09.01.2006 - The Arrival

So here I am, ready to go on the plane. To my left is Angie, a classmate. Later Don and another girl, Luanne joined us in the wait for the plane...

The flight was 13 hours or so, and I didn't sleep a wink. It was exhausting and boring, and I couldn't sit still. The main problems were the people constantly moving about, and the
uncomfortableness of the seat.

Once it was over we got off the plane and went through the immigration and customs check-ins. I was happy to meet a lot of other young people going to JCMU and a couple of guides meeting us and showing us the way. That sure was a load off. Relieved of the need to think, I focused on changing my money, shipping my luggage, and buying my train ticket. A good chunk of cash disappeared -very- quickly, but I still have plenty left over.

The train ride was pretty long, 3 hours. I slept a little, but I mostly didn't want to, so I read more of Terry Pratchett's "A Hat Full of Sky."

Next up was a taxi, and at this point I felt like Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, except without all the catastrophies. I paid for the taxi, hoping for reimbursement from the 3 other passengers, and we arrived late at night at JCMU. The building looks nice, but I couldn't get a good picture this late at night. Also, there's a million things to say about the town and the people, but that's to be reserved for a later post.

For now, I'll satisfy you with pictures of my room.

This is the main room.m It's pretty nice.


And here's the kitchen. We've got a good looking gas stove with lots of pots and pans, a tiny broiling oven, and a rice cooker and coffee/tea heater. Probably only good for instant coffee or tea.


This is don in his room. He's unpacked his stuff and he bought a bunch of stuff at Lawson's to eat. I think we'll be going to a town market or something, or at least I'll have a chance to ride around tomorrow and explore for a better grocery store.


This is the bathroom. I took the picture sideways. Nothing really fancy here except the warmer for the sink and the tub. It's gas or something, and I think you can only run one of the sinks/tub at a time. The tub has an alarm, I suppose in case somebody starts heating the sink and disables the tub.


And here I am in my room. It's not bad, really. Needs a little work but it could become really comfortable. I might want to re-arrange furniature, though, since the outlet placement for the furniature stinks.

Tomorrow I'll post some more pictures and talk about the people I met and how I interacted with them, both American and Japanese.