The Journey and First Impressions
We're here!
It's just about midnight, and Chris and I are (unsurprisingly) up for a little while, since it's time to get up back home. We've only been asleep since 7pm JST, so we'll go back to bed in a bit. Rebecca was up briefly, but seemed to accept my suggestion that she turn out her room light and go back to bed.
The trip was about as simple and uneventful as it could be.
We got up, dressed, showered--no, strike that; reverse it--and otherwise prepared for the day. The van from Palo Alto Limo (sure, that's a recommendation) showed up on time and took us to the airport. We checked in at United with only one minor hiccough, when the automatic luggage tag printer gave Rebecca a blank luggage tag. That was easily fixable.
The flight was...uneventful. The kids behaved wonderfully and earned their free Kindle™ book. All carrot, no stick. I got to watch the Minions movie and 1.3 Batman movies. I also napped for an hour, which ended up being a bad idea, because I then had a low grade migraine for the remainder of the flight. Chris helpfully suggested I take some of my emergency ibuprofen (what, you don't fly with emergency ibuprofen?) which may or may not have helped.
After the girls' first genuine airplane meal, Rebecca remarked that it was the best airplane meal she'd ever had. But she was being positive; she enjoyed her chicken thing. I got to eat three salads. The second airplane meal was everything that an airplane meal is supposed to be--awful. Why someone would choose to do that to some poor, innocent spaghetti and vegetables, I don't understand.
Immigration was...uneventful. All of our bags were waiting for us on the luggage carousel.
Customs was...uneventful. When we pulled out our hard-earned Yakkan Shoumei (medication import licenses), the customs clerk mostly looked confused. Sort of like a bureaucrat who sees an oddity and thinks to himself, "Oh. Yes, you're supposed to do that. And you don't speak Japanese. Do I really have to deal with this?". So, he did the only thing he could, and called for his supervisor. The supervisor pulled us over to the Customs counter and went through our documents. We started pulling out our meds before he asked for them. He checked everything off on the list, and sent us on our way. We didn't have to open up anything else, including the small suitcase filled with undocumented (but legal; we checked everything) OTC stuff that I was concerned about.
My general impression is that Japanese travel gatekeepers think it's their job to be helpful, while American travel gatekeepers think it's their job to police the border. I haven't dealt with enough other travel gatekeepers to know what the rest of the world is like.
The van driver was waiting for us with a "Harold Zable" sign. He had "small English", but we managed to cover the basics. I think. I asked him where to pick up my MiFi. He asked information, then pointed me in the proper direction. I successfully asked "Where's the van?" and then told everyone to wait while I went in the opposite direction to deal with the errands. I walked for a while, then asked again at the next information counter. The clerk directed me to the next window over.
That transaction succeeded, although I didn't express myself well. The clerk started talking in rapid Japanese that I couldn't quite follow. I asked her "Slower?", so the rest of the explanation was given to me in very. slow. English. Clearly I need to internalize the Japanese word for "slow" and a couple phrases like "please speak slowly in Japanese, I only understand a little". (Actually, at this point I only need to internalize the word for "slow" and learn a better word for "speak"; the rest I can manage. And, yes, I can look it up on the net; I just need to learn it.)
After a quick stop at the ATM, I returned to my family and the van driver. We boarded the van and had an uneventful drive to the apartment. Except that I could read some of the road signs. I don't know if I can express how much of a relief that was. I'm not (quite) illiterate!
We arrived at the train station, and were met by the Sugiyamas, our hosts/landlords. They were gracious and helpful and helped us lug all our stuff to the apartment. I managed not to be hit by a train on the first train track we crossed. The apartment itself is new and clean, and looks like it'll be a great place to stay. Daisuke friended me on Facebook (Hi!), so the Sugiyamas will get to see more of this blog, if they're curious.
Daisuke and Ai, I should note that comments about things my family discovers in Japan and in the apartment are not complaints. They're interesting things we're learning about stuff that's different. We expect to have to make some adjustments, and it's okay.
That being said... one thing we've noticed that's different is the use of cover scents. At home, we use unscented laundry detergent and soaps wherever possible. This apartment is infested with scent Daleks. We keep finding more of them. We're closing them as we find them, and we'll open them back up when we leave.
Rebecca has also determined that she really doesn't like the scent of a rubber sumo mask that was left behind as a toy. We've put it outside, just to keep it out of her way.
Rebecca and I also made a brief foray to the local Lawson 100 yen store for supplies. The Israeli grapefruit was a surprise to Rebecca. I'm really glad I've been going to the Japanese bakery and supermarket for lunch; half of the stuff I brought back was things I wouldn't have recognized half a dozen years ago. The cashier spoke really quickly, and I was totally lost, but she gave me a reasonable amount of change, so I smiled and left.
I also just figured something out. A year or so ago, I learned that I get migraines when my sleep is disrupted. They're particularly problematic when I sleep too much. I bet that in past trips to Japan, I made a point of forcing myself to sleep more to try and get on the local schedule. Instead, I gave myself unexplained migraines, making me feel sick and anxious. This time, I can try not to push myself, and see if things work better.
I'm delighting in how, so far, the actual trip has been almost devoid of anxiety. This is good; I'd really like to be the sort of person who can take trips like this.
We slept. Now we are awake. Soon we will sleep again.