Going through customs and money exchanging must have taken a couple of years off my life. The immigration officials took me aside so they could fiddle around with my precious Certificate of Elegibility, which had taken so much trouble and effort to get, only to take it away and add a 'permission to land' paper to my passport. Then, I thought I lost my passport at the currency exchange counter, but it was really tucked into a corner of my purse. *rollseyes* My first Japanese exchange was with the train ticket seller - I bought a ticket to Tokyo station, from which I would switch to another line that went to Kokubunji, which is where the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory is located. After that, I bought a phone card and after many failed attempts, managed to contact Yamazaki-san at HCRL to let her know that I had arrived safely in Japan. After that, all I had to do was hop on board my train and hightail it out of the airport.
My first thoughts of Japan as I looked out the train window were that there were an amazing amount of powerlines everywhere, and wonder at the rice-paddies lining the areas by the train tracks. The landscape is very different from New Hampshire - parts are very flat, and the hilly areas that the train drives through are covered with green green grass, instead of bare granite. The outlying urban areas reminded me of the small cities back home, except that the houses (those that weren't western-style brick constructions, that is) had very Asian roofs with the distinctive tiling and curving edges. Then we got into more urban areas, and high-rise buildings started taking over the scenery. I think my mother will be quite surprised when she comes to visit. She hasn't been here in nearly thirty years, and I'm sure lots of things are different now.
As soon as I got off the train at Tokyo station, I caught sight of a guy wearing one of those university-style zip-up hoodies that usually has a school name written across the front, except his proclaimed "COLLEGE". I was amused - I'm looking forward to seeing some amusing Engrish here.
After getting a bit lost and confused, I got on the right train and made it out to Kokubunji. It's quite long - about a 45 minute ride. We passed by Tokyo Dome, which was all lit up. That's where Japan's baseball games are played. I felt terrible taking up so much space with my luggage during rush hour, but at least I don't have to worry about it again until I go back at the end of this summer. It was pouring buckets, so I took a taxi to HCRL instead of having people meet me at the station. HCRL is only two-minute taxi ride (a five-minute walk, perhaps) from the station though - it's really close. Good thing, because taxis are really expensive.
Anyway, I met Yamazaki-san, who has been so much help in getting all of the paperwork settled, and then I was handed off to Bitoh-san, who took me up to the office where I'd be working. I met a few of my future coworkers there (even though it was 8pm, there were three or four people still there), and then Yamamoto-san showed up (she lives in the same dorm as me, and worked in the same group with Bitoh-san until April, when she was transferred to another division) and we went to the dorm. Yamamoto-san and the housekeeper then gave me a whirlwind tour of my room, showing me how to use the combination sink/shower, how to assemble and disassemble the bed, and the many uses of the oven/toaster/microwave contraption in the kitchen. They were amazed that most American stoves use electricity to work - I guess most of Japan relies on gas stoves. After that, Bitoh-san and Yamamoto-san took me out to dinner at a nearby restaurant, which was very delicious, and after that, Yamamoto-san introduced me to a nearby convenience store, where I bought bread and juice for the next day's breakfast. Japan has many varieties of bread and they come individually wrapped. It's really quite interesting. The one that I bought was a ham and cheese in a croissant-ish type bread, and it looks quite interesting. After that, I returned to the dorm to unpack and settle down for the evening. Whew! Safe and settled! And I'm glad to see that my laptop appears to be working fine on Japan's weird 100V electrical power.
Everyone's English is so good - I feel bad for having such poor Japanese language skills.
- Flykyr Skysong
Current song: None
Current mood: Excited
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