I take back what I may have posted somewhere about Vancouver, B.C. being the biggest airport I have ever been in. Japan's Narita Airport is bigger. Another half-mile or so on my sneakers made up for sitting so long on the plane.
Backing up a bit: the flight to Japan was excellent except for the fact I had a middle seat. But the plane was clean, (SPOTLESSLY CLEAN RESTROOM BIG ENOUGH TO TURN AROUND IN!! Didn't think that was possible!) Each seat had a video screen, and a wide variety of entertainment to choose from at no charge, and you could also track the progress of the flight. Very cool. We had 2 meals on the nine-hour flight, a little heavy on the starches, but overall not bad. The flight attendants were friendly and offered drinks several times. Announcements were made in English, French and Japanese. If Air Canada is ever a travel option for you, I recommend it.
So we landed in the rain, and after only a little confusion, I met up with my friends Randy and Roger from Oklahoma. They helped me get money changed, and we got on the bus to Shinjuku Station.
Public transportation in Tokyo is a great. The bus was so clean, it looked brand new. It was a long ride, but not uncomfortable. You might not even need a car to live here. As soon as we got off the bus, we grabbed a cab and rode the last way to Second Pilgrimage Hall, our home away from home.
Got settled in, met my room-mates, and got ready for bed.
Let me tell you about bathrooms in Japan.
Let's start at the doorway. You leave your outdoor shoes in a little alcove at the door of your home, and wear slippers in the home itself. EXCEPT when you go to the restroom. Then you go to the bathroom entry and change into special "toilet slippers" (labeled as such) while you take care of business.
The toilets here can warm your bum for you, rinse you off with comfortably warm water, and some will even play music if you want to mask your noises. If I ever build a house...
Enough for now. Almost time for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment