The start of the journey...
Hooraaaay I finally have a way to post pictures! Thanks to my loverly boyfriend and his loverly webspace, I can finally share all that I have! And ladies and gents, I have ALOT. I'm not even sure where to start!
Well I guess it makes sense to start with the beginning. Er...indeed.
Welps the goodbye in Toronto was definetly difficult, and I really ran the gauntlet of emotions over the span of maybe 2 hours. From the moment I woke up after 2 hours of sleep I was a ball of manic energy, racing around to make sure everything was okay, and it wasn't until I was in the airport, dissolving into tears that I took a breath. My boyfriend and parents were there to see me off, and they collectively calmed me down, but it was definetly hard. Once through the gate towards the U.S. customs security check point my journey had officially begun. My journey down the very long line TO the U.S. customs check point anyway.
Both of my bags were over-weight, as it had turned out, so payment was made. This would later come to bite me in the butt however, when our small air-bus plane had to delay take-off AFTER taxi-ing down the runway because the craft was too heavy. And wouldn't ya know, one of my bags was pulled off. Thankfully it was the suitcase I didn't really need, full of winter clothes and presents, and my Tokyo-intended bag reached me once I arrived in Tokyo.
Before Tokyo was Detroit however, which actually had quite a nice airport! I splurged and had McDonald's, as sort of a 'one last time' tribute, but the mayo wasn't as tasty as Canada's. :(
Getting on the plane to Tokyo was pretty uneventful, but let me say the plane was HUGE! It had two floors! We didn't get to see the first class seats, since they were upstairs, but the business class quite literally had pods to sleep in. The plane was comfortable enough, considering the duration of the flight and the sheer number of us there were on there, but still I did not sleep. For 14 hours I did not sleep. I read, I fidgeted, I watched movies, I drew, I fidgeted, etc. I think if I hadn' been on the aisle seat I might have gone mad! I need easy access to the bathroom! I did get to sit next to two really nice guys though, so that was a saving grace.
Meet Joe and Kevin! Kevin and I ended up walking around Detroit airport, along with another girl named Kristen, and he's a super guy. I can't remember where was placed, but its kinda far from me. He too had to leave behind a girlfriend, so we were able to at least empathize with each other. :)
So, some 12-14 hours later we arrived in Tokyo, and I was slightly out of my mind. I hadn't had more than 2 hours of sleep in about 2 days, and the carry-on luggage I had to tote around weighed about 35 lbs. - that is very, very heavy my friends. Immediately in Tokyo I noticed the humidity, even inside the airport there was a slight dampness I wasn't used to and already I began to sweat. Little did I know what was in store...but I get ahead of myself!
At the luggage claim in Narita airport (that's in Tokyo), myself and a small group of others ended up putzing around for an extra 2 hours, trying to find out what had happened to our other peices of luggage. Thankfully the airline offered to ship them to addresses we offered to them, so I actually ended up saving a bit of money! During that waiting period, I ran into an old friend of mine, a girl whom I had been best friends with in grade school! Her name is Hana, and she had moved to L.A. when we were younger and we'd lost contact. But she just SHOWS UP at the airport, having gotten into the JET programme this year
too, and voila! Reunited!! Small, eerie world, eh?
Once we had our baggage, we all dragged ourselves through the airport, very handily guided by JET volunteers. Everything was so organized, nobody felt lost or worried, it was really fabulous. I took a picture of the outside of the airport, while anothe girl took my picture, apparently!
On the bus I was literally doing the head-jerk next to Hana, so I creeped into the back and flopped down on the row of seats for a very awkward nap. As much as I would have liked to see more of Tokyo, it was dark by then (sunset here is eeeeaaarly!) and I was just not up for it.
Though I got to nap a bit on the bus, when we arrived at the Keio Plaze Hotel in West Shinjuku, I was in a kind of daze. I was more tired then I could ever remember being before, and I STILL had to lug my incredibly heavy bag up to my room on a very crowded elevator. Again however, God was smiling down on me because my roommate was a girl who I had been talkin to on msn for the past few months! Her name is Megan and she's from New Brunswick, and I couldn't have asked for a better roomy!
That night, a small group of us had decided to get some food, and for some reason I had agreed to go. So after dumping my stuff in the room, I headed back out into the streets of Tokyo, but thankfully not too far. We ended up at an Udon restaurant, and I loooove Udon, so it was actually quite a treat to be there! I took a few pics while there, including the meal I ate...
Hana and another girl who wasn't paying attention (but that's ok)...
And me, looking completely wasted. Hoo haa!
That pretty much concluded my first day in Tokyo, as just about as soon as I got back to the hotel I passed out on my bed. The sleep I got did me good, but not THAT much good, as I was still completely exhausted the next day. So was everybody else though, so I don't think it was noticed. *laughs*
The next day meetings began, so Megan and I had to dress up all purddy. Once the daylight had hit the city, we realized how amazing our view was! Right across from us was this huuuge building, the name of which I can't recall but I think it was something along the lines of the Tokyo Government building, and so we both had to take a couple pics of that and the city-scape.
These really don't do the building justice, but I couldn't get the whole thing into my camera
because the window cut it off! It was tall though, let me assure your. Really amazing architecture.
After the first batch of meetings and such, we had lunch on the 43rd floor (our hotel had 45!!! O.O), and the view there was absolutely amazing. It was mind-boggling just how many buildings were smushed into one space, and it seemed endless.
