Day One
Got up early, waited for a town car to pick me up. Big, nice Lincoln Town Car. Raz travels in style, after all, but imagine my shock when the Transporter didn’t come to get my bags. Oh well, maybe next time. Nice guy, though – Eastern European – had a lot to talk about, good conversation. Only forty-five dollars, too. A way better affair than a taxi.
Got to bag check and ran into some issue, apparently laptops are code red for death. A nice woman, Lily, was stopped repeatedly as well. Apparently, she’s an electronics and soldering genius, and had way more scarier tech in her bags than I. We chatted a little bit as we waited for our bags to go through three or four times.
Turned out her gate was near mine, so I walked with her that way, and continued our conversation. Intelligent and engaging person. Her iPod was dead, and I helped charge it with my laptop and a plugin. We fetched many odd stares; apparently it looked like we were trying to blow up the trams. Maybe we were, what do people know? Anyway, we talked while the iPod charged – as we were both insanely early – we talked about hacking, electronics, Apple (hope you get the job), NASA – a place she put in some time – Lush, soaps, web design and teaching (which we both do) all kinds of great things. Certainly made the wait zoom by, and I enjoyed it greatly. So, cheers to her, and hope she makes it back to Houston safely, and the trip is an enjoyable one. As much as a four hour flight can be.
Speaking of which, I’m about to get on my ten hour nonstop. I apparently was awarded with an aisle. I don’t much care. If the plane is packed, I’ll give it up. Catch you when I’m there. Of course, by the time I post this I will have already landed. Scary.
Spending ten hours on a flight is pretty surreal. Especially when the sun never goes away. Your body certainly feels the ten hours; cramped, uncomfortable fatigued, but your mind really isn’t sure. It knows you’ve been there a long time, sure, but, exactly how long, it can’t tell. It’s amazing how much the we rely on the sun — or the lack thereof — to convey time. Doesn’t help that I couldn’t catch one wink of sleep. Too much adrenaline, anticipation. I suspect that’s normal.
Don’t be adventurous with airline food. When al the regulars are ordering the same thing, don’t buck trend. Do not order “pork friend rice” for breakfast. You will get a blueberry muffin with it. That’s right, rice, pork and blueberry. What the hell? My stomach felt that choice all night.
We killed a little bit of time at the airport, talking, then hopped on a bus or “airport limousine bus,” basically, a bus with fancier amenities, more room. By this time, I was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Everyone else on the bus was sleeping, but I just couldn’t. Adrenaline. Plus, this was all new to me and I was fascinated.
First impressions are key, and I enjoyed mine greatly. I can see a great deal of people not being that thrilled by Tokyo, it is after all, just a big city. A BIG city. The scale of everything is so daunting. Seattle is dwarfed by Tokyo. You could fit Seattle in Tokyo’s back pocket. The skyline is so large, and tall that often I had to crane my neck way upward to try and catch the tops of buildings and still couldn’t.
Everything seems so much bigger here, larger scale. However, it’s all so tightly packed. The Japanese have mastered the art of packing one hundred times the stuff into a third the space. Maybe you could fit Tokyo in Seattle’s back pocket. And I loved it all, the large factories, the massive skyscrapers, the toll booths on the freeway, all the cars, it was so very industrial and I’m one of those that finds manmade things and industry beautiful.
However, Disneyland Tokyo is depressing. And you can’t miss it. It’s gaudiness is akin to the EMP taking fashion tips from Liberace and reveling in it’s gaiety like Project Runway.
Two hours later, still no sleep and we reached our destination and waited for our ride home. Tempura and soba for dinner. Yum. Great company. What a perfect first day. Tokyo, was on first — and distant impressions — everything I wanted it to be.
My first night however, was not. I still couldn’t sleep. My body was all messed up, my stomach was killing me, and I had some really bad thoughts of not belonging here. Like I had just dropped in on this wonderful family and asked them to put their lives on hold.
What’s with the sun coming up at four in the morning, too? I understand now why most homes have a big thick steel plate that can be slid over the windows to block the sun. I spent most the night in the bathroom, reading, and petting their dog, Surf. It was hell. i think I was probably without sleep going on 20+ hours.
Best car name? Ipsum. Also, 7-Eleven is everywhere. it’s even a reputable banking service, apparently. McDonald’s food smells like shit, even it Tokyo. Bicycle only parking lots are too cool.
