Sorry for the lateness in getting any posts done on here! I've been pretty busy! But I have managed to find some time now! This post is only really about the flight and first day of Japan, but I'll blog about the other couple of days that I've spent here so far soon too!
So we were up at about half past four in the morning on Saturday the 27th of August, and set off an hour later to go to Manchester Airport with Mum, Dad and Ayu. We got there at about 6 o'clock, and went to one of the Etihad check-in desks, where we met Ash. After having a major rearrangement of my hand luggage, as it was both too big and too heavy to take on (as if they weigh hand luggage now!) I went to check my main luggage, to find it was 2kg too heavy. £54 overweight fees later we were ready to go through the security checks and onto the plane. As my parents and Ayu couldn't go any further, in front of the security gate was the scene of the teary goodbye I had been dreading. Unsurprisingly, it was as bad as I'd expected it to be.
Yes, I'm smiling there, but you have to for the camera!
I was pretty much crying whilst going through security right after saying the final goodbye, and other people in there were giving me a sort of "what's wrong with him? He's going on holiday!" look. If only they knew!
After security we had about 15 minutes to wait before going to our gate and then getting on the plane. Ohh, the plane. Oh dear. Whilst the service and interactive screens we all got were good, the seats were terrible! I've never had so little legroom on a long haul flight. I couldn't have my legs straight, so I had cramp in my legs and achey pains in my knees because they'd been bent for so long by the time I disembarked the plane. It was seven hours to Abu Dhabi, before we had a two hour stop over, and then the final ten hour flight on to Tokyo. It was long, cramped, and horrible, but eventually we were there.
We arrived at about 1 o'clock in the afternoon at Tokyo Narita Aiport, actually in neighbouring Chiba (oops, I initially wrote 'in neighbouring China' by accident there, that would have been a long transfer), and booked a seat on a bus from the Airport to Kichijoji, in Western Tokyo. It was my first chance to authentically use Japanese, and it went well! I was pleased that we could actually understand each other!
The trip was about an hour and a half, during which time Ash and I shared an iPod and admired the Tokyo scenery. It initially struck me as being very similar to Shanghai, as the highways around the centre are very similar, as are some of the tall buildings, and blocks of flats, but once you get into the centre the two are quite different.
Arriving in Kichijoji, we easily found the train station, before buying a Suica Card (like an Oyster card it allows you to top it up with credit in order to travel the trains around Tokyo and Japan) and taking the Chuo Rapid Line three stops to Higashi-Koganei, the closest station to my guesthouse.
Once in Higashi-Koganei, I used a nearby payphone to phone the guesthouse company, who came and picked us up, and took us to the Big Rose 21 guesthouse. I signed the forms needed, paid my first month's rent and deposit, and then went up to the room to relax. My accommodation is brilliant, and I'll have a proper post about it when I've finished setting up here.
That evening we were too tired to really do anything, so we had a look at some Japanese TV, went to buy a bento box for dinner and a couple of beers, before going to bed! Ash has been staying with me for a few days (he's leaving tomorrow to travel around the Kansai region of Kyoto and Osaka, before heading down to his university in Fukuoka), and the guesthouse people were good enough to set up a futon on my floor for him to sleep on!
Oh, and I bought a little plant for my room as well. His name is Albert Henry, and he is lovely.
I'll try post soon about my first few days in Japan! Please stay tuned, my blog should actually be interesting from now on!!
Hope England's coping without me.
James
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