Saturday, May 31, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 8 - Japan Day 8

We woke up early in the morning to try to get ourselves on the Mt. Fuji and Hakone tour for the day but when we called we found that the tour was booked solid. I asked if any tour was open and they said all the English tours were full. Only Chinese language tours had space.  We decided we would not take the Chinese tours.  We got cleaned up and ready and headed to Hato Bus station in Hamamatsucho to see if maybe we could find something for Sunday because in the phone conversations they said that there were no free spaces on any tour. We took the Asakusa line to Daimon. Before we got to the station we had breakfast at a mini Doutour across the street from the World Trade Center. The bust terminal is in the world trade center. I had a German Hot Dog because they only really had toast for breakfasty items that didn't include eggs.  Daniela had a pancake and whipped cream layered cake and some small cake as well.  She had yogurt for a drink and I had a cup of coffee.  The food was good but Daniela didn't care for the pancake thing so I finished it for her.

After breakfast we booked tours for Sunday and the following Saturday where we will still be in Japan until Sunday morning. I would have liked to book for Friday but there was no guarantee I could make it. For Sunday we picked a local Tokyo tour and for Saturday the Mt Fuji and Hakone trip because those were all full for Sunday too.

After that we got back on the subway and took the Oedo line to Shiodome and then walked up to the monorail station and road across the rainbow bridge to Daiba.  In Daiba we almost immediately walked into the Aqua City mall and started to shop for hats for Daniela because it was so sunny out. Also for shoes or something to make all the walking easier for her feet as she hadn't brought any sort of sports shoes with her.  There was a brand new store in the mall called Flying Tiger Copenhagen. It was filled with Danish junk honestly (or at least junk with Danish names on it, I bet most was made in China or such). It was amazing how many people were in there and actually buying things.  We spent the morning shopping until we ate lunch in the Aqua City at a grill restaurant. I had a hamburger with curry sauce and vegetables with rice. Daniela had a grilled chicken piece and some soup and salad.  I had a Yebisu beer and Daniela had a "sparkling wine" which was presented very grandly as the waiter put a bowl down then put the cup in the bowl and added soda water to a glass of wine. She liked the presentation but did not like the wine so much.

After lunch we continued shopping into the late afternoon in Aqua City where we crossed over to the Tokyo Diver mall but didn't go directly in because the Gundam was still out there.  We took some pictures with it then went to a Tully's coffee and had coffee and dessert. Daniela had a premade cheesecake and I had a small cup of coffee ice cream.  When we were done it was almost time for the Gundam Stand at Jabura show.  We found a good spot to sit. By this time it was dark out. The show is a movie projected on the wall of the mall along with a light show on the Gundam. Besides that the Gundam's head moves and the chest panel opens where there is a screen inside to display the pilot. Also it vents smoke from certain areas during the show. Its head moves left and right but also looks up. The story was of course in Japanese with no translation but it was still cute. I managed to get the whole thing in video.  I think it was about 20 minutes long.

When the Gundam show was over we entered the mall and did some more shopping until the mall closed. After this whole day Daniela did not buy a hat or shoes but did buy some socks to make her feet feel better in her current shoes.

We took the Oedo line back to Daimon and went to Tengu. There menu looked different but I am sure it was still the same restaurant. I had octopus and tuna sashimi along with a skewer of asparagus wrapped in pork. Daniela had a skewer of chicken wing and ramen noodles.  She had hot tea and I had a Tengu special brown beer. The food was good but the octopus was a bit crunchier than normal.  Anyway it tasted good.  When we finished as the restaurant was closing we got back to Daimon station and took the Asakusa line back to Asakusa and walked back to the hotel where we called it a night.

The pictures from Japan day 8 are found here.

Friday, May 30, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 7 - Japan Day 7

I woke up at a bit before 6 and began to make my coffee and get prepared for the day. Daniela woke up a little while later, just before I was ready to go out the door. I asked her to research a Fuji tour for Saturday for me before I left. She was already on the task as I was leaving.  I met Han in the lobby at 7:30 and we took the train to the station where we walk to the office and made it to the office by 8:30 again. I set up and the translator showed up only a little bit late. We started off the day's lecture again having the translator present which made things go a bit easier for the lecture time and the labs were starting out well before we went to lunch at 12:15.  For lunch I had a tempura fish and Chinese meatballs and vegetables along with rice and hot tea.  The food was again nothing exciting but at least filling. I probably should have skipped on the Chinese meatballs as I think it was a bit too much. We returned at 1pm to continue the labs.  We returned maybe a little bit late but continued on through the process. We did not take until 5pm for the expected lecture and labs for the day but only by half an hour so we just ended the class for the weekend there.

