Ok so I finally gotten around to writing about our trip to Honshu (main island of Japan). I'm going to do this in installments because it would take forever to do the whole thing. Also there won't be any photos at the moment because I've decided to sign up for Adobe photoshop's new online FREE photo editing service to make my pictures purty and until I'm done with 'em you can't see 'em. But if you want to check out Photoship Express for yourself you can do that here: http://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html?promoid=CBTVJ
Ok so our journey! I booked our flights at the beginning of January on ANA. Mostly because ANA has an english part of their website but also because I'd flown on them before & liked the service. We were flying into Kansai Airport (Osaka) and flying back home from Haneda (Tokyo) so I could only book one way flights. The flight to Kansai cost 10,000 yen each ($100) and the flights from Haneda were 13,600 yen each ($136). If your buying a flight in Japan you can only really book them about 30/40 days in advance. Very strange but there it is. Also the sooner you book the cheaper it's going to be. So if you know your flight date basically a month before it (exactly) you can book your flight & get a cheap rate. You can also fly on Skymark, AirDo, or JAL. Skymark has an english website, AirDo does not but if you can get the help of somebody who can read kanji you'll be alright. JAL as far as I have been able to tell DOES have an english site... you just can't buy tickets on it. At all. You have to use the Japanese part of the site or see a travel agent. Most Japanese seem to use a travel agent when they go on vacation, they help them book train tickets, plane tickets, bus tickets, hotel stays, etc.
If you REALLY wanted to you can also take the train down from Sapporo. However be warned this is a LOOOOOONG commute. About 16 hours because once you hit Niigata you can't use the Shinkansen anymore & have to transfer to a regular train. They're working on building a shinkansen to Hokkaido but it's gonna take about 5 more years to be finished. Plus if you book a flight early enough it's cheaper to fly than it is to take the train.
Because we were only flying domestic & not transfering to an international flight we didn't have to get up at 5:00 am to get to the airport. Instead Arzu & I got up about 8:00 and we were on our way to the airport about 9:00 am. We didn't bring much in the way of luggage (I left the monster suitcase at home!) so we took the bus instead of calling for a taxi. The train was a bit crowded but what can you do? It was Friday morning and this was the first rapid train to Chitose :P. Our flight left at 12:00 pm and we were, in my opinion anyway cutting it a bit close. I had to stop in their gift section (huge btw) and purchase a couple of omiage for my friends in Kyoto & Tokyo.
We found the flight counter & got in line, Arzu was driving me crazy by insisting that we needed to turn our baggage in first & then pick up the tickets but I knew better. So we stood in the annoyingly long line and then I went & picked up our tickets and was told the CORRECT baggage line to stand in so our luggage would end up on the right plane. Now unencumbered by luggage we raced back downstairs to grab a quick burger at Moss Burger (they're disgusting btw) and then race back upstairs to get through security. I love buying my flights online in Japan because you can pick the seat you want to sit in. Best thing EVER. Now I can make sure I get an aisle seat all the time and not have to fuss with people to go to the bathroom. So Arzu & I got an aisle & middle seat in a row of 3. The airplane sucked, whatever model it was didn't have individual air vents and the plane was sweltering. Even the stewardesses were sweating! The creepiest thing about this airplane though was that it had the projector screen... and the screen was directly linked to a f***ing camera on the underside of the plane. I totally could've done without a front seat view of the plane taking off. We slept the entire way to Kansai.
When first arriving at Kansai we grabbed our stuff & headed out into the terminal and straight over to the starbucks that was directly next to the exit doors. I guess starbucks knows people want coffee after a zombie ride in an airplane. Then we left and headed to the train station. Trains in Japan are very strange. A piece of advice: if the train name has the words 'express' or 'limited' in the name it's gonna cost more than local or rapid . This is where we fucked up. We ended up getting reserved seating tickets for the Express but only bought the Rapid seat tickets. So when we got on board we had to pay about $7 extra for the Haruka Express to Kyoto. As I've stated before (and will probably do again) reserved seating is the best thing ever invented. You get a guaranteed seat with extra foot room & they have a nice safe place to stow your luggage so it isn't under your feet, blocking the aisle, or taking up another seat, also random people don't stand in the aisle and bump into you when the train moves like in normal cars.
It took about 40 minutes to get to Kyoto station and Arzu slept through it. I however took the opportunity to enjoy the passing scenery since I'd not seen any of Honshu before besides the airport & the interstate. The houses look much different from the ones here in Hokkaido & the grass was greener there, they had trees with leaves, some were flowering, and there were even a few palm trees!
