I had a Yamazaki, 12 years, straight. Something I haven’t had in a while.

23:00

We visited Commune 246 in Omotesandō for a drink. These areas of Tokyo feel strangely at lot like home to me now. At the end of the night we went to watch the latest Star Wars. This was my second time.

Above is a photo of Star acting silly.

12:00

We had coffee in Omotesandō Koffee. I missed feeling this free. Thank you tourists for sharing the contagious wanderlust wherever you go.

22:00

At the end of the day we went to a small local restaurant in Sangenjaya, an izakaya, that only serves tempura. Besides the most standard types of tempura like shrimp, mushroom and onion, you can also have egg and crab tempura. It was an unexpected feast. Star fell in love with the waitress. I think she has a thing for Japanese girls. Apologies for the lack of photos.

The photo above was taken during the day as we walked from Shibuya to Sangenjaya.

22:00

This is a photo of Star in the Narita Airport train station. I forgot how smart and charming she is. I’m happy she is visiting Tokyo at this time of the year. She is special to me, I don’t know how special, but I want to find out.

2:00

I don’t know why we were outside as it was freezing cold. But once we got back inside Tasuichi, a guy was speaking to my friend’s girlfriend. In fact she’s not even his girlfriend, just his lover. But he picked up a fight with the guy straight away.

After about one hour calming down the drunken and heated gentleman who wanted to beat the crap out of my friend, we went to another pub. Against my recommendation. Soon after, one of the girls in our group was missing. We found her passed out in the bathroom. It was one of those nights where everyone was too drunk to even compute. I guess they're all trying to forget the year that has passed. I should have not missed my last train.

10:00

I’m at Muji Café. I’m currently taking 9 pills a day to fix my cold. I’ve given it time to heal itself and gave up. I'm sure the Japanese way will be more efficient.

23:00

I’m wow-amazed by the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. The soundtrack is incredible, the acting is perfect and it feels just like how the original trilogy felt like. I couldn’t be happier. The two of us watched it alone after weeks of trying to plan a group movie night.

22:00

I haven’t seen Su Hui for almost 3 years. She’s touring in Japan this winter and tonight she is performing in Kichioji, northwest of Tokyo. Shiho and I went to see her show and we all had drinks in Shibuya at the end of the night. Artistically, Su Hui is known as Anise.

15:00

I’m at Suzu Café on the third floor of a building in Shibuya. I’m impressed by how the city space multiplies itself several times above and below ground.

9:00

I slept with my AC on last night. And today I have a sore throat. I can barely speak. I have a hot shower, drink some hot tea, everything helps but I still feel miserable. I go to Shibuya, do some work but have a persistent headache.

16:00

I visited the IDEO office to chat about my work and get to know the firm a little better. I spoke with Gregory and Evin. We talked about how the Japanese digital product design industry is old fashioned and failed to evolve with times, even as Japan evolved into a modernist product and graphic design era. And in product development there is resistance to an agile approach. I never thought of Japan as a place for me to work exactly because of these reasons—it is not a pioneer. Innovation is happening elsewhere, mostly in San Francisco. But IDEO is working hard to move Japanese design forward. And maybe I can help them do that.

8:00

I’m at the Starbucks in Sangenjaya. The usual place to start the day. I've set my goals and I'm ready to start work.

15:00

I went to the gym after lunch and met up with Marina at the Tsutaya in Daikan-yama. Daikan-yama has an appeal from the moment you step out of the train at the station. This is a designer-friendly group. Nice shops and cafés. I wanted to visit almost every single place. We had coffee in Tsutaya. We worked for a few hours. She looks nice. Everyone in here looks well groomed. Before the end of the day we walked in the area. We visited Saturdays NYC, a lifestyle brand that sells coffee and clothing at their Daikan-yama store. We walked past Ivy Place. She showed me Log Road, a beautiful wooden path surrounded by wooden and concrete buildings. I spotted Grigio’s Italian Restaurant and Spring Valley Brewery during this safari. And overall most of our time was spent chatting and gazing. We ended the day with a donut at the Camden’s Blue Bar Donuts before walking back to Shibuya.

22:00

I’m playing with the idea of not speaking English or Portuguese or any language apart from Japanese in 2016.

14:00

I’ve slept all day. I’ve booked a table for Christmas but I have no one for the date. Ups!

I took this photo at the phenomenal Afuri ramen bar in Sangenjaya.

18:00

I took the photo above outside Streamer Coffee Company in Shibuya at the end of the afternoon.

This was before I meet Johnny and Mark for coffee. I explained Mark my ideas in the notebook, one by one. He gave me a lot of good feedback and said positive things about some of the ideas. I will write more about them another day. Mark also recommended me reading Hooked by Nir Eval, a book about building products with an addictive habit-creating mechanism. Sounds like dark user experience to me, but it's OK.

