Arrival Day

If you only want to know about the nice stuff: Skip the post.

I think I'll indulge my literary side here:

• >>Well, it's only half a day left, so not much can go wrong, right?<< Laughs, safely arrived in Tokyo.
• You think that in 11 hours not much can happen, but you're mistaken. And it only takes 8!
• And that with only 7 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, so here we go...

The weather in Japan was just as bad as it looks in the picture. I lost my dear Tessa right at the start and was therefore alone.

Upon arriving at Narita Airport, you have to go through a lot of bureaucracy. Unfortunately, we arrived together with another flight (so at least 2 * 70 * 9 people). All these people have to queue, then their fingerprints have to be scanned, and then you hand over all documents in your designated area. (I heard it's easier in Haneda) In my case, I had to go back twice because I hadn't filled something out yet.

As expected, it was incredibly warm with all these people, my backpack was heavy, and I was sweating a lot. Tip: Leave 1/3 of your carry-on luggage empty and embrace the onion look! Two change shirts are also recommended

After that, I was able to collect my luggage and fill out again that I didn't bring anything that Japan doesn't want.

All of this took about 2.5 hours.

So now, it's just off to the dorm, my introduction there is at 6 PM.

Thanks to N26, however, I unfortunately had a crisis. My card didn't work. Yes, the one I specifically opened for Japan.

After a nervous breakdown and a quick chat with Theresa (my bank advisor and sister), I tried again. The second time went just as well as the first time, but as they say, hope dies last.

Unexpectedly, however, another bank card worked just like that! Deutsche Bank saves my ass!

Then it was time to buy the ticket....

Where I saw that I could also exchange euros. Just 2 floors below me would have been a problem solver🤦

Route determined, paid, and we were off. I almost knocked down a poor girl with my suitcase and drifted towards my new home with the train. The drifting refers to my state, not the train, which was quite fast🚄💨

When changing trains for the second time, I had to buy my ticket again myself. But where?

With the same problem, I met Scott. Scott is Canadian, his favorite band is TWICE, a K-Pop band, and he's here with friends. But most importantly: Scott also can't speak Japanese and doesn't know his way around.

After about 30 minutes, we were finally able to explain where to find the tickets using broken Japanese and broken English on the part of the スタフ.

During all this, it started to rain heavily, but I only noticed when I arrived. With about 1 km still to walk.

Unfortunately, I didn't have internet yet, but it will work out.

That's what I thought.

I always talk about my poor sense of direction, which thankfully didn't let me down that day. With the help of 2 nice Japanese women, I found the way!

I only had to walk about 800m straight and then 400m up the hill. That sounds a bit less than it felt...

Yeah, now it sounds a lot better.

With just over 15 minutes, I arrived soaked, stinky, and exhausted.

Unfortunately, the day was still not over.

After I met Yuna at the introduction, I also got to know Natsuki and Lina. They stood by me while I was trying to find out which shower had warm water today! Yay😵‍💫

No one helped me, however, during the subsequent nervous breakdown when I searched for my phone for a fucking hour. I had actually included it in my bed. After that, it was finally time to sleep. Oh sweet sweet dreams!

NO! NO SWEET DREAMS! It was actually 3 PM in Germany, and my body didn't want to sleep anymore. I hate jetlag.

So now

Good night, and it can only get better...