Kyoto Station is HUGE. If you've never been there before I recommend it. It's got 12 floors at LEAST and is interesting all on it's own from an architectural standpoint. Most of it is open air with a tunnel effect going through it so that they get a cooling breeze in the summer through the whole station. But what's REALLY cool about it is the escalators. You know that saying 'stairway to heaven'? Yeah. They were talking about Kyoto Station. The stairs & escalators just keep going up and up and up. I got vertigo on about the 9th story from looking down at how far we'd come up. Craziest thing ever. There's also all these restaurants, shops, little mini gardens and other stuff like benches, sculptures, etc. And if you go to the very top they have the 'Skywalk' which basically a long glass enclosed hallway that goes from one end of the station to the other and gives you a great view of Kyoto. Best of all? It's free.
Our hostel was about 3 blocks from Kyoto station which makes it really convenient for transportation purposes. The place we ended up was called 'Budget Inn' and it was really a nice place. If you want to check it & it's sister hostel Tour club you can access it here: www.budgetinnjp.com
The place was clean, nice & quiet on a Japanese side street. We were meant to be booked in an all female 6 bedroom dorm but there were 2 guys in there when we arrived. One was Irish (and hott!!!) and the other was American. The American guy snored like a BEAR. Even worse than my dad used to when we would all go camping together. He woke me, the Irish guy, and a French girl up at about 3:00 am that first night. After that I bought earplugs and it was all good. The 6 of us shared a bathroom & shower, there was also an extra sink and a hairdryer we could use. Staff was quite friendly to us & helpful. There were sample iteneraries you could look at, copies of Lonely Planet, $5 a day bike rental, and they gave you a map of local resturants & convenience stores. They also had a great 'lounge' room that had a TV, sink, and fridge. But the best part was that it was set up Japanese style so they had a huge low table, zaibuton cushions to sit on, tatami mats, and the door was a real shoji screen which was cool. We were bushed the first day so after we checked in to the hotel we went back out and got some food at a local chain restuarant and then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.
First 'real' day in Kyoto is coming up in "Trip to Honshu: Kyoto Part II".
(I know I know it sounds so cheesy doesn't it?!)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Stuff you wish you'd brung and shit you wish you'd never brought
Ok so I've decided to put a list up here of things I wish I had brought to Japan and stuff that I did bring but didn't need to. This is not to say that the stuff I didn't need to bring wasn't welcome because sometimes you just like to have your own comfortable stuff with you. I will also list some stuff that I DID bring and am glad that I did. The list is going to be small at first and larger as I think of things so it will be updated even though it won't move in my blog because it's all seperated by post date not modified date.
Stuff you wish you'd brung:
1. Instant alfredo packets, and instant drink mix.
2. Shower poofs
- I eventually found them here in Japan but I had to go all the way to Sapporo to get one. And they are tiny compared to US ones.
3. First-aid stuff.
-This is Japan! They don't believe in Neosporin, or any over the counter drugs. Seriously. I paid $5 for 10 asprin in Japan, then when I went home for christmas I got 100 ibprofun for the same price. They don't sell Neosporin at all, cough & cold medicine works like crap, and any drug/cream you buy will have instructions in Japanese. So play it safe and bring along some basic first aid stuff.
~*Also if you're going to need a prescription ask your doctor if you can get the whole years worth in advance because chances are they don't sell it here. *~
Shit you wish you'd never brought:
1. About $40 worth of school supplies
2. Winter blankets (school provides you with)
3. Alarm clock (can buy here for about $10)
4. All the hygene items.
- Seriously, they sell Dove, Johnsons, Biore, Herbal Essences, and tons of other brands here just like in the US. But if you're darker complexion you might want to bring extra foundation/powder.
5. Towels/washclothes
- I love mine so I'm glad I brought but they are not necessary. You can buy them at the dept. store or at the dollar store here.
Crap you're glad you took with you:
1. Sheets! OMG sheets.
-Japanese don't use them, you can find duvet covers for the quilts or pillowcases but they're gonna run you at least $30, save yourself the trouble & buy/bring a $10 twin size sheet set before you come.
2. Crockpot
- it's tiny & cost $15 but it was totally worth it because there are no ovens in Japan. If you don't want to spend at least $50 on a toaster oven that's all in celcius & want home cooked pot roast or something you need this.
3. Tampons
- yeah, yeah it's a girl thing however if you use these, bring a good supply. Japanese girls all use pads, it is possible to find tampons but you get a box of 10 count light/regular for about $4/5.
