Fuga et adventus in Japan

Sunday, 08/20/2023

Today our 5 week trip to Japan finally starts.

We left Erfurt at 11:30 a.m. and then arrived in Frankfurt 30 minutes late, i.e. almost on time.

The benevolent smell of the station district greeted us immediately. A mixture of smells from unemptied rubbish bins, dried urine and dirt, which only unfolded its special effect at 32 degrees, sweetened our march to the hotel.

It was a bit of a culture shock for us to be in Frankfurt; the smell was almost the least of the evils.

The hotel, on the other hand, was very fine. Very friendly staff, quiet rooms and a fan, what more could you ask for.

In the evening we set off again briefly to find something to eat and quickly found what we were looking for: it was supposed to be a nice doner kebab snack bar.

We returned relatively quickly because we didn't really want to experience Frankfurt's nightlife. (Don't worry Mama S., we'll be back soon ;)).

Monday, 08/21/2023

Today it really starts :)!

Our alarm clock rang at 7:30 a.m. and we went straight to breakfast. We were hardly nervous anymore, we were just looking forward to it.

Today, of all days, construction work and closures on the rails took place, but we arrived at the airport on time.

Arrived at the airport, we first queued at the wrong security check line (it was for premium class travelers) but then got through after a total of 30 minutes. At the gate we realized: that was the wrong security check in, because our gate was not signposted!

So it was time to go back out there and do all the fun all over again.

I (Jule) was nervous at the first check and afraid that weapons or explosives would suddenly appear in my bag out of nowhere. Fortunately, this fear did not materialize and I no longer had to worry about the second check.

Arriving at the gate we played the longest and most frustrating round of Uno we've ever played, but then quickly got on the plane.

Our two flights went smoothly and relatively relaxed. The food was very good for airplane food and apart from some turbulence it was also very quiet.

In Hong Kong we had to find our way around first and without the help of a nice employee we probably wouldn't have found our gate.

Arrived in Osaka, we stood on the runway for about 30 minutes because it was thundering and we were just exhausted. Moritz in particular was of the opinion that he could sleep right away. We just forgot that 1.) we still had to get a transport card and 2.) we first had to go on a one-hour journey to the hotel.

That was much more complicated than expected, which was also our fault. You could have clarified that in advance. I was also confronted with the Japanese toilet at the train station, which overwhelmed me a bit. I actually just wanted to go to the toilet and was able to try out several modes with music, water jets, etc. The only thing I couldn't find was the flush.

Well it doesn't matter, when we got to the hotel everything was forgotten and we first went to take a shower. The climate here is comparable to the Bad Sulza Therme: extremely warm and absolutely humid.

After we got ready, we went out again at 7:30 p.m. and it was already pitch black. There were sooooo many people on the street and everywhere it smelled very different from ours. We got something to eat and drink for €11 from the convenience store, a small shop where you can get prepared food and drinks for little money, and then went to our room.

More is planned for tomorrow, but sleep was badly needed!

Then, thanks for reading, see you later and love from both of us.