Alivia and I flew out of Salt Lake on the 9th to portland (where we had a spectacular few of mount hood from the plane, it looked like we could almost touch the tip) then onto Narita. The flight was smooth sailing and we touched down around 5pm Japan time. We took the subway into the city and immediately I felt at home, having lived in Paris, Washington DC and New York I am no stranger to metros so navigating them in Japan has been a breeze, even if you get lost you can find a way back as every line is circular.
On the way in town a fellow traveler started talking to us. I am finding that very common as we clearly stand out as do all tourists due to the homogeneous nature of the country. The great part about clearly standing out is that everyone wants to help you, even before you ask. You just need to look lost, which is not hard for alivia and I because we usually are, and they offer to help. A very friendly country. Also the other tourists instantly reach out and there is an instant bond as we are clearly aliens in another world.
This traveler was a teacher from Miami and just an all around american. He was large, out of shape but sweet and very nervous about not knowing where he was going as well as was experiencing motion sickness from the jerking of the subway; it wasn't very smooth, the JR Lines are much more smooth. Funny thing is that he looked to us for help, he thought we looked very sure of ourselves, and we were able to with a little bit of help from a young Japanese boy who was returning from the states after studying in Las Vegas. Small world. I am not sure why I am entering this. Not a great story accept that I really want to try and capture all that we do.
As we made our way to the city, we had scenic views of rice paddies as far as the eye could see. There were even farmers in the paddies harvesting their crop; it was surreal. It reminded me of Maui when you wind your way through the sugar cane fields. Not that rice paddies look anything like rice paddies, just the idea that you are working your way through a staple of the island. Also the air felt to me like Maui and smelled like it too, thick, husky and wet; you could almost cut it with a knife.
I watched Aliva's face and she was trembling with excitement. I asked her if she was okay and she told me she was nervous but in a good way. It made me so happy to see how much she was and is enjoying her trip. It is very special that we get to share this together and I love watching her be exposed to something new. She is drinking it all in. It is also an honor to accompany her on her first foreign trip out of the US. What a way to start her international traveling. She has even told me that this trip is just the first of many and she will travel extensively before you moves here.
As we got closer to the city, the rice paddies melted away and soon we found ourselves on an elevated path that snakes through Tokyo. We passed little villages with traditional japanese homes mixed amongst modern abodes. The architecture of the traditional homes are simple but elegant; reminding me of my time in paris, not that they look anything like the buildings in paris, just the fact that i stared at them, took pictures of them as if they monuments thus necessitating that they be captured on film when reality they are very common, but to me they are not, to me they are foreign and unique. these homes that we passed had slanted roofs with metal shingles or ceramic tiles on top. They were all colors, blue, black and sometimes red and even the most rundown seemed regal. It took us about an hour to get in.
Finally we started to see larger skyscrapers. This is the tokyo you see in the movies. Large and ominous, however not as large as new york, to me they seemed almost quaint. (How obnoxious is that!) We arrived late in the evening so the sun was just setting and the neon lights were bright and noisy to the eyes. We exited at Shinjuku, which is home to the Time Square of Tokyo and again this Time Square has nothing on NY; ours is way more crowded and overwhelming with the neon lights and the close proximity of the buildings, so it is like a scaled down version of Manhattan...take that Japan. So many similarities with Manhattan, my other island. I seem to feel the most connection to islands. I had not realized the connection until now...maui, manhattan and now japan. Even alivia said she loves the water, so she is feeling the connection too!
the hotel we are staying at is the Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku Hotel. I wasn't expecting much as it is very cheap, but over joyed when we got there as it was quite elegant...a real find. The hotel is very close to Shinjuku station only a block and a half away so it is also perfectly situated. The station is accessible to the JR (Their trains that travel the entire distance of the country, and the Subway) We can get to literally anywhere from the station which is very comforting as even though it feels familiar, once you start walking around you realize it is not and that Tokyo is HUGE.
We walked up to the hotel and i was very happy to see such a beautiful lobby. Very classy. We checked in and proceeded to our room. Very small, very typical. It is not a room you would want to hang out in, not that it is a bad room, it is very nice, just a bit claustrophobic if you are in it too long. The bathroom is cool though, heated toilets with a bidet. Also very japanese, they really are into their toilets. (more on that later)
We were very tired so it was off to bed to rest up for our first day full day in Japan and I promise it gets a bit more exciting after this.
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