Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 16)

I had finished my packing last night and this morning I was getting geared up for catching my flight back to the states.I had a light breakfast, and gave Megan a hug, told her goodbye and that I really appreciated her allowing me to spend time with them. She had been a fantastic hostess, a really fine woman. My son did good when he found and married her, and I know that she feels the same about him. Adam hauled my luggage downstairs to the car, which is a really good thing as he is only 31 and very fit, and I am 53 and I struggle with stairs due to coordination issues with my Multiple Sclerosis, let alone hauling heavy luggage down them. Three year old Abigail was a wonderful granddaughter and held my hand as we worked our way down the stairs.

We got into the Honda Fit, and while it had been an entire month, I still could not believe that my trip was drawing to a close. I was eager to see my wife and son David again, but I really hated to leave my family that was here in Japan. We made a few quick stops to pick up a thing or two and realized that we were still awfully early for the shuttle to Narita International Airport, yes we learned not to attempt to drive to the airport yet since our last escapade. We decided to kill time by having an early lunch at the Burger King on the Base.

When it was time we headed for the shuttlebus and said our goodbyes with warm hugs and waves as the bus pulled away. It was still a long drive to the Airport, but I got to see more of Tokyo including a skyscaper with the name Amway on it! We buzzed through all of the tollbooths fairly quickly and I was let off at the airport with hours and hours to spare.

I dragged my poor old body around the airport carrying several luggages with cane in hand and finally found my check-in location, but it was closed for about an hour more. Finally they opened up and checked my large bag and asked if I needed assistance getting to the gate. I said "Probably not. Where is it?" The young lady gestured and said that it was way far away. At the other end of the airport. I hesitatingly said that yes. I would probably need assistance to find my gate, let alone walk that far. I expected a shuttle to come around, but the young Japanese woman came back with a wheelchair, I felt odd getting into it and hoped that I didn't get lost wheeling to the gate, but the young woman started pushing me in the chair. The sweet young lady must have pushed me for over fifteen or twenty minutes to get me to the gate. Then she said that I should stay near the chair. So I got up and sat on a bench close enough that I could see the chair. An hour later, she found me while she was looking for the wheelchair and I pointed to it. She trotted over and got the chair and brought it to me, wanting me to get in the chair. When the plane started to load, she wheeled me to the door of the plane. I advised her that I could get on without the chair and started to grab my carry-on. She snatched it and followed along behind me stowing it in the overhead above my seat. "Domo arigato" I thanked her very much. I never expected all of this, but it sure helped.

The flight was crowded in contrast to the flight over, and not quite as smooth, but not too bad. The flight attendant that gave me the most personalized service was a young man from Toronto that spent the extra time to ask about my trip, where I was headed and so on. He was also the voice on the loudspeaker that made the announcements in English, French and Japanese. Whenever I had a question I made sure to search him out  as he made sure that I was taken care of without questions left unanswered. Arriving in Vancouver, Canada I made sure to thank this flight attendant for the fine service that I had received and wish him a good day.

My flight to the states on the propeller plane was late coming in, so I had lots of time to Facebook my status to my wife and David. When the plane was finally ready for loading, it was back to the tarmac and onto the plane. Inside the plane I recognized my flight attendant. "You were here on my last flight!" It was the pleasant blonde woman from the last time I was on this plane. "That must have been a while ago" she said. I advised her it was a month ago, She acknowledged that was about right, so obviously she had been off work for a while. It was a nice flight about 35 minutes long, and she would ask me about where I had travelled to.

Upon arrival in Seattle, one of the men attending to the luggage on the plane asked if I needed transportation to the luggage area as they had an extra wheelchair sitting there. "How far away is the luggage area?" "Get in I'll take you there!" So I was carted to get my luggage. Wow! I really couldn't believe this! I hadn't asked for any special treatment, but these folks were sure providing it. Baggage Pickup was a long ways and a subway ride through the terminal, so I was really appreciative of the ride. The man was a retired marine who had been stationed at Mount Fuji for part of his career, so he was really interesting to talk to. After we got my luggage he asked if someone was coming to get me. I advised him I was taking the shuttlebus. "That is clear at the other end of the airport! I will get you there!" And he carted me to the bus area.

