My First Steps in Japan: Tokyo to Hakodate, June 11, 2009

June 11, 2009, 11pm

After about a 13 hour plane ride from JFK, NYC, I landed in Narita airport in Tokyo, Japan. I am not scared of flying, and actually feel like it is becoming an addictive high. As I tried to sleep on the plane, the thought of being on a plane completely left me, but I had a intense feeling of falling, and so I failed to catch even a wink of sleep. Then as I went to customs and immigration, my heart froze: I had no way of proving that I would leave in 90 days and feared I would be denied entry, as I heard this was a strict rule. As I was greeted by face masks, a big black dog sniffed me for illegal narcotics. Luckily, I sailed through smoothly with almost no questions asked. I was lucky.

I found it interesting that the nice Canadian man in front of me was asked to open his very light, small suitcase filled with maybe 4 days worth of clothes. On the other hand, my big, bulky luggage was waived away.

After my flight to Narita landed, I exchanged my money. I brought about $1000 and changed it for about 94000 Yen. That’s about 94 yen to the dollar. So it’s like I exchanged $1000 for $940. Yes, the American economy sucks! But their money is definitely worth it: the coins are so pretty. I’ll post a picture of them soon.

Then I hopped on a bus for 1.5 hours to a hotel in Tokyo. I stayed one night at Tokyo Pacific Hotel, then got on another bus and plane to Hakodate. In total, I don’t even want to sum up my travel time.

The Japanese people have an efficient way of running their country. Something I have begun to deeply admire about these people. Unlike America, there are no visible garbage cans on the street, yet surprisingly there is no littering at all. The garbage bins are small and they are hidden to the naked foreigner eye. How the country manages such cleanliness is a surprise to me. It makes me feel as if America is swimming in garbage. Also, they separate everything: from plastic, to burnable, to unburnable. One plastic bottle is separated to be thrown away in 2 different garbage disposals. The toilets are amazing: who knew one could be so grateful for a nice butt washing! And you can buy all the beer and cigarettes you want without any ID from vending machines located all over the streets whenever you wish. Everyone is extremely polite. Even in jeans and a shirt that screamed Columbia University, I was given a steep, 90 degree-angle bow from a hostess at the hotel.

I have never felt so safe in my life.

I have a confession to make: I love Hakodate. It only opened its ports to foreigners 150 years ago. Since then, you can see how this has affected their architecture. Many buildings are a fusion between Japanese and Western culture and even I notice this. This is the perfect place for me to assimilate into Japanese culture. I feel like I could live here.

I took my proficiency exam for HIF today. I think I did badly in some parts. But, I can’t wait for the experience. They have sports clubs that are free to join: kendo, archery, and judo. They all meet a few times a week. I really am excited for kendo, but can’t wait to try all of them. They also have cultural classes such as flower arrangement, Japanese sweet making classes, and Japanese pottery and ceramics. These cost a small fee. I signed up for all of them. I cannot wait!

I explored Hakodate with a few people I met. I went to Lucky Perriot, a local favorite, and ate their specialty: a Chinese chicken burger. I know it sounds weird, but it actually was pretty good, and cheap (about 350 yen). Then I had some ice cream, and stopped at Hakodate Beer for some beer tasting. I don’t like American beer at all, but Japanese beer is tolerable and some are pretty tasty. One of them tasted like a corona (ew). But they don’t card, which is good for all those young bucks out there. I actually like the darker, bitter ones, and my favorite out of the 4 was the Hakodate specialty beer. And instead of drinking with peanuts, you eat corn!

I used to think of myself as a terrible Buddhist or a very good atheist. This is because after a few years of practicing Nichiren Buddhism in High School and the beginning of college, I unintentionally quit. I just didn’t have time.

I decided to start up my practice again: starting tonight. I did my prayer for the night, and since it’s already after 12 midnight, I think I’m going to sleep soon.