A Student's First Impressions of Tokyo

Above, a street view of Tokyo Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Sarah Joh, a student at the University of Southern California, arrived in Tokyo as part of her "study abroad semester" and she has written of her first impressions of Tokyo for the USC Daily Trojan university newspaper.

She began her article with:

Leading up to my flight across the Pacific Ocean to start my semester abroad, I had no idea what to feel about my (then) upcoming trip to Tokyo and no clue what sort of atmosphere I should expect to feel from the city. 

At this point, a solid 12 hours have gone by since my plane touched down at Haneda International Airport and so far, Japan seems less like a foreign territory to me than it does a long lost cousin. Though it’s my first time in Japan, the scenery that slipped by during my bus ride to my hotel reminded me of previous trips to South Korea to visit extended family.

To read more, go here.