The Trip To Tokyo

My first update of the summer is being made from my hotel room in Kobe, Japan while watching a sumo match on TV. Our hotel room has a perfect view of the cityscape, and although Kobe is one of the biggest cities in Japan, fit with skyscrapers and several millions of people, I can’t help but feel there is something very…miniature about it. The cars, the people, the billboards, even the skyscrapers seem scaled down, but just enough to notice something is a bit off. Not only do I feel a bit taller, but also a bit bigger boned. As I walked down the streets today, I became very aware of my hips and butt, apparently genetics don’t tend towards the birthing figure here in Japan.

So, let me give you a run down of the events leading up to today, Saturday, May 19, 2007 (3pm). Jonathan and I spent Wednesday, the day before we left for Japan, frantically running errands, cleaning our apartment, and packing our bags. The plan was to get everything done so we could spend the rest of the night playing with our friends. We figured that if we didn’t sleep, the flight to Japan would seem a lot shorter the next day. So, our wonderfully thoughtful and entertaining friends volunteered to help keep us awake through night. They started arriving around 10ish, and although we had finished cleaning by then, our luggage was far from packed. We wiled away the next 5 hours playing games and falling into one drunken (with drowsiness) conversation after another (It was a great time. These are the kind of friends you want to keep forever.) With just three hours before our shuttle would arrive we decided that it was time to finish up the job of packing. It was a crazy time. We eventually finished about 15 minutes after the shuttle arrived. We kept the driver waiting for so long that he even asked to come in to use our bathroom. Once everything was loaded into the shuttle we climbed in to find that we had not only kept the driver waiting, but that the van had several other passengers including the professor who we are currently travelling with. He just smiled at us and guffawed for the next several minutes. We were all happy to see each other. I won’t take the time to explain how bizarre that situation was, but for those of you who know “Ray”…I know you have a clear understanding of just what I am talking about.

We arrived at the airport and I quickly took my first anxiety pill (several followed periodically throughout the trip). As all of you know, my fear of flying is somewhat extreme, and since I knew that we would be spending 12 hours at 38,000 feet in the air, I decided to consult a doctor before the flight. He prescribed “Ativan” and promised I would be amazed at the results. The complete meltdown that I experienced as soon as I took my seat on the plane in SLC confirmed to me that this little placebo was having no effect. Jonathan sweetly coaxed and petted me back into reality. The next 15 hours of travel are a blur. Jonathan and I found several contorted sleeping positions using each other as pillows and headrests. The happiest moment of the flight was when the captain announced that we would be on the ground in twenty minutes. As the wheels touched ground another meltdown ensued, Jonathan kissed me and welcomed me to Japan. As we pulled up to the terminal, all the grounds crew were lined up shoulder to shoulder, perfectly groomed and in crisp well-fitted uniforms. When the plane parked, the crew ceremoniously bowed in unison to the plane and then scurried off to do their jobs of unloading and readying the plane. It was beautiful. I was so touched somehow. I was so thankful and excited to be in Japan. Thanks for all of your prayers for our safe arrival, our trip really did go smoothly.

We left for Japan at around 2pm on Thursday and arrived in Japan around 4pm on Friday. We had a lot of luggage, which is awfully inconvenient to travel with in Japan. Even for people who have cars, one piece of luggage can swallow the sleek little Japanese buggies. So, Japan has developed a market for very low cost bulk shipping companies. We were able to ship 3 large bags weighing about 60lbs each for around 40 dollars to Tokyo. Jonathan decided that it would be a more “native” experience for me if we took the trains to Kobe which is about 40 miles away from the airport. We could have taken a bus which would have gotten us to our hotel about 50 minutes faster and more comfortably, but Jonathan’s love of the trains, and his reasoning that it would save us about 4 dollars convinced me to follow his lead. Can I tell you how miserable it is to ride trains for an hour and half, during rush hour so you can’t sit down, with luggage, after you haven’t slept in 40 hours, and are hung over on muscle relaxers, with a guide who isn’t quite sure that the train you are on is the right one. Because my anxiety pills were also muscle relaxers, my little carryon roller bag seriously felt like 100lbs, and poor Jonathan, the savvy city dweller that he is, became irritated with my inability to negotiate my way around the hoards of busy Japanese workers on their way home for the weekend. Whenever we encountered stairs he basically had to carry me and my bags down them. We were trying our best not to hate each other when we finally arrived at our hotel.

Our hotel is glorious. When I think how my husband was able to finagle his way into making our university pay for a four star hotel for him and his wife to stay in while the professor he is travelling with is sleeping at a hotel for $60 a night, I can’t help be proud and a little scared of him.Upon arrival, we were quickly relieved of our luggage by the concierge and were delivered to our room on the 23^rd floor. There were “his” and “her” white, soft, cotton pajamas calling out to us from the edge of the bed. It was around 8 o’clock, and although we were exhausted, we were even more hungry. We showered, and walked a block or two to a Japanese fast-food restaurant called Yoshinoya, which serves gyudon, a beef stir fry over rice. It was the most delicious food I have ever eaten. Just thinking about it right now makes me feel like I haven’t eaten in days.

I can barely remember walking home from the restaurant; the next memory I have is waking up next to Jonathan in his cute Japanese pajamas and realizing I had slept my first night in Japan.Me posing with my "miracle" drug.

Finally off the plane in Japan.

Luxurious Japanese Pajamas.

The view from our hotel.

Our first meal in Japan....so good.

Example of the miniature. This is a garbage truck in Japan. Jonathan is about as tall as this little baby.