flying from boston to tokyo (東京) was an adventure in itself. it was a 16 hour exercise in self entertainment and a constant struggle to remain semi-comfortable, multiplied 30 times over by the other JET's around me who were just as nervous, fidgety, and uncomfortable.

a view of shinjuku (新宿区) from my hotel

when the flight that seemed to never end actually touched down and docked at narita airport (成田国際空港), we were all herded through customs and put into buses headed for keio plaza hotel. the hotel was ginormous and beautiful. the rooms started out clean but deteriorated quickly with three JET's sharing a room.

dressed up to meet my new bosses

we had two looooong days of orientation in tokyo. i didnt know at the time, but i was to spend the next 4 days dressed up in my finest (also my ONLY) suit and tie. i went to workshops that taught me how to not hate life while living in a rural town, the basics to proper japanese etiquette, and other things which i already forgot. i also had the chance to finally meet all the new jets in my prefecture, mie (三重). people ran the gambit from shy and quiet to talkative and personable. one common trait we all seemed to share, besides being hopelessly lost and nervous, was an instant sense of camaraderie and friendship. im betting that these new friends will become extremely important to my sanity during this major transition.

the first morning of orientation

after the long days of orientations, i spent the evenings fighting overwhelming jet-lag by walking around shinjuku (新宿区) with fellow JET's doing things like singing karaoke (カラオケ), drinking japanese beer (ビール), and eating conveyor-belt sushi (回転寿司) and cold soba (そば) noodles.

my first dinner in japan: cold soba (そば) noodles

i also spent about 10 minutes in an arcade near the hotel. after inspecting all of the crazy games everyone was playing, i decided to put a 100円 coin into a claw game. with an unfamiliar sense of luck, i actually won what i aimed for: a family size pack of cookies called koala no machi (コアラのマーチ). im sure i made even more friends when i decided to share the box with fellow JET's.

i totally won this family size pack of koala no machi (コアラのマーチ) from a claw game on my first try