4. Cookbooks!
- I invested in a $15 japanese cookbook before I left & also brought a crockpot cookbook and Betty crocker. They are indispensible. Especially Betty because a lot of things i have to make from SCRATCH because you can't buy the canned/boxed/ready-made in Japan.
5. Flouride rinse.
- They don't flouridate the water, and they don't sell the flouride at the store. Listerine yes, flouride no. You have to check brand labels on toothpaste to see if they include it.
6. Pics of friends & family.
- You know you're going to miss them so bring along a few snaps & paste them on your fridge like I did. :)
Stuff you wish you'd brung:
1. Instant alfredo packets, and instant drink mix.
2. Shower poofs
- I eventually found them here in Japan but I had to go all the way to Sapporo to get one. And they are tiny compared to US ones.
3. First-aid stuff.
-This is Japan! They don't believe in Neosporin, or any over the counter drugs. Seriously. I paid $5 for 10 asprin in Japan, then when I went home for christmas I got 100 ibprofun for the same price. They don't sell Neosporin at all, cough & cold medicine works like crap, and any drug/cream you buy will have instructions in Japanese. So play it safe and bring along some basic first aid stuff.
~*Also if you're going to need a prescription ask your doctor if you can get the whole years worth in advance because chances are they don't sell it here. *~
Shit you wish you'd never brought:
1. About $40 worth of school supplies
2. Winter blankets (school provides you with)
3. Alarm clock (can buy here for about $10)
4. All the hygene items.
- Seriously, they sell Dove, Johnsons, Biore, Herbal Essences, and tons of other brands here just like in the US. But if you're darker complexion you might want to bring extra foundation/powder.
5. Towels/washclothes
- I love mine so I'm glad I brought but they are not necessary. You can buy them at the dept. store or at the dollar store here.
Crap you're glad you took with you:
1. Sheets! OMG sheets.
-Japanese don't use them, you can find duvet covers for the quilts or pillowcases but they're gonna run you at least $30, save yourself the trouble & buy/bring a $10 twin size sheet set before you come.
2. Crockpot
- it's tiny & cost $15 but it was totally worth it because there are no ovens in Japan. If you don't want to spend at least $50 on a toaster oven that's all in celcius & want home cooked pot roast or something you need this.
3. Tampons
- yeah, yeah it's a girl thing however if you use these, bring a good supply. Japanese girls all use pads, it is possible to find tampons but you get a box of 10 count light/regular for about $4/5.
4. Cookbooks!
- I invested in a $15 japanese cookbook before I left & also brought a crockpot cookbook and Betty crocker. They are indispensible. Especially Betty because a lot of things i have to make from SCRATCH because you can't buy the canned/boxed/ready-made in Japan.
5. Flouride rinse.
- They don't flouridate the water, and they don't sell the flouride at the store. Listerine yes, flouride no. You have to check brand labels on toothpaste to see if they include it.
6. Pics of friends & family.
- You know you're going to miss them so bring along a few snaps & paste them on your fridge like I did. :)
Monday, February 4, 2008
Freezing in Japan
To heat or not to heat? That is the question. Seriously, Japan; especially Hokkaido is freezing right now! We have at least 3 feet of snow if not more and tonight it is -6.5 degrees C which is 20 degrees F for those of you who don't know celcius (ie everybody in the US). It is also windy, which it never is here in Otaru because the mountains block it. I was cold this morning, cold this afternoon, and freezing when the sun set. I have the temp in my apartment set on 20 C which is like 72 F and I am still huddled under a blanket and cold. What does this say about Japan? I'm seriously considering buying an electric blanket. In the US electricity is expensive and gas is cheaper for heating, but in Japan it is the complete opposite. They have to import the gas from elsewhere but they have nuclear powerplants all their own. I know quite a few people in the dorm (mostly chinese) who are using electric heaters rather than the gas ones that are built in simply because of the costs.
However I am not going to buy a heater since I've already had the gas one turned on. But I could be warmer at a lower temperature if I had an electric blanket. They're like 3,000 or 4,000 yen depending on brand, etc. But they only use about 1.25 yen an hour in electricity, that's like a penny! That is nothing in comparison to what I pay for my little gas heater per hour I have it turned on. And the stupid thing is right next to the sliding glass door! And there is no insulation in the stupid building so whenever you leave by the time you come back it's like 50 F in the room again. And you can't leave the heater on while you are gone because it costs so much! Japanese people are so concerned about the environment and stuff but they waste soooo much energy on heating and cooling with no insulation. And according to Karolina who went to Tokyo over christmas break it's even worse on Honshu (main island) than it is in Hokkaido! In HOkkaido at least I have double paned glass on the window, and everything is airtight as far as drafts are concerned. In Tokyo they don't have double paned glass, lots of walls are made of glass only, no insulation (of course), weak portable room heaters (at least this gas one is strong!), and nothing is air tight because in the summer they get lots of mold and damp due to the humidity & they want 'cooling breezes' in their homes. Gyah!
