Goodbyes were short but sweet as I had to catch my first flight from New Orleans to Los-Angeles, the final stop before my trip to Tokyo. After a 5 hour plane ride to LA, I spent my last moments before boarding my transpacific flight looking for a decent burger. Sadly there wasn't a McDonald or Burger King in sight, but there was a quaint 50s themed restaurant that had just what I was looking for. After spending 15 of the 30 minutes I had to spare waiting for my food, I hurriedly ate, and got to my gate, where I waited to board the plane that would take me to my final destination: Japan.
The transpacific flight was long, but I was able the pass the time well enough thanks to the ample amount of entertainment provided by my flight. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Pacific Rim, and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug tided me over until my plane finally arrived at its destination. Customs, immigration, and baggage pick-up went by surprisingly fast as I was out at the bus terminal in less than 15 minutes from exiting my flight. It was at the Narita Airport that I got my first impressions of Japan. Even with the reputation of being a technological wonderland, Japan doesn't have all the modern conveniences I enjoyed back in the United States, the largest of these deficits being access to free wifi. Pay phones are still a common sight around Tokyo, the fax machine is still heavily used, and cash is still the only way to pay for goods at many Japanese businesses. But despite these deficits, Japan has a plethora of conveniences not available in the United States, easy in-and-out access to and from the airport being one of them. Also, no one does service quiet like Japan, as everything from getting my luggage to booking my hotel room was done in a gentle and efficient manner. If tipping was an acceptable custom here, I would probably be broke already.
The moment I entered my hotel room, I turned the TV on to NHK, plopped face-first onto the bed and passed out for a good 2 to 3 hours. I woke up around 6:30, and imminently went in search of something to eat. Luckily, there was a conbini (Japanese convenient store) built right into the hotel, and I dined on onigiri, senbei, and Mitsuya cider. after flipping through channels on the TV and charging all my devices, I decided to get ready for bed early. Tomorrow I would check out, meet with my school's representatives, get situated in my dorm, and officially begin my stay in Japan.