Daniela had left me texts at 2:30 or so saying she was going to Sunshine City. That is in Ikebukuro which is practically on the other side of the city and not remotely intuitive to get to from Asakusa so I was not at all surprised that she was not at the room when I got back from the office.  I got changed and then walked down to the 7-11 to buy a snack and some beer because I was hungry for dinner and had no idea how long she would be but I was expecting later rather than sooner. If she left right as she texted she would have been gone for around 3 hours. I am fairly certain 45 minutes minimum each way to get there would mean less than an hour and a half to see the site.  So I bought some corn bugles of a Japanese variety and a can and bottle of beer. A Yebisu Royal Selection and  Grand Kirin. I started first with the Yebisu and the bugles and started watching Japanese TV about cruise ships. After a few minutes I tried the Grand Kirin and found it very nice. It was hoppy and had good flavor. Probably the hoppiest beer I have tried in Japan. For hops fans I would suggest to give it a try if in Japan. Daniela called me at about 6:55 to say she was at Ikebukuro station and asked if I wanted to go there or have her come back. I asked her to come back because it would be a long wait in a train station for her.  I knew I had an hour at least before she arrived so I channel surfed and waited.  I found a channel which was showing really old anime and watched them. It was like watching Superfriends only worse.  Fortunately she got home just as the second one was finishing. Her trip basically amounted to going out there then going shopping for a little bit then coming back.

We walked out into Asakusa and she brought me in a direction because she had seen a couple of sumo wrestles she said. Indeed she did and we took a couple of pictures with them. The one I took of her on her camera is awesome.  After that we walked around for a bit longer till we found a Shabu Shabu restaurant and ate there. It was called Nabezo and on the 4th floor of a building across the street from the temple and down to the side a bit.  The food was good. We got to pick our vegetables. I liked the ponzu sauce much more than the sesame sauce and I think Daniela felt the same. The waiter was very pleasant and smiled all the time. I had 2 Kirin beers.  Daniela just had juice and tea.

After we finished eating we just went back to the room and called it a night.  Daniela must have been really tired because she passed out almost right away and she wasn't even the one drinking alcohol.

The pictures from Japan Day 7 are located here.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 6 - Japan Day 6

I woke up before the alarm and so did Daniela. She started communicating with her sister via text then eventually Skype while I was getting ready for work. I left her still talking to her sister. She said she was going to go to Shibuya maybe and look around today. Han was eating breakfast when I got downstairs but in a couple minutes we were on our way to the office. We again took the stop that allowed us to walk to the office rather than taking a taxi or a bus. I am much happier with that method.  We got in at about 8:20 or so and I started preparation for the day but since the day's work involves some tools and preparation that I have all ready at home and I did not have all of that here it was a harrowing morning. First the translator was taken to another project for the day so I had to speak to the students without translation which meant they really didn't understand what I was saying so well.  Then with the mishaps in getting the lab environment correct for the work for the day there was a large gap where I was preparing things and the students were going over their own material provided by the more senior engineers.  All in all it was an embarrassing and difficult morning.

We started lunch at 12:30 instead of 12 because of the delays partially. I had Katsudon (deep fried pork with a sweet sauce on it) and rice today with none of the other extras.  It again was serviceable but not anything to write home about being basic cafeteria food.  After eating we had a few minutes to check email before continuing on at 1:15.  We were able to finish the material by 5:15 with only a few small problems so overall the time after lunch went well enough. Still it all made for a long day for me.  We headed back to the hotel basically right away and were at the room by 6:15 or so.

Daniela was waiting to go out somewhere and had her heart set on Shibuya which of course is practically the other side of the city from Asakusa but at least the Ginza line is direct to it with Asakusa being one termination of the line and Shibuya being the other. We bought her a Pasmo card so we could both get around Tokyo without having to buy tickets at every ride.  The train took I think at least a half an hour to get there but I was not keeping track of time. We walked around a bit. She was fully amazed at the number of people and all the lights and big screens on the building and the whole spectacle. This was the stereotypical Tokyo seen in all the movies she was expecting.

