Studying Abroad in Japan: Arrival in Japan 9/14/2014 to 9/16/2014

My flights went smoothly. I got up at 4am, caught a shuttle to the Harrisburg Airport at 5am, and was through security by 5:35. There were a couple slight snafus at check-in, since the self-check-in passport reader didn’t work, and in addition, my bag was 2 pounds overweight. The staff were really relaxed and friendly though, so they let me leave my suitcase on the scale as I pulled stuff out to lighten it. They suggested a pair of jeans, but my fall coat turned out to be what I needed to fall right at 50.0lbs. So I’ve been lugging my fall coat and my sweatjacket (which I was wearing) around all day.

I ate a hurried breakfast, went to the bathroom, and boarded the tiny place as the airport attendant was calling the last groups of passengers. The flight was only about 25 minutes long, so I don’t think we were even served a drink. If we were, it was either orange juice or water.

Watching the sunrise on the flight from Harrisburg. You can see the river and trails of fog.

When I got to Washington Dulles Airport, I checked with the United airline’s customer service to see if my bag was going to Tokyo by itself or if I needed to recheck it to get it there. The employee had me show my baggage claim ticket and pointed to where it said “NRT” (Tokyo Narita Airport). “See?” she said. “It says it’s going straight there.” I thanked her and took the Aero train to Terminal B. I thought about getting a massage, but between my heavy stuff, which would immediately destroy any positive effects of a massage, and the fact that the masseuse was busy talking on the phone in a way that didn’t really invite interruption, I decided not to.

The strange-looking shuttles at the Washington Dulles Airport.

I wandered around, had a stale pizza pretzel from Auntie Anne’s (definitely wished I had asked for the freshest one), and idled away the time. Five hours after arriving, I boarded for my 14-hour flight to Japan. The flight was uneventful, except for some strong turbulence and the surprising fact that I somehow never had to wait for a lavatory. The food was good, as expected of ANA (All Nippon Airways). In addition, they had a special lime drink called “Aromatic Kabosu” (kaoru kabosu), which was pretty good. I guess Kabosu is a type of Japanese lime, and they added some honey to counterbalance the sour taste.

Dinner

Toray water bottle

The vegetable curry with dinner

I was sitting in the middle seat in a seat set next to the window (there are 3 columns of seats). The man in the window seat, although a nice person, cruelly kept the window shut the whole time while he slept and/or watched Japanese TV shows on his iPad, DS, or other portable electronic device. I got barely a glimmer of sunlight the whole 14-hour flight, despite the fact that we were flying with the sun the whole way. Everyone kept the windows closed against the bright light. It was dark and stuffy. Halfway through the flight, I got bored with my reading materials and I had finished my sewing.. My abdomen was cramping from the air-pressure-related expansion of gas in my intestines. The remote-controlled TV screen on the back of the seat was an old model: small, confusing, partly unresponsive, and slow. There was also no way to turn the screen off, so everyone’s screens put off heat that made the air stuffier. The only way I discovered to darken the screen was either to go to Audio mode, or try to play the one news program that had. I found out with the news program that it wasn’t actually broken, at least not completely. 10 or so minutes after showing black screen (because I selected the program and gave up), all of a sudden the screen flickered to life and an English-dubbed version of a Japanese news program started. The dubbing was pretty good, although a little strange in parts. They didn’t completely cover the Japanese sound, occasionally allowing it to play for relevant video clips or words the news anchors said that weren’t very important. After the program played through once, I changed the language and watched it again in Japanese.

After that, I watched several anime shows, including Chibi Maruko-chan, Doraemon, Pretty Cure, and Little Twin Bears. The first two were old famous shows that I’d heard of but never seen. The third is the current popular magical girls show. And the last is a very cutesy show geared towards young children (ages baby-5years probably).

During the last 3-4 hours of the flight, my allergies started to bother me. My nose wouldn’t stop running, and my eyes itched and teared. I hadn’t thought ahead about this possibility, so my Benadryl was buried in my carryon suitcase, which was heavy and stowed above us. I decided to wait till after we landed to take the medicine. At least now I know that Benadryl lasts up to 18-19 hours (4am-11pm EST).

After I got off the plane, I went to the second bathroom we passed. It was smaller than I expected because I was imagining American handicapped stalls, but it was normal size for Japan. I rummaged through my suitcase for my Japanese phone and my Benadryl. I inconvenienced some people because the out-of-the way spot I had chosen was under the hand dryers. I partially assumed that all Japanese people carried hand towels, so they wouldn’t need them.

