Colossal really doesn’t work to describe Tokyo.

It seems like a good word, especially considering the scope of this place, but really it’s simply incomplete—just like any other adjectives that I’ve come up with: sprawling, endless, glowing. These don’t capture anything about what Tokyo actually is.

But, I mean, I won’t limit my word choice here: it really is an enormous, dark mass of twisted concrete, bent asphalt and dense greenery.

The first thing I noticed as we settled into our chartered “airbus” for a ride to the dorm was the trees. They were packed thicker than I had ever seen trees packed. The canopy was like some tightly woven blanket, and they rose up and down with the hills that they concealed beneath. They were broccoli, large and overgrown, seemingly left to expand as far as they could… yet somehow it all looked controlled.

I’m going to try and describe everything properly from here on out, but I’m not sure I can. My head kind of hurts, I’m kind of sleepy, and, well, this is so incredible that words can’t quite do justice to my initial gut interpretation.

Dark was the first word I thought of when I saw Tokyo. It looked dark. I thought Tokyo was supposed to be bright, alive, glowing—a huge neon circus that never slept. As I peered out over the buildings off in the distance, they looked tired. I was supposed to be the sleepy one, not the city.

Yet it was dark. The architecture was unfamiliar, which, when combined with it’s black drapery seemed futuristic.

But really, Tokyo isn’t dark. This was just what I saw from afar.

We were speeding along on a highway for nearly two hours, but our ride wasn’t long enough to allow the skyscrapers to drop off. They just continued, unstoppable. They seemed impervious to the practical fact that they COULDN’T possibly continue along the highway forever.

Then, though, we turned into the city.

Our bus flew up a giant ramp, and we were soaring almost 15 stories high, alongside the skyscrapers, peering down at pedestrians and trains beneath, but also peering up at the roads that screamed on above us. Perhaps “Insane” is the adjective for this situation.

This is when the darkness lifted.

Non-stop neon. Signs that changed color and shape. Flashing billboards and blinding illumination was all that could be seen. We must have traveled through the city for another hour and a half before reaching our destination.

My god.

There’s so much different here that I want to—need to—describe to you, I need to get down in words before it leaves me. I know its only my first evening here, but I can’t get over what I’ve seen so far. I want to paint not only a portrait of this place, but also of the people who inhabit it, all of whom so far have been incredibly kind to me.

I’ll also need to tell you about my roommates.

This is tough for me, because I actually want to produce some writing, not simply recitation of facts.

But for now terse, simple descriptions must suffice. My roommates are Brent from Oregon, and Pedro from Spain. Pedro speaks very little English, and Brent seems to be a pro at Japanese, as are most of the Oregon students.

To be honest I’m feeling pretty uneducated right now.

I need a shower and some sleep.

For those keeping score, I’ve been awake since Saturday at noon (Lincoln time), and it’s currently 11:10 p.m. (Tokyo time). So let’s subtract 14 hours… and that makes Monday at 9 a.m. (Lincoln time).

So I’m only 3 hours shy of 48. Bravo Brett, bravo.