First post from Japan!

Wow. I've been in Japan for a week, and I have been too busy doing things to come on here and write about them. I shall try to start from the beginning.

The Visa
I waited too long to send for my visa. Then I sent it to the wrong embassy (NY), due to me putting my home address as my grandmother's where I'd be staying for the time. Luckily, my grandparents mailed it out to the correct embassy (Detroit) the day it came back (one week before takeoff). However there was a misunderstanding and it was sent without the required prepaid return envelope. So we mailed them another one (at $18 each). My very helpful stepdad, Brian, called the embassy and got them to rush it through processing. It returned Thursday.

The Earthquake
The M9.0 earthquake hit just offshore of Sendai, Miyagi-ken, Japan at about midnight, that night. Needless to say, everyone was worried. I watched coverage of it ALL weekend on TV, BBC, and even NHK. I emailed Chubu University and a friend and was reassured that the area was safe. Viewing Google's data about the earthquake also revealed that the Nagoya area was virtually unaffected. I also called the airlines Saturday night and found that flights were running through the slightly affected Narita airport in Tokyo. There was no reason to not go at this point.

The Flights
I hate flying. I hate this security theatre. It stresses me out like nothing else for some reason. So I wasn't looking forward to the actual trip itself. A total trip time of 22 hours, layovers longer than 2 of the 3 flights, and 14 hours on the plane in the middle. Wonderful. Economy class, no less. Yes, I was really looking forward to this day.

Well, it did kind of suck, but the longest flight was only about 12 hours, and seats had TVs in the back of them, so I put on Deathly Hallows I and fell asleep until about hour 5. Food. Bathroom. Reading. Bruce Willis movie. Food. Bathroom. Reading. Boredom and anticipation. Landing. Ok.

"Cool", I thought. "I'm in Japan."

Well, no. The flight was slightly late, so there were attendants waiting to rush us through to our connecting flights. I had to run to immigration, baggage claim, customs, bad directions, 3rd floor, good directions, 1st floor again, check in anew, security, boarding.

I hate airports.

That bus drove us out to the plane and we boarded it on the tarmac like in old movies (Casablanca?). The rest is quite uneventful. Reading.

I should add that customs and immigration were pretty quick. I had nothing to declare, so they didn't even check my bags. Just made a little smalltalk, and sent me on my way.


The Arrival
Well, I landed, followed the signs (lots of English here (also pictograms)), got my luggage, walked out of the terminal and saw a couple of girls and a teacher-looking person waiting for me with a sign. Said hi, exchanged introductions, went to sit down and wait for incoming South Korean students. I exchanged my pocket money for yen at this point. Once the other students arrived, we went to look for some food around the airport. It was a big and pretty place. The dining/shopping area was outside the security area, so we could actually use it. I got an expensive little salad to take home in case we didn't make it in time for dinner.

We went outside and got in a waiting van. Long drive. At least an hour. But the ride was quick and smooth and somewhat scenic. We drove through the heart of Nagoya. Despite being one of Japan's largest 5 cities, the building's there aren't really as tall as you'd think. The highways were mostly raised above the city streets, narrow and kind of walled in. Nevertheless, traffic moved smoothly and quickly. People actually drive better here, despite the stereotype. (And they should! I have been told the process of obtaining a license (training, testing, registering) costs about $3000.)

Well, they drove us right to the dorm, where I met the somewhat elderly couple who oversee the building, the Gotos, and some other international students, mostly Chinese. They had saved me a tray from dinner, so I heated everything up and ate some. (I'll do another post focused on food later.) I set up my computer, met the other WVU student here, and got someone to log me into the network so I could use the internet. I think I did a few things on facebook and went straight to bed.

It is 1am, so I am going to go to bed and will continue writing about day 1 tomorrow.