Konnichiwa Japan

There are not many things to report upon our departure from Dubai, besides the fact that I've rarely seen an airport so lively at 2 in the morning. Actually, since it is the first time I am flying that early, it would be more appropriate to say that I have never seen any airport at 2 in the morning. And DXB is surely very active...between the pilgrims for Mecca, the Pakistani for Islamabad and the Australians for Sydney, you can easily imagine Hanna's level of excitement. I was also quite excited to fly again with the A380, till I tasted the "oriental vegetarian meal", which I had selected for our flight to Tokyo. I am not picky when it comes to food, but that was really nothing for me. Hanna, however, enjoyed her meal (and mine, as a matter of fact) very very much. 9 hours and 45 minutes (or so) later, Hanna and I landed in Narita international airport.

Whereas Dubai welcomed us with its warm and dry weather, Tokyo offered rain and wind to us. Our first contact with Japan was the custom officers. An unusual warm and friendly "welcome to Japan" later (that is quite some change with respect to the US and Dutch custom officers), we were ready to collect our luggages, exchange our vouchers for the Japan Rail Pass, buy the Suica pass for the Tokyo metro (we forbid you to travel in Tokyo without those passes) and finally board the Narita Express train to Tokyo Shinjuku station.

We'll be staying till next Monday at the Ibis hotel in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, which is well known for its restaurants, electronics shopping centers, and the nearby party zone of Kabuki-Cho. We thought that, since the hotel is conveniently located near the Shinjuku subway station, it would be a piece of cake to find it...Well, that was without considering the zillions of Japanese signs, which literally seem to point to all directions at the same time, plus the size of Shinjuku station, plus the weight of our luggages, plus the lack of sleep (and my hunger)...to sum up, we made it out of the train, and....got lost...Luckily, one gentleman, whose English was good enough to assist, walked us out of the station, almost all the way to the Ibis hotel.

The first thing that caught my eye is the number of people running (not walking..or at least walking fast) around you...The second thing is that you cannot stand on the right on an escalator... Or you'll block an entire column of overworked people standing quietly in line behind you...without complaining...till you realize something's wrong...and you quickly move (or try to...cause you forgot you have those bloody luggages with you on the escalator) to your left...Thus: STAY ON YOUR LEFT, WALK ON THE LEFT!!! The third thing is the amount of neon lights...feels like in a rainy Las Vegas.

Once at the hotel, we discover our room...huh...that's just for one person, right? Nope? Huh...ok then! At least, we have WiFi...!!! And a McDonald's under the hotel...and a great tiny sushi place across the street, where you can get green tea powder, on which you pour hot water coming from the wall....Gee...too many new things for us today...need to sleep...good night!