6:00

We went to Womb for the best club night in my life so far. We didn't have a plan when we met. But we had VIP friends, got in the VIP line, went to the VIP floor with a VIP bar. I've barely been drinking lately and took it all in completely sober. Dixon was playing in the main stage.

12:00

Today I have purchased tickets for the try! Swift conference happening in March 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th 2016. Many well-known developers will be attending and the line-up of speakers is incredible. Now I have to work harder on my Swift studies.

10:00

I took this photo in Toranomon after meeting Takako for coffee. “I visit my mother every time I have a day off. She used to live with my sister, but now that my sister married and moved in with her husband she's always alone. I always cook for her.” I haven't learnt how to be less selfish yet.

23:30

I’m watching the first part of the two-part Japanese movie Parasyte.

20:00

This is another photo around Shibuya. I forgot about how great the sun feels after 7 years living in London. I don't want to do the work I'm doing every day at the office in the Hikarie (ヒカリエ) tower. This work is the last string I have to break from my past in order to start a new life.

I want to go back to who I was before I started working for someone else's company. Passionate about learning and building new things. To have the motivation to build great products driving me forward, rather than someone else's agenda and a pay roll.

19:00

This is the view of the Shibuya metro station as you go down the escalators from the Hikarie (ヒカリエ) building. I took it on my way home. Today was a typical day of work, just like every other week day. I’ve been listening to the Nice to Meet You podcast by Tobias van Schneider, a well-known independent digital product designer in the industry.

11:00

This is Sangenjaya again in the sun. I've been away from home two nights in a row. We said goodbye at the station in Tamachi. It was a happy goodbye. I believe we will see each other again.

9:00

Antônio Carlos Jobim is playing Águas de Março again.

11:00

How nice must it be to just share that warmth. No attachments. No consequences. No break-ups. No words. A relationship that starts with dinner Friday evening and ends with breakfast Monday morning. A simple hold of the hand of a stranger who is now anything but one.

19:00

In the afternoon we went to have coffee at the Monocle Café in Yurakucho. 

18:00

I went to Maisen Tonkatsu (舞泉), the best tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo, and ordered sushi. I wasn't ready to taste amazing tonkatsu today, maybe I'll come here again another time with someone else.

I took this beautiful photo inside the Omotesandō Koffee, a beautiful tiny shop serving delicious coffee.

22:00

These must be the best times of our lives. Making last minute plans, hopping from bar to bar, eating Italian food for hours and walking to the hotel together.

23:00

She is heartbreakingly simple. We walked to Hachikō. We've said goodbye and I wonder what her name is.

The photo above was taken sneakily inside inside the waiter’s corridor at the Ichiran Ramen bar in Shibuya. Ichiran is famous for the unique personalised ramen taste and also for the independent library-like cubicles where you eat it. One must taste one’s ramen without distractions.

I received a notification from LINE: “Samson Antwi: Yes, you can have Takadanobaba. Good news for you!” Thank you Samson. I am buying you a gigantic bottle of sake for Christmas.

I'm getting a good hang of this silhouette style with instant film. This is a photo was taken just outside the Shibuya Hikarie (ヒカリエ) during my lunch break.

14:00

Next month I have Japanese language classes at the ISI Language School in Takadanobaba, so I am looking for apartments nearby. I found a perfect one just a 7 minute walk away but it was reserved hours before I asked to reserve it. So I settled for a cheaper option near Nakano which is about a 40 minute walk away.

21:00

The photo above is the view from my office, again. I don’t want to forget this view. You can tell the film hasn’t finished developing when I scanned so the image looks very pale.

22:00

It’s the first of December. With it came the unexpected rush to cancel memberships and hunt for a new apartment for next month. I took over 20 photos today to experiment with the different camera features, specially the long exposure mode. The one above was taken in Shibuya near the Forever 21 store.

15:00

This is the last photo I’m taking with the Fuji Instax Wide 300. My Lomo’Instant Wide arrived in the mail this morning and I’m just finishing the film before making the switch.

This is a photo of a furniture designer holding a tile from his latest furniture piece: a powder table with a top that looks like the deep ocean. I’ve forgotten his name.

22:00

I met Haruka for a cocktail after work. We went to Trench bar, the one I’ve been to two years ago with Miki. Haruka has a very unique look. Her hair is red, her lips are sharp and eyes are wide. I had an amaretto sour.

16:00

Omotesandō is dark and whispery. Like a silent catwalk. The Ao building has bright sparks of red all around its body.

I meet her for dinner at Brown Rice tonight.

22:00

I met Alex, Haru and Sunyoung today. We went to a Spanish festival in Yoyogi park. We had sangria, paella, jamón ibérico and churros.

After sunset we stop for a drink at Lil’ Rire Café. Beer joins us. Everyone speaks Japanese. Despite my efforts in studying this language every day I still can’t follow the conversation.

We went to Tasuichi (たすいち) at the end of the day. If this diary was a TV Show like Friends, Tasuichi would be the Central Perk Café equivalent.

