Last Night in Tokyo, First Day in Niigata

Tonite was my last night, and boy what a time it has been.  Mary woke me up this morning and asked me if I wanted to go walking about and find a bag for sale.  So we went walking, but nothing was open at 7am, but it was bright like it was 10am outside and not yet hot.  It gets dark much earlier here.  I was used to it getting dark around 9pm back home, but it seems to be dusk around 7pm here.  I saw Tokyo's version of time square tonite.  It was huge and crowded and beautiful and amazing all at the same time.  There are all sorts of people there at night and the crowd is still bustling at 11pm even on a Tuesday night.   I've decided those claw games to win stuffed animals are what fuel the economy because I've found myself putting about $20 worth of change in trying to win cute cat stuffed animals!  Well, I guess it will be good to be away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and into the quiet country side where I'll have to start practicing my Japanese.  I went to a little Italian/Japanese restaurant with Nicole (my friend from Columbia, SC and Mary and Robert, who intends to write travel guides at some point.  I'm sitting here writing this in my hotel room wearing a kind of Japanese striped bathrobe... pictures later.  I've made many a good friend here and I hope I can keep in touch with some of them.  tomorrow at 8:15am (that's about 7:15pm for you folks at home on Eastern time), I'll be getting on the bullet train, called the Joetsu Shinkansen, to go to my host prefecture and into my town to meet with my supervisor, Masayuki-san.  Please wish me luck in my new home.  Love and miss all at home.  Good-night.