I have many more pictures to post and much more to tell, but unfortunately the only internet I have is at school and I have to get going! I'll update again tomorrow though, I have a lot to make up! TTFN!
Well I guess it makes sense to start with the beginning. Er...indeed.
Welps the goodbye in Toronto was definetly difficult, and I really ran the gauntlet of emotions over the span of maybe 2 hours. From the moment I woke up after 2 hours of sleep I was a ball of manic energy, racing around to make sure everything was okay, and it wasn't until I was in the airport, dissolving into tears that I took a breath. My boyfriend and parents were there to see me off, and they collectively calmed me down, but it was definetly hard. Once through the gate towards the U.S. customs security check point my journey had officially begun. My journey down the very long line TO the U.S. customs check point anyway.
Both of my bags were over-weight, as it had turned out, so payment was made. This would later come to bite me in the butt however, when our small air-bus plane had to delay take-off AFTER taxi-ing down the runway because the craft was too heavy. And wouldn't ya know, one of my bags was pulled off. Thankfully it was the suitcase I didn't really need, full of winter clothes and presents, and my Tokyo-intended bag reached me once I arrived in Tokyo.
Before Tokyo was Detroit however, which actually had quite a nice airport! I splurged and had McDonald's, as sort of a 'one last time' tribute, but the mayo wasn't as tasty as Canada's. :(
Getting on the plane to Tokyo was pretty uneventful, but let me say the plane was HUGE! It had two floors! We didn't get to see the first class seats, since they were upstairs, but the business class quite literally had pods to sleep in. The plane was comfortable enough, considering the duration of the flight and the sheer number of us there were on there, but still I did not sleep. For 14 hours I did not sleep. I read, I fidgeted, I watched movies, I drew, I fidgeted, etc. I think if I hadn' been on the aisle seat I might have gone mad! I need easy access to the bathroom! I did get to sit next to two really nice guys though, so that was a saving grace.
Meet Joe and Kevin! Kevin and I ended up walking around Detroit airport, along with another girl named Kristen, and he's a super guy. I can't remember where was placed, but its kinda far from me. He too had to leave behind a girlfriend, so we were able to at least empathize with each other. :)
So, some 12-14 hours later we arrived in Tokyo, and I was slightly out of my mind. I hadn't had more than 2 hours of sleep in about 2 days, and the carry-on luggage I had to tote around weighed about 35 lbs. - that is very, very heavy my friends. Immediately in Tokyo I noticed the humidity, even inside the airport there was a slight dampness I wasn't used to and already I began to sweat. Little did I know what was in store...but I get ahead of myself!
At the luggage claim in Narita airport (that's in Tokyo), myself and a small group of others ended up putzing around for an extra 2 hours, trying to find out what had happened to our other peices of luggage. Thankfully the airline offered to ship them to addresses we offered to them, so I actually ended up saving a bit of money! During that waiting period, I ran into an old friend of mine, a girl whom I had been best friends with in grade school! Her name is Hana, and she had moved to L.A. when we were younger and we'd lost contact. But she just SHOWS UP at the airport, having gotten into the JET programme this year
too, and voila! Reunited!! Small, eerie world, eh?Once we had our baggage, we all dragged ourselves through the airport, very handily guided by JET volunteers. Everything was so organized, nobody felt lost or worried, it was really fabulous. I took a picture of the outside of the airport, while anothe girl took my picture, apparently!
On the bus I was literally doing the head-jerk next to Hana, so I creeped into the back and flopped down on the row of seats for a very awkward nap. As much as I would have liked to see more of Tokyo, it was dark by then (sunset here is eeeeaaarly!) and I was just not up for it.
Though I got to nap a bit on the bus, when we arrived at the Keio Plaze Hotel in West Shinjuku, I was in a kind of daze. I was more tired then I could ever remember being before, and I STILL had to lug my incredibly heavy bag up to my room on a very crowded elevator. Again however, God was smiling down on me because my roommate was a girl who I had been talkin to on msn for the past few months! Her name is Megan and she's from New Brunswick, and I couldn't have asked for a better roomy!
That night, a small group of us had decided to get some food, and for some reason I had agreed to go. So after dumping my stuff in the room, I headed back out into the streets of Tokyo, but thankfully not too far. We ended up at an Udon restaurant, and I loooove Udon, so it was actually quite a treat to be there! I took a few pics while there, including the meal I ate...Hana and another girl who wasn't paying attention (but that's ok)...
And me, looking completely wasted. Hoo haa!
That pretty much concluded my first day in Tokyo, as just about as soon as I got back to the hotel I passed out on my bed. The sleep I got did me good, but not THAT much good, as I was still completely exhausted the next day. So was everybody else though, so I don't think it was noticed. *laughs*
The next day meetings began, so Megan and I had to dress up all purddy. Once the daylight had hit the city, we realized how amazing our view was! Right across from us was this huuuge building, the name of which I can't recall but I think it was something along the lines of the Tokyo Government building, and so we both had to take a couple pics of that and the city-scape.These really don't do the building justice, but I couldn't get the whole thing into my camera
because the window cut it off! It was tall though, let me assure your. Really amazing architecture.After the first batch of meetings and such, we had lunch on the 43rd floor (our hotel had 45!!! O.O), and the view there was absolutely amazing. It was mind-boggling just how many buildings were smushed into one space, and it seemed endless.I have many more pictures to post and much more to tell, but unfortunately the only internet I have is at school and I have to get going! I'll update again tomorrow though, I have a lot to make up! TTFN!
posted by Kate @ 1:49 a.m.
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