I'm Here!!!

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After a long 12 hour flight without sleeping (just couldn't do it) I've finally arrived in Tokyo. It wasn't much of culture shock when I got off the plane. The airport is just like any other. I just remember it being really humid when I first stepped off the plane. I made it through immigration and customs with ease. The only interesting thing was that all of the customs workers were wearing surgical masks (b/c of the H1N1 outbreak). Wearing surgical masks is pretty common here anyways. My luggage was there as soon as I made it to baggage claim and my sister Maureen was waiting with open arms for us to jump on the bus for the 45 minute trip back to downtown Tokyo.

Even though I'd been awake for almost 24 hours straight, I did seem to get a second wind when we got off the bus for the 5 minute walk back to my sister and brother-in-law's place.

When were arrived at my sister's place I was impressed by a few things. First, the view of Tokyo Tower from their balcony (photo included) and, secondly, the toilets. Yes, the toilets. These are no ordinary toilets. They include the following:

1. Built in bidet (male and female) with water pressure adjustment
2. A dryer
3. A heated seat

After catching up with my sister and brother-in-law I finally decided that I should probably get some sleep. I went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. Tokyo time and had no trouble falling asleep. I wasn't sure how well I'd sleep but over all it went okay. I initially woke up at about 3:30 a.m. and then was in and out of sleep until I finally got up at 7:00 a.m. I'm feeling okay. Although I'll be up all night again tonight for our Mt. Fuji climb.

My sister and I are planning on visiting the Yasukuni shrine today. It's a memorial where, as the Japanese believe, all of the souls of soldiers who have fought and died in all conflicts and wars since 1853 are enshrined. Looking forward to the visit.

This afternoon my brother-in-law Stephen and I will be heading out later this afternoon for our all night hike to the top of Mt. Fuji. Our goal is to get to the summit by 4:30 a.m. to see the sunrise. I'm really looking forward to the experience. My only concern is how I'll handle the altitude since altitude sickness is not uncommon on this climb. There are different stations along the climb so we're planning on spending a little bit of time at each one to acclimate.

That's all for now. My next entry should include my reflection after visiting Yasukuni shrine.

Sayonara!!!

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