SODA in Japan

I hadn't even noticed SODA was in Japan before submitting.  I just figured wherever it was I'd be willing to go, as January in Boston is a fine time to be elsewhere.  And if needed I can send a student instead...

My only past time in Japan was for ISIT back in 2003.  I remember it was a maddeningly long flight (made somewhat bearable by distracting myself with whatever was the new Harry Potter book at the time), followed by a 2 hour long wait to get through customs, followed by a 2 hour train ride to Yokohama.  I was not a happy camper when I got to the hotel.  Which, once I got there, was absolutely amazing;  a bath in the deep Japanese-style tub and some food and the grumpiness passed.  And then it was a great conference;  hanging out with an old friend and his colleague over breakfast we managed to produce a paper (which eventually ended up being this journal version -- my first and likely only paper that will appear in IEEE Design and Test.)  One day we took off and did some great sightseeing, where I depended greatly on the lead of others, not having grokked how to get around with signs in a language I didn't understand at all. 

So if I get a paper in I suppose I'll cope with the long flight and go.  Of course with 600 or so submissions it's a roll of the dice;  we'll see how it goes.

Best of luck to everyone working until the deadline....