18:00

Today I met Marina at Streamer Coffee Company. I go to this café so often most of the staff recognise me. Marina is a design graduate from Tokyo, but she was raised in San Fancisco and did high school in New York. It’s great to meet someone who speaks English fluently. She was preparing for a job interview on the seat just accross mine.

1:00

As I’m waiting for Shun at Bridge. I notice one of baristas from Streamer is here. We say hello and introduce each other formally for the first time. Her name is Yungji. She’s stunning.

I suppose I’m being introduced to her friends as I can’t understand Korean. The girl with black hair gives me a docile slap in the face without a word. This must mean hello. Later she’s at the DJ booth and I’m taking photos. Her name is Mari.

She opens the door and asks for my Facebook. I’m busy, I tell her to wait. I zip up my trousers and wash my hands. A guy walks in but he doesn’t seem to care. We leave the toilet and exchange details. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing Mari at Womb next week.

12:00

I received a rejection email from the hiring manager handling my interview at Google. Being rejected from Google twice has to at least be admired. I also turn 25 today.

18:00

New definition of success: Living happily making the best work I can make rather than belong to a socially recognised place of successful people.

20:00

I met Shun and Kaoru today. They are good friends. They listen, don’t judge, give only solicited and most times useful advice, and don’t take things too seriously. Unlike me.

We were at the Tasuichi (たすいち) in Shibuya. Tasuichi is a very foreigner-friendly bar, and as Shun and Kaoru have lived outside of Japan for most of their lives they classify unofficially as half-foreigner. After that bar we went to the Hub. Hub is chain of British-style pubs in Tokyo and if one day you have a chance to visit a Hub pub in Tokyo I highly recommend you visiting another, more interesting, venue.

The silhouettes on this photo are people looking over the Shibuya crossing at the Hikarie (ヒカリエ) building on the 8th floor.

14:00

Cheap food doe not have to be unhealthy. And service at cheap restaurants does not have to be unpleasant. Tokyo is full of restaurants optimised to be cheap and fast while serving good quality hot meals in a clean restaurant with great customer service.

Commonly you will order your meal in a vending machine and get a ticket in exchange. The waiter will place a glass of water in the desired seat for you, you hand will hand your ticket to the waiter, receive your meal in exchanged and leave shortly after completing it. These fast style restaurants usually serve udon, ramen, rice dishes, with eggs, vegetables, pork, beef, curry. All these dishes cost less than a Starbucks beverage.

I took the photo above at the Yoshinoya in Sangenjaya before paying ¥480 for my gyūdon meal topped with raw egg.

14:00

I’ve started writing an ideas notebook. I title each page of the notebook with a challenge or a brief. Some of my best brief titles are: “Re-invent how we pass on our memories after we pass away”, “Find the biggest difference in our day-to-day between this world and a world where analogue technology never existed” and “Design a trade market not operated via money”.

Let me dig deeper into these brief titles so you can understand the stage I’m setting.

The first brief is fairly straight forward: address life closure, passing away, collecting memories, specially on situations where a terminated life was unexpected.

The second is more involved: If world as we know it was built on top of today’s technology from the start, what would the biggest difference be and how can you accelerate the transition from it’s current form to that new form.

The third brief is less connected to technology: Imagine a trade where money can’t be present or isn’t a suitable form of currency. This is perhaps better explained with an example: Organ donation. Organs can’t be legally traded by money, organ donations are scarce, the demand is high. Situations where an organ is exchanged for another organ are rare. How can we design a system where these moneyless trades can grow in a legal, safe and reliable way that benefits mankind as a whole.

22:00

The nature, the local food, the traditions, the more untouched part of Japanese culture. I found all the things I’ve forgotten about Japan on our trip to Nikkō.

The four of us met at 9am.

Narumi smiled for the entire day, as so must have I. Misato and Shun were a couple today more than any other day.

The Lomo’Instant Wide swings on my shoulders in it’s heavy and builky style. The Fujifilm X100 is back on my right hand, strapped on my wrist, like my first ever 15 days in Japan years ago.

Me and Narumi shared an umbrella. Step through the stone walks and into the temples of Nikkō. I’m away from everything and everyone again, an escape from my retreat. As we make the drive back, I serve as a friendly shoulder for her to nap.

Our playlist includes: Bitch Better Have My Money, by Rihanna remixed by Diplo; Hills by The Weekend; Girlfriend by NSYNC; Lean On by Major Lazer; Cheerleader by Omi; Tom Ford by Jay Z; Would You Be My Girlfriend by Justin Timberlake; and many, many other up-beats.

22:00

He achieved many of the goals I struggle with today. Jonathon worked at Facebook as a product designer and is now in Tokyo after his girlfriend got an opportunity be part of the Google Tokyo design team. Tonight I met him, Cody, Michele, Jiran, Minami, Johnny and Madoka for drinks and food at Toribia in Shibuya.

