Tokyo Transit Blues

I must admit that my first impressions of Japan were forbidding. My waltz through customs was shockingly simple, but my relief was overshadowed by a few daunting realizations. I found the train terminal easily enough, but I could not read any signs, could barely communicate with the sea of humanity hurrying past me, and I needed to get myself and my ginormous duffle from the airport to my hotel. Luckily I had printed several google maps of potential train routes, and was able to point and grunt my way to central Narita.

When I did get into town, all my expectations of a jovial night of sightseeing were blown away. The sun had set at about 4pm. I found myself alone in a dark and foreign place.

I had a stroke of luck: I could see my hotel from the train station. But first I had to figure out how to get out of the station-- dragging 3-months of clothing behind me. When I reached the exit, feeling completely bewildered and out-of-place, I realized that I had no idea how to get to the hotel (and I could no longer see it). Narita is full of little circuitous streets--it kind of resembles a medieval European town--so I was thoroughly confused. Not to mention that my giant bag and I took up half the road. A drunk guy muttered at me. I passed demonstrators, and feared they might be the nationalists I’d read about online (scary!).

By the time I reached my hotel, I felt like a spectacle of a lost foreigner, and was happy to shut myself in a little room where no one could see me. And it was a little room. The bathroom was about the size of an airplane toilet, with just enough space for a tiny tub. The rest of the room was bed.

Just then, in that little room, ‘alone’ seemed excruciating. I desperately wanted to call home, to talk to someone I knew--but I couldn’t get skype to work. At last I settled for a hot soak in the tiny-tub. But then my stomach started to growl. I had to emerge and find food. So I decided to ‘man up.’ I put on my war-paint, resumed my battle-armor [read: cute outfit], and even managed to muster a spirit of adventure.