Off Schedule

Well, I didnt sleep ten hours. Maybe half that. My sleep schedule is still way off, as I'm typing this at 11:30 am eastern time, 1:30 in the morning here. I'm wide awake.

Yesterday I woke up and had breakfast here at the hotel. They must cater to American, or at least Western travelers here, because there were quite a few familiar items at the hotel buffet. The kind hostess gave me my choice of views, I asked her which was best. She pointed me to a seat with a far off view of Mt. Fuji. Outstanding.

I met my coworker around 9:30 AM, as he came to the hotel to help guide me to the office. Traveling was done strictly via the subway, which is obviously very similar to the way I get around in New York. I was fairly helpless with it though, moreso than any of the many visitors we've had to New York have been. I'm not sure if any of my coworkers ever drive, but we spent the day going here and there underground. My 3,000 Yen card is still working, though I really have no idea how long it will last. It was explained to me that different rides cost different values, depending on the distance and the number of transfers. I assume it shows me in the electronic display how many rides or how many Yen I've got left, but I'm still just trying not to delay the queue of riders behind me and havent gotten comfortable enough to stare at the screen. I'll just keep using the card, I suppose, until a big red 'X' displays.

The subway cars are much nicer here, though I haven't yet been on one during the heat of rush hour. The benches are a nice brown sueude, with storage bins above, individual circular handstraps, and less english writing than in most places. Don't even ask about the subway map. It's not based on distances the way the New York map is (though some might argue that the NYC map gets the distances wrong too), but needless to say once I'm underground I'm basically following someone around, with no clue as to my whereabouts. We made a couple of trips during the day. Once to our main office and then, after a delicious Chinese lunch, to a second venue. Since I seemed capable enough with chopsticks, I was asked if it would be a sign of shame in New York if I were incapable of using them, New York being such a metropolis and all. I explained that I didn't quite live in that society, though my friends might tease me a bit if I were constantly shoveling food onto my shirt.

Thats it for now. I'm going to try to get some more sleep.