Let's get ready to rumble...

More in a PJ & Duncan kind of way than Mohammed Ali or whoever it was that did it in the jungle.

The plane journey was long, and largely uneventful (apart from none of the in-flight entertainment working and our being unable to turn on individual lights when the lights in the cabin went out). Sat next to very different people- Noel, who turned out to be The party animal, and Laura who was fun.

On arrival (3:30pm), we spent over one hour going through customs, and then an hour queueing to declare unaccompanied goods, and then another 45 minutes queueing for the coach to the hotel. "Ah, we're on the bus at last, we'll be there shortly", we thought as we boarded the bus. Our survery says? Uh- Uhhh. Two hours! Two! Hours! On the bus before we arrived at the poshest hotel I have ever visited, let alone stayed in (does that make me sound like a high class tart? Oh well...) Chandeliers all over the shop and a smashing view of Shinjuku and beyond, as well as our being opposite the government buildings and next to the hotel where they filmed 'Lost In Translation'. I didn't go in though.

We fought jetlag on Sunday night and wandered the streets of Shinkjuku, and I managed to fit in a bit of shopping, buying three singles including a Japanese cover of Atomic Kitten's 'Be With You'. Class and a half.

On Monday we met people from our prefectures and watched a video of JETs already in Japan. There was the awkward American male JET, and then the butch lesbian JET (with pageboy haircut and pleated navy skirt) who kept reading lines to the children about "what right have you to eat a chicken if you haven't killed it and plucked it yourself"- get over it, bitch. Finally there was the slightly pervy English JET who, when introduced to the school's Chemistry teacher, started stroking his white coat (!) and then turned up in a nearly off the shoulder pink t-shirt to play basketball with his young male students. Someone call the NSPCC. Now.

We went on to further lectures and sessions, and then there was a reception with some important Japanese people, but I was beginning to flag and sloped off early. Marisa and Matt (whom I'd met at the Brunel induction) asked me out with them, but I cried off tired. Unfortunately, I later decided that I should make the most of it and went out with the gay JET group. It was a fun night, and I met some cool people, but (surprise, surpise) I drank too much and didn't get home 'til nearly three. I paid for it on wednesday, though I blame the jetlag more than the booze...

More lectures on tuesday, though having avoided the standard hotel breakfast of chips (!), boiled veg (!!) and ketchup (!!!), I managed to snaffle some toast and a cuppa. Which I became reacquainted with after the first lecture, as I struggled not to vomit in the posh lift (going up 13 floors) and then did my best Linda Blair impersonation as I ran into our hotel bathroom. Time for bed methinks! I rose in time for the afternoon programme to find out that others had stayed out till 6 am and not gone to any lectured. Doh! And then, we had to go to the ambassador's reception in his posh mansion. It was very nice, but there were no Ferrero Rocher (although given the price of them on the plane, you'd think they actually were made of gold, and not nutella). Went shopping with Laura and Tom afterwards (bought more CDs. Oops) and tried to have an early night, preparing for our flight to Okayama the next day.