Destination Tokyo
This trip got off to a very precarious and nerve-wracking start with a horrible ice storm that had me very worried I wasn't going to make it to the airport in time. Three re-routings later and my terrific Lyft driver, Tom, got me to the departures and the rest was up to me and the good folks at Delta. Seriously, if you could have seen the mass of people just waiting to check their baggage...in the Sky Priority line you might have cried. I know, because I was. I thank my indulgent attitude when I booked my Delta Premium ticket that got me Sky Priority and that I also obtained Global Entry/TSA pre-check. I zoomed through to my gate, and then we waited some more, because the ice had delayed a couple of crew members, then we sat on the runway to get de-iced (not complaining about that part at all), and then we were off, Tokyo-bound. We left on Saturday and landed around 3:30 pm on Sunday, thanks to the good old International Date Line.
It's always a little disorienting landing in a foreign country, especially after a 12 1/2 hour flight, but I have to say getting processed through customs and immigration was actually pretty smooth compared to some experiences I've had. The stereotype of Japan is that it's neat and orderly, even when you think it should be chaotic, and I have to say, my first impression is that is true, and I found that very reassuring given I don't speak or read Japanese and I've never been here before. I took a taxi to my hotel, which was a little further outside the 'action' than I anticipated, but that's okay. I checked in and arrived at my room. It's pretty tiny, definitely made for one person only, but it's also very efficient, which I have noticed in other hotels where space/land is at a premium and you have to make the best use of space you can; nothing is wasted. As a consumer of these services, I appreciate that and just have to remember not to wave my arms around too much. Anyway, I had these hopes and dreams of walking around, grabbing something to eat, but that was not going to happen; I had just enough energy to unpack (minimally), get stuff ready for the next day and eat a granola bar. Then I slept in three hour shifts before getting up for my day trip.
I was looking forward to this trip which was to Mt. Fuji, Hakone with a boat cruise (yes in December) and a seafood buffet, even though I knew there was a good chance the weather would not cooperate and the stop at Mt. Fuji would be shortened or covered in clouds or worse, eliminated. And if you're guessing that it was eliminated, you are correct. Mother Nature is a heartless creature. Our first stop was Odawara Castle, a 16th century castle; I just didn't have it in me to go through it. I'm sure it was cool, but I just didn't have the interest (I am going to blame jet lag). Then we stopped for lunch which was a do it yourself seafood barbecue; each table had a little grill and some samples were already started for us: shrimp (with the eyes), scallops in the shell, some kind of fish (tuna?), snail or something similar, mussels, etc. You could go back for as much as you like; they also had chicken skewers and veggies (sadly, I didn't see the veggies until my attention span had waned and I was ready to go). It was a cool experience, I just wish I had a better idea of what I was eating and how long it should be cooked for because, I think the fish I had was tuna and I'm pretty sure it shouldn't have been cooked until it was charcoal. You also had to watch for bones, because McDonald's fish sandwiches come de-boned, but these little fillets did not.
(Sorry for the pictures, they are hard to manipulate on my mini).
After lunch, we went on a boat cruise, in the rain. Normally I wouldn't care, but I did today. It was fine, and hopefully my pictures of the fog on the mountains will be cool. After the cruise is when we got the news that for sure we were not going to Mt. Fuji and we weren't going to be able to really see it. That was pretty hard to hear, even though I knew it could happen. I got a crappy picture of Mt. Fuji through the bus window. That's the first day in the books. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I hope to just explore the city and maybe even stay out until dark, but sadly, not until midnight. I lave on New Year's Day for Harbin, China, which was really the main purpose of this trip. Pretty sure it won't be 40 degrees there.
It's always a little disorienting landing in a foreign country, especially after a 12 1/2 hour flight, but I have to say getting processed through customs and immigration was actually pretty smooth compared to some experiences I've had. The stereotype of Japan is that it's neat and orderly, even when you think it should be chaotic, and I have to say, my first impression is that is true, and I found that very reassuring given I don't speak or read Japanese and I've never been here before. I took a taxi to my hotel, which was a little further outside the 'action' than I anticipated, but that's okay. I checked in and arrived at my room. It's pretty tiny, definitely made for one person only, but it's also very efficient, which I have noticed in other hotels where space/land is at a premium and you have to make the best use of space you can; nothing is wasted. As a consumer of these services, I appreciate that and just have to remember not to wave my arms around too much. Anyway, I had these hopes and dreams of walking around, grabbing something to eat, but that was not going to happen; I had just enough energy to unpack (minimally), get stuff ready for the next day and eat a granola bar. Then I slept in three hour shifts before getting up for my day trip.
I was looking forward to this trip which was to Mt. Fuji, Hakone with a boat cruise (yes in December) and a seafood buffet, even though I knew there was a good chance the weather would not cooperate and the stop at Mt. Fuji would be shortened or covered in clouds or worse, eliminated. And if you're guessing that it was eliminated, you are correct. Mother Nature is a heartless creature. Our first stop was Odawara Castle, a 16th century castle; I just didn't have it in me to go through it. I'm sure it was cool, but I just didn't have the interest (I am going to blame jet lag). Then we stopped for lunch which was a do it yourself seafood barbecue; each table had a little grill and some samples were already started for us: shrimp (with the eyes), scallops in the shell, some kind of fish (tuna?), snail or something similar, mussels, etc. You could go back for as much as you like; they also had chicken skewers and veggies (sadly, I didn't see the veggies until my attention span had waned and I was ready to go). It was a cool experience, I just wish I had a better idea of what I was eating and how long it should be cooked for because, I think the fish I had was tuna and I'm pretty sure it shouldn't have been cooked until it was charcoal. You also had to watch for bones, because McDonald's fish sandwiches come de-boned, but these little fillets did not.
After lunch, we went on a boat cruise, in the rain. Normally I wouldn't care, but I did today. It was fine, and hopefully my pictures of the fog on the mountains will be cool. After the cruise is when we got the news that for sure we were not going to Mt. Fuji and we weren't going to be able to really see it. That was pretty hard to hear, even though I knew it could happen. I got a crappy picture of Mt. Fuji through the bus window. That's the first day in the books. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I hope to just explore the city and maybe even stay out until dark, but sadly, not until midnight. I lave on New Year's Day for Harbin, China, which was really the main purpose of this trip. Pretty sure it won't be 40 degrees there.
So glad you made it through the ice storm, rainy boat ride and fish with eyes... all uphill from here! Enjoy!
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