10:00

I’m at Deus Ex Machina in Harajuku. Alex is going to meet me here soon. We haven't seen each other since Halloween.

Deus Ex Machina, contrary to what I expected, isn’t another coffee shop. Deus is a lifestyle brand. They sell coffee and serve amazing Californian food in the ground floor, sell their own clothing line on the second floor, have a collection of leather goods, organise movie nights, DJ nights, and also sell craft beer in the evening. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had their own music label and banking society. I understand this in one simple way: rather than focusing your business in making one specific product, focus your business catering for one specific niche customer.

16:00

We walked around Omotesandō. Met with a friend travelling around Asia, Jiran. Had lunch. And now I’m back in the café to study Japanese. The photo above was taken at the top of the Tokyu Plaza in Omotesandō.

21:00

I had my job interview at Google Tokyo this afternoon. In this stage of the job application process I interview with two designers from the Tokyo office and execute a design exercise relevant to the role I’m applying for.

The Tokyo team works closely with the San Francisco office to work on Google Maps and other location products. Given how dense and complex the urban space is in Tokyo, a lot more thought and work goes into designing local products for Tokyo. The work made in Tokyo is then shared with teams globally to be localised.

After my interview I met Misato and Shun for dinner. We went to Chinese Café Eight in Aoyama. I told them the interview didn’t go well and we ordered pecking duck. I can’t taste anything but disappointment tonight but I’m not one to spoil the fun.

20:00

He told me he is getting married next month. He asked me if I want a Japanese girlfriend. “They are full of kindness” he added. I reply “No”. My favourite white lie. 

This is the first time I’m having a haircut since I moved to Tokyo.

21:00

I met Yuko for dinner at a french restaurant in Ginza. She had already finished a bottle of wine with her friend and told me about the umbrellas game in Tokyo.

In Tokyo the most common sight in a rainy day are the transparent umbrellas commonly sold at the コンビニ. These umbrellas cost around ¥500 and don’t break too easily. I have one at home and the one I brought with me tonight. The magic around these umbrellas is that they all look the same and everyone “borrows” each others umbrellas. I use the word “borrows” because someone will take your umbrella by mistake and in return you will take someone else’s. Sometimes you will be offered an umbrella from a friend, or the office will have a few spares, or you will purchase a new one to the game. The bottom line is: every umbrella will eventually belong to multiple people. And everyone is ok with how this system works.

13:00

I sent out an entire batch of handwritten letters with some instant photos today. Writing letters, some of them to strangers, has become a fascination. I don’t know what to say so I write mostly about myself. If only it were so easy to open up with people you already know.

20:00

The photo above was taken at a stall in Shibuya. This stall will be here for the whole week.

19:00

I’ve come home early today. Ordered sushi to take away, studied Japanese in my desk, put my polaroids on the wall. I’m missing something but I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s a purpose.

23:00

I’m watching Mr. Robot.

10:00

I’m studying Swift, a new programming language by Apple. In about 30 minutes I will go to the gym. Do a 45 minutes workout of 15 minutes cardio, 3 leg exercises and 7 upper body exercises. My figure is quite slender. I will take a hot bath awkwardly amongst all the other Japanese men. Then I will take the train to Shibuya, the elevator to the 8th floor. I seat in the office quiet zone, work in my computer beyond dinner, and end the day with a Chai Latte and 2 hours studying Japanese. You could say I’m past the peak of my day.

This is a photo in Sangenjaya. Any sunny day might be the last now.

I went to pick up a television at Kamifukuoka from my friend Jason.

Once at home, I setup the TV and confusion follows. First of all, the remote has numbers from 1 to 12 rather than from 0 to 9. Then, there are 3 channels under the channel 1. I zap through the channels and see a comedy show, anime, and a show teaching Mandarin. Perhaps learning Mandarin in Japanese is a good way for me to learn two languages at once.

At the Family Mart I bought some どら焼き (dorayaki) a treat made internationally famous thanks to the anime Doraemon, some dried cod fish and tangerines.

17:00

Ivy, Shun, Tiago and myself went to ドン・キホーテ (Don Quijote) today to buy some things for my new apartment. This is Ivy and Tiago’s last week in Japan, and they are staying with me, so I also need a guest mattress and bedding.

This is the second time I walk into a ドンキ store. The first time was in Shinjuku a couple of weeks ago by accident. ドンキ is a jungle of products that spans multiple floors, selling everything from groceries to tech, halloween costumes to wedding dresses, school materials to sex toys.

22:00

We had dinner at Sushi ¥90. As you can guess from the name, this is a very affordable sushi restaurant. The quality is also a lot better than the average sushi you would get outside of Japan.

The magic of this place starts from the moment you walk in: you are given a seat number and you order your plates of sushi from the touch screen in front of you. The plates then travel on a belt from the kitchen to your seat, you pick them up and press a button to confirm they were delivered. Only drinks are served by the staff. This is great to order a dish at a time and eat indefinitely. I can see this becoming a more popular model in the future with the use of drones.