Well I found an article I'm going to post up here because it is hilarious and very true about Japan & it's heating systems. And I'm going to go out and buy an electric blanket. Mwahahahaha.
http://www.davidappleyard.com/japan/jp10.htm
However I am not going to buy a heater since I've already had the gas one turned on. But I could be warmer at a lower temperature if I had an electric blanket. They're like 3,000 or 4,000 yen depending on brand, etc. But they only use about 1.25 yen an hour in electricity, that's like a penny! That is nothing in comparison to what I pay for my little gas heater per hour I have it turned on. And the stupid thing is right next to the sliding glass door! And there is no insulation in the stupid building so whenever you leave by the time you come back it's like 50 F in the room again. And you can't leave the heater on while you are gone because it costs so much! Japanese people are so concerned about the environment and stuff but they waste soooo much energy on heating and cooling with no insulation. And according to Karolina who went to Tokyo over christmas break it's even worse on Honshu (main island) than it is in Hokkaido! In HOkkaido at least I have double paned glass on the window, and everything is airtight as far as drafts are concerned. In Tokyo they don't have double paned glass, lots of walls are made of glass only, no insulation (of course), weak portable room heaters (at least this gas one is strong!), and nothing is air tight because in the summer they get lots of mold and damp due to the humidity & they want 'cooling breezes' in their homes. Gyah!
Well I found an article I'm going to post up here because it is hilarious and very true about Japan & it's heating systems. And I'm going to go out and buy an electric blanket. Mwahahahaha.
http://www.davidappleyard.com/japan/jp10.htm
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Just to clear a few things up
Sorry sorry! I know I'm horrible about updating but after I got Brandi's comment I felt the need to tell you all about the return trip of my America Christmas Adventure. Because it was infinately better than the way TO the US.
First off I had to fly out of Chicago and BACK to Georgia, then on to Tokyo. Second my flight was at 6:05 in the morning. This meant we needed to leave the house at like 12 to get there by 3:00 am. It was awful, the worst car ride ever. We drove my sister's old SUV a chevy blazer & the heater is stuck on 'defrost' so it wouldn't change to vent or anything. I spent the entire ride there freezing to death. I seriously was so cold it was ridiculous. There was also like this huge snowstorm that night so of course here we are driving right through it. We saw not one but two semis that had slid off the rode into the median, one had flipped onto it's side which was not cool. I thought WE were going to go off the road but God was looking out for us because we made it to Chicago ok with just a few slides.
When we got my boarding pass (after arriving and realizing that chicago is like an hour behind us do to time zone changes and it was 4:00 am not 5:00) I was excited to find out that I had an aisle seat for the trip from Atlanta to Tokyo. I slept the whole way because I was so tired. Then I had to run & get on the shuttle/tram/thingy to take me to the international gate. But the cool thing was that I didn't have to recheck my baggage! Thank you God! Then I called and left a message on my parent's machine. However because I only had 45 min. between flights and because I stopped to call my parents on the way to the gate I missed the original boarding call.
This was awesome & fortunate! I got up there, gave the lady my ticket, she rang me in & just as I was about halfway down the ramp she comes running after me & tells me to wait! wait! Then she runs back out to the gate counter, so I follow her thinking 'oh crap am I getting a random security check or something?' but no my friends no for she came back to me and told me the most AWESOME thing ever: I had been upgraded to business class . Yes that is right! Because I showed up late & the plane was booked solid I got to take an empty seat in business class while some shmuck was stuck in my economy seat. I cried for joy. Dude, the get to eat on real plates, have much better food, I had people continually asking me if I wanted a drink or a snack, the chair was big, leather, and had LOTS of footroom. I could even lay that thing down, it had a footrest & everything. And there was a nice, quiet, older japanese man sitting next to me so no screaming kids!!! I got to sleep, eat, watch movies, and the BATHROOM is even better. It's like 2x's the size of economy bathrooms & cleaner. If I could afford it I would totally fly that way from now on.