After a bit of walking around with her visiting a couple of shops and taking pictures of a lot of fashion around the area we found a restaurant that looked good and went in but when the waitress said ti was all beef tongue not just regular beef Daniela wished we exit and we went to a place instead called  Le Porc de Versailles.  She ordered a steak that looked like a rib eye and was very tasty, she gave me some of hers.  I had  roasted pork chops and fries.  We both got rice.  I had a beer and she had a glass of red wine. After we finished the meal we each had a dessert. She had a cream pudding with strawberry and I had a creme brulee that had ice cream on top. They were both nice.

After eating we walked around a tiny bit more then made our way to the train station and rode back to the hotel where we turned in for the night.

The pictures from Japan day 6 are here.


Wednesday, May 28, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 5 - Japan Day 5

Today started early after a full (and I mean full) night's sleep. I had a cup of coffee from the contraption hot pot thing and then showered and kissed my beautiful wife good-bye to meet Han at the lobby. I was perhaps 2 minutes late. We met and took the Tsukuba Express to the stop we walked to yesterday and walked into the office. We were about 15 minutes early and had changed training classrooms from one to another for size issues. We had the students finish the labs from the day before and quickly went through the presentations for the hardware then headed down to the lab and worked on taking apart the one system we could take apart.  I walked them through the process until lunchtime then we went to the company cafeteria. I had chicken, rice, gyoza and some sort of mildly flavored fruit pudding (I think it felt more like jello).  From there it was back to the lab to continue working on the system for taking it apart and putting it back together again. We worked on the same system all afternoon with a few exceptions where we split some time on one of the others. The company was worried about the other 2 as they would be sold to customers eventually.  We managed to get through the rest of the day on time and finished up by 5:00pm. They went over some things that I typically don't go over but it all worked out well.

They were having a party for us at 5:30pm so Han and I had to stick around for that. Since I passed out the night before I was a bit concerned that I was abandoning Daniela and would rather we did it on a different night but it would be rude for me to refuse so I attended.  It was a nice time. They had a very large spread of food that was carried out over several courses. They had Sapporo beer in quantity. I kept my glass mostly full so they didn't keep filling it up on me. I like the beer of course but with it being a teaching night I really couldn't drink too much.  I had maybe the equivalent of a bottle and a half of beer.  The food was a lot of different things. They had some sashimi and hot dog like sausages, salads, cucumbers with some sort of marinated barley. Potato hash browns, pizza, Japanese style pancakes, noodles and a few other things. I pretty much tried everything and it was all good. During the dinner they all stood up and said something in English. They are almost all limited in ability but they said something.  Later in the dinner the bosses of various departments also showed up to get some food and drink and introduced themselves. They drank a lot of beer, much more than the students. They also had shochu but I didn't drink any of that for the same reason I limited my beer intake.They all commented on my ability with chopsticks because I am very good with them for a westerner. After all the students spoke I made a brief speech. When it was time to finish we all stood up and made a noise and clapped to end the party.  Where it was a party I didn't take any pictures of the food or students though probably I should have. All I managed for pictures in the day was of the classroom.

Watanabe-san took us to the train station by cab because he was going there himself. He rode the Tsukuba Express a few stops shorter than we did so we talked with him a bit until he got out.  When we returned to Asakusa we split our ways at the hotel and I found Daniela was not in the room. There was a note that she was in the Itanova restaurant of the hotel so I went down and met her. She was working on some information for her work and drinking tea by then but she had eaten dinner. We talked for a while and she showed me what she had posted to Facebook so far for her trip to Japan.  Then when they told us they were stopping service for the night we went up to the room and called it a night.

The pictures from Japan day 5 are here.


Tuesday, May 27, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 4 - Japan Day 4

We started a bit late partially because Daniela had not been feeling well to her stomach and partially because they had decided class was not going to start until 1pm on Tuesday (after lunch). Obviously, Han and I had a 45 minute trip to take to get there so we decided to eat lunch before getting to the office.

Daniela and I left the hotel at about 10:30 and walked over to the Pronto which is a cafe just around the corner. I was sure we could get reasonably good coffee and/or tea there and something to eat. The girl at the counter spoke English very well. She was young but I suspect it is a product of a lot of tourists eating someplace western in nature.

We each had a pasta plate. Hers was tomato and mozzarella and mine was just meat sauce. The spaghetti was actually Japanese noodles but it was good like that. The texture is different but still very enjoyable. I had a blood orange juice and a coffee and Daniela had a Masala Chai which she liked a lot.  After she was done she had a cappuccino.

