Road From Home: Japan: Day One

I went to Japan this past weekend to visit my best friend Megan. She's studying at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. I was only able to go for the weekend because I am a goody-two-shoes and feel guilty when I skip class. Plus Japan is SUPER expensive. I had always heard it was expensive but I didn't realize it until I got there and actually had to pay for things.

I am going to write about my trip in more than one post so it isn't very overwhelming.

On Thursday, I finished packing and then dragged my suitcase with me to my drawing tutorial. We worked on drawing shadows. It was a fun class because I prefer shading to lines. After class I went straight to the bus stop and took bus K51 to Tuen Mun Town Centre to catch bus E33 to the airport. I was a little stressed out because I didn't know where to get off bus E33, but I decided Terminal 1 would be the best bet and I was right! I whizzed through check in, security, and immigration and had time to grab a bite to eat at Burger King before arriving at my gate right at boarding time. The flight (I flew with All Nippon Airways for those who are interested) was very very empty. I had the entire row (and I mean the row that stretches across the plane) to myself.

I was able to stretch out and watch Toy Story 3 and Planet Earth on my personal tv screen. They served us a meal (unexpectedly), which I picked at because airplane food.... ick. The mini croissant, cold noodles, and chocolate bar were yummy though.

Bye Hong Kong!

Airplane food.... yum.....

Pretty clouds~~

I landed in Tokyo around 8 pm (Japan is one hour ahead of Hong Kong) and easily passed through immigration and customs. Going through immigration in Japan was much different than any other immigration stations I have passed through before. They checked your fingerprints and took a picture of you as well as did the normal check your passport and stamp deal.
Then I met Megan!!! She was a little frazzled because she had a confusing time getting to the airport but it was sooo good to see her! We had a Love Actually moment (people who've seen the movie will get this reference). We took a train called Skyliner into Tokyo and then found my hostel, Ace Inn, located in Shinjuku.

Faucet in Tokyo airport bathroom - you could control the temp of the water!

On the train!

Fancy (especially compared to the transportation I took to the airport in HK)

Quick tangent: The subway/train/metro/whatever you wanna call it in Tokyo is REALLY confusing. They have trains, subways, metros, rapid, express, local, etc. etc. Without Megan, I would have gotten so lost. Going from point A to B could involve switching from the train to the subway to some other mode of transportation. I spent what seems like a fortune just trying to get around Tokyo. This experience gave me a new appreciation for the simple public transportation systems of Washington DC and Hong Kong. I will leave it at that. I could go on and on about how much I disliked the transportation system, but I will spare you from that pain.

Section of the transportation system map

Did I mention that, unlike Hong Kong, not everything has English on it, including signs in the subway/train stations?
On a positive note, every seat in the trains/subways were cushioned!

Once checking into the hostel, Megan and I went to the 7th floor to find bed number 711 where I would be sleeping for the next 3 nights. I thought that sleeping in a capsule bed would make me claustrophobic, but it was actually quite cozy. I got a locker with a key to store my things. There were toilets and sinks on the floor, but the showers were in the basement.

We took a quick walk to a nearby convenient store (or as Megan would say, a conbini) and I bought some snacks to eat then and in the morning. I learned that when you buy something in Japan, you put the money in the tray they have on the counters rather than handing it directly back to the person. When returning change or handing you the receipt, the cashier will either put it back in the tray or hand it directly to you. Japan is a very polite society. There is a lot of bowing, which I found a bit disconcerting, but I expected it. I went back to my hostel for the night and went to take a shower. I got down to the basement with my towel in hand and discovered I had to pay for the showers. I didn't have any Japanese money yet because I was going to get money out the next day. So, with no other choice, I had to skip a shower that night.

Oh! I forgot to mention. Japanese are very strict about wearing shoes in the house. Whenever I went into my hostel or Megan's hostel, I had to take off my shoes and wear slippers or no shoes at all. I didn't mind this, but I had to make sure to remember to take off my shoes as soon as I entered the building.