Konnichiwa! I am now sitting on the 34th floor of the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo. I have a couple of minutes before I meet some Fulbrighters for dinner.

First impressions - so far, Japanese is no problem, as all of the signs are also in English. Also, the people are very polite and helpful. For instance, at the baggage carousel, there were workers taking the baggage and straightening it on the carousel. If a bag went around more than three times, then someone grabbed it and put it in a waiting area.

Here's a picture of me at the airport in San Francisco waiting to take off. The 747 Jumbo Jet we took is in the background. BTW, it's 5:05 p.m. Tokyo time. You guys are all sleeping because it's 4:05 a.m. for you!