Hakata today, Hiroshima tomorrow

I had orientation today in Hakata, and my coworkers certainly did not lie to me. It was very boring. An example: As part of our information packet, we were given a Q&A sheet, with a list of questions about information provided in our employee handbook. The presenters divided the seven of us into small groups and assigned each group a few of the questions and we were to research them in the handbook and present back to the group. While a fairly aggravating waste of time, there were some useful things presented, like more detailed information on getting bank accounts and tax procedures, as well as a brief introduction to the teaching format. I got my schedule as well, Thursday and Friday off.
I found out there that I'm training in Hiroshima and being put up in a hotel there for the three days. Perhaps it'll be nice, but right now it seems more of an inconvenience than anything else. I don't know anyone in Hiroshima, the travel time prevents me from getting a bank account, alien registration certificate and mobile phone until Friday and I have to pack three days of business clothes. But I supose I have to make the best of it. Although, I won't have too much time for sightseeing or going out, I'll try and do some of both; I'd love to see the Peace Park. Speaking of Hiroshima, and the Peace Park, I met a Japanese guy at a bar a couple nights ago smoking Lucky Strikes. And he said that he heard they were named that because the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a 'Lucky Strike'. I think foreign urban legends are much more fascinating than the homegrown variety, but maybe only because we haven't heard them thousands of times.
In other news, I bought a bike. Blue, kind of looks like the old Schwinn Cruisers, but not quite, and lighter. A lot lighter. It's got a basket, three speeds, wheel lock and light. ¥12,000 used with new seat, brakes, shifters, grips and tires. A steal. I was waiting to write about this until I got a camera so I could include a picture, but that can wait I guess. What can wait though is an explanation of my shower. Details coming.

First Day in Ube

Landed in Osaka yesterday. The flight was as terrible, as expected. delayed about an hour, then eleven in the air with a small, loud child sitting behind me, kicking my seat. customs and immigration were no problem, not even a word said to me nor a question asked. After a forty minute bus ride to the hotel about five of us got together and did a little night wandering around Osaka and found a restaurant/bar that seemed nice for a midnight snack. We went down the stairs into the basement, found a seat and looked at the menu options, only to be informed that we had to go up to the seventh floor to get food and were escorted to the elevator by a pleasant fellow. We ate and then returned to the hotel to sleep poorly. I woke up around five-thirty and tried for about twenty minutes to figure out how to use the phone card that NOVA had given me to no avail.
After breakfast it was five hours on the train to Ube. At the last juncture I had conversation of mangled Japanese and English with a nice, if overly friendly, middle-aged Japanese lady. she told me about Soka Gakkai (a Buddhist sect and political party) and her daughter and son and how she wanted to go to America and China but couldn't, etc. She must have said the words 'handsome-boy' about three, maybe four, hundred times. I was met at the train station by my roommates they gave me the lowdown on Ube. Small, really industrial. We've got a good view of the factories from the apartment. It smelled like Kool-Aid tonight because said factories were making some kind of food additive. We went out for hundred yen sushi for dinner. Most of it was pretty good, except for this one pale brown lumpy stuff that I believe may have been if not the third, at least the second worst tasting thing I've ever put in my mouth. it was all I could do to keep it from ending up back on the plate. I'm going to meet up with the rest of the coworkers in about two hours or so and get some drinks and do the getting to know you thing. Orientation on Monday and training the rest of the week, tomorrow, buying a digital camera. Hopefully I can get a bank account and my alien registration card soon so that I can get a cell phone.