Saturday, May 3

Today marked the first full day of my first visit to Japan.  It has already been an incredible journey.

Last night - Friday, May 2 - we were met at Narita Airport by Emma, an excellent British friend (from Nottingham) who has lived and worked in Japan, teaching English and organizing others to do the same, for the past 12 years.  Her Japanese is excellent, and she kindly and efficiently guided us through the rituals of changing money (just over 100 yen to the dollar--incredibly convenient.  Thanks, weak U.S. economy!), renting the right mobile phone (choosing from myriad plans at five competing booths, like rental car companies) ($2.50 a day, but $1.50 a minute for outgoing calls!  Though, like in most of the world outside the US, incoming calls are free.) and getting onto the right bus to our destination.

It was gray, rainy and almost dark when we arrived (no Daylight Savings in Japan), so we didn't see much but busy highway in the 40 minute ride to our hotel in Makuhari--a distant suburb east of Tokyo in Chiba prefecture, on the shore of Tokyo Bay.

(more coming. . .)