We walked to the 7-11 and I took out some money and she made copies of her passport. Then we walked back to the hotel and I got my stuff and met Han for the ride to the office. We took the Tsukuba express followed by a taxi and arrived at about 12:30pm which gave me a few minutes to set up. The translator arrived and all the students in turn. We then just started the class right away. It is a very different experience than I have teaching at home and also different than the class I did in Peru because I have a translator. I speak then she translates. I have little room for humor and I am just going through the very direct route to providing the information. I can say it is going to be a tough class to provide but as long as the students manage to learn it will be ok I guess.  I am sure it will not be great for my ego. We managed to make it further than I thought with the time I had before the students had to leave but we didn't get through all the material for the first day. We'll see how this sets the class in order.

By the end of class I had a massive headache like I haven't had in a long time and I just ended up getting back to the hotel (we walked to a different station on the Tsukuba express for speed and then rode back to Asakusa where Han continued on to Akihibara to buy some electronics. I basically went right to bed and spent the rest of the night sleeping. We didn't go to dinner or anything. I was apologetic to Daniela of course but I don't think it would have been fun with my headache like that.

The pictures from Japan Day 4 are located here.

Monday, May 26, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 3 - Japan Day 3

I had to get up early to get to the office to make sure things were going to be ready for the class. Daniela and I went down to the hotel restaurant and found out breakfast was not included but we paid 1000 yen (about $10 each and ate anyway). The breakfast foods were mainly Japanese. Grilled fish, rice, salad, pickles, but some small amounts of western breakfast food too.  I am sure I didn't eat $10 worth of food but Daniela stayed because we got down a little bit late for my meeting time of 8am with Han to get to the office. I think we had maybe 20 minutes. She said that she made sure we got our money's worth of food after I left.

Han and I met in the lobby of the hotel and walked to the Asakusa Station of the Tsukuba Express train line. I bought round trip tickets and we rode the line to the Kashiwanoha-Campus stop which is the station nearest to Hitachi. We took a taxi to the office from the train station. It cost us about 1090 yen.  At the facility we checked in with security and they called Watanabe-san to get us. We only waited a couple of minutes. We were brought to a conference room and we met with him and a translator and went over the details of the class in brief. They have 3 systems ready or will be by the time class starts on Tuesday after lunch. Two of them will be sold to customers so they have to be treated with white gloves (he actually showed us the bag of white gloves).  I also wouldn't be able to do some class time stuff I expected to do with all the systems with the 2 being sold.  We saw the classroom and the training lab area (amusingly their lab is on a different floor than their classrooms just like at home.  We arranged what would happen in the class and then he let us go probably by 10:30am.  We took a taxi to the train station and rode the train back to the hotel where we parted ways for the evening.

Daniela was in the room doing some work when I got back. We got her ready to go out after she rearranged the room a bit to fit both of our stuff in better. We headed to Hamamatsucho so I could show her Tokyo Tower while we were communicating with Marina about meeting up with her. We took the Toei Asakusa line to Daimon and walked through the Zojo-ji temple on our way up to the tower. We made it to the tower but Marina was done her appointment and on her way to Hamamatsucho so we only had time for Daniela to get a huge crepe wrapped chocolate cheesecake and ice cream dessert thing without going up to the top.  Since it was windy and cloudy we decided we could do it another day/night.  We walked back to the World Trade Center building right outside the Hamamatsucho JR station and within a couple minutes Marina arrived.

We decided to take a late sort of lunch at the top of the World Trade Center building. That is the 39th floor and has a great view of the harbor. I am not sure of the name of the restaurant. I think it does tea time lunch then turns into a French restaurant for dinner. I had a mixed pizza which had bacon and shrimp on it besides the cheese and sauce. I forgot to take a picture this time. They do their pizza very thin and often crispy crust.  It was good. Daniela had their Japanese curry and I think she liked it though she thought there was too much rice. Marina had eaten so she got a coffee and a creme brulee since she had lunch. The food was nice though there wasn't much coffee for a cup with no refills.  I had a coffee too.

