Tokyo Whirlwind

So much has happened in the past few days it's hard to believe I just got here. Our first full day in Tokyo, April 9th, we had breakfast in the hotel and then were on a bus by 8:30am to go visit a temple whose name escapes me at the moment. Apparently it's a site that is not necessarily on the traditional list of places to visit, but it was absolutely amazing. The complex was huge and they also have a "drive in" area where cars can drive in to receive a blessing for road safety, car safety, etc -- keeping up with the times! After the temple we went to this super fancy hotel to have a delicious buffet lunch and our official welcome kanpai (toast). The lunch was delicious and they had super yummy tiny desserts (which were sized appropriately so I could try one of each). After the lunch we drove about two hours to our dorm, while the program director pointed out notable sites from the front of the bus. We are living in DK House Warabi, which is sort of like a traditional American dormitory (single rooms, hall bathroom, etc) except for that anyone who wants to live independently can live here (not just college students) and you can't wear your shoes inside.

My room is so cute - it is pretty spacious; I have a futon-style bed and tons of storage space. Most importantly, I have a beautiful view of the sakura which are currently in bloom from my window. It's pretty challenging to close the curtains and block out the view at night, but it doesn't really matter because these curtains let in almost all of the light anyways. After a brief introduction to the dorm, we lugged our suitcases up the stairs (no elevator) and then returned to the common room for a fantastic welcome party with a TON of food. It was so delicious - and we were really enjoying the day full of free meals (normally we have to buy/prepare our own food). After dinner we rested for a bit and then walked around outside a bit to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, and then relaxed downstairs together while attempting to not go to sleep too early - still trying to get over jet lag! In all, it was a jam-packed first day, and I slept really well in my super comfy bed (which I may just have to pack into my suitcase at the end of my stay here).

I woke up pretty early yesterday (Sunday) and actually felt my first aftershock around 6:30am - it wasn't a big one, but I was sitting at my desk in my rolling chair so it was definitely noticeable. My group met around 10:15am to go to the nearest train station (Nishi-Kawaguchi) and get our Suica passes which allow us to get from our dorm to campus an unlimited number of times for one price. We took the trains for the first time to campus (I have about an hour commute including one train transfer), and then tried to eat in the cafeteria but it was closed. Instead, we ran into most of the other CIEE people and emptied out the 7/11 and ate lunch outside in the sun.

After lunch my orientation group leader took us to Electric Town in Akihabara, which is basically a collection of the most electronics stores you have ever seen on one block. We mostly looked around and decided to buy some things later because we had a lot of walking ahead of us. We walked from Akihabara through this super crowded street to Ueno Park, where we met some Japanese Sophia students and enjoyed hanami in the park. I've never seen a park so crowded - everyone and their brother was out on a tarp sitting under the beautiful sakura trees enjoying the view - but it was well worth it because Ueno Park and the sakura trees were breathtaking. Everyone was very friendly and we had a great time meeting some real Japanese people. At around 6:30 we packed up our many tarps and walked to this restaurant where we got a bunch of smaller appetizers, which was a great way to try a bunch of Japanese food. I tried chicken cartilage, octopus (fried and raw), and raw salmon... enough said. I was exhausted by the end of the night and we finally headed back to the dorm around 10:00pm. I was in bed by midnight and fell asleep instantly - it was an amazing day but I wasn't completely over my jet lag, so I was ready to get to sleep ASAP.

Today brings an orientation at the university, Japanese placement test, and possibly karaoke. We have seen so much already but it is barely scratching the surface of what Tokyo has to offer - this is definitely going to be an amazing semester!