First Glance of Tokyo: City of LED

I took off from San Francisco at 7pm Tuesday and arrived in Tokyo at about 10:00pm Wednesday. The long flight (13 hours) is getting easier since I can now sleep on the plane! I didn't realize I slept so much until the smell of fancy cup o soup noodles woke me up with 2 hours left in the flight. I watched the cameras from the bottom of the plane that showed the dark cities of Japan. Previously we got to watch the camera from the front of the plane and see the runway for take off which was really interesting.

After eating the normal plane food with a side or rice crackers and noodles, I looked out onto Japan for my first time. It was really dark and what amazed me was the many small blue lights that lit up the cities instead of a couple bright spotlight type lights that I am used to. I think I was expecting Vagas lights or something but the land was pretty quiet with light, which dark patches mingled in between.

I had a good companion sitting next to me who spoke English but was raised in Tokyo. I was happy that she spoke English and Japanese and helped each other through the flight. I helped her with her suitcase and tray table, she helped me with my Japanese pronunciation. At 85 she still travels yearly to Japan!

Getting through the airport and customs was pretty simple with the grace being English posted next to the Japanese characters on the signs. I am good at languages, but a whole new alphabet is another beast to tackle in the future. I asked the bus ticket counter if they could get me to my hotel and for about $10, I got a bus ride straight to my hotel. Pretty good price since I expected a taxi to take all the yen I had exchanged. I hear it's expensive here!

The bowing is really impressive here. Everyone bows to everyone. Even if a little bow, showing a little respect to some stranger, it brings this understanding of respect to everybody and helps people get along as they live their lives. I feel so welcomed. Bowing is a civilized way for humans to tolerate each other for the small amount of time that you come into contact with them so you can both be productive in society. Don't get me wrong, these people charge. My bus driver took his bus lane at the airport while making sure that the bus in front of him was able to get in the lane as well, and then punched the gas!! They make sure that those around them have a chance to charge too. Considerate in all ways.

I got to the hotel and found Steve fast asleep from a long day he had already in Tokyo. I was antsy to explore Tokyo! But, since it was 11pm, I went to sleep, though I woke at 4am with no way of going back to sleep. The city from the bus reminds me of the bay area a little with all the bridges and tunnels. I wonder what the rest of the city is like...

Today is Japanese Culture Say so I hope we get to see what we can about the culture. Very happy to be here. I am pleasantly surprised.