After lunch we walked over to Kaji and arranged our anniversary dinner with Kajima-san and then walked through Shiodome on to Ginza. Daniela got to see some of the sights she had not yet seen.  We really just walked and talked for an hour and a half or so then Marina had to part ways so we left her in Ginza where she could take an easy train to home.  Daniela and I walked on to see the Godzilla statue then by accident found a small display of stitchwork art that was being shown in a building near the statue.  The location we were in was not great for taking a train back to Hamamatsucho so we took a cab there. I fell to the JR station as a reference point the cab driver could understand. It was maybe a 5 minute ride and almost completely straight after one left at Hibiya Park.  We arrived to Hamamatsucho too early for our 8pm reservations so we walked to a dance school Daniela had noticed when we went to make the reservations and she talked to the instructor for a bit. He was able to speak English well but he apparently has a teacher who speaks English better that would be back in a week after going to a competition. They taught ballroom dances it appeared.  We were still a bit early so we walked to a place to sit inside for a few minutes. During that time it started to rain. We made our way quickly to Kaji at 8 while dodging raindrops.

We ordered the Kobe beef Kaji Special for each of us and again the meal was incredible. The gentleman to my right at the table, Matsumoto-san was able to speak English well and we had some nice conversation with him and Daniela and he even traded business cards. He worked in shipping fish and was very nice. Had been to Boston (well, New Bedford) a couple of times but had not yet been to Peru though he said he wanted to go. They shared with us some of their sparkling red wine and even their Spanish sherry that Daniela was incredibly impressed with during the course of the meal. The starter was a shrimp, bean and small beef slice assortment. Then he made the radishes, the onion and pumpkin and the potatoes along the way.  From there it was time for the beef with the garlic chips. Then on to the beef cracklings and then the garlic fried rice. Lastly was the mango and coffee. We ordered a bottle of French Beaujolais to go along with the meal. It was not the best wine ever but was nice enough to handle what we ate. Everything was as good as I remembered and yet again I was happy with the meal completely.

With all the extra alcohol I think we were both a bit tipsy by the time we left. The rain was stronger and Kajima-san gave us an umbrella (I think we will try to return it to him later in the trip). We walked to the Daimon train station and took the train back to Asakusa. There were some really drunk people on the train including someone who almost took the wrong briefcase and maybe didn't get his phone as they tried to give it to him before the door closed. We fortunately weren't that drunk. Even then I think we barely got in the room after the walk from the train station before both of us were sound asleep for the night.

The pictures from Japan Day 3 are located here.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 2 - Japan Day 2

I woke up at 5am and started through the process of getting ready to meet Daniela at the airport. I found the funky coffee thing they have and  made one. I will have to be awake enough one morning to take a picture of it.  The coffee wasn't great but it was coffee and I knew I would need some. Though I slept all night I was still tired from the jet lag.  I got showered and dressed and headed to the train station. Of course I chose the wrong train station. There are at least 4 train stations here near the hotel, the closest of which is not the one I needed. So I had to exit that train station and reorient. I was supposed to leave at 6am because her flight was supposed to land at 6:45 and it would take about 50 minutes to get to Narita on the express.

I did find the airport and paid the wrong fair (though I didn't know at the time I was short by 200 yen or so) because there was only a machine and no attendant to buy a ticket from. I got on the train bound for the airport which was at 6:38 by the time I was in the right place. A whole 25 minutes later than I expected.  The 50 minute ride got me to the airport at 7:30 or so and I was in terminal one correctly but didn't know if her plane was supposed to arrive at the North Wing or South Wing Arrivals gates. I could not find record of her flight because by the time I got to those it was 7:45 and the boards were only going back as far as 7:30.  I went to the wrong wing because it is the one my plane exited from but after a couple minutes (knowing that I was over an hour late by this point and not seeing Daniela) I asked information and was told she would be at the South Wing Arrivals gate.  I looked around but didn't find her so waited at the entrance and after a few minutes she actually did come out. I was relieved I was not late.  I welcomed her to Japan and then after a few minutes we bought train tickets back to Asakusa. We bought some drinks at the train platform. I got a can of black coffee and she tried a green tea cold drink.  We only had to wait a couple minutes to board and the train was going soon after.

After a couple of minutes on the train Daniela's stomach started to bother her. I am not sure if it was from the green tea drink or something else but she was worried she was going to throw up.  She didn't fortunately and the ride back was uneventful otherwise. She was still not feeling well most of the day after that.  When we exited the train it took me a couple minutes to orient myself correctly to the hotel.I am sure I didn't pick the most efficient route but we got there in only a few minutes like we should have. We picked up Daniela's key card for the door and she got some toiletries from the from desk then we got in and she showered after a few minutes. Something I am sure was sorely needed after 40 hours or so of transit. She told me she got out in Mexico City where she had a long layover and met with a friend who took her to the basilica of the virgin of Guadalupe amongst other things.  She did not have great flights but they weren't terrible flights.

