Getting settled

So far, I'm quite exhausted...and covered in bug bites. The mosquitoes here are intense. I have some semi-debilitating bites on my arms from last night.

Friday we had to meet early and our RA-type person took all of the study abroad students to the Temple campus. It takes about 50 minutes to get there and costs 300 yen, about $3 one way. We take the train from Ontakesan to Gotunda, then transfer to the JR train to Tamachi. From there, it's a pretty substantial walk to campus. We had "orientation" where the people in charge of the program, the dean, as well as other speakers talked to us for hours. Basically I learned not to borrow an abandoned bike because you will end up in jail and possibly deported. I learned that Roppongi isn't very safe. I learned that Tokyo is destined to have a catastrophic earthquake any day now. All very comforting, of course.

After orientation, we were taken on a tour of the area around campus, and then up to Roppongi. We ended up finding ourselves in the middle of a huge street festival in Roppongi. Women dressed in the summer version of a kimono, people screaming to try and get your attention to buy their product, fish, literally whole fish, fried on sticks, octopus balls, water ice, tons of alcohol, arts and crafts. Walking through the street was the first time I really felt like I was in Japan. That is what I had come for. Unfortunately, we were in a large group and weren't able to really look at anything; we just had to walk on through.

We made our way to Roppongi Hills, a big shopping/nightlife/restaurant district. Roppongi is where most of the tourists go, hence leading to the highest crime in Tokyo. However, when I mean the highest crime, I mean still virtually non-existant.

Once we made it back to campus, I pretty much collapsed. They weren't lying when they told me that we would be walking a lot. It's really really hot and humid over here, leading to some uncomfortable and tiring conditions.

This guy Kyle and I ended up wandering around Ontakesan's main "street." The town we live in is very residential and cute. The main street is lined with hair dressers, restaurants, a few cheaper "essential" stores selling shampoo, etc., Lawsons, which is a 24 hour, slightly higher class version of 7-11 (they are all over Tokyo...Lawsons and 7-11 for that matter), and a Pachinko parlor. Down one road is a 100 yen store...basically a dollar store. There's a McDonalds right next to the train station. Jusco is a big department store/grocery store. They sell basically anything you'd need. Kyle and I got some random things to make our lives liveable, as well as some groceries. I bought some milk and cereal, crackers and jelly, and some "cup-o-noodles" type things. We attempted to play Pachinko, which took us a while to figure out how to get it to work.

We also discovered a Shinto shrine at the end of the street. It is quite amazing. There is a fountain where you wash your hands and then take a sip of water before praying. You then walk to the shrine and put a money offering into a box, pull a cord which rings a bell, and then pray. We observed a few people who came to pray. It was incredible. Unfortunately we couldn't really see everything since it was at night, but I can't wait to go back in the daytime. There were also random cats wandering around the shrine area. They were adorable, including one without a tail. It was nice to pet cats again, however, it made me miss mine even more.

Finally we went back to the dorm, where I met up with Amanda. I went to take her to the grocery store, where on the way, we ran into Sean, Pete and Brian. The five of us ended up sitting on a bench outside of Jusco's for about 2 hours. They sell alcohol in the grocery stores, so they got some beers, I got some Mango Fanta and popcorn. It was a great, relaxing time. We tried to communicate with some of the locals.

Around midnight we walked back to the dorm, where I proceeded to pass out.

This morning, we had our second part of orientation, which was a tour of Shibuya and Harajuku...my most anticipated cities. Shibuya was so large and exciting. It is basically a larger version of Time's Square, including the famous Shibuya Crossing. Paul, our RA-type, showed us some of the main stores, etc that are really popular. One store, Don Quixote was over 3 stories of pure clutter and not good for claustrophobic people. Everything imaginable is sold there. You think you've seen everything, and then you happen to find more aisles and rooms, with even more random things.

We split up for lunch, but the majority of us ate at this fast food type place. You go to a machine, put your money in, push the button for what you want to eat, and then give the ticket at the counter. Literally by the time I sat down, my food was ready. I got some sort of beef served with rice, a salad and some soup. The food was delicious and cost less than $7 dollars.

We walked around Shibuya some more, went to a few more stores, then headed to Harajuku. It was amazing. The Harajuku girls in their dresses, high shoes, makeup, crazy hair. There was a famous toy store, Kiddy Land, where they had Harajuku girls with a big mascot type animal out front. I got my picture taken with them. There was some famous person signing autographs in the store...I think she was some sort of anime person. The one street in Harajuku is lined completely with boutiques, cheap clothing stores, and lots of punk and goth clothing. Unfortunately, again, we were in a group and couldn't stop to look around.

On our way from Harajuku to a Shinto Shrine, we found ourselves in the middle of another festival, this time with lots of different dance troups. Everyone had elaborate costumes and makeup. There were old men and women to young kids in each troupe. We made our way to the shrine which was gorgeous. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city, there is a large park where the shrine is located. It was so great. I can't wait until I'm able to spend some time there.

After that we headed back to the dorm where I took a nice little nap and got out of my sweat covered clothes. I don't know what the plans are for tonight, but hopefully something fun will happen.