Ohayo gozaimasu- Good morning!
Today I left the comfort of my amazing apartment in Oakland and made my way to SFO where I would board an airplane to Tokyo, Japan. Adan, Laura, Adam and my father stayed with me as I waited for my noon flight. As I walked through the security gates it hit me that I was not only leaving the comfort of my home but leaving those who mattered the most to me for an entire year. All of a sudden sh*t got real!
As I was walking through first class the Japanese customs became apparent right away. It triggered all these memories I had from when I lived in Japan as a child, ages: 0-5. Everyone started taking off their shoes, putting them in bags and putting on their slippers. When we finally took off I was handed a warm wet cloth in order to wash my hands and face. As a child, that was one of my favorite traditions but I had simply forgotten it since living in Europe and the U.S. The flight lasted only 9.5 hours, which seemed to go by really quickly since I have flown across the United States and it has sometimes taken longer.
Finally, we arrived in Narita Tokyo Airport at 2:30 P.M. on Sunday! There is a 16 hour time difference from California, which meant, I had flown into the future!!! The moment I stepped off the plane it hit me hard- that humid 90 degree weather that actually takes your breath away. All the SF Jets then put on our super cool JET stickers and made our way through customs. Since it was around a 2 hour wait we all started discussing where we all got placed and what our expectations were of this year. I am not going to lie, I was a bit on the quiet side since I was still pretty upset that I had left Adam and my family. There we were in line, the Americans were jumping with enthusiasm and all these other beautiful cultures were watching us with curious eyes. I honestly was more intrigued with hearing the other languages like Russian, Ukranian, Japanese, Chinese and more than anything else. This reminded me of why I loved to travel!
From there we went to our hotel in Tokyo where we would had orientation for the next three days. The bus ride was somewhat longer than I had expected but the amazing thing was I sat next to this girl, Kate Bohan, who was from the Bay Area. Kate's best friend happened to be a girl, Jenny, that I know and worked with at Chez Panisse. This brought me some comfort and reminded me that no matter where I was in the world I am never that far from home.
Over the next three days we basically stayed in the hotel which meant we were surrounded by other JETs. It didn't feel like we were in Tokyo because everyone we talked to spoke English. On the last day, instead of going to orientation classes, which we were told were pointless, I went with my two amazing roommates to the Harajuku District. We didn't see many Harajuku girls but the ones we did see made quite the statement. It was amazing how thorough they were in their outfits and creativity.
I was really happy that we flew into Tokyo first thing when we arrived in Japan. It gave me a taste of the city and left me feeling grateful to have not been placed there. It was way too busy for my taste. On August the 3rd, we said goodbye to the hotel and made our way to the airport where we boarded the plane which would take us to our new home, Sapporo.
From there we went to our hotel in Tokyo where we would had orientation for the next three days. The bus ride was somewhat longer than I had expected but the amazing thing was I sat next to this girl, Kate Bohan, who was from the Bay Area. Kate's best friend happened to be a girl, Jenny, that I know and worked with at Chez Panisse. This brought me some comfort and reminded me that no matter where I was in the world I am never that far from home.
Over the next three days we basically stayed in the hotel which meant we were surrounded by other JETs. It didn't feel like we were in Tokyo because everyone we talked to spoke English. On the last day, instead of going to orientation classes, which we were told were pointless, I went with my two amazing roommates to the Harajuku District. We didn't see many Harajuku girls but the ones we did see made quite the statement. It was amazing how thorough they were in their outfits and creativity.
I was really happy that we flew into Tokyo first thing when we arrived in Japan. It gave me a taste of the city and left me feeling grateful to have not been placed there. It was way too busy for my taste. On August the 3rd, we said goodbye to the hotel and made our way to the airport where we boarded the plane which would take us to our new home, Sapporo.
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