Konnichiwa bitches!

And here we are!

After deciding not to sleep save for one hour, we left the house at 300am anticipating massive delays at the airport, due to the heightened security measures. We arrived there, the sky still dark, and we were greeted by the 2 cleaning people, 1 security guard, 1 coffee attendant. And about 3 other passengers. After finding the right line, then things started picking up, with the line growing longer. At around 4am, we were informed that they wouldnt start checking in passengers till 5am. However, other airlines were already going it. But they werent letting people past customs. Bla bla bla, long wait, security measures, take off shoes, etc etc. By the time I get to my departure gate, the sun was already up.



Its always nice to be on the other side of the gate for once. Cause I mean, you get used to seeing people off, watching them disappear into the netherworld past customs, past the portal that says "Passengers Only", leaving you with the depressing feeling that your life goes back to normal while the other person gets to go on a trip and whatnot.

sige na, ottawa



First stop, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. As we were close to landing in Chicago, the stewardess started rattling off a list of transferring flights and their corresponding departure gates. However, my Japan flight was not one the ones mentioned. As she was walking past me, the person sitting next to me, some Asian girl, stopped her and asked what about the Japan flight. Saved! Sabi nung stewardess di daw alam, so after a meet and greet with the girl, who was a finance student at Ottawa University going for a holiday in Korea, we decided to team up to navigate O'Hare.

All I can say about O'Hare is holy crap. Seriously, when an airport has its own railway system, things are fucked up. We were in Terminal 1, and had to take the train to Terminal 5. I know its probably common for airports to be huge, its just when you actually encounter it its somewhat daunting. But I've always been fascinated with airports, they have their own ecosystem, their own little niche in the world. I guess this would be an appropriate time to plug "The Terminal", but I havent seen it yet.

It's funny when you encounter "real" Americans, well, those with the peculiar accents. When asking for directions, she mentioned that we had to go through the "labby". I was like, is that the mini laboratory? Oh, the lobby. Gotcha.

So, we made it to our departure gate, an hour early, but whatever. Soon enough, everybody else started drifting in. And that includes the Filipinos on their way home stopping over in Japan. I sat there, and soon enough, may tumabi sakin na dalawang ale. I took off my earphones to better listen in, and soon enough I wasn't disappointed.

Ale 1: Ang sakit nga mangagat yung garapata eh..
Ale 2: Yun ba yung malaki na itim?
Ale 1: Hindo no! Baka surot yung iniisip mo!
Ale 2: Yun ba yun? Eh teka, eh di ano ang tawag dun sa pula na may dot-dot na itim?

I had to hold in a LOL at this point.

So yeah, our flight being delayed an hour, due to security measures no doubt, we then got going to Japan :D



Two years ago on the way to Canada, due to an overbooking mistake by the airline, they had bumped up my seat to a first class seat. So the 12hr flight wasn't so bad, what with the wide spacious plush seats, the personal monitor, the better food, etc, and so my attitude was "spoiled" you may say about long haul flights. Fast forward to the flight to Japan, where I was given my rightly so Economy seat, and holy shit I had forgot how bad these things were. Actually, not so much, on the plane to Canada I was in these seats, but that was for less than an hour. This was freakin 12 hrs.

Imagine seats where your knees are touching the seat in front of you, where you are literally rubbing elbows with the person next to you. It's not so bad pag pamilya ang kasama mo, but when it's strangers, it can be a bit iffy. When I realized I had the window seat, I thought yes! excellent view! Then I realized if I wanted to go to the toilet it would be by barging through the knees of two other passengers. Not so good. Ah well. I've held in shit and piss for more than 12hrs, it should be ok.

The food, meh, wasn't so great. But hey, what do you expect, it's economy. It was fortunate that I brought along an mp3 player, because the inflight entertainment was subpar. I mean, they had movies and whatnot, but its on a small iffy display on a monitor in front of you. Needless to say, I did catch snippets of "Failure to Launch", and I must say that it is the worst romantic comedy ever. Not that I am an authority on the genre.

TOKYO!

Arriving in Tokyo, through the gates. You then realize that you've entered a place where your skill in English will probably not get you through. First order of business, change money and get a train ticket. After being pointed to the downstairs area to get my train ticket, it was not hard to find the office, all you needed to to was find the huge throng of white people with their camping backpacks :D



On board the Narita Express to Tokyo. Things happen so fast. First I was getting my ticket, then trying to find the right track, then the train arrived, I got on, people put their bags down, I sat down, and we were moving. I would soon realize that in Japan, if you don't get the fuck out of the way, people will rush your shit down. ie. you gotta keep moving.



So on the train, this businessman beside me, pops down his tray, plonks down his bottle of green tea, places a plastic bag full of magazines on the tray, and starts reading one. I look again, and I realize its a freaking manga. Why can't the rest of the world be like this?? Oh yeah, and see the guy in the green shirt? A minute after this picture was taken he started reading a women's lingerie magazine. What a guy. Hindi man lang ako binigyan.

Arriving at Tokyo Station, I then transferred to the next train which would take me to Ueno. Upon arriving at Ueno, I realized that then I had to buy a ticket. I didn't have to buy a ticket from Tokyo to Ueno, by taking the Yamanote line my train pass covered that. But now I was faced with the realization that I would have to use one of their ticket vending machines, which as far as I could see, was all in Japanese. After stalling for about 10mins wondering what to do, I went up to the machine and found that there was a button that said:

ENGLISH

Ah. So yeah. Even with that button, it still didn't tell me how much to Asakusa Station, then I realized I was at the wrong ticket booth. So, after finding the right place, getting my ticket, I was on my way.

Japan is a pretty humid place. Hindi sya katulad sa Pinas, sa Pinas init lang eh, its just the sun, but here, the humidity kills you. Carrying/rolling two bags weighing 60kgs through 40 C weather, by the time I got to the hostel I was sweating pretty badly. Oo, mataba ako. Upon reaching the hostel, I was greeted with this sign.



The picture is shaky cause I couldn't stop shaking. Yes, I am fat. Up 3 flights of stairs, checked in, and I thought should go check Shibuya. I mean, what trip to Japan is complete without the obligatory picture of the massive sea of humanity at the Shibuya crossing?



After wondering the streets and alleyways of Shibuya, where Pachinko parlors and arcades abound, I went back to the hostel to get a few beers from the local bar, and thus ends day one! Yeah, it may not seem much, pero ang layo ng linakad ko. Tomorrow, Kyoto!