Fact: World's Longest Suspension Bridge

Like you, I am largely uninterested by these kinds of statistics. But I'm going through a bit of a dry spell in terms of photos, and it's better than nothing I think.
So this is Akashi bridge, and is most likely the destination of my next excursion. I hear there's some kind of observatory in the middle of the bridge that affords some pretty awesome views, so it might be cool to check out.

Things are going great here in Japan despite my constant training and inability to fully settle in- there are still parts of the job that I stress about, as I'm always learning new things and gaining new responsibility. This is of course better than the alternative of me being bored out of my mind, but I look forward to the day that I'm relaxed and comfortable with everything. Hope it comes soon!

Tuesday saw my first official Japanese lesson! Armed with a brief and somewhat generic physical description, I set off to Kobe (Sannomiya) Station in search of Misako, my as of then unfamiliar Japanese teacher. After waiting outside the ticket gates for 10 minutes or so, constantly checking at my watch, I looked over and noticed a woman looking almost as out of place as me. We pointed at each other and right away started laughing. After some smiley introductions we went over to a nearby cafe, where we chatted for several hours over mini tomato sandwiches and chocolate croissants, and "hammered out" the details of our language exchange. I'm very excited for our next meeting, which is scheduled for next week.

I best be off. Hope you're doing great, and I hope to hear from you! Thanks again to all those who've responded, and preemptive thanks to those who plan to.