After she was cleaned up we went out and looked around a bit and eventually found a place to have lunch. It was at a place called Royal Host which Daniela picked sort of randomly. She wanted something simple and easy because she was worried about her stomach.  The menu had pictures but was not in English. I had a Japanese curry and a Kirin beer. Daniela had a vegetable soup and then grilled chicken with rice and corn. She had to order the rice special and asked them not to put on something else as well. Fortunately the manager spoke enough English for this to happen (there was a half-gaijin boy working as a server there but he obviously didn't know English).  The food was good though I was very hungry by that point and may not have noticed. When we finished I made a point about the country by leaving money in the bin for payment as a tip. Right on cue the waitress chased us down to give it back. I had explained this to Daniela as we were eating. We made them keep it anyway.

We took a track back through the temple. Inside I bought 2 of the deep fried dumplings with bean paste inside that I love from there. I got a cherry and green tea. Daniela didn't try them.  We went into the main Senso-ji temple and bought our fortunes. I got bad fortune 52 and she bad fortune 100.  I explained how we tie them off at the temple to leave them behind and we did so.  She bought a charm for good fortune after that and then we headed back to the room in a non-direct manner where we watched some guys performing with 3 stringed instruments that were really fun and funny. We watched them for a short while. I think they may have played for a while longer because it sounded like we could hear them from the room window which wasn't far from where they were for a while (though we may have been  hearing music played from one of the nearby restaurants.

We relaxed at the room for a while and Daniela not feeling well fell asleep.  At about 8:30 I got her to wake up and call home (her brother's mother and also an aunt died while she was flying, I know, what unbelievable timing). We had bought a prepaid phone card at a 7-11 in our wandering. From there we got dressed and went out to find food. We walked to a similar spot as the Royal Host and found a restaurant that was a Korean barbecue that Daniela chose (though she didn't know it). She ordered another vegetable soup and had mainly the broth because it had a lot of mushrooms in it and she is anti-mushroom. I ordered the table a pork belly menu for the grill. I had fun cooking it and it was tasty. It was also very filling. I was stuffed by the end.  I had another beer which was a Suntory Premium The Malts on draft (the Kirin was better). After dinner we walked to the hotel by way of a 7-11 where we bought some tea and Daniela made some non-green-tea-tea.  I went to bed for the night because it was midnight.

The pictures from Japan Day 2 are located here.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 1

Japan Day 1

I woke up a bit before 4:30am and was ready to go including having a cup of coffee by 5:15.  Ironically the limousine showed up at 5:15 so I really didn’t have to wait at all. My chauffer was named Angelo and is apparently Greek by descent who used to go to Greece quite often but not so much right now. He asked whether we should go highway or route 1, I said we could try the highway and brought him through North Andover to 125 and then on to 93 where we came into Logan through the tunnel. We talked about traffic and routes around the area and travel and such while getting there he was very personable and friendly and it made the ride more interesting.  He dropped me off at the United gate for terminal B. I entered the premier check in line and didn’t have to wait too long. I had first class seat 3B to Newark. The ticket gave me access to the TSA Pre for security and I used it of course. This would happen to me: The girl running the x-ray machine caused it to crash twice so we took a bit of extra time getting through than we should have but still it was almost no line and only a couple extra minutes at worst.  After passing through security I was very early to the 8:25 departure time for my flight. It being only 6:15 or so I had a lot of time to kill so I wandered back and forth and bought some knick-knacks and then sat and checked my work email and started to write this.


The flight info said the plane to Newark would be a Boeing 737-900ER. It appeared the plane head landed and deboarded on time so it would not be a major issue about it being late unless something else went wrong. I looked at my flight times and I would have an hour to the departure for the plane to Narita Airport in Tokyo after I landed so I had to hope there would be no delays at all. Another plane set up to depart to Newark an hour before ours was delayed by half an hour and that was a bit of a concern.  The weather in NYC was supposed to be ok though.  

We actually arrived a bit early as we departed a bit early and the plane was not full.  It took a few minutes to get across the C terminal (the gates are always on opposite sides of course) but I still had about an hour until departure time when I got there. I chose to get a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich, some chips and a coffee when at the NY Deli place near the gate (I am familiar with this location in Newark).  By the time I was finished eating we were already boarding.

