Tokyo Flight: The flight to Tokyo was long. Flat Stanley and I made new friends from Georgia, Alburquerque and Atlanta.Narita Airport: We arrived to Narita Airport on time, 3:25 p.m., November 22. Flat Stanley questined where a whole day went. During the flight he was very restless and broke his arm trying to get into candy. Some nice people on board helped him and he was ok.
Narita's Japanese Toilets: At the airport, going to the bathroom was a challenge. The toilets different. I wished he had investigated how to use toilets in Japan.
Recycling at the Airport: There were recyling boxes for everything around the airport. The Japanese people recycle everything.
Vending Machines at the Airport: If you wanted to buy a cold or hot drink you could directly from the vending machine. I had to pay attention to colors, red= hot drinks, blue=cold drinks. Flat Stanley made friends everywhere because he asked many questions and wanted to have his picture taken with everyone. He was learning so much and he was very happy to be in Tokyo.
Tokyo Prince Hotel: When I arrived to the hotel, my business cards in English and Japanese were waiting for me. My friend Fumitaka had delivered them earlier. A welcome to Tokyo note with his phone number was placed on the box. I called Fumitaka to thank him because he had refused payment for the cards, but I could not get in touch with him. I left a message in his answering machine. I hoped I had the right number because the recording was in Japanese.
My room was big and nice, but everything was old. The television set looked ancient. I had CNN in English, the rest of the channels were in Japanese.
At the Tokyo Prince Hotel I realized that using the Internet was going to be expensive, over $5.75 for 30 minutes. I decided to blog every two days and I started a manual journal.
Dinner Time: Flat Stanley and I did not want to eat dinner. We were too tired. I followed a group going to dinner to a sushi place with Fulbright Alumni, but I gave up after a few minutes and returned to the hotel. I went to bed after a long evening walk around the hotel. I really liked my time alone.
Flat Stanley was very surprised to find a Western (improved) toilet in the bathroom. The seats were heated and they had buttons for cleaning and deodorizing purposes. Some toilets even have radios. http://www.renton.wednet.edu/dimmitt/Nishiwaki/Etiquette_in_Japan.html.
Reflection:
The orientation and flight were handled with perfection. The guides and buses were waiting for us at the airport. The transfer of luggage was done for us. Our luggage awaited for us inside our hotel room. On our way to the airport, we were given details of the schedule for the next two days and money for our meals not covered by JFMF. FMF treated us like VIP's. I have a bad case of jet lag. I feel dizzy and not in control. All I want to do is sleep, but I am fighting it.
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