Lost in Higashi-Ueno

September 5 2006 9pm

We wander around Ueno and find a game shop. It's filled with various UFO catchers (The crane game where you manoeuver your crane over an item and try to have it grab it and drop it into the chute).
Apparently "Sorry a maleman can not come in" means that you have be with a female in order to enter the premise. I thought they mispelt 'mailman' and wondered if japanese mailmen were known to cause a ruckuss.
This store had so many UFO catchers that I didn't even know existed.
They had variations of those coin shooting games you usually see in casinos but instead of shooting coins to try and make coins fall down these ones were a UFO catcher/coin shooter hybrid. You put in your money and then use the crane to pickup some candy and drop it onto these sliding things to try and make more candy topple down into the chute. Really cool! XD

We took some sticker pics at some purikura booths (short for Print Club).
These sticker pic booths put the ones we have in Canada to shame.
You go take your pictures and then you select the ones you want to keep. Then you go to another section behind the booth where you get to edit the pictures. You can write stuff, edit the background, add symbols, sparkles, characters, and various types of bling.
Then we went to a section on the floor that had a table and scissors to divi up the pictures. :D

At around 10 we decide to call it a day. Fumi gives a UFO catcher a final go before we leave.
She loses.
Then a drunken old man comes over and starts talking to us while we're wallowing in our loss. Apparently he asked why we (me or mike... or both?) didn't win it for her.
We stand still and smile awkwardly at the drunken old man and he loses interest and goes on his merry way.

We say our farewells at the station and I head home... wherever that is.
The only thing I remember is "take a left at the 99 shop and then take another left".

I walk down the main street and I actually see the drunken old man sleeping on a bus stop bench.
I walk a bit further and see another homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk.
a bit further I'm wondering if I'm going the right way when I see the 99 shop sign. Yay! I'm not completely lost!

Okay,turn left here and then make another left......... but... when?
I try the first street and don't recognize anything familiar... Japan looks a lot different at night.
I'm starting to doubt if I'm in the right place or not now... I backtrack to the 99 shop and try taking a left at the second road... nope nothing familiar. Uh oh... Rich is in trouble.

I walk back and forth down the main road using the drunken old man sleeping on the bench as waypoint 1 and homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk as waypoint 2.
I start using processes of elimination now walking up and down the main road taking lefts at random roads. Was I sure that I had to take a left?

I change my technique and start taking rights now. Still nothing familiar.
The only thing I have with me are my rental papers with the address of my place on it and a card to "Samurai Cafe" which has a tiny map on the back.
I remember Hiromi showing it to me and saying that the place I'm staying at is 'somewhere' over here which is not on the tiny map on the back of the card.

By now I must have gone by waypoint 1 and 2 a dozen times. I'm using the 99 shop as another waypoint called 'Your place is somewhere close to here waypoint'.
I end up going up and down the roads I've already gone by looking at both sides this time. Maybe my place was on the right side instead of the left side of the street.
I'm also trying to not go too far in as to not get completely lost. I keep track of where waypoint 1, 2, the 99 shop and where the main road is.

After 2 hours of wandering, I decide to throw in the towel. On the back of the samurai cafe card, there's a police box close to the station.
This is my matrix. Light my darkest hour.

On my way back towards the station, I'm stopped at a light and I happen to see a policeman on a bicycle. Time to see if 3 years of studying japanese paid off.

<Excuse me. I'm lost. Do you know where here is?> I say, while pointing to the address written on my papers.
The policeman is already looking at a map. He's preoccupied and tells me to wait a little.
After he's done looking for whatever it is he was looking for, he tells me to go down 3 streets and then make a right. I thank him and he swiftly jets down the road on his bike.

My hero...

I walk down the street and pay close attention to how many streets I cross.
1... 2... 3... Okay right here. I walk for a bit and then see the only familiar place I know in Japan.
I remember the keycode to get in. I punch it in and the door makes the most welcoming creaking noise I've heard.

<Tadaima!> I'm home!