When I got back to Narita airport I got to stand in the MUCH shorter line for people with registered alien cards instead of the long, crappy, tourist line. I showed them my passport, they made me stick my fingers on a machine & look at the camera, and I was done. Took like 1 extra minute & that was a lot less than when I first came into the country & stood in the other line. Hahaha. I decided that my luggage was WAY to heavy to try & take back on the plane to Sapporo. They would totally charge me extra for it so I decided to mail it back. It was about $20 and totally worth it because I wasn't having to drag about 60 lbs. worth of crap around with me to the other airport. I just transfered a couple days worth of clothes into the duffel I had brought as a precaution & I was good to go.
The ride back to Haneda airport was kind of crowded but that was ok too. I got to talk to a very nice woman who was an accountant for the army-run school on Okinawa. She was getting transfered back to the US to... Columbus? maybe?... and was on her way back there to finish packing up all her stuff. When I got to Haneda I was again in an aisle seat AND there was nobody sitting next to me which was awesome. Haha. The only sucky part about the return trip was the train because it was so late at night they didn't have any straight connections between New Chitose airport & Otaru so I had to take a reserved car seating ( I love those things!) back to Sapporo, then I had to run out of the station, but a ticket for Otaru & run back in to hop on a local train. Which sucked because at that point I was tired, hot, and cramped. But other than that everything was cool.
So all I can say is this: If bad things happen to you, good things are sure to follow. That's karma.
So if you want to come to Japan, don't worry about it, if you have a shitty flight you'll probably have a great vacation!
First off I had to fly out of Chicago and BACK to Georgia, then on to Tokyo. Second my flight was at 6:05 in the morning. This meant we needed to leave the house at like 12 to get there by 3:00 am. It was awful, the worst car ride ever. We drove my sister's old SUV a chevy blazer & the heater is stuck on 'defrost' so it wouldn't change to vent or anything. I spent the entire ride there freezing to death. I seriously was so cold it was ridiculous. There was also like this huge snowstorm that night so of course here we are driving right through it. We saw not one but two semis that had slid off the rode into the median, one had flipped onto it's side which was not cool. I thought WE were going to go off the road but God was looking out for us because we made it to Chicago ok with just a few slides.
When we got my boarding pass (after arriving and realizing that chicago is like an hour behind us do to time zone changes and it was 4:00 am not 5:00) I was excited to find out that I had an aisle seat for the trip from Atlanta to Tokyo. I slept the whole way because I was so tired. Then I had to run & get on the shuttle/tram/thingy to take me to the international gate. But the cool thing was that I didn't have to recheck my baggage! Thank you God! Then I called and left a message on my parent's machine. However because I only had 45 min. between flights and because I stopped to call my parents on the way to the gate I missed the original boarding call.
This was awesome & fortunate! I got up there, gave the lady my ticket, she rang me in & just as I was about halfway down the ramp she comes running after me & tells me to wait! wait! Then she runs back out to the gate counter, so I follow her thinking 'oh crap am I getting a random security check or something?' but no my friends no for she came back to me and told me the most AWESOME thing ever: I had been upgraded to business class . Yes that is right! Because I showed up late & the plane was booked solid I got to take an empty seat in business class while some shmuck was stuck in my economy seat. I cried for joy. Dude, the get to eat on real plates, have much better food, I had people continually asking me if I wanted a drink or a snack, the chair was big, leather, and had LOTS of footroom. I could even lay that thing down, it had a footrest & everything. And there was a nice, quiet, older japanese man sitting next to me so no screaming kids!!! I got to sleep, eat, watch movies, and the BATHROOM is even better. It's like 2x's the size of economy bathrooms & cleaner. If I could afford it I would totally fly that way from now on.
When I got back to Narita airport I got to stand in the MUCH shorter line for people with registered alien cards instead of the long, crappy, tourist line. I showed them my passport, they made me stick my fingers on a machine & look at the camera, and I was done. Took like 1 extra minute & that was a lot less than when I first came into the country & stood in the other line. Hahaha. I decided that my luggage was WAY to heavy to try & take back on the plane to Sapporo. They would totally charge me extra for it so I decided to mail it back. It was about $20 and totally worth it because I wasn't having to drag about 60 lbs. worth of crap around with me to the other airport. I just transfered a couple days worth of clothes into the duffel I had brought as a precaution & I was good to go.
The ride back to Haneda airport was kind of crowded but that was ok too. I got to talk to a very nice woman who was an accountant for the army-run school on Okinawa. She was getting transfered back to the US to... Columbus? maybe?... and was on her way back there to finish packing up all her stuff. When I got to Haneda I was again in an aisle seat AND there was nobody sitting next to me which was awesome. Haha. The only sucky part about the return trip was the train because it was so late at night they didn't have any straight connections between New Chitose airport & Otaru so I had to take a reserved car seating ( I love those things!) back to Sapporo, then I had to run out of the station, but a ticket for Otaru & run back in to hop on a local train. Which sucked because at that point I was tired, hot, and cramped. But other than that everything was cool.
