Final Day of Quarantine and Traveling

Hello, everyone. Sorry I haven’t really posted anything in the last 2 weeks. Frankly, I haven’t had anything to say, I’ve just been sitting here in my hotel room watching some training videos and attending some zoom meetings. That will all change tomorrow when I will leave the hotel and travel to Niigata.

Tomorrow morning, I will check out and take a bus to Tokyo Station. There I will board the famous shinkansen, more commonly known outside of Japan as the bullet train. The Joetsu shinkansen connects Tokyo directly with Niigata city and will take about 2 hours. From there I will go to Niigata Port and take the car ferry to Sado. I was informed that there is a possibility of a storm tomorrow and that the ferry service may be cancelled. If that is the case, I will have to stay the night at a hotel in Niigata. I am hoping it doesn’t come to that. In any case, whenever I do get to Sado I will meet my employers and colleagues in Ryotsu, before being taken to my apartment in Aikawa.

I am grateful that the Board of Education is giving me a week on Sado to get settled in and take care of important errands before I start teaching. This is not always the case, and I’ve heard of JETs that were quickly whisked away to their new schools and expected to teach nearly the moment they arrive in their city! Needless to say, after this 2 week quarantine I am anxious to leave the hotel and I am looking forward to finally arriving in Sado.