Above you can see a photo of my seat at the Sushi ¥90 restaurant in Shibuya.

20:00

Where had I seen her before? Blonde hair, blue eyes, slim shape. I sit at the table where all the 3 of us wear black. I say hello to her friend, to her. Her friend’s name is Lim, her’s Elin. They are both Swedish so we talk about crayfish and Ikea, in what must have been 15 minutes of small talk. Where had I seen her before?

A few weeks ago she sat next to me when I visited the Oak House office. This was when I was looking for a flat. That day we talked briefly. What a coincidence to see her here. Surrounded by my ex-coworkers. Her friend is one of my best-friend’s ex-girlfriend’s friend. Or they met once, follow each other on Instagram—I’m not sure.

“You’ve had sex with her!?” Álvaro asked when I told him this. Loudly and within everyone’s ear range. I said no. What an idiot. I’ll miss him. 20 minutes later Lim and Elin had to leave to another party.

23:00

We sang Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen at the karaoke. It was a magical, bonding moment.

This is not my party, but I share some hosting responsibility with my brother Álvaro. One of our guests was getting too intimate with another guest. I talk to her. She said he tried to kiss her despite her having a boyfriend.

01:00

We go to the club, I kiss her for the first time.

22:00

I’ve ordered my Halloween costume. I’ve ordered my Japanese study book. I’ve ordered my contact lenses. I defined my desired routine and next steps. This week I still have to open a bank account, get a phone contract and a gym membership. And I need to sleep more.

This is a photo of the Shibuya crossing at night.

17:00

I ordered 40 boxes of 20 instant films from China. I take about 3 to 4 photos a day so this supply is going to last about half a year.

The parcel took 4 weeks to arrive. I ordered everything with the help of my friend Star through the Chinese marketplace Taobao. Taobao is a website similar to Amazon, but you interact and negotiate with the sellers directly using a chat client. You can negotiate, ask questions and arrange deals in real-time. For this reason it takes some time to find a really good deal. Star was chatting with multiple sellers and shipping companies for two days before placing an order. In the end the total cost of the order was 元4042.29 or £416.46 including shipping. The same order would have cost me £631.92 on Amazon UK.

As I placed the order before moving to Tokyo, I asked my friend Shiho if I could ship the parcel to her address. The photo above is the box of instant film next to my backpack in Shiho’s apartment.

Today I had some late welcome drinks. My oldest friend from Japan, Masa, organised everything and invited everyone. We booked a table at the izakaya Watami (和民) in Shibuya for 3 hours with a set food menu and all-you-can-drink plan.

On this photo you can see from left to right: Yutaka, Ryo, Seiya, João, Hatsuki, Ichiro, Diana, Shun, Alex, Haru, Yoko, me, Minami, Asuka, Tom, Ayaka, Beer, Ivy, Tiago, Shinobu, Satomi and finally Masa.

14:00

Today is an unusually busy day at the office. Models walking in and out accompanied by makeup artists, stylists, hairstylists and other staff every minute. I took a seat by the entrance to keep up with the action. Today is the second day of the Tokyo Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. One of the shows is happening on the floor above and the changing room is here.

23:00

Terry Betts, a friend and coworker at Thread, introduced me to two of his friends who were visiting Tokyo this week: Tatsuo and Yamazaki. Yamazaki happens to be the name of one of my favourite Japanese whiskey brands.

I met with Tatsuo and Daniel who was travelling to Tokyo with him. We had Okonomiyaki in Shibuya at Bow’s Door. This time it was a Hiroshima style okonomiyaki: a version with more layers, spring onions and cabbage.

Yamazaki and Toda joined us soon later and we visited one of Tetsuo’s favourite music bars: JBS, which stands for Jazz, Blues and Soul. We opened the thick wooden door and heard the music coming from the large speakers at the back. The all-wooden walls made me feel like I was inside a music box. On both sides of the room you see rows of vinyls. The bar could accommodate no more than 10 customers and had about 4 by the time we walked in. The only other person was the owner behind the bar.

I ordered a Yamazaki, neat, and cheered with everyone else. We chatted amongst us and with the other customers, it was like we were all part of the the same group. I made my leave after my drink but I wish I would have stayed longer. I will have to come back again.

On the photo above you can see Daniel Todd sitting down, Toda Makoto standing up on the left and Yuji Yamazaki standing up on the right.

20:00

I’ve moved into yet another new temporary accommodation. This time I don’t have the standard suitcase photo as the attic I’m staying in is too small. But my Airbnb host, Jung, is very cheerful and helpful. She took me out for dinner tonight in Ikebukuro. Stress and hunger came into play, I ordered dinner twice: Omurice and Pork Steak. As the name suggests, omurice is a an omelette with rice. I remember this dish as an important plot device of the anime series Charlotte that aired this summer.

