| Finally, on February 4, 1994, I had
arrived in Japan in anticipation, confusion, and determination.
Over the next year and 8 months, I had the wonderful opportunity
to experience living in this culture, but it wasn't always rosy.
The following set of web entries*, listed in the menu to the left,
document my first six months of life in Japan. Specifically, working
as a Salaryman
in one of Japan's original IT firms, traveling around, and my general
adjustment to the trials and tribulations of life in Japan.
However, please note, I am no expert on Japan. These series of
anecdotes were written within a specific time frame. While my opinions
may have changed, this snapshop accurately represents my experiences
and thoughts of the time.
The last message, My Life in Japan, is my concluding article of
life in Japan.
 The picture to the left, is that of a telephone card. These
useful cards, of which contain many shots of Japan and her culture,
can be purchased for 500 or 1000 yen. They can be found in most convenient
stores, vending machines, and even special telephone card-only shops.
As a foreigner and past collector of baseball cards, I was fatally
attracted to these slim prizes. If you've never seen them before,
you simply slip them into the front of the telephone, and are shown
a number between 1-105 that represents the amount of time you have
left. As you talk away, this number decreases. Of course, the farther
away the call, the faster these numbers decrease.
There are many interesting places, and things to do, within Japan.
For people interested in electronics and computers, Akihabara is a nerds
dream come true.
As for Japanese-related software, and in general, computing in
Japan,
Jim Breen's Page on Japan seems to be the main repository for
this type of information.
As for cuisine, Japanese Food can be
very tantalizing and, well how should I say, interesting.
Finally, if you can stomach the high value of the yen, the temples
of Kyoto
offer wonderful sight-seeing opportunities.
*Disclaimer: The views stated here do not reflect my current
employer, any previous employers, nor the University of Pittsburgh/Carnegie
Mellon University. Any statements, events, or opinions stated within
these "Japan Time-Line Experiences" solely represent my opinions.
Please do not reprint any part of this text for publication
purposes, nor any previous "Time Line" messages, without the my(Russ Vanderpool) permission. Otherwise,
this can be freely distributed if people actually want to read it
provided that this disclaimer is attached.
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