During the time waiting for the meeting reading the big book can help a lot.
I cant post links in this forum yet, but if you go to AAdotORGslashBIGBOOKONLINE you'll find it there. If you get bored of the heady stuff in the beginning, the personal stories in the back are really good too. I've been in a similar situation, and it has helped me a lot.
Japan sounds so cool. I've always wanted to go there.....