Arrival

DAY 1

So, I woke up quite early today from the jet-lag and am taking this time to write up a quick blog about my travels and first experiences in Japan. 

The flight wasn't too bad, I sat next to a couple who just watched anime the whole time. When I arrived, we had to go through immigration which ended up being a 3 hour process for me. First they put me in the line for the foreign passports, but then when I got up to the front they told me I needed to wait in the line with the Japanese passports because I had a Student Visa. Anyway, that added a bunch of time to my travels, but I eventually got through and got my luggage.

After getting through the customs, I met with the Sophia Student assigned to take me to my dorm. His name was Shota Hamada and he spoke about the same level of English that I know of Japanese, so it was pretty easy to communicate with him. We ended up taking some other line other than the Narita Express to Ikebukuro then took the local train to Fujimidai which is where I'm staying.

Got into my dorm and all checked in and up to speed on everything and I get to the room. The room is basically the size of a closet. There is enough room for 2 dressers, a desk, and a bed, so I'm a little cramped, but I'll manage. The Facilities at the dorm are wonderful though! The Kitchen looks amazing, they have a gym area on each floor, washers and dryers, a communal bath area, and even some instruments you can play in your free time! So all in all it seems like a pretty good place to stay. For dinner last night I ended up walking to the 7-11 and getting a skewer with some fried things I couldn't tell you what it was. 

Today, I woke up and got to use the showers (before everyone else woke up and started using them also) which were actually pretty nice. The toilet that sprays instead of having toilet paper is pretty cool also. For the rest of today, I'll be attending the University Orientation and taking my Japanese placement test. I think there's a social later on in the night. I'll update when I get the chance. Hopefully with some pictures too! 

Mark