Everyone had been absolutely wonderful on this trip. I sat and waited for the bus, my reciept in hand and wondered if I was supposed to check in with somebody. I walked in and got in line and was behind a Hispanic woman with what seemed like six small kids. I heard the attendant at the counter trying to explain things to her and I hear him say that the bus is out their now. I essentially dropped everything and high-tailed it for the bus. The driver asked folks if anyone was going to my stop. "Yes. Me." and he put my luggage inside the bus and I hurried in. Everyone loaded onto the bus and then we saw the lady with six kids and a shopping cart full of luggage approach the bus. She was pretty irate when she was told that he didn;t have room for them let alone all that stuff that they had in the cart. I was very happy that I had hurried and gotten on the bus as I was there way ahead of time waiting outside before anyone else had arrived,

I called for a cab before I arrived at my drop off point and was promptly taken home. The cab driver took my luggage to the door and as he left David charged out the front door gripping me in a bear hug like I had never experienced. The kid wouldn't let go. Then when he did, he would grab me again. You could say that he was glad that I was finally home. I was too.

I took David to Fujiyama for dinner that night as he had requested. It just seemed odd that just that day I had actually been in Japan, and now I was here at a Japanese restaurant in Washington State with my son.

It was good to be home.

Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 15)

It had been a glorious full month visiting with my son Adam, his wife Megan and my three year old granddaughter Abigail. It was hard to believe that this was my last full day with them in Japan. It was a month of fun and fellowship, of exploring new places and having new experiences. I had been able to keep in touch back in the states with my family and friends through phone calls, Facebook and Skype. During online chat with my friend from school, Ralph, he had encouraged me to try backwards driving (driving on the left side of the road as opposed to the right side), notice the differences in society when I finally arrived back home after a month in Japan, and to try Tempura. He was very definite on this. Tempura. If he had no other advice for me, it was Tempura, Tempura, Tempura. And he was right. Ralph's advice meant a lot to me, and is one reason that I am documenting my time in Japan. I wanted to be sure that I remembered the experience and that I would continue to be aware of the differences.

When you arrive in Japan, you know that it will be different, so while it can be difficult dealing with the writing and realizing that suddenly you are totally illiterate, after you have been there for a while it achieves a sense of normalcy, so Ralph's advice "observe the differences when you return to the states" really hit home. While suddenly you can read the signs again and understand the language fluently, you begin to realize that life in the states is more hectic, more abrasive, more loud and just plain "more". The people I observed the day of my return demonstrated a sense of entitlement, e.g., "We were here first and we had reservations for 7:00!" "Maam, those folks had reservations for 7:00 also." "But we were here first!" You would never observe a public outburst like that in Japan. In the states on the day I arrived back, a young woman stuck her head out the door of a business and shouted "Katie is loud when she has sex!" Again, you would never see an outrageous public display like that in Japan. The examples go on and on.

Anyway, this was my last full day in Japan and we ran around doing last minute errands, picking up things for my trip home that I had forgotten and planning for the evening. We had dinner at a wonderful buffet in Fussa. We weren't sure what the restaurant was called, but it was awfully good. Burners to cook the food on were in the center of the tables, so you went around and collected the food that looked good to you (all of it), and then cooked it yourself at your table. My right hand was still giving me problems due to the Multiple Sclerosis that was affecting my right side, so I decided that if I wanted to eat I was going to have to learn to use chopsticks with my left hand. Adam has used chopsticks for years since he has been in the Pacific for a good portion of his life, but apparently was only able to use them with his right hand. Amazing, but I actually did pretty good. See what you can do when you have to? When we had entered the buffet they asked how old I was. I'm sure that I looked old enough to drink and I don't drink anyway, so I am not sure why they asked me that.

Upon leaving we finally passed a Costco. I could have replaced my defective camera! However they were closing for the night, I was going home tomorrow, and I'm not sure if they would have accepted my American membership card for entry.

