Tokyo

Originally posted 2009-09-06 at https://inpixels09.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/tokyo/

Having Just arrived in Japan, I’m taking it all in.

After 24 hours of transit, from Detroit to Chicago to San Francisco, four other Americans and I walked through customs into a sea of Japanese people. Narita could be the busiest airport I have ever seen. soon afterwards we took a two hour bus ride, all of it in dense city, to the heart of tokyo.

Much to my dismay, we were given a 4 day orientation in the 1960s olympic village, right on the outskirts of a massive jungle in the middle of Tokyo’s Harajuku district. Along with two students from the Netherlands and two from india, it was mostly informational sessions and them explaining how we mustn’t tell dirty jokes in the middle of tea ceremonies…

but I had a blast with them all, spending at least 40 minutes in the hot baths each night and throwing our cultures back and forth. I’d like to see the Netherlands some day.

And now i know, I am the only exchange student in all of northern Nagano prefecture from YFU, and as far as I know, from any other program. We’ll see.