Familiar Faces

September 5 2006 3something pm

Stepping off the plane, I notice one thing. It is very hot and humid. Is it just this area where the plane connects to the airport? I will soon find out. Before Japan lets you in, you need to fill out some form as to why you're visiting, where you're staying, and if you have guns or illegal drugs with you.
I sort of had a little panic moment because I didn't know the address of the place I was staying at... The Japanese gentlement at the front of the temporary visa line place told me to <Just go since I can't understand you> when I asked him if I could use a phone. I just scribbled "Samurai House Higashi-Ueno" as my address. Apparently that was good enough. The booth guy stapled part of the form to my passport and I was on my way to get my luggage.
I had this fear that I would somehow lose my luggage on this trip...
I went to the luggage conveyor belt with a feeling that my luggage wouldn't be there and I stopped at a spot I found had a suitable view and waited... Oh there it is.
It was the 4th or 5th luggage bag that went by.

On my way out they check your luggage and show you a sign of things that you shouldn't bring into the country. The luggage check guy would point to an item on the sign and ask if I had any of those particular items. To which I shook my head no for all of them.
Then he asked for me to open my luggage. He briefly looked over what I had in there (mostly clothes) and took a brief interest in a box of oatmeal I had brought with me. He looked at it and then shook it a couple times and then deemed it was okay for Japan.

What am I doing here?!

On my way out of the arrivals gate, I'm still in disbelief that I'm half way across the world.

I see people waiting with signs and I look around to see if there's anyone waiting for me. I sent out an email to some friends prior to coming with the day and time that I'll arrive but I didn't get an definitive answer if anyone would be waiting for me.
... Nobody.
Okay, first I have to exchange money. I take a look at the exchange rate and eye this guy handing out papers to people lining up. Okay I need one of those.

Then feel someone's hands on my shoulders.
It's Mike and Fumi! :D
I haven't seen them in a few months but it feels natural seeing them again. Like it was back in Toronto.

I exchange some money.
I'm riiiiiiiich biatch!!

I use Fumi's phone to call Hiromi, the landlord of the place I'll be staying at. She tells me what station to get off at and where to go... I give the phone to Fumi and they start speaking japanese. Appointment set!

Yokoso! Japan

I'm so glad that they came to pick me up because if they didn't I would have been in a little trouble. My first encounter with the Japanese train system was a bit overwhelming. I had no clue what was going on.
I set my brain to autopilot and just do what Fumi tells me to do. Mike is also carrying my luggage which he did all the way to my place. Thanks Mike! You can't pay for this kind of service! ... well yes you can but I did not... so it was awesome. I stick my ticket thing that I bought for I don't even know how much into the ticket gate machine thing and it eats it and spits it back out at the other end with a hole in it. Quite different from Toronto. I take the ticket back and then we hop on the train.

First thing I notice is the fan on the ceiling of the car. It rotates around shooting cool air at people.
Second thing I notice is that the train is mostly asian.

The train ride took about an hour or two. I wasn't keeping track of time. Busy talking and looking out the window. Everything is new and interesting to me.
I still can't believe I'm here.

We step out of the train and head outside. I think I complain about it being hot and humid a million billion times. The night before I left, I remember it being so cold. The sun's already gone down and I'm breaking a sweat. I'm not even carrying my luggage either.

We head into what I now know as Ueno station to meet up with Mayu!
It feels normal and weird at the same time...
I buy a 1000yen passnet card because Fumi tells me to.

I'm totally out of my element at this point. Ueno station is monstrous compared to the dinky stations in Toronto. The weather's all different, the people are all uniformly japanese, everywhere is something I haven't seen before. I don't even remember what entrance we came in from.

We meet up with Hiromi, who's parked on the side of the road with her van. She takes us to the place I'm staying at now.
What I should have done instead of being dazed and confused was pay attention to where we were going and how we got there. This becomes important later on.

We get to my place and she gives us the tour. We also meet a nice fellow staying here named Dan.
He talks with Mike, Mayu and Fumi in japanese while I sign things and pay money.

After the paperwork was done, I lock my things up and then we head back out to go eat. Hiromi does us the favour of driving us back to the station. We say our farewells to Dan who was going out to eat as well and I think was waiting for an invitation to go eat together.
We wave bye to Dan as we drive off.

We get to Ueno station and then meet up with Vivian!
It's a JP3000 reunion in Japan!
We find a place to eat near Ueno. It was on the 2nd or 3rd floor of some building which I can't remember where or what it was called. You take off your shoes before entering the eating area. It was nice :D
We get into the groove of things, even though I haven't seen these guys in a few months we don't skip a beat. I still feel weird being in Japan and I gather that everyone feels weird that I'm in Japan too.
We say bye to Mayu who has to leave to go to work and then we leave a bit after.