So all I can say is this: If bad things happen to you, good things are sure to follow. That's karma.
So if you want to come to Japan, don't worry about it, if you have a shitty flight you'll probably have a great vacation!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Christmas Day
Well I don't know yet how my friends at the dorm spent their christmas but mine was spent here with my family. I can honestly say that I've had fun while I've been here. Got up at about 9:00, everybody else was asleep still except my grandmother so I ate breakfast while she made pie, then I showered and helped her with the cooking a little bit. There was the usual scramble for the bathroom, and fights over stupid stuff. But that's ok, it's part of spending time with your family.
We ate about 12:30ish, had ham, turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, mashed potatos, sweet potato pie, broccoli casserole, deviled eggs, cole slaw, baked beans, and for dessert chocolate cake, chocolate pie, pecan pie, fudge, adn peanut butter balls. So we stuffed ourselves silly and then we cleaned up and then the fun began: GIFTS.
Mwahahaha. The kids looked great in the kimono that I bought them. They wanted info on all the different parts and then they couldn't get enough of those fans. Everybody seemed to like the gifts I bought them but I feel like I should've bought more of those fan stands for them. I liked what I got too, about $200 and the DS Lite that I had wanted since before I went to Japan. Amanda got me a luggage tag and gift card for Barnes & Noble for $20 which was sweet.
Then we played LIFE which Andrew had gotten for Christmas, and ate leftovers for dinner (I was soo not hungry). Then we wandered down to my aunt's to play singles for aggravation rummy. I got second place! Which isn't that cool unless you take into account that I was waaaay behind everybody else and then managed to get second by completely cutting them all out on the last hand. Mwhahahaha.
I'm going to be sad to leave here, but I'll be glad to get back to see everybody in MI too, and to drive my car again. I wonder what it'll be like in August when I get to come back again for good. I'll probably be so happy I'll cry. :) And then of course, while I'm looking forward to going back to Japan I'm totally not looking forward to going back on an evil plane ride again.
Tomorrow we'll be going to town because I need to exchange a robe (neon green so not me) for another one (or maybe some pj's) and I need to get a game or two for my DS. This'll be sweet on the airplane and also on the way back to MI day on Thurs. Well anyways I hope everybody had a good Christmas, and has a Happy New Year!
UPDATE: I didn't get the game for the DS, they were wiped out of all good non 4 year old games in Corbin, so I had to wait till I got back to MI. Also I bought some sweet silk pj's with snowflakes on them when I returned the robe. Thanks Aunt J! I thought they would cost more so I told the lady at the place that I would pay the extra (tag said $40) and guess how much I ended up paying? A penny. Yup. That's right they'd been discounted to $20 even and the robe was $19.99, so hilarous.
We ate about 12:30ish, had ham, turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, mashed potatos, sweet potato pie, broccoli casserole, deviled eggs, cole slaw, baked beans, and for dessert chocolate cake, chocolate pie, pecan pie, fudge, adn peanut butter balls. So we stuffed ourselves silly and then we cleaned up and then the fun began: GIFTS.
Mwahahaha. The kids looked great in the kimono that I bought them. They wanted info on all the different parts and then they couldn't get enough of those fans. Everybody seemed to like the gifts I bought them but I feel like I should've bought more of those fan stands for them. I liked what I got too, about $200 and the DS Lite that I had wanted since before I went to Japan. Amanda got me a luggage tag and gift card for Barnes & Noble for $20 which was sweet.
Then we played LIFE which Andrew had gotten for Christmas, and ate leftovers for dinner (I was soo not hungry). Then we wandered down to my aunt's to play singles for aggravation rummy. I got second place! Which isn't that cool unless you take into account that I was waaaay behind everybody else and then managed to get second by completely cutting them all out on the last hand. Mwhahahaha.
I'm going to be sad to leave here, but I'll be glad to get back to see everybody in MI too, and to drive my car again. I wonder what it'll be like in August when I get to come back again for good. I'll probably be so happy I'll cry. :) And then of course, while I'm looking forward to going back to Japan I'm totally not looking forward to going back on an evil plane ride again.
Tomorrow we'll be going to town because I need to exchange a robe (neon green so not me) for another one (or maybe some pj's) and I need to get a game or two for my DS. This'll be sweet on the airplane and also on the way back to MI day on Thurs. Well anyways I hope everybody had a good Christmas, and has a Happy New Year!
