Oh, Tokyo

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First off, let me apologize for how simple this post is going to be. I'm incredibly tired right now, so hopefully when I regain some energy I will be able to fill in any gaps.

Afternoon Orientation

Got into Rice after the awful 5:35 am flight (and connection). Thankfully other people from the program were there and I hitched a ride to campus. Around 1 pm we went to start the orientation. We didn't find out much that hadn't been posted on OwlSpace in the preceding two weeks. That night a few of us ended up chatting on the balcony for a while for lack of anything better to do. This was pleasant and gave me a good chance to meet most of the people.

Lots of Flying

The whole trek started at 4 am at Rice. The night there was good and I got acquainted with most of the group. We were all herded together at 4:30 to head off for George Bush Intercontinental. After a hearty McGriddles breakfast, those of us on the Dallas flight (henceforth referred to as the Cool Group) headed off to the gate to wait while the Chicago Group started their journey. I intended to do the flighttime readings, but I promptly took a well-deserved nap as soon as I sat down. The Dallas flight was fine, but the flight to Tokyo was already boarding when we landed, so we had to haul it pretty quickly. After being ousted from my seat to accomodate a young mother, I settled in and slept for the beginning of the flight. I watched two movies once I decided to wake up: Woody Allen's "Sleepers" (great) and "The New World" (not quite so great). I got around to reading Hemingway after that, which was a much better use of my time than watching reruns of "Two and Half Men" on the in-flight TV.

Welcome to Japan

We touched down, made it through customs and immigration (more or less painless). We met up with the people waiting for us, then James showed us around the various chotchke shops in Narita. We then got on the bus to Tokyo after a little more waiting. It was fun going along the Japanese countryside (if you can really call it a countryside) and James and Jonah enlightened us quite a bit about Japan. We made it to the city then hopped a few cabs over to the Sanuki Club, which is where I will be staying the whole summer. The room is small, but nicer than I expected. Japanese TV did not fail to impress, particularly the soap operas and variety shows. The Cool Group then set out to explore the area surrounding the Sanuki Club and we settled down to a nice soba dinner at a noodle joint (1050Y for Oyako Soba).

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Photos

Some of the group on the bus to IAH
You can tell how tired we all were from the angle of the shot and everyone's expressions.

Narita Shuttle Photo #1
A nice view entering Tokyo

Narita Shuttle Photo #2
Another nice view

Narita Shuttle Photo #3
A view of the Imperial Gardens (although you can't see much)

Narita Shuttle Photo #4
THE TOKYO TOWER (seeing as how I'm only a hop, skip, and a jump away from it you should be prepared for more to come)

Comments

[tdpatriots12]

bah
The New World = Meh? Thanks for the warning.

[tdpatriots12]

meh!
how long was the shuttle ride?

[Crazy lover boy]

I'm very Jealous.
hi2u Good to hear all is going well for you. The city looks amazing. I have only one thing to say. Packing up and relocating to a new home can be a moving experience. I look forward to hearing all your tales of adventure and exploration. caio xoxo