At home we watched TV. One of the TV shows that Jung enjoys watching is a Japanese reality show where men go out with their girlfriends for coffee or dinner and stare at other attractive women, driving their girlfriends mad. The goal of the show is for them to be forgiven by their partners.

22:00

I played an American pop song on my phone in repeat. It was so foreign to me now, but relaxing at the same time.

We are all lost. We are looking for the missing pieces of ourselves, but the more we travel the more we break ourselves. I don’t know what I am doing here. Staying up past midnight, writing every morning, in silence. No place has everything we need. I’m more broken than I’ve ever been. But I love mending these broken pieces of who I was into who I am to be.

The photo above was taken on the 9^th floor of the Shibuya Hikarie (渋谷ヒカリエ) building, the floor above my office, this morning.

There is something special around Shibuya tonight. I can feel the lights being printed in my memory, just like the first time I’ve seen them two years ago.

Before dinner we walked around Shinjuku, did a little of window shopping, got coffee in Omotesandō and came back to Shibuya where I ate the phenomenal tsukemen from the Menya Musashi Bukotsu Gaiden (麺屋武蔵 武骨外伝). For dessert we got a drink at the Living Room Café, a sophisticated venue for a quiet drink. Alex and Haru: thank you both for tonight.

In the photo above you can see one of the chefs at the Menya Musashi Bukotsu Gaiden (麺屋武蔵 武骨外伝) in Shibuya. All sizes up to 1kg of noodles are the same price.

Today was the day to meet my old friend from university, Shun Sugimoto. Shun was probably the first Japanese person I’ve ever met. At the same time he’s the least Japanese person I know.

I met up with him at Sakura Tei (さくら亭), an okonomiyaki restaurant in the area of Omotesandō. The first time I have had okonomiyaki was in Hiroshima. And the second was in the restaurant Abeno in Holborn, London. Okonomiyaki is a pancake made of mixed cabbage and noodles with other assorted ingredients. Most okonomiyaki restaurants are made for you to grill your own okonomiyaki and that makes it a great group event. When ordering you choose your favourite ingredients to add to the pancake and once cooked you top it up with Japanese mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce and fish flakes. Japanese mayonnaise is made of egg yolks and vinegar instead of whole eggs, salt and sugar giving it a yellow tone and stronger flavour.

Shun was accompanied by Danny and Georgia, both visiting from London. Danny is a manager of a bar in central London. Despite being in a bar during most of his working hours, he was keen to visit all the best bars in Tokyo. This meant trouble for me. Danny is an Italian who lives in London but he was not shy to speak with the staff in fluent Japanese or to me in fluent Portuguese. He moved us from one bar to the next, buying the next round of drinks, making it impossible for me to escape. I told him about my ideas of earning a living making cocktails for some period of time and he give me advice on how to make that happen. We followed him to the bar A971, Propaganda, Ooh yeah formerly known as Jumanji, The Pink Cow, V2, Shamrock and finally Feria. All located in Roppongi. This was the high energy, positive feeling, night out that I needed. And now I feel like I know my way around the bar and club scene of Roppongi.

Above is a photo of Shun, the legendary contortionist.

I’m glad Win is visiting Tokyo this week. I haven’t stopped to think how I feel in Tokyo. Having a good old friend from my previous chapter helps me understand where I am at. This excess of freedom left me somewhat lost.

I met Win at the Hachikō square. Hachikō is a statue in the square outside Shibuya station, made in honour of the dog who waited for his owner every morning in that precise location. Hachikō continued going to the station for over nine years after the owner’s death. Locals started bringing Hachikō food and treats during its wait, and today the statue honours its loyalty to the owner.

Alex joined us at the square. So did Ayaka. And we all went to the izakaya Doma Doma (土間土間 渋谷).

The photo above is a portrait of Win at the Hachikō square.

Today I visited two more apartments with Fontana. Myself and Samson are now friends after the incident of my last visit. I met him at the Fontana office, took the photo above, and visited an apartment in Sasazuka and another one in Sangenjaya.

The first apartment in Sasazuka is the largest I’ve seen so far, with a kitchen, living room and bathroom in the lower floor and bedroom on the upstairs loft. Clothes, shoes, paintings and textiles fill every corner and wall space of this apartment. The current owner must be a fashion or textiles student. The rent for this apartment is ¥90,000 excluding bills.

The second apartment is in Sangenjaya. This is a smaller apartment with a small bathroom, kitchenette and main room with a single bed, wardrobe and desk. It has very large sliding doors at the end of the room that give access to the balcony. Despite being smaller, the interior of this apartment seems more carefully thought out. The size also seems more appropriate for a single person with very few belongings like myself. The monthly rent for this apartment is ¥80,000 excluding bills.

As usual I asked my friends for opinions. All of them unanimously recommended me the area of Sangenjaya. They say it has a lot of nice cafés and restaurants. Sasazuka only has a better supermarket. I decided to put my social house plans away and made a deposit for my future apartment in Sangenjaya.