UPDATE: I didn't get the game for the DS, they were wiped out of all good non 4 year old games in Corbin, so I had to wait till I got back to MI. Also I bought some sweet silk pj's with snowflakes on them when I returned the robe. Thanks Aunt J! I thought they would cost more so I told the lady at the place that I would pay the extra (tag said $40) and guess how much I ended up paying? A penny. Yup. That's right they'd been discounted to $20 even and the robe was $19.99, so hilarous.
Made it Alive
Barely. Seriously it was the trip from hell to get back to the US for christmas. First off I stayed the night at Saori's place in Sapporo (nice apartment btw). So that I wouldn't have to wake up like extra early at 4:00ish and take a 2 hour train ride to New Chitose airport. Instead I got up at 5:30ish and we left for the 6:48 train to the airport. I got a U-ticket which is a 'reserved' seat ticket on the train. You get to sit in a special car with extra foot room & a place to store your luggage & it costs only $3 more than a normal ticket & you have an assigned seat. You can get them in Sapporo on a special machine, I think in Otaru you have to buy them from the station attendent guy, I'm not too sure about that yet.
In any event I made it onto the train and I was sitting there, with this sleepy business guy (not to shabby looking either) in the aisle seat and we're going along and BAM about halfway there at kita-hiroshima station we get stopped. I mean, I was sooo pissed. The train can't just stop. I've got to get to the airport here! They were like 'blah blah 8:33 blah blah' which basically meant the train wouldn't be moving for an hour. And I had to get to the airport by 8:45 to get on the 9:05 plane. So I called Saori and she's like 'yeah get off the train, get your fare adjusted and come back to sapporo, we'll take a bus'. I went and got into line but between then and when I got to the counter Saori called me back and told me that my FLIGHT had been canceled that morning due to weather conditions. She'd rebooked me on the 10:10 and I should get back on the train.
So I dragged all my luggage back down there, got back on, had the sleepy guy wake up and move again and then set back down. 8:33 comes and goes, loudspeaker is now like 'blah blah 9:00 blah blah' which has me panicking because I'm going to be late AGAIN if this train doesn't start moving soon. So I had Saori call the airport back and she's like 'yeah if you miss this you're gonna have to take the 12:10' which would have completely screwed up my bus trip to Haneda and then I might miss my flight from Narita. 'You have to be at the desk by 9:55 or you can't board the plane.' Great.... so the train FINALLY leaves at like 9:15, I'm sitting there, jiggling my leg going 'come on come ON...' and we stopped at like every freakin' stop between there and the airport. And all these giggly high school girls hopped into our car and were standing in it. I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to do that but whatever.
The train arrives at the airport at like 9:45, I have 10 minutes to find this thing. I run over to the escalator, go upstairs, run down the concourse to find the counter only to be told that it is on the second floor & I have to run to the totally other end of the building if I want to get to another escalator. I arrive at the counter on the 2nd floor at 9:53, and I have to WAIT IN LINE. Gyah! Thankfully this nice lady from the ANA side of the counter came over and got my stuff processed and then while the guy was giving me my boarding pass she drug my suitcase over to security & then helped me to get it checked.
I ran to security, and ended up setting it off. I thought it was the belt buckle and it was, but it was also the fact that I still had my cell phone, and my MP3 player in my pocket. I finally got on the plane and it left 5 minutes later. But this was not the end of my troubles.
So I had no problems going from Haneda to Narita on the limo bus. That was actually pretty easy, basically I had vouchers from Hiro for the bus but you can buy the tickets for 3000 yen on the spot no problem. I just took my voucher, turned it in for a ticket, and went right outside the doors & got on the bus. It drops you off right at the terminal that you need to be at too. So I got to Narita and had time to get my ticket, recheck my bag, and get some Ramen to eat before my flight left. The flight to the US sucked so much.
First off I had a window seat, which wouldn't have been so bad except that there were 2 guys on the other side which meant every time I needed to go to the bathroom 2 other people had to move. It's almost as bad as being stuck in the middle of a row. Secondly there were 2 small kids and their asian mother sitting in the row behind me, and the stupid kid was either kicking or punching the back of the seat for about 6 hours. I couldn't get more than an hour and a half of sleep because of this kid. When he finally dropped off I was wide awake and couldn't sleep (believe me I tried) plus the food as all airline food does, sucked sooo much.
