Well, I’ve made it to Japan in one piece, one very very tired piece. I went to great lengths to try to make sure I would hit the ground well rested, and that was certainly not the case. I figured if I stayed up the day before my flight and took an ambien, I could get 7-8 hours of sleep on the plane easily. However, I botched my plan by taking the ambien right after take off. The problem with that was that I took it before the crew served the first meal of the flight. Turns out that no amount of tiredness and ambien will enable me to sleep through the sound of knives and forks on plates. The noise work me up and by the time things had quieted down, the initial punch of the ambien had passed.
I did manage to doze off a few times, so I did get some sleep, just not a lot. About 70 miles from Narita, I opened the window shade to the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. It occurred to me then that it was actually the first time I’ve ever seen the Pacific Ocean. I snapped this picture as the first bit of land came into view.
Everything was going smoothly at the airport to begin with. No problems at immigration or customs, I got through it in a timely manner. My only real problem of the trip came after that. I wanted to have my checked luggage delivered to my apartment so I wouldn’t have to drag it through the train system. The problem was, they wanted a local telephone number, which I obviously did not possess. Eventually I managed to get the phone number of the guesthouse I am staying out and was able to use that. Another issue with the shipping is that they wanted the address in kanji and I only had it written down in romanji. Now, they were able to write it down in kanji, but I am still slightly concerned. I suppose I’ll find out in the next three hours, as that is when it is supposed to be delivered.
After I finally had my luggage dealt with, I hopped the express train to Shinjuku and made my way to the Sakura House office. At this point I was absurdly tired, dragging my laptop bag and carry-on luggage around. They got my room all set up and sent me on my way. After some initial difficulty with the metro (I had the wrong line) I made it to my room, met my suitemates, and hit up 7-11 for a small dinner. I’m clearly going to need a few days to work out the Jet lag. I went to sleep at 10:30, woke up at 2:30, and again at 4:30 (no more sleep after that). So by tonight I will probably be pretty dead. Here are some pictures of my humble home (and shared kitchen).
Also, Japanese toilets are crazy. As you will see there is a sink on top of our toilet so that when you flush water to wash your hands with runs immediate. Genius I say!
5 comments:
isn't Hawaii in the Pacific?
Barrett, omedetou gozaimasu! your arrival in Nippon is sure to mark the beginning of one of the most memorable and significant seasons in your adult life. Give boldly of yourself and receive the gifts of that amazing country courageously. Jason yori
everything looks great and all, but i have one concern. what if you don't have your soap ready when you flush the toilet? i don't see any soap dispenser. do you have to bring your own soap into the toilet room with you? please answer in a timely matter, as i am very confused about this.
also, please use big vocabulary in your blog. since i will actually be reading it, maybe i can get a little smarter. if you would like to make my life easier, if you use a big word, will you please put the definition next to it in parentheses so i don't even have to go through the effort of looking it up. that would be greatly appreciated.
Haha, forgot about Hawaii...
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