I asked Adam about trying to drive his car. He said sure, but he dropped Abigail off at home first. I'm not sure if that was supposed to tell me anything or not. We made our way back out to the car. Now I had been trying to enter the wrong side of the car for a month as a passenger, and now I had to get in on that side as the driver! I was really, really cautious because it was a new car to me, everything seemed wrong, and I hadn't driven at all for a month. I backed out of the parking space...a little weird...and pulled onto the road on the left side...not too bad. The stop signs are triangular and look like a yield sign...still not too bad. Left turn on red...a little unnerving because I expected  oncoming traffic coming from my immediate left...nope..."I" was the oncoming traffic. Right turn on a divided highway, really difficult since I had to be left of the divider and I wanted to be on the right. The other annoying thing was that everytime I signaled my intention the windshield wipers would come on! That's right! The turn signal indicator was on the wrong side of the steering wheel! I never did get the hang of that! I ended up just sitting on my left hand, but I still attempted to reach for the windshield wiper stick! Adam asked if I wanted to drive to the train station. No! It was late at night, but the streets were narrow and I was uncomfortable with everything being backwards, so we went back to the apartment and I packed for my return flight.

Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 14)

We were right on time for the ferry, which was really nice because after the long walk in the high heat and humidity I was about done. We leisurely  rode the ferry down the Sumida River until we arrived at our destination. As we got off the boat, there were several more cruising downriver, some of them pretty unique looking. One of them parked at the next dock. I referred to it as a "party boat" because it just seemed like a more "fun" boat. Less traditional. Then coming off of that boat but what did I see? Oh my goodness! More of the scantily clad "feather" girls from the parade earlier! Perhaps it was the "party boat".

Adam, Megan and I discussed the best way to get to the Tokyo Tower, to see the sites. It was going to be another bunch of city blocks, and the way I felt, I was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a positive experience walking. We started to evaluate taking a cab. Done deal as far as I was concerned. A cab it was. The driver was very accommodating. He realized that we were tourists, so as soon as the Tokyo Tower was in site, he stopped his cab in the center of the street and motioned for me to snap a picture of the Tower. He was an awesome Cab driver and very affordable. Well worth the trip.

The driver let us off beside the Tower, Adam paid for our admission and we proceeded to wait in a long line for entry. The Tokyo Tower was inspired by the Eiffel Tower and does resemble it somewhat, although I felt that it bore a slight resemblance to Seattle's Space Needle as well, minus the flying -saucer shaped top of course. The Tower was incredibly crowded inside, everyone trying to get a peek out the windows at urban Tokyo and beyond. There are two observation floors. One way up, and the other really way up. Wandering around, I finally got my only glimpse of Mt. Fuji, as the horizon had always been overcast the entire rest of the trip. It was nearing sunset, so Fuji was a beautiful site, and the skyscrapers in Tokyo were turning on their lights. I also noticed an odd section of Plexiglas on the floor, allowing you to stand on it and look down to the ground. Kind of a strange feeling.

Megan suggested taking a picture of Adam, Abigail and myself in front of one of the windows, which was a splendid idea. After she took the picture, a young Australian couple approached Megan and asked if we would like a picture of the four of us together, We happily accepted their offer, and the pictures of us at the Tokyo Tower are among my favorite. We discovered that this nice young couple were newlyweds and that this was their honeymoon! Adam took several pictures for them and we wished them a wonderful time.

The Tokyo Tower has many different activities to do on many of their levels. They had a wax museum, an aquarium, gift shops and such, but I was so exhausted at that point that I was more than ready to head back. Yes, a taxi to the train station would be wonderful, again, well worth the money.

Waiting for our train, Abigail and I sat on a bench watching the various trains come and go. Before one train left, a waving motion caught my eye. It was two attractive young ladies on the train looking directly at me and waving to me wildly. They were definitely looking me straight in the eyes, so I decided that I should wave back. I nudged Abigail and suggested that she wave too. I mentioned this whole event to Megan and she explained "They like old white guys here." Suddenly her hand flew to her mouth..."I didn't mean it like that..." I thought that it was funny and  probably pretty darned accurate. I told her that it was okay, I understood what she meant, then I got to thinking about our visit to the Ueno Zoo. There was a grandfather there with his grandson, and he looked directly at me and waved also. I guess they do like old white guys in Japan!

We rode the train back to Fussa, and yes, I was still ready for another taxi ride! I was thoroughly wiped out. It had been an extremely hot, long day on my feet.