Yokoso!

Blogging from my friend Milli's apartment in the Minami-gyotoku area of Chiba, east of Tokyo. Milli's gone for the week, so she's generously lent me use of her shower, her futon, her laptop, her internet, and (gratefully) her hot running water 'til Saturday.

My 11 hour flight from San Francisco to Narita Airport went off without a hitch, though the cold that's been hanging around since Saturday night really made things uncomfortable. I snuffled and coughed through most of the flight, so much so that the guy two seats over from me repeatedly ordered orange juice. (Though, when I apologized for my apparently contagious state, he assured me that he just needed his vitamin C because he was going off to return to his teaching position in rural South Korea.) Watched "The Producers" and "Nanny McPhee" and ate two very mediocre meals, and really didn't get that much sleep.

But not a problem, as I decided to "crash adjust" myself to the time difference here... and being the eager traveler I am, I hardly noticed that I was tired when I stepped off the plane. In fact, this was my impression entering the gangway at Narita Airport: "This place is CLEAN." The gangway windows were spotless, as were the restrooms. And there was virtually no one at the airport this afternoon - just our flight arriving, passing smoothly through immigration and customs.

Waited just a few minutes for Jason to pick me up at the "meeting point" (there's an area designated at Narita Airport for just this purpose, with vending machines and TV's and benches) and exchanged my money and got my JR Rail Pass. For those who aren't aware, the JR Rail Pass is an incredibly good deal for foreign travelers who are independently taking themselves far and wide. For about $550, I have a pass that allows me to ride Japan's bullet trains unlimited for three weeks... these tickets can individually cost at least $100 apiece between major cities.

Jason, by example, showed me how to navigate reading the subway station maps and correlated ticket price guides, and we purchased subway tickets for the Keisei line that went from the airport to the station by his apartment. I was surprised to see the lush greenery as we emerged from the airport on the subway - rice paddies, little Japanese style farm-houses... such a contrast already.

Something I hadn't realized before -- this whole "greater Tokyo" area is HUGE. I was told that Jason was closest to the airport (and thus he was relegated to "picking Marisa up from Narita" duty) but this was still a good 1/2 hour ride by subway. We dropped off my luggage at the flat that he shares with two housemates (also teachers for the company that Jason teaches English for) and then headed back to "urban" Narita to meet one of them for dinner.

His housemate, a Canadian who's been teaching here for the past ten months, led us to a little hole-in-the-wall okonomiyaki place a few blocks away from the train station. We sat around a hot griddle and watched (for quite some time -- service was preeeeetty slow) the lone chef prepare dinners for us, the fellow diners seated around us, and the dining room upstairs. Good, filling food - seafood and chicken okonomiyaki, and pork yakisoba - nothing spectacular yet, but very cool to serve yourself directly from the griddle.

After dinner, we walked around Narita a bit (including peeking inside a 100 Yen store, where we bought coconut and pineapple Pocky) and then headed back to their flat. Jason rode the train and walked with me to Milli's, and then rushed back to catch one of the last trains back to his station.

My only critical observation thus far has been that Japan's *transportation* is expensive...
I've spent about $20 US so far on those subways alone! These "500 yen there", "300 yen here" rides add up quickly. They don't even really have an economic alternative, like a discount pass, to offer regular riders. But Jason pointed out that that's how they maintain such well kept trains, and how they can employ such well dressed train conductors. We watched the train conductor on the ride to Milli's - he wore a spotless uniform, a matching hat, and white gloves, and stepped outside at each station to make announcements and to ring the bell with the touch of a button. So professional!

And now to bed... perhaps I'll describe my "living quarters" in tomorrow's entry!

** okonimiyaki -- like a breaded Japanese omelette. hearty food, with all kinds of things mixed inside.
** yakisoba -- thin, slightly stirfried noodles.