Today I moved to Homeikan. I will be staying here until the end of the week while I finish apartment hunting.

Homeikan is my number one place of choice when staying in Tokyo. Originally recommended by my friend Win, this is a traditional Japanese Ryokan. A Ryokan is a traditional guest house or Japanese Inn that you can book online through their website homeikan.com, HostelWorld.com or the Japanese Guest Houses website japaneseguesthouses.com. This last website is particularly handy to find guest houses around Japan and I’ve used it several times. A stay at Homeikan will cost around ¥7,000 per night.

All rooms in this guest house are with tatami floors. The tatami has a smell similar to fresh grass, especially when it is new, and is quite comfortable to sleep on.

Like in most traditional Japanese Inns, guests are provided with a fresh yukata every day. The yukata is a casual full-length robe, similar to a kimono, to be worn indoors and around the neighbourhood if desired. And the Homeikan also has three indoors onsen: a private one,a shared one for women and a shared one for men. An onsen is a Japanese-style hot bath. I am sure I will be using it every night before going to sleep.

The photo above is another one of the series of my suitcase and backpack upon arrival in a temporary accommodation.

I had Hawaiian cuisine today for lunch. I was in a restaurant just a floor below my office and was the only male customer in the restaurant. I counted 43 women, most of them in what seemed to be their early 30s, one with a young child. The only exceptions were two high school girls sitting not far from me. For a second I wondered if I walked into a women-only restaurant. The food was healthy but flavourful.

The photo above is a set of normal, average people, sleeping in the armchairs in Hikarie.

Today is the first day of me working remotely. I have unlimited coffee beans from Guatemala, a grinder, filter coffee machine, kettle, two beverage vending machines and assorted treats. The Shibuya MOV coworking space is located in the Hikarie, 8th floor, and costs ¥19,000 per month for a full-time membership. I consider it fairly priced for the convenience of the location if all you need is a desk to get work done on your laptop.

Internet download speed is 80.40Mbps and upload speed is 29.78Mbps. Ping time is 19ms. Tested on speedtest.net.

The photo above was taken in Shinjuku late at night on the way home. Somehow this is my familiar area. I came out here looking for somewhere that makes me feel at home.

Apartment hunting continued today. I went to visit this one bedroom apartment in Shimotakaido, which is one stop away. I didn’t fall in love with it. I also went to check out Shimokitazawa. This is not the Shoreditch of Tokyo as I expected it to be and for this reason I feel cheated. Even the ramen I’m eating right now is nothing beyond standard. I’m going to consider other areas.

Japanese people have such a high standard for fashion. It blows my mind everyday. I feel like a lowly peasant in every social setting.

I’m meeting Hsiao tonight. Hsiao is my whiskey connoisseur, born in Taiwan and resident in Manhattan, New York City. She is staying at the Park Hotel Tokyo as part of a stopover from her flight back to the US. Hsiao and I worked together at ustwo but I have very few work memories as we were in separate offices.

My fondest memories with Hsiao are drinking whiskey in New York at multiple locations, drinking whiskey with her friends in her apartment, finding the lead singer of The XX on a London bus, and drinking whiskey again tonight.

I think Tokyo is going to be the end of me.

Today I have slept all day. And I discovered how hangovers in Tokyo feel like.

Thanks to the omnipresent vending machines and the water I had on the way home last night my hangover was cured quite quickly with a shower. After getting dressed I found Nana on the hallway and invited myself to hang out with her. Nana is another resident in the guest house I have spoken briefly with before.

I found out that Nana is leaving to Kyoto on Monday. She’s from Barcelona and has been travelling around Asia for a few weeks. She finds simple mundane things amusing and that amuses me.

I have visited the Shin-Yurigaoka residence and I love it. It’s a bit of a walk to the station, in a very residential area, but has a lot of shops, restaurants and a gym near the station. It has 100 rooms and is 90% full, has a communal area with sofas, TV, large kitchen, exercise room, cinema room and rooftop. This is it. It’s also really affordable at ¥65,000 with all bills included.

I’ve been speaking with Alex and Haru about moving to Shin-Yurigaoka. They think I lost it and demand that I find another apartment closer to central Tokyo. I’m not sure if I should find a new apartment that I like or find new friends.

The second guy to the left has guaranteed me and my friends that he is the future CEO of Subaru. He manifested his passion for travelling the world, going to the beach and meeting lots of girls to all of us. I can’t remember his name.

I went to visit two apartments today.

Fontana is a small estate agency with a scrubby office and vintage website that rents apartments mainly english-speaking foreigners in Japan. They are a very paper-based kind of organisation. Out of the two places that I visited, one captured my interest and I immediately proceeded to make a deposit. At this point the manager of the property realised the current tenant never gave a leaving notice. Without understanding how the property was shown as available on the website the manager told me this was a technical error. This was after we visited the property, littered with the current tenant’s possessions.

