JET Placement

I left the comfortable highly westernized confines of the Keio Plaza in Shinjuku for my first trip into real honest to goodness Japan on the morning of August 21, 2003. I wouldn't have minded doing an extra free day in Tokyo (y'know doing the standard tourist things like locating one of Japan's used panty vending machines) but instead I sweating in a suit on the way to my placement in far off Kawajiri. This made me awfully curious as to where my new home, Kawajiri, actually was. I knew its general location but not really how to get there. Not that the feeling I didn't know where I was going wasn't new; I've managed to not be able to find mountains. Seriously!

My traveling group to Hiroshima prefecture was a small group -- only three people. Split into individual prefectures, Group C gets cozy fast. We were escorted to the shikansen (bullet train) station by two representatives of Hiroshima prefecture. In a separate incident: I promptly put their name cards through the wash at my earliest convenience. I swear it nothing at all to do with the fact they bought me (twitch) coffee without first asking if I'd like tea.

The shinkansen line trains are nice and speedy. I have to admit I was surprised at the near total lack of any effective air conditioning in the train car I was in. I'm pretty insensitive to hot or cold weather so I didn't really mind. Japanese people start "complaining" that it's hot (atsui, atsui yo!) or cold (samui!) long before I do.

Along the shikansen line from Tokyo to Hiroshima there are three types of terrain: Semi-urban, urban and tunnel. At the speed the shikansen goes they blend together into quasiurbantunnel terrain. Trust me, it's not a very scenic route. I'm bringing an alarm clock so I can catch some sleep next time.

I arrived in Hiroshima dazed and confused. I met my JET Prefecture Adviser and several other people. Then jet lag, lack of sleep and travel fatigue set in and the rest of the day was a blur that rivaled the shinkansen. I said goodbye to one of the other JETs and the remaining two of us hopped on the train along the coast from Hiroshima station. For me that meant almost an hour of train in the summer heat. When we got to Kawajiri, I met my boss and school district superintendent and I heartily collapsed until dinner time after they dropped me at my apartment.

My boss dropped by later and helped me shop for standard Japanese bachelor dinner meal; a bento box and beer from the 7/11. He then gave me a five cent tour of the town (dramatic pause) in the dark. It's the thought that counts.

It was a long day.