A Long Day's Journey into Japan

Despite many conversations and the best efforts of my colleagues to explain the notion of the way time works when you are flying from Chicago to Japan, I am still confused. My husband Tom told me about a basketball player from the 70s  who resigned from the NBA because he refused to get on an airplane stating, "I ain't gettin' in no time machine." That's exactly how I feel about it. I was enthusiastic about the flight until about 6 hours into it when my legs started going numb...13 hours on a plane is a long time. 

We left the hotel at 10am after loading our checked bags on a truck and ourselves on a coach bus. Once we found our bags at the airport, we shimmied around the American Airlines check-in line, went through security, and loaded the plane flawlessly. My friends taught me how to play the card game hearts (which I love) and I hope to play more later. It is somewhat strategic! I thought it was an old lady game.

I wasn't sure the best way to minimize jet lag. My first mistake of the day was waking up at 6am. Had I woken up later, I wouldn't have been conscious so long and may have made it through the day to crash hard in my bed at the hotel. I find it especially difficult to sleep sitting up on airplanes, so that would have been my best bet.

The airplane was humongous and my seat gave me enough room, even though the guy in front of me had his seat reclined the ENTIRE flight. There was a remote control for my TV and one of the first things I did on the plane was try to figure out how it worked.  There was a button that showed a person and then a person with a red line through it and I pressed it about 50 times before I realized it turned on a tiny light over my head which I think called the flight attendants. They were probably pissed off at me. Later, I got a small bottle of the complimentary red wine for a drink, and the flight attendant came back, gave me another bottle, and snarkily remarked, "Now you can relax," and walked away. Probably related. 

I was also given the Customs Declaration From and Disembarkation Form, and thankfully my personal hero, Tony Kim, helped me understand how to fill it in. He is now the only person I trust about important matters ^_^ I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, took a short nap, and read Psychology Today, Scientific American, and The New Yorker that I had purchased from the airport. Just tried to avoid the pulpy celebrity magazines.

I don't know what people have been saying, but airport food is amazing! My seatmate on the ride said that food is better on international flights, but just look at this spread:

The airplane was a Boeing 777 and our flight path took us back up through Minnesota, Canada, Alaska, and then south to Japan. I am unsure why, but for the most of the part we stayed over land.

Jeers to the same flight attendant who, upon my first sight ever of Japan, snarkily forced me to close my window because the light was shining into the plane. Buzzkill. From above, Japan looks different somehow than America: the way farms and towns are parceled together.

When we arrived at the airport, we took a short train shuttle to go through the hour-long immigration line, but thankfully the customs line was very smooth with no wait and no problems. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures because it was a secure area and I was more concerned about getting through the system properly. We sent our baggage off to our host prefectures and loaded the bus for a 2-hour ride from Narita Airport to Shinjuku's Keio Plaza Hotel. On the bus, current JETs gave us a quick briefing, we received our orientation guide which I paged through, and then I spaced out for awhile since I had been up for a good 24 hours straight. I have to give the JET Program a lot of credit: their arrival system was so streamlined that I really didn't have to think to get settled into the hotel. My hotel roommate is the same person I sat next to on the flight, which is comforting!

My first day in Japan was full of so many firsts including using a Japanese-style toilet (took me a minute or two to figure out how to flush!):

My first ever shopping interaction with was terrifying! I just said "konbanwa" and smiled and gave the money. It was strange because I paid with a 1000 yen note (more than $10) and received only change in return, because there is a Japanese 500 yen coin! I bought an onigiri with unknown filling and it was delicious.

We found pachinko parlors, karaoke bars, and were accosted by a few men trying to get me into their shops. We stopped in a fashion boutique, and as we left, the ladies working their bowed and thanked us. It was nice.

Finally, after one of the longer days of my life, I went to sleep. I am sure I left about a million things out, but this post is already way too long, so goodbye!