Being on Business First Class I was on the plane quickly and found myself in seat 2D which was inside aisle (both inside business class seats are aisle) which meant no one had to step over me to go to the bathroom or anything.  The plane was not completely full from what I could tell and again boarding seemed to be quick and easy. They served us water and I drank my coffee just after I got on. Knowing we had a little while I tried to watch a movie but the system kept freezing every couple minutes and it got frustrating. I tried a second movie and it also failed.  After a little bit the manager turned off the entertainment system to reboot it because apparently everyone was having issues.  The plane was a Boeing 777-200. The seats folded to beds so as we were taking off they took our meal order and I tried the Japanese Menu. This meant I needed to stay awake until they served the food so I watched The Lego Movie when the system was rebooted. It didn't freeze this time. I liked the Lego Movie. It was fun.  I ate while it was going. The Japanese menu had a sushi starter (shrimp, crab and oddly okra). Then the tray of stuff came out. There were pickles and squid and candied octopus and grilled fish and noodles and rice balls and soup and tea. I made my way around but didn't finish everything. Most of it was good. I wasn't too fond of the tempura pickles.  After eating and the Lego Movie was over I turned on The Nut Job but it only took a couple of minutes to realize it was not entertaining to me and I chose to sleep through it.When it ended I turned down the entertainment system and slept for a while longer. I woke up at some point and watched Thor: The Dark World and found it to be less offensive than the first Thor movie but I still didn't really like it.  After Thor I watched a Japanese movie called The Tale of Samurai Cooking: A Love Story. It was drama with some dry humor but was serious mainly even though I expected it to be comedy. It was a very Japanese storyline about how their duty made the two main characters love each other though cooking. I am sure the vast majority of my friends would not like it. I did enjoy it. After that I slept some more and managed to go until they asked about breakfast where I eventually got corn flakes, yogurt and fruit.  While waiting and eating I watched a Chinese movie called The Four which was a very convoluted murder mystery wire-fu oddity. I had a hard time following it especially because with it being subtitled some of the text went through so fast it was near impossible to read. Anyway the story was strange too.  After the movie was over I waited it out by watching the flight map until we landed.  

Getting through passport control and customs were both quick.  There were no lines and my bag was the second off the plane. I found the counter for the Kesei Skyliner train to Asakusa where I was staying. The train ride was more like a subway train and took about 50 minutes.  It was not too difficult to get to that point then I had to find the hotel and I made the mistake of trusting my GPS on my phone which basically walked me so far away from where I should have been that a 3 minute walk took an hour a half or so. I obviously looked pathetic enough that a very kind Japanese man with the aid of another woman further along helped me find the hotel which was right off the main Sensoji temple complex only a few minutes away from the train station too. I got checked in and after sweating from carrying the backpack and dragging the suitcase I immediately took a shower and got settled in. I didn't even take room pictures before I did that. After cleaning up I took the room pictures, tried to contact Marina and wrote this. It was about 6:30pm by the time I could rest a bit.  I relaxed with the TV on for a few. When I realized she was probably working I chose to run out and get a look around at the orientation of the hotel to the landmarks around it then maybe get some food. It was probably around 7pm or so and already darkening out. I wandered for a few minutes until I found a 7-11 and got some money out of the bank to have cash on hand. I found the train station too right next door which was a big plus. Then I walked over to the Sensoji Temple complex to get the orientation of the hotel to that. It is right on the edge of it.  I didn't really go through the complex as it was already basically shut down for the night. All of the vendors in the neighboring streets were also closing down for the evening. There are a ton of restaurants right there. A lot of them open air where you can sit outside. I was however a solo gaijin and I panicked a little about choosing someplace to eat so in my wanderings I saw a McDonald's and chose that. As soon as I sat down I recognized a ticket restaurant that I know I liked right next door but it was too late. I will comfort myself in the fact I ate mainly Japanese food on the plane. I will start pushing for it as Sunday starts as well.  

After eating I really wandered only a little bit more. Back to the 7-11 and bought a can of Sapporo Beer and a small box of cheese flavored crunchies which turned out to be maybe a bit sweet for me in bulk but went well with beer anyway.  I watched a bit of television and started to fall asleep some time later and probably actually fell asleep by 10pm.

The pictures from Japan Day 1 are located here.