At Immigration, the staff member took a very long time looking through my documents. I told her I was a Fulbright scholar, which seemed to slightly reassure her and slightly confuse her but not really help at all. She kept flipping through the visa application papers and resume stapled into my passport. Eventually, she asked the older staff man next to her a question, which he answered. She had the machine take my finger prints and a picture of my face, which normally ends the process, but she continued to flip through my papers. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my back. When I had first stepped off the plane, the humidity had hit me with a shock. I had donned my sweatjacket for convenience, but I was burning to death as I waited for the staff woman to okay my entry. Five minutes later, she finished, and gave me an information sheet and my Residence Card. I waited at the baggage claim for my suitcase to arrive, joined one of the many Customs lines, and then was through the exit. The exit was so crowded! There was a railing across from the exit, and it was packed with people waiting for the arrivals. I made my way past them towards the Currency Exchange area, where I took a moment to get organized. I exchanged my dollars to yen, and then lugged my double suitcases over to the Train Ticket window. There I was able to buy a half-price one-way pass for foreigners from Narita Airport to major Tokyo stations. The line for tickets was full of foreigners catching the next train. When I got down to the train platform, I saw the woman who had been in line in front of me. We made eye contact and had a conversation. She was here on business, going to a small station. I gave her tips on how to navigate the rail system, and showed her the assigned seat printed on her ticket. Even though we were taking the same train, we were in different cars. When the train arrived, we split up.

There was a cleaning staff in bright yellow uniform that rushed onto the train and cordoned off the entrances as soon as all the previous passengers were off. They had less than 10 minutes to get the train ready. After that, they removed the cordoned and let us on. One sickly-looking Japanese girl helped my put my suitcases in the storage area in the front. It was difficult because the other passengers were too impatient to wait for us to put them away. I found my assigned seat and typed this up as I rode to Shibuya Station.

At Shibuya Station, I got lost looking for the Ginza line. A kind young Japanese woman helped me lug my suitcase up and down the stairs until I found the line. People have much better English in Tokyo than elsewhere, although I don’t know if it’s quite at conversational level. At the Ginza line, I needed to buy another ticket, but strangely, on the map it said it cost 310 yen, but on a list of stations for Tokyo Metro it said it cost 170 yen. I bought the cheaper ticket, then went to the station employee to confirm it was correct. He pointed me to the train waiting at the platform and helped me lift one of my suitcases up the flight of stairs to the train. At Aoyama 1-chome station, I had a map but didn’t know where to go. With my suitcases, I hadn’t been able to use the recommended exit, so I wasn’t sure where on the map I was. Fortunately, a kind foreign father with a half-Japanese child who had ridden the elevator with me noticed my confusion and, in English, gave me directions to the hotel. Sweaty and exhausted, I managed to find the hotel with only slight difficulty.

The hotel staff (at least one person) speaks English fluently. Eating breakfast the next morning, I realized why. All the hotel guests were foreigners.

I thought the zipper was suspiciously different. Then found this in my suitcase.

Breakfast buffet

Coffee machine and tiny mugs on the left, then water and milk, then juice and cups.

On the very left, a huge container of yogurt. From left to right, dressings: Lemon, Caesar, Roasted Sesame, and Yuzu & Soy. I had Yuzu & Soy, which was salty and sour in a delicious way. Yuzu is a citrus fruit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzu .

Boiled eggs, strangely-yellow scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fish.

Japanese pickles, rice porridge, rice, miso soup. On the back table, corn flakes, cocoa puffs, and another cereal, and milk.

Small croissants, rolls, raisin bread slices, plain slices, margarine. Second shelf: strawberry jam, blueberry jam, orange marmalade, tongs, butter knife. Bottom shelf, plates and toaster. To the right are sweets that cost extra.

My room is a typical small single. I had some trouble with the toilet the first time I used it. I quickly pressed the flush and shut the lid, and the next thing I knew, gallons of water shot out from under the toilet on the floor towards the sink. Horrified, I threw open the toilet lid to see that the bowl was completely full. After a minute, the water drained to normal level. Since then, I’ve treated the toilet with caution and watch to make sure it flushes right. I guess you’re supposed to hold down the flush lever until the toilet is committed to letting water out of (not just into) the toilet.


Bathroom. Shampoo, rinse, and soap (combination body and hand) are provided above the sink. The sink and bath share a moveable faucet, which has a switch to the showerhead. The shower curtain is on a string instead of a rod. A sanitized cup in plastic wrapping is provided in the bathroom. I also got a showercap from the amenities provided downstairs in the lobby.

The toilet paper roll. Space efficient and rolls smoothly

The treacherous toilet.

I also found my room to be stuffy and warm. I couldn’t figure out the air conditioner; it seemed to say it was on, but nothing happened. I couldn’t manage to open the window either. Later, I was glad about that, since there’s no screen and I spotted a possibly dengue-fever-carrying mosquito fly by. (There’s currently an outbreak of dengue fever in Tokyo, the first outbreak of it in 50 years.)

At least the Hotel Asia Center of Japan has free bottled water and amenities.

My hotel room.

My bed, with the (previously neatly folded) yukata to wear in my room, on it. Above the bed is the air conditioner control and a second pair of light switches for the room. On the shelf is The New Testament.

The neatly folded yukata provided for relaxing and sleeping in.

The air conditioner controller. Top right button is the power button. The lower left two buttons control air temperature, and the right button controls the wind.