First addled impressions

After what seems like a year, my journey is over and Im finally here in Shakuji Koen "Student Dorm", Tokyo, Japan. Im typing on a mighty peculiar keyboard and sleep deprevation has taken its toll, so my writing isnt hanging together as much as Id like it too. Still, here are my unedited and addled initial impressions of Nohhon!

After gulping down an Oni-Giri (Cheap, delicious rice ball) at the clean but quite unremarkable Narita airport, I borded the "Skyliner" train to Ueno. This was my first real cultural experience. I found my seat number, sat down and waited. After five minutes of lonely solitude, a man with a hard hat and a formidable looking vacume device hobbled into view. This was followed by a tapping at the window behind me and I looked round to see two station workers in fantastically queint caps waving me frantically off the train. I tried carrige door, but it was locked to stop foolish foreigners from boarding. I ran to the next carrige and encounted the same problem.

My beckoning behatted friends broke into a jog and signaled me further and further down the train. Finally, puffing and apologising profusely, I escaped through a very small door in the drivers cabin. Back inside the train, even more vacum weilding janitors had materialised and vacumed every surface in seconds flat. Once the job was done, they dissapeared and all the seats in the tain (east facing) automatically flipped round for the westbound journey.

I was beckoned back on and we headed off.

Here is a list of the notable things I saw from my window seat:

- Hundreds of sorry looking Sakura trees, petals having alsmost fallen.
- Large bamboo forests, some with little shrines.
- Graveyards with row upon row of match stick thin grave stones, many adorned with decorative sticks.
- A large sign bearing the motto "Wine - The best friend of life" (I giggled at this, a lot, which bought me some miffed looks from my fellow passengers.)
- Industrail looking langscapes neatly punctuated with cute little intensive farms, complete with orage clad laborers.
- A sight for the "Churipu Matsuri", or Chulip Festival overa field containing more tulips than Ive seen in my life.
- So many other things Im too tired to remember or articulate!

On my arrival in Ueno I was met by Mai Hirai, who expertly sheperded my through the Tokyo train system (all funny noises and haunting tunes) to sign my accomidation forms (which I wont go into detail about).Then handed me over to a nice American student who showed me to the acomidation.

The house "Uncle", a brisk but kindly man who seemed uncomfortably similar to the teacher from Battle Royale, explained the rules and regulations in incomprehensable plain-form Japanese and left me, tired and confused, standing in my room next to a pile of complicated Fuuton sheets and the worst pillow in the world. I managed to fashion a makeshift cacoon and caught 2 hours sleep before heading down to dinner.

A nice Korean chap said I could borrow his computer, and here I am! Now I must go and see to the Jigsaw puzzle that is my bed!

Oyasuminasai and all that. Duncan