Well, I’m married, and I’m in Japan. The flight was uneventful, and immigration and customs were painless. Not like trying to get into the USA, but that’s another story. I can’t really place what it is, but Tokyo is a very different city to any other I’ve been in. Every city has its own distinct feel, and Tokyo is no exception
It was reassuring to get off the plane and have my mobile phone and credit card work with no fuss (although it took a bit of trial and error to work out that Citibank ATMs apparently have a ¥50,000 withdrawal limit, and balances are shown on the screen in Australian dollars). People driving on the left-hand side of the road is homely, too.
Everyone we’ve here has been very friendly and helpful. Well, there was one exception – the beggar at Shinjuku San-Chõme station, but you get that everywhere. We had a bit of trouble getting to the hotel, but with a solid idea of where you want to go, it’s amazing how far pointing, saying place names and “どうもありがと” will get you.”
Speaking of transport, the railway system is great here. The fares are easy: look at where you want to go and read the fare off the table. If you bought the wrong fare, you can use a “fare adjustment” machine to correct it at the destination. An interesting side effect is that you can’t be fined for having the wrong ticket while you’re on a train – only when you’re leaving the station. The announcements and information displays are excellent, and make more sense in Japanese than the ones in Australia do in English.
There are some quirks: what we’d call an “all stations” train is called a “local” train here, and the signs point you to the “tracks” rather than the “platforms”. Of course, all the English translations are literal. The one thing that bothers me is the heated seats. It’s below ten degrees outside, and they’re heating your hind quarter to about thirty! It’s just insane!
Eating out was a bit of fun, and not as expensive as some people have suggested. It was kind of amusing trying to find a place that was open at 10:00 PM on a public holiday. We got some amusement when we asked the police for help, and one of them called his wife to speak English to us.
Once we actually found a place that was open, getting food was painless. Most people start with either rude words or food words when starting to learn a language, and Thanh and I can’t swear in Japanese. Some things never change, though – drinks are overpriced, and cocktails can cost more than food. The food and drinks were great, though, and the staff were very friendly and helpful.
Despite Tokyo being a very big city with about twenty million people, everything here is small. The hotel room has everything – bed, TV, wardrobe, desk, fridge, air conditioner, shower, toilet – but all packed into a very small space. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s fine after a couple of hours to adjust.
I guess it’s just another city, with its own advantages, disadvantages, quirks and pitfalls. There’s a lot of it, and I’m sure we won’t see all of it in the two weeks we’re here.