I wish that I could say that my arrival in Japan was marked by some sort of grand epiphany or revelation, but all I've got is the abiding sense of surreally that I've been carrying around for the past couple of days. I mean, I'm actually in Japan, which for some otaku is probably the ultimate realization of their wildest dream, but especially looking down from above, it's more or less just like everywhere else. I'm not quite sure what exactly I was expecting; maybe having never left the U.S before in my life, I've gained some weird preconception that any place not-home is going to be magnificently weird or different and seeing that Japan is full of people just like everywhere else (even if they are Japanese people) has left me just a bit off step. Although frankly, what I'm most disappointed in is the fact that I have not seen a single ninja, radioactive mutants, or giant robot, and I've been here nearly three hours. Perhaps that might be expected, since it is now night time, so the ninja's are in their element, and unless I catch one hanging outside the local conbini on a coffee break, they're all going to be busy being one with the night. I suppose that after a long day of battling with the giant robots, the radioactive mutants are all snuggled safe in their lairs, with the robots likewise recharging in their super secret hidden bases. At least they could have left an awe-inspiring swath of destruction that I could have seen from the airplane…

Lack of black clad assassins and engines of destruction aside, my first impressions have all been good ones. Despite a singular lack of English, the customs staff at Nagoya were able to get me out of the airport and to the bus to JCMU without a hitch, and despite my attempts to fulfill the role of stupid white guy, they were all polite and helpful. The campus facilities are certainly nice, and by the standards I'm used to, the room I have is almost palatial. My roommate (unfortunately another exchange student; there just weren't enough Japanese to go around…) and I each have a small bedroom to ourselves (which, including cabinet space is about the same size as my dorm room back in Michigan) that open to a kitchen/common room and full bathroom. I can't say that I'm all that fond of the futon, since I've always liked big, soft beds, but if that's the worst of my complaints for my time here, then I'm going to be pretty well off.