Nippon

Sorry I don't have any cool pictures, but Bekah has our camera. I got in yesterday. I am staying with a friend in Hachioji, on the far western edge of the city almost two and half hours from the airport. The bus only leaves the airport every few hours, so I had to wait for it two hours in the airport as well. So I got in here late, we went and got dinner then had to lug my three heavy bags and surfboard onto a train and then a bus. I thought I might be able to get them around myself, but actually even with David's help it was a huge hassle, especially getting them up and down the long flights of stairs at the train station. I almost whacked several people with my board. It didn't help that the wheels on one bag promptly broke and it was basically like dragging a fifty pound back along the street.
The next morning I woke up at five thirty. Went on a walk. This place is kind of up against the mountain and so is rustic in a Japanese city sort of way. Found a cool shrine and a really over grown path in the mountains. It is really weird to be here. So many japanese people. Everyone seems very fashion conscious. I had to go into the city for the Japan Foundation orientation and while I was there, I walked over the to the ward office and applied for my foreigner registration card. Tokyo is pretty overwhelming and I was proud of myself to be able to find my way around okay. The downtown areas are pretty neat. I walked by the tokyo tower and a big temple and several cool parks. I will take some pictures when the girls get here and give you an idea of the sights. By the time I finished, I was pretty exhausted. I took another couple of hours to get home (three trains transfers and a bus ride) and then I missed my bus stop and had to walk back.
We might go hiking to a castle ruins tomorrow (here the usually just means an empty stone base, with the actual wooden castle totally gone). I'll take it easy Sunday and maybe start on my dissertation monday.