I'm really greatful for the friends I have showing me the ropes of Japan. Without them I would be lost somewhere and possibly dead from starvation.
Thank you Mike, Fumi, Mayu and Vivian!
You deserve a million thank you's! <3

Next Stop Japan! part 2

Plane food is pretty good.
We got served lunch, linner and dinner a couple hours before we landed.

For lunch I had chicken with mashed potatoes with a salad and some sushi. The bread roll was a total let down however. It was cold and not very chewy or tasty. The cookies sounded better than they tasted... although not too bad.
My plane seat neighbour needed help from the stewardess to open his utensils package. It was cute.

Snack consisted of a ham sandwich with raisins and m&ms for dessert. Decent.
I save the raisins and put them in my bag.

For dinner I chose pizza instead of curry. Strawberries and melondew for dessert.
I also save the brownie for later.

Throughout the flight, the attendants came by with their drink cart and my drink of choice is green tea.
After my 5th or 6th cup, I notice that I haven't gone to the bathroom. I also didn't realize I hadn't gone to the bathroom because my plane neighbour hasn't gotten out of his seat to go to the bathroom too.
Are you trying to see how long you can go without going to the bathroom?
Okay I'll play.

About 1900km from Tokyo my plane seat neighbour decides to throw in the towel and gets up to go to the bathroom. Softie... I could go for a couple more hours.
I decide to go after he comes out to save him precious energy moving out of the way for me twice.
We catch eachother's gaze on his way back from (my way towards) the lavatory. He acknowledges my superior bladder control with a look I can only describe as 'tired'.
I fiddle the door open and take my victory pee.

Next Stop Japan! part 1

Sept 4 2006 12something am

Time to board the plane.
34E... 34E... 34... E... shit. Middle row, middle seat.
Oh well, I make the best of it and settle in. Each person has their own tv in the back of the chair in front of them :D Some chick sits next to me. Hello plane seat neighbour! She's talking in chinese on her cellphone and isn't as excited as myself about meeting her plane seat neighbour.

Before I get too settled in, a stewardess comes to our row with some dude and says that we're in the wrong seats.
I double check the number on the armrest: 34E. Safe.
The girl shows her ticket: 33D. Nice.
Her phone is ringing now and she has some fun ringtone going but she's too busy with changing seats to pick up/hang up. Hate to be in her shoes.

The stewardess asks to see my ticket. She says that they guy booked the flight with his family and that they were all supposed to be sitting in the same row.
Oh shit, am I dumb too? Did I read the wrong number?
It turns out we were both assigned to the same seat and since his whole family's in the row, I've gotta go.
Blood runs thicker than water.

The stewardess says she'll try to find another seat for me. I'm thinking "Yes! First Class! :D"
Apparently that only happens on tv and in movies.
While the stewardess was finding me a seat, a girl sitting next to an old asian guy decides to switch seats with on in the front. She left a window seat! :D She probably left because she thought the old man smelled.
The stewardess comes back and tells me she found another middle seat but with no plane seat neighbours. I'll take the window seat kthx.
The old man smells fine.

The old guy looks well old... He's wrapped in a plane blanket.
All I've seen him do so far was sleep, sneeze and eat.
Watching him eat, I realize how fragile life is... Scary. Carpe Diem!
He was also the last person on the plane to finish his food. He even outlasted me. The force is strong with this one.
Then I think about myself when I get old. Am I looking into a mirror of the future?

I decide to fully enjoy my window seat.
We're flying over Regina and it's literally rectangle pieces of different coloured plots of land and a few dots where the "cities" are. Looking outside is fun. Real life googlemaps :D

Chicago!

Sept 4 2006 11am (1 hour gained from timezone difference)

I kill time walking around O'hare International Airport. It's got a killer food court but wasn't really all that spectacular. It is big though.

Some lady says something about pre flight something something. I wasn't listening since I was listening to music. I catch "boarding pass" though and my ticket says the same thing. People are crowding around these two women who're holding these finger print machines. I have no clue what's going on but I'll play.
People are showing their passports and their tickets, so I pull my stuff out. When it comes to me, I show her my stuff and she just says "Canadian passport? You're good." I guess it was only for... not canadians.

I notice boarding is taking a lot longer due to the fact that a lot of people couldn't speak english well.
Also, people were crowding around the gate for some reason even though they were calling in people by group. And on top of that: Assigned seats! (but apparently it's first come first serve for empty seats?)