Crossing Seven Time Zones

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I'm back in Belgium!
I've been back since yesterday 11AM, but didn't get much rest because we had to drive home from Schiphol airport (ca. 2 hours), visit my maternal grandmother who wanted to hear all about my trip (ca. 2 hours) and in the evening we went out to eat at a restaurant. Though now I'm rested and ready to start my Japan report posts!

Because I posted my pictures on facebook while I was in Japan and didn't have access to editing software, the quality might not always be the best - but oh well ...
Also this first post is not the most interesting because it's mostly about traveling, I'm afraid.

Day 1: Crossing Seven Time Zones

I still had an exam on June 30th. The day after that me and my parents left for Schiphol airport at 11AM. We followed the highway and didn't have any problems with traffic so we reached the airport easily in about 2 hours. As I had predicted, we were at the airport wayyy too early! We arrived around 1PM, but my flight only left at 6PM. We spend the time by hanging around on the observation deck. They had a small Fokker plane there that you could visit so we amused ourselves by doing that ...

Then it was time for check-in. I have to say I was a bit displeased with the staff of the Dutch airport at this point. When it was my turn I handed my passport to the girl at the check-in desk. She then started to type a bunch of stuff on her computer without saying a single word to me or without even looking at me. Then she handed me my boarding pass and I didn't get very good seats. Normally people at check-in ask whether you want a window or an aisle seat, I thought her silent treatment was quite unpleasant ...

Anyway, I just had to accept the bad seats and after check-in I went to have a drink with my parents. We saw Dutch author Arnon Grunberg at that point (yay for random information). Then it was time for me to pass passport control and say goodbye to my parents. It did feel a bit weird going through without them. I had to wait in line for quite a long time so I sometimes looked back at them and they kept waving, which was nice but also a bit awkward, ha ha. In the tax free zone I bought some Mentos and Fruitella (= chewy candy) to eat during landing (to ease the pressure in my ears) and then I went to my gate. The first flight - from Amsterdam (Schiphol) to Istanbul - only took 3.5 hours. It was nice that the plane had an inflight entertainment system (IFES) though. I started watching the movie 'New Year's Eve' because Lea Michele from Glee has a role in it, however I didn't manage to watch the whole thing before we landed. I was seated next to a Turkish man who told me that he worked at the airport in Istanbul. After landing he gave me his card and told me that I should call him if I ever experienced any problems at the Istanbul airport, but later I saw that he had written his e-mail address on the back of the card ... I haven't contacted him though, ha ha.

I arrived in Istanbul around midnight. There wasn't all that much to do at the airport at that hour, so I immediately went to the gate for my connecting flight.

The second flight - Istanbul to Osaka - was very very long, around 11 hours! I continued watching 'New Year's Eve', which was an alright movie but not great. Then I decided to rewatch 'Thor'because I didn't feel like concentrating on a movie I hadn't seen yet, I wanted to give my brain some rest by choosing a movie that I already knew, ha ha. I also tried to sleep a bit. I guess it must have worked because the flight didn't seem so long.

Before this holiday I had heard a lot of complaints about Turkish Airlines, especially from my mother who didn't trust this company at all (because they hold the record of most crashes for a European airline) but also from people online. However, during these two flights I didn't experience any problems at all. The plane was comfortable, the food was decent, the staff very friendly and the movie selection good. Seeing as how they were the cheapest way to get to Japan, I can't complain at all.

My first experience of Japan was what I saw through the airplane window (even though I wasn't seated at the window, I still saw a lot). It was extremely beautiful! I saw a bunch of small islands - covered in trees - rising up out of the ocean. Then we flew past Osaka Bay while we were already quite low, so I got a beautiful aerial view of the Akashi-Kaykyou Bridge (= the longest suspension bridge in the world)and of Kobe and its two man-made islands Port Island and Rokko Island (I'd be staying on the latter). After landing I got my first monorail experience, being transported from the plane to the terminal.

The second experience of Japan was less impressive, and kind of shook the stereotype of Japanese efficiency. The waiting line for international tourists to clear passport control was massive! We also had to fill out a document for immigration on the plane, but then had to fill out another one after landing. They asked for stuff like the address where I'd be staying and a telephone number, and I didn't have all that information at hand so filling out the form took quite a while. Getting through passport control took me more than an hour, though I have to say that the staff were very friendly and helpful, and they apologized for the inconvenience so I didn't feel too annoyed. I did feel a little bad for my friend Lentle, who was waiting for me at the arrivals hall. I had no way to contact her since my mobile phone didn't work in Japan.

Anyway, after passport control everything went much faster, as my luggage had already been taken off the belt. I found my friend Lentle easily (as one of the only light-haired people between the Japanese, ha ha). We looked around the airport for a bit trying to find an ATM so I could withdraw some money and then we took the Limousine Bus to Rokko Island in Kobe. The Limousine Bus was rather expensive but one of the most comfortable ways to get to Rokko Island. I bought a return ticket, but lost it later so I had to rebuy a one-way when I needed to return to the airport - but more about that later ...

We didn't feel like eating out, so Lentle took me to a convenience store (also known as a conbini) and we bought some food and drinks there. Conbini are super ... well, convenient! They have all sorts of packed meals for a good price. I made use of them a lot during my stay to keep food expenses low. On my first evening in Japan I went for sushi, and I bought a bottle of cold tea that seemed interesting at first but I didn't like the taste too much.
I spend the rest of the evening at the dorm room, but only went to bed around midnight. The flight and traveling worked out very well, because I didn't feel any jetlag at all. I adjusted to the other time zone very easily.


So that was my first overly detailed Japan post (and this was a day where nothing much happened, ha ha, so I guess posts will get even longer on more interesting days). On the second day I went to explore Kobe on my own, and ended up visiting Ikuta Shrine and Minatogawa Shrine, and getting lost in the streets for a bit. That'll be for a next entry ...

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Photos

Schiphol Airport
My dad and I at the airport.

Schiphol Airport 2
Amusing myself at the airport observation deck.

Istanbul Airport
At the gate at Istanbul Ataturk airport.

Rokko Island
First impressions of Rokko Island, Kobe, Japan.

Dorm Room
Sushi from the conbini.

Dorm Room 2
First dinner in Japan.