12.14.2010 Flight and arrival in Tokyo

---

Before we begin I am not a writer, nor have I ever wanted to be a writer, It’s not what I’m good at. Besides that everything has been both exciting and crazy at the same time.

Our adventure starts with Kaori and me in Minnesota. For the first time I got to pass through those full body scans, which was very uncomfortable. Before that we had to wait for the front check in counter personnel to finish breakfast at 4:15am even though passengers and formed a line at 3:50am to get on the plane. What a joke! After arriving in Chicago I came upon the first “duty free” shop were Kaori went to buy some goodies for friends and family. The flight to Canada felt the same even though ‘secretly’ it is the first country other than the United States I have been to. At Canada there was a much larger duty free shop and everything was in French. I didn’t buy anything but it was fun to see some of the items available such as wine, beer, expensive cloths, perfumes, food, and toys. We had a bit of a mix up with our flights but sure enough we persevered and got on the flight to Japan.

The Tokyo flight was VERY LONG, 13 hours to be exact, and actually got delayed 2.5 more hours due to a person who freaked out and had to get off the plane. Due to the everlasting snow storm the ground crew spent a little more time that usual clearing the snow away from our flight path. Other than those small delays, which were not Air Canada's fault, I would highly recommend Air Canada for anyone who wished to have great services, great cabin personnel, and great accommodations on the flight. This service was completely different compared to United or any other American airline I had been on. We had three meals, one with ramen soup and a chicken sandwich, another with chicken and rice and a side of veggies, and the morning breakfast was an omelet with fruit.

We arrived in Tokyo later than expected due to the snow storm and the crazy person delay in Canada. This caused a delay for our next flight from Tokyo to Osaka. Sure enough we missed the night flight to Osaka, and there were no other flight available till the next day. A warning to all travelers to any new country, never record or take picture inside the airport. The reason for this is because it looks rather suspicious and of course I was questioned for doing so by one of the on duty police. Nothing serious arose from the matter, it was merely a warning to new visitors of Japan not to record videos or walk around the airport taking pictures of vending machines. Also, for those who travel to Japan, never speak Japanese unless it is perfect or you are at any government facility such as the airport or embassy. Since we missed our flight, we went to JAL airlines to get a ticket to Osaka the next day. Kaori explained our situation to the counter attended and lucky they were nice enough to give us both a free ticket. However, we had to find our own hotel accommodations and ship our luggage to Kaori’s house. On a side note, the cost of shipping luggage to Kaori’s house was about ¥1600 or $16 per bag and we had four bags. We were both getting hungry and it was late at night so we wondered around the airport and looked for a convenience store that might be open. Kaori found a well known Japanese store called Lawson that is open 24 hours. I got to make my first purchase of two rice balls and a very famous drink called C.C. Lemon. With our snakes in one hand and our tickets in the other we found a place to stay at called Narita View Hotel and made our way to the bus station. Upon arrival we booked a room for ¥8000, about $80, and moved up the elevator. The hotel had a glassy new age feel to it but some places seemed old and unmaintained. It was a mixed batch both glamorous and gross. Our room must have been about the size of American dorm room. Much smaller than I anticipated but yet I was cozy and felt good to be somewhere I could finally take off my shoes and relax. We got to eat our rice balls filled with fish flacks, chicken, and pork as well as drink C.C. LEMON! The restroom was another story, did you know it is common for toilets to make a “pee noise” while a person sits down. Apparently this is due to users afraid to pee while others might hear them. This was an awkward first culture shock for me but I was impressed by the courtesy of others. The TV was a surprise at first since all channels were in Japanese. My first instinct was to find an English program but I paused and realized “what am I doing I’m in Japan!” so I settled for a Japanese comedy show. The night snack was filling and the next day was approaching rapidly, it was time for bed and a close for the first day in Japan.

---

Comments

[deleted_49612]

Nice blog. :) I havent yet been to Japan. I have been putting it off, because it seems so expensive. Will go there some time though. :)