10/6 - Day 2

 Tuesday, 10/6

We spend most of today in the air in a little aluminum cylinder. We were supposed to leave at 1:45 but problems with one of the onboard computers caused a two-hour delay. During that time we were allowed to pace the aisles and get to know our neighbors. I slept.

It became Tuesday when we crossed the international date line.

The flight was long but not difficult except for about a half hour of turbulence over Japan.

We jumped through a number of hoops at the Tokyo airport and we were met by our driver. Unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture of him with a sign that read "Jeffrey Chin - 3 guests". Who knows when that will happen again?

The driver didn't speak much English, so we chatted with ourselves and watched the city roll by. Because of the delay, we arrived after 6:00pm instead of 4:00 and it was already dark. We'll have a little time to see the city in daylight tomorrow when we head to the train station.

Our travel agency (Japan Highlights) arranged the driver and the hotel.


The hotel is nice enough although the rooms are a little small and as per usual, Walter and I have beds pushed together. Being the liberal non-homophobic guys that we are, we'll separate them a little although they share a common head board.

The toilets are similar to many upscale European hotels, except which one is for flushing?


The most interesting feature of the hotel was a "public onsen" or baths. It's not really public since you have to have a hotel room to get in. But you are sharing it with other people. Walter and I read the instruction sheet while Mike went out for a beer.

Some of the procedures include: 
  • take off your shoes
  • strip down, no swimsuits
  • shower
  • don't talk
Too bad I can't show you a picture of what it looked like. There was one guy who came in after us, so we watched him to see how it was done. He really scrubbed himself down all over before getting in.

The water was hot tub warm and very relaxing.

I am now a fan of Japanese baths.

We went out looking for Mike but couldn't find him anywhere nearby. Walter went looking for an ATM in a 7-Eleven and I went back to the room to do this!

First impressions: immaculately clean, subways are quiet and fast, lots of people out walking at night, not a hint of street crime.

It's now 11:00pm here. I have no idea what time my body thinks it is. We'll try to get onto local time tomorrow with a 6:30 breakfast.


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