The WiFi I purchased on board the JAL flight ran out and so
did my ability to cope with the long flight (ended up being 15 hours), the
incredibly dry hot air, my clogged sinuses, and sitting sitting sitting in the
dark because everyone closed their portal blinds at about 4 hours into the
flight even though there was daylight the entire flight. (We were flying against the rotation of the
earth and the sun never set.) My window
seat was on the port side (left side looking toward the front of the plane) so
I was always looking south and sometimes west.
I wasn’t sure where we were flying over but the land below
became more snow covered and then mountainous.
I wasn’t certain if it was Nebraska or North Dakota and then the Rocky
Mountains or if we were actually much farther north. Finally, I decided we had to be flying along
the coast of Alaska because of the snow on the black barren mountains (I kept
hoping that the plane would not crash there because no one would ever find
us….), and the expanse of unending water off to the west.
Finally, we were over blue ocean extending out to the
horizon.
The entire time I was not able to sleep. This was so incredibly frustrating. There was an empty seat between me and the
young Japanese woman on the aisle which helped, but she fell asleep 10 minutes
after take-off from Chicago--- I was soooooo envious. She continued to be able to fall asleep and
stay asleep throughout the entire flight.
Urggg (however you spell frustration).
(By the time I actually got to go to sleep at my mother-in-law’s, I’d
gone without sleep for 30 hours or so.)
I tried to take a picture of us crossing from the Pacific Ocean
to the coast of Japan and land, but it was so hazy with dark clouds that you
can barely see the waves on the shore (off to the left). Much, much farther north is where the tsunami
hit and devastated Fukushima Prefecture (5 years ago?).
I felt like I was sleep walking in getting off the plane and
following everyone to the Immigration and Customs lines. The officials are all very professional,
formal and courteous. The immigration
official greeted me with “Konicha wa,” (Hello) and the Customs officials wore
white gloves and hats with their uniforms.
Finally, I was out into the Arrivals section and greeting Forde
Sakuoka. (Forde is my age, mid-60s, and
born and raised in Hawaii of Japanese-American parents. He came to Japan in 1975 to teach English and
eventually taught at the same YMCA at which my mother-in-law had taught where
they became fast friends. He’s visited
her every Sunday for decades and brings food, lots of conversation and gossip, and
help with a variety of things.)
Forde and I took the limousine bus across Tokyo to the Hotel
Metropolitan in Ikebukuro (a very nice hotel with a gorgeous lobby in which
everyone seems to traverse as it’s the shortest way to the train and subway
station). Then we walked to the train
station across the street and stood in a packed car of people, holding on to
hand holds above us as the train departed.
Narimasu is the first stop on the Semi-Express of the Tobu Tojyo Line
(10 minutes out of Ikebukuro--- it felt like it was a lot longer ride since I’m
still sleep walking). From the train, we
walked to an elevator that took us down to the first floor, around the corner
and up the street, turning left and walking a long block to my mother-in-law’s
apartment building on the corner of an intersection. (So, lots and lots of walking. Even with an amazingly huge, complex and
finely tuned mass transit system, there is a lot of walking that’s done. Fortunately, there are now elevators and
ramps for those who find it difficult or impossible to use the stairs or the
escalators.)
So, I'm finally at my mother-in-law's and desperate to sleep. More "tomorrow."
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