Hello Tokyo! 🎌

01.09.2019 - Arrival

The Flight

The flight itself was long and quite uncomfortable. Fortunately, the entertainment program and the food were really good. From Aladdin to Dumbo (God, I didn't remember how sad it is..) to a half-sleeping Bambi, I was already in Dubai. And that with a 20 minute delay, which is not very relaxing considering a layover time of 1.5 hours. And when my Indian seat neighbor also told me that I have to go through the security check again in Dubai and 1.5 hours are quite tight... well, let's just say that with the boarding starting at 7:15 and the flight departing at 8 o'clock, I was still standing in the plane at 7 o'clock, wide awake despite only a few hours of sleep. Extremely awake. 10 minutes and a sprint resembling Olympic walking later, I finally reached the security check. Of course, with a seemingly endless queue.. in which I also saw a few Japanese people - very reassuring 😅 When a few of them bypassed the line and headed towards the Fast Track / First & Business Class, I thought 'why not?' and followed suit. Fortunately, they didn't check the boarding pass again, and I passed through within 3 minutes. After another half sprint to the other end of the terminal (what else), I actually made it to the boarding gate on time to the second :)

10 hours, many movies, the first Japanese breakfast (teriyaki salmon with rice), and a bit of dawdling later, it was finally time to say: Konichwa Tokyo!

And from there, things went really fast. First, internet on - boom, already through passport control and the visa stamp. Inform Prof. K and the folks at home that I've landed - boom, my suitcase is already here as well. Send a couple messages - boom, already through customs. Now withdraw money, buy a bus ticket, and quickly use the bathroom - all really easy, even though I must have made 5 rounds through the small entrance area of the airport in total. But thanks to various books and blogs, I had a rough idea of what to expect from the toilet with its 1000 buttons - luckily, the huge flush button was hard to miss, and I could also get used to the bird chirping and water splashing as soon as you lock the toilet door ;)

While at the airport I felt like I was really far away, my first impression from the bus was simply: okay. Big city at night. Until the aforementioned flashing construction workers 😉

The Taxi Ride

At first, I was also worried about how to find a taxi in the middle of the night - completely unnecessary. The detailed instructions from Prof. K via Skype probably wouldn't have been necessary at all. There were already a row of taxis waiting directly opposite the bus stop, with a waiting path separated by railings for the passengers. There were a few other girls in front of me, so I could watch how the next taxi would pull up, the door would magically open, you would get in, it would drive off, and the next taxi in line would roll up. So, no problemo at all :) There was even so much space in the footwell of the taxi that my huge duffel bag fit inside! The taxi driver also spoke really good English and was super nice. After showing him Prof. K's address on my phone, we were off - partly through narrow, steep streets that I never would have expected in Tokyo! When we stopped in the middle of a quiet little street, the taxi driver immediately got out, looked at the doorbell, and asked three times if we were in the right place. Yes, and by the time I had taken my suitcase and everything outside and paid, the door was already open :)

After a quick shower, which here is a separate room with a bathtub and a shower head next to it, I fell fast asleep on my rather makeshift bed 😴