The day begins on a sleepless plane ride destined for the other side of the world. While my dad managed to go through 3 movies, 3 hours of music, a couple of hours of reading, 3 meals and have time to spare, I decided to study some more Kanji along with some music and YouTube while watching the hours tick away. Thankfully, there wasn’t much to complain about on the flight otherwise. There were no crying babies or rowdy teens, the turbulence was pretty minimal, and for much of the ride, you were able to see the snowy landscape of northern Canada.
We arrived at Narita airport at around 3:15pm. JST (or around 2am. EST) and made our way to the check-in. Once again, a pretty decent experience dampened by a very long wait. With most of the Covid restrictions in Canada lifted, one would be forgiven for assuming that your proof of vaccine, while essential, wouldn’t be the highest concern. But in the course of getting through both airports, we had it scanned and checked 5 different times, one of which was accompanied by an hour long queue. After getting through customs and security, we went over to pick up our JR (Japan Railway) pass. The JR Pass basically lets you use much of the public transport available throughout the country without having to buy tickets after the initial purchase of the pass. Oftentimes, this ends up being the more cost-effective option for many travelers looking to see multiple cities in a single trip. This, however, came with its own 1 hour lineup as well. Once we got to the front of the line, Japan’s renowned customer service lived up to its reputation. The lady was very helpful and ended up helping us save around $200 CDN as well as booking some of the train rides that needed reservations ahead of time for us.
Finally, I get my first of what will be many Japanese vending machine drinks, and we catch the 1 hour express train from the airport over to Tokyo station. What started with us leaving from the wrong side of the station and making a couple of wrong turns ended up becoming what I would like to call “taking the scenic route” to our hotel. After some unforeseen and quite literal twists and turns in the road, we finally arrive to check in.
After dropping off our luggage in a room that contained a bathroom from the distant future, we went out to find a quick bite to eat. We get ready for the long and trying journey of getting some food before walking about 8 seconds across the street to a tempura restaurant. This marks both the first meal we would eat in Japan, as well as the first time I used a meaningful amount of Japanese to communicate. After ordering some fried fish over rice, draft beer, and some plum wine, we sit back and enjoy the delicious food. We end our first real day abroad with complimentary hotel Japanese beers. My dad managed to find his preferred style, being an IPA, while I enjoyed a Belgian white ale. After a long and sleepless 26 hours, we finally crash for the night, looking forward to the day that awaits us next.
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