Day One

Well, we finally made it. After about 16 hours or so of traveling,

we checked in to our hotel at about 7pm or so (about 6am back home).

The flights weren't actually

all that bad. The flights from Bangor to Detroit and Detroit to St. Paul weren't bad at all. We grabbed some lunch in St. Paul before

boarding our 12 hour flight to Japan.

It was my first international flight, and I think it went pretty well. I mostly watched some movies (Slumdog Millionaire, and it was fantastic), played videos games, listened to music, and slept. We definitely had to get up more than a few times and walk around because our legs would get really stiff. We got 3 meals: some beef brisket for dinner, a ham sandwich for a snack, and an omlette for breakfast right before we landed. I know I was just happy to get out of there went we landed, but before we could exit the plane, the stewardesses handed out surgical masks and Japanese health workers boarded the plane and checked everyone's temperature using some thermal imaging cameras. We also had to fill out health surveys stating we didn't have a fever, and didn't have common flu symptoms.

After we got our lug

gage and got through customs and

immigration, we took a small bus to our hotel in Tokyo. On the hour long ride we passed Tokyo Disneyland and a few big buildings. Around 7p

m or so we arrived at the hotel, and you wouldn't believe how small ou

r rooms are. I'm ro

oming with another student, and there's probably about a foot and a half between our twin beds, and then about 3 feet or so between the end of the beds and the desk and wall. It's definitely an experience, and its kinda hard to maneuver when we're both in there, but its a really nice, clean room.

After we unpacked, we walked around the area looking for a place to get some dinner. There are vending machines everywhere! You can get cigarettes, soda, and even beer in these vending machines. Hopefully I'll see some cooler ones throughout the week. After checking out a few places we all decided on this littl

e traditional Japanese restaurant right next to our hotel. I got some noodles and they were really really good. They had pork and chicken in some sort of broth with a bunch of vegetables. After everyone ate, no one could stay awake anymore because of the long flight, so we all went back to the hotel.

So that was my first day in Japan. Pretty good so far. I'd say. I'll be posting all of my photos on Facebook when I get back (and they'll be bigger). Until tomorrow....