Despite this sad outcome, I got a much clearer idea of the housing market in Japan. If you are not Japanese and do not speak Japanese you will probably have to rent a place through an agency like Fontana, Oak House or Sakura House, that essentially act as middlemen between you and the landlord. You will pay between 30-50% more for a property than a Japanese person would thanks to this arrangement. But you also get benefits like a no minimum length stay contract; electricity, gas, internet and tv already setup for you, and they come furnished if you wish.

Right now I am having coffee at a really cool coffee shop in Shinjuku, near the station, in some weird side alley close to a pet shop, called 但馬屋 (Tajima-ya). They gave me a little rubber case to put my wet umbrella on when I walked in.

After viewing these apartments in the morning I decided to visit the Sakura House office and the Oak House office. My budget for a flat is ¥90,000 a month, so I am looking for places in the range of ¥65,000 to ¥75,000 before I consider pricier ones. From my visit at the Sakura House office I realised that they ask around ¥120,000 for very similar apartments to the ones I viewed with fontana for ¥75,000. This was not the agency for me.

I then visited the Oak House office. Their office is located in Shibuya, in a colourful space. Oak House seems more focused in renting rooms at “social houses”, houses with anywhere between 10 and 100 rooms located around Tokyo in which students and professionals can live. This might be perfect for me. For the first 3 months in Tokyo I am working remotely for my previous company, Thread, based in London. So I don’t interact with people that often. Having a busy social environment could be a good way for me to nest in this city and practice my Japanese. I booked a viewing at a social house for tomorrow. As a side note, the lady that was arranging my viewing also lives at the guest house I am visiting tomorrow.

The photo above was taken on the way to the Shinjuku station this morning after visiting Fontana.

I have an addiction to minimalism and Muji is usually where I get my fix. I don’t need to shop; eying the contents of the store is usually enough to improve my mood. Its native name, Mujirushi Ryōhi, translates roughly to Unbranded Goods Company.

Today I focused on looking for apartments online and asking friends for aid. The café of choice to perform these tasks was the Streamer Coffee Company, a really great recommendation by my university friend Shiho Yokoyama. Tomorrow I have a few rental agencies and apartments to visit.

The photo above is a chandelier made of wine glasses at the Muji Café in Shinjuku.

I’m at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea. I don’t remember feeling as relaxed in an airport before. Shops mixed with gates on the ground floor while cafés and rest areas are located on the first floor. There is plenty of sunlight, free wifi, and people moving around in an organised chaos.

I’m staying in the district of Nakano, not the most glamorous of Tokyo, west of red light district Shinjuku. Toshi and I communicated via WhatsApp to plan my arrival at his guest house I found through Airbnb. I arrive at midnight. There are 8 rooms in total in this house, 4 of which are available for rent. All residents share a single bathroom, two toilets (for male and female), a large kitchen, 10 garbage bins (for meticulous recyclable materials separation), an attic and a rooftop.

Toshi said he has lived in Tokyo for 10 years and maybe knows less than 10% of it. He took my late check-in penalty of ¥2000 and walked me to the nearest Family Mart. I was famished.

It is a privilege and a luxury to have a convenience store like Family Mart open 24/7, I ordered a box of Katsu Curry for ¥460, the clerk heated it up in the store microwave and 4 minutes after arriving home I had finished it.

This is a photo of my room in the Nakano-Shimbashi Share House. My initial idea was to take a photo from the rooftop but I found a cockroach lurking on the way up and decided it was probably time to go to sleep.

I am still in London. My name is Nuno Coelho Santos and this has been my city for the last 7 years.

The day I first arrived in London I could barely hold a conversation in English. Now I consider it my second language and will use it to write this diary. Over time I hope to replace some English sentences with Japanese. None of this will improve the poor quality of my writing, but let me tell you about some of my early experiences with Japanese culture that culminated in today’s events.

In London I studied Graphic Design. As much as I love British design I felt something unexplainably special about the Japanese arts and crafts. Looking back, it was always an influence on my work, I also loved Japanese architecture and on my sister’s 21st birthday, I somewhat selfishly offered her the biggest book about Japanese architecture my parents could afford (Architecture in Japan, Taschen 2006). When I was 14 the video game that left the strongest mark on me was the Japanese Role-playing Game Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997 for the PlayStation. The first book I read in English for pleasure was Kafka on the Shore by the contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. I read two more of his novels but lost some interest in his stories as they felt like the same open-ended storyline with some different ingredients. But I still respect his surrealism and writing style. I’ll also never forget the love my dad has always had for Japanese cars, especially the late 90’s red Honda Civic he owned.

The photo above shows everything I own. Before my move I read a book about tidying up and discarding by Marie Kongo, a witty Japanese writer that made an big impact on the amount of things I own.

I’m moving to Japan without knowing what I will find or when I will return and my departure is scheduled for 19:35 tonight.