Arriving in Tokyo

After a few days with the family, leaving for Japan became harder than I imagined it would be. Between the baby’s first flight, his two new teeth, quality time with the parents, hanging out with my brother for the first time in ages, and playing Wii with cousins, siblings, and even my dad, the prospect of being alone in a foreign place seemed suddenly bleak. I could hardly sleep last night, in my brother’s basement bedroom, and the goodbyes we hugged and kissed seemed surreal.

I am glad Mom, Dad, and Grandma decided to stay with me in the airport, people watching to kill three hours before I filed in at the security checkpoint. They took my 4.5 oz toothpaste – I was really excited about that toothpaste (but that deprivation has given me the privilege of later buying delicious “Breath Communication/Etiquette” brand toothpaste at the local convenient store).

The flight was 14 hours by my calculation, and I was only awake for 8 of them, thanks to some drugs Joe gave me. I watched two movies and a lot of Disney Channel shows. On the flight to Seattle, Chi Trinh talked about “the good ol’ days of flying”, when there were free meals and they brought warm, moist towelettes for you to refresh yourself and clean your hands. On this flight, I was upgraded to “economy plus” for volunteering to relinquish my seat in exchange for a free next-day flight and a $600 airline credit (they did not need the seat after all). We were served two meals – chicken teriyaki in the first two hours, and then lasagna in the last two hours. In between, there were plenty of snacks and drinks, and warm, moist, towelettes. Just wanted to let Chi Trinh know there was still hope for an enjoyable flight; it just requires leaving the country, I guess.

Arriving at Narita Airport was sort of anticlimactic since the fog prevented any breathtaking welcome from the city; we landed in fog and then I was just in another airport. However, everything was in Japanese and, in the ladies’ room, the first bathroom stall had a toilet in the ground. I tried to take a photo, but someone was using it – I guess some women prefer a ceramic basin in the floor to a sit-down toilet. I’ll have to do more research on that one.

Passing through immigration, baggage claim, and customs was surprisingly easy. I exchanged currency, arranged for hotel baggage delivery, and started the scariest part of my day – navigating the train/subway. Luckily, the school gave us many options and all the directions were to the tee. Of course, I chose the cheapest one, which also included the most transfers, but I figured my previous public transportation experience would ease the pain. On the first subway (Keisin Line), I became nervous when I noticed the two passengers flanking me were wearing SARS-type facemasks. Wearing the masks seems pretty common here, actually, and it makes me a little paranoid, but the majority people are risking it just like me.

I transferred at Nippori station to the JR Yamanote Line towards Tokyo/Shinagawa, and got off at the Tamachi stop. This is the first sight I saw of the city, after the plane and two trains. All together, stepping off the plane and into my hotel room took about 3 hours, but the nagging fear of getting totally lost and spending the week’s budget on a taxi, made the time fly.

After checking email (the internet was extremely comforting – is that sad?), uploading a ton of photos, and taking a refreshing shower, all while watching Japanese rugby on television, I went in search of some food. I circled the blocks near the hotel to stay near, and just looked for a place that would have pictures on the menu (since I can’t read Japanese yet), and a place that had food under 1000 Yen (dinner for less than $10).

I was sort of starting to feel lonely and even doubtful about Japan, but – perhaps predictably – food made it all better. Sakachi Udon House has about 10 things on the menu – all variations of curry with udon noodles (the big thick white noodles). It is served with a bowl of rice to soak up the leftover curry sauce after you’ve slurped up the last tasty udon, with its accompanying crispy garlic chips and freshly chopped leeks. The most interesting part – everyone ties a disposable paper apron over his or her clothes before eating, at least in this restaurant. I observed while waiting for my food to see if the apron was optional, but it didn’t seem to be, so I ate udon curry while wearing an apron, in Tokyo tonight.

On the way home, I stopped by Lawson’s Station, a convenient store on the corner. I noticed that the adult magazines (of many varieties, I might add), regular entertainment magazines, and Manga comic books are all in the same section, and all equally accessible for perusing by shoppers of any age. The “delicatessen” had shrimp tempura and seaweed salad instead of rotisserie chicken or premade hoagies. I bought green tea for the morning, and some shrimp flavored chips to snack on in the room. A long, long two days.