Big In Japan

9/3 (Mon) 4:00am EST
I awoke in the middle of the night with what I believe to have been a terrible case of food poisoning. I managed to get back to sleep but when I got up later the pain in my stomach had intensified. I felt pretty terrible all day and therefore did nothing more than sit on the couch and sleep... not really how I envisioned my last day in the states. In the evening I was feeling just well enough to go out to dinner with my parents and Sparks, though not well enough to have my last taste of descent Mexican food for 12 months. The day was capped off with an early return to bed.

9/4 (Tue) 7:30am EST
I woke up feeling slightly better than the previous day though still not at 100%. After putting my luggage in the car and doing a final check of the house I had a very nice breakfast with my parents at the Metro airport Westin. After breakfast I headed through security, found my gate, and waited for the boarding call. While I waited I debated wether the churning in my stomach was from the previous day or the nervous anticipation of the journey ahead.

9/4 (Tue) 1:15pm EST
The boarding call was announced and everyone lined up to get on the plane. I was seated right up in the front of coach, tortured by the sight of business class just ahead. The seat next to me was empty (I was in the middle of the row) right up until just before departure. I think I jinxed myself when I commented how lucky we were to my other row-mate that no one was sitting there. On the other hand both of my traveling companions turned out to be nice people.

9/4 (Tue) 2:10pm EST
We depart from the gate on time. I should have known... really... on time... we were pushed 10 feet back from the gang-way before there was a loud "THUD". Now, anyone who knows what a modern airplane is know that "thud" means nothing but trouble. Indeed, it turns out that the tow-bar for the tow-vehicle snapped and whipped up into the underside of the plane. A long (hot, uncomfortable) story short 2 hours later they decided there was no damage to the aircraft and we took off.

9/5 (Wed) 5:40pm JST
We landed at Narita airport outside of Tokyo (for those keeping track I was on the plane for roughly 15 hours.) After going through immigration, baggage claim, and customs. I headed out to the lobby where I was greeted by a staff member and, after sending my bags off through a delivery agency, met a large number of other people in the same program who also arrived on the same flight/day. We were split into groups based on where our final destinations were. My group was the last to leave by bus, though it was a good chance to get to know people that were going to be in my area. Finally around 8pm we got on the bus headed for Fujisawa.

9/5 (Wed) 9:00pm JST
We arrived at Fujisawa station where we were met my some local staff who showed us down the street to our apartment building (the same building I guess I was stating in in an earlier post.) There were 2 other new people with me, but I got dropped at my place first. I walked in the door to find a large number of people, all half in the bag and sitting around in the main room. I dropped off my carry-on and was introduced to everyone. I proceeded to brake the first rule of dealing with jet lag and joined them in a beer. Cutting a long story short again, we ended up going out to a local bar (probably the smallest bar I've ever been in.) The proprietor of which was a cool Japanese guy. It turned into a long night (noting that there hasn't been any sleep mentioned since two days ago)

9/6 (Thu) 3:00am JST
I found my way home, made up, and crashed out on my futon. At 5am I was wide awake. I found and "borrowed" a Wi-Fi connection and sent a message home that I had arrived okay. I then headed across the street to the 7/11 where I got some water and an umbrella. Oh, did I mention I arrived the day before a major typhoon was set to hit land right on top of where I'm living?

9/6 (Thu) 8:15am JST
After resting a while more (and waiting for the office to open) I headed over to city hall to register for my "Gai-D" or my alien registration card. After I stumbled through all the paperwork I found a McD's and had some yummy pancakes for breakfast. Just as I left the McD's it started raining pretty hard and the wind picked up.

9/6 (Thu) 10:00am JST
I returned home just at 10 to find my luggage awaiting me. Seems that when the delivery company says "between 10 and Noon" here, they mean at 9:55. I unpacked some essentials before heading back out to a local electronics shop to get an alarm clock. Back at home I set it and took a nice long nap.

9/6 (Thu) 6:00pm JST
For dinner one of my two roommates too me out for "guru-guru" sushi (sushi that goes around on a conveyor belt and costs roughly $1.00 per plate.) I must admit it was a lot better than I would have expected. After that we headed to the local grocery store which has a 100yen shop (REALLY good dollar store) on the top floor.

9/7 (Fri) 12:00am JST
This is about the time the center of the typhoon hit land. There was a lot of wind and rain. This is also about when the humidity (which for the past two days had been ridiculously stifling) finally broke.

9/7 (Fri) 6:30am JST
I snapped wide awake and couldn't get back to sleep so I showered and changed clothes for the first time in 2 day (I must have been smelling like a rose by that point.) Then headed out and got some doughnuts which were delightfully better that I remembered Japanese doughnuts being. Walking through the train station afterwards was a challenge because the tail of the typhoon was backing up all of the major rail lines in the tokyo area.) I made several failed attempts to call home using my usual calling card which I had forgotten how to use. I found an internet cafe and paid yo $2 for a half an hour and tried to troubleshoot my calling card problems online to little success.

9/7 (Fri) 9:00am JST
Having nothing better to do I boarded the local train (called the Eno-Den) for Enoshima. Enoshima is an island just off the shore from Fujisawa and is one of the places Fujisawa is famous for. On the island I found a lot of storm damage from the night before, mostly leaves and downed branches.

9/7 (Fri) 2:30pm JST
Back in town I headed to the 100yen shop and got some low shelves which I put me computer and books on and unpacked my bags into my closet. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and talking with my roommates.

9/8 (Sat) 6:30am JST
Once again I was wide awake at the crack of dawn. Once again I showered, changed, and went out for doughnuts. Afterwards I walked around the downtown area (which was pretty boring since nothing here opens 'til 10am) I was surprised at how empty the train station was until I realized today was Saturday. I finally was able to get my calling card working and called home for the first time.

9/8 (Sat) 12:00pm JST
I headed out to Yokohama in search of a certain cell phone shop which was rumored to have English speaking staff. Now, not to say I'm not confidant in my Japanese skills, but some things just go better in your native language... things like contracts. After some getting lost in the maze of malls around Yokohama station I found said shop and, sure enough, you can do the whole process in English... if you have a Japanese bank account... which for me will be 2 weeks out... SO, not being one to waste a trip I rode the train down another stop, got out, and found the building where I'll be doing my training (starting Monday) and working (starting Friday.)

9/8 (Sat) 6:00pm JST
Before I set out for dinner I decided to go up to the top floor of my building and see what I could get pictures of. Turns out I went u[p at the perfect time for a one-in-a-million shot of a certain mountain which I chased all through my last trip. That's right, anytime I want to see Fuji-san, all I have to do it go up to the top floor and look. After dinner I went down to the "Hard Off" (best name for a chain of "pawn shops" of what?) to see if I could get a table-lamp on the cheap. On my way I noticed that my apartment is on the dividing line between "town" and "the sticks". Once you cross the river, the buildings quickly thin out.

... and with that I leave you. I'm sure there will be more to tell soon and I'll do my best to keep this page updated at least on a weekly basis or better as time permits. I hope this post finds everyone back home well and in good spirits. Until next time:


Jaa Mata Ne!