What are the odds that the day we checked out of our hotel to move our stuff to Nicole’s Dorm that there would be a typhoon. We stayed in our room in the morning packing up until we were ready to go. My camera was all packed up and I was managing 2 suitcases so it was impossible for me to take photos of the weather or me and Nicole lugging our suitcases down the streets of Tokyo. Just imagine us walking against the wind and taking up a whole corner in a subway cart.
We almost didn’t make it Toyoda Station due to the typhoon and we had a nice business man give us advice regarding alternative stations to get off at. We boarded our train and luckily it made it all the way to our stop by inching its way along the tracks.
When we arrived at the dorms and immediately were met by the building manager Ikera. It all happened so fast: we had our luggage taken upstairs, Nicole signed some paperwork, we met a few of the students living in the dorm, and after some tea, we headed back to the station to catch a bus towards the university.
The security at the university was very helpful and directed us to where the International Center was.
We arrived to the campus, and it looked there had not been a typhoon earlier that day! It was empty since classes had not started yet and Nicole needed to check in at the International Center on campus to review some more paperwork. We met Sakuya who reviewed Nicole’s paperwork and then gave us a tour of the campus.
The campus is extremely beautiful. I was envious with how lovely the school looked and how different the area felt from the center of Tokyo. Chou is about an 1 hour away from most places in Tokyo which allows Nicole to visit if she wants to but also gives her time to really focus on her studies there by being so removed from the city.
After thanking Sakuya for the tour, we bused back to the Toyoda Station and looked for some place to eat. We found this little restaurant that specialized making tempura donburi (rice bowls). The food is delicious and we had been so busy/worried trying to get to the dorm that we didn’t really think about food too much. Needless to say we ate everything that was served to us.
We spent the the evening meeting more people as more international students trickled in to the dorms. We went to bed to prepare ourselves for the task of fixing up Nicole’s room and getting her what she needed to settle in. (This gives you a preview of what we did on Day 7!)
Thanks for reading and until next time!
Brandy