When I moved to Japan, I lived in Nagayama, a suburb of central Tokyo. My commute to work was 45 minutes to an hour by train -- into Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's 23 wards. Located across the street from Shinjuku Station was NOVA, the school I worked at for 2 1/2 years. When I travelled to Ky- oto, I had to pass through this station and then pro- ceed to Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, another ward of Tokyo. The trip took 3 hours by Shinkansen.