Day 1 in Japan...

Well, our first official day here and things are interesting to say the least. The area kind of reminds me of the big cities in the US. Kind of like how I picture New York only with fewer beggars and much cleaner. Okay, so our first stop was the all-you-can eat breakfast at the Olympic center where we are staying following by a briefing in the meeting room which I have yet to photograph for the daily schedule. After the business is done, we get on the Metro, much more difficult than the Taiwan subway, to visit the Meiji Shrine. The Meiji Shrine was erected in commemoration of the Meiji Restoration, a very important part of Japanese history in which trade opened up with the rest of the world. This Shrine is absolutely amazing. It is so beautiful. The shrine is surrounded by a large natural "reserve." I want to say park, but that doesn't really describe it. The area is basically a wooded area with creeks, woods, and several commemorative and decorative items interspersed. We only got to go to the see the shrine, we didn't have enough time to go in the shrine itself. Either way, I am so glad I got to see it.

Our second stop for the day was Gakoshuin University. This college is very beautiful, but it also serves as a high, middle, and elementary school as well. Well, I should say that it has these other campuses directly attached to it. Furthermore, this is the school where the emperial families attend. Lastly, this college is an all women's college. Our first visit here is to get aquainted with the students as well as observe some of the cultural classes offered in the school. This school has a cirriculum which incorperates a large amount of japanese history and culture. We observed the flower arranging class before heading off to complete some of our other obligations for the day.

For dinner we went out with Ericka and some of her friends for a traditional Japanese meal. Ericka is a local who had come to ASU for a brief visit. She is a friend of Dr. Chen and Dr. Fox. Several of her friends are graduating soon or have graduated and are lining up big time business and marketing jobs all over the world.

Lastly, we took a stroll through the red light district, guided by Dr. Chen. Let's just say it was interesting. Needless to say, I think that I will avoid such places at night for the rest of the trip. Now to get some much needed rest.