So I arrived in Atlanta (hate that place) hot, tired, and hungry and had to go through customs. Seriously that sucked. I mean I think I didn't get pulled for the random customs inspection JUST because I looked like the walking dead. I know I felt like a zombie. Then when I went to find my new ticket gate I discovered that my flight had been delayed, pushing my 4 hour layover into a 5 hour one. Great. At this point I hadn't slept in like 24 hours. I hated everyone and everything and I felt horrible. I tried to sleep but you really can't sleep in the airport so I ended up walking around a lot and drinking coffee. And then the stupid flight ended up being delayed another 30 minutes because they had to refuel it (it arrived RIGHT at 7:55). And I got stuck on the window side again squished in there by a big fat guy. Lovely.
Ok enough of the bitching, I'm here in the US and safe. That's all that really matters, although it would be nice to get an aisle seat with a quiet old person behind me on the way home. Lol.
In any event I made it onto the train and I was sitting there, with this sleepy business guy (not to shabby looking either) in the aisle seat and we're going along and BAM about halfway there at kita-hiroshima station we get stopped. I mean, I was sooo pissed. The train can't just stop. I've got to get to the airport here! They were like 'blah blah 8:33 blah blah' which basically meant the train wouldn't be moving for an hour. And I had to get to the airport by 8:45 to get on the 9:05 plane. So I called Saori and she's like 'yeah get off the train, get your fare adjusted and come back to sapporo, we'll take a bus'. I went and got into line but between then and when I got to the counter Saori called me back and told me that my FLIGHT had been canceled that morning due to weather conditions. She'd rebooked me on the 10:10 and I should get back on the train.
So I dragged all my luggage back down there, got back on, had the sleepy guy wake up and move again and then set back down. 8:33 comes and goes, loudspeaker is now like 'blah blah 9:00 blah blah' which has me panicking because I'm going to be late AGAIN if this train doesn't start moving soon. So I had Saori call the airport back and she's like 'yeah if you miss this you're gonna have to take the 12:10' which would have completely screwed up my bus trip to Haneda and then I might miss my flight from Narita. 'You have to be at the desk by 9:55 or you can't board the plane.' Great.... so the train FINALLY leaves at like 9:15, I'm sitting there, jiggling my leg going 'come on come ON...' and we stopped at like every freakin' stop between there and the airport. And all these giggly high school girls hopped into our car and were standing in it. I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to do that but whatever.
The train arrives at the airport at like 9:45, I have 10 minutes to find this thing. I run over to the escalator, go upstairs, run down the concourse to find the counter only to be told that it is on the second floor & I have to run to the totally other end of the building if I want to get to another escalator. I arrive at the counter on the 2nd floor at 9:53, and I have to WAIT IN LINE. Gyah! Thankfully this nice lady from the ANA side of the counter came over and got my stuff processed and then while the guy was giving me my boarding pass she drug my suitcase over to security & then helped me to get it checked.
I ran to security, and ended up setting it off. I thought it was the belt buckle and it was, but it was also the fact that I still had my cell phone, and my MP3 player in my pocket. I finally got on the plane and it left 5 minutes later. But this was not the end of my troubles.
So I had no problems going from Haneda to Narita on the limo bus. That was actually pretty easy, basically I had vouchers from Hiro for the bus but you can buy the tickets for 3000 yen on the spot no problem. I just took my voucher, turned it in for a ticket, and went right outside the doors & got on the bus. It drops you off right at the terminal that you need to be at too. So I got to Narita and had time to get my ticket, recheck my bag, and get some Ramen to eat before my flight left. The flight to the US sucked so much.
First off I had a window seat, which wouldn't have been so bad except that there were 2 guys on the other side which meant every time I needed to go to the bathroom 2 other people had to move. It's almost as bad as being stuck in the middle of a row. Secondly there were 2 small kids and their asian mother sitting in the row behind me, and the stupid kid was either kicking or punching the back of the seat for about 6 hours. I couldn't get more than an hour and a half of sleep because of this kid. When he finally dropped off I was wide awake and couldn't sleep (believe me I tried) plus the food as all airline food does, sucked sooo much.
So I arrived in Atlanta (hate that place) hot, tired, and hungry and had to go through customs. Seriously that sucked. I mean I think I didn't get pulled for the random customs inspection JUST because I looked like the walking dead. I know I felt like a zombie. Then when I went to find my new ticket gate I discovered that my flight had been delayed, pushing my 4 hour layover into a 5 hour one. Great. At this point I hadn't slept in like 24 hours. I hated everyone and everything and I felt horrible. I tried to sleep but you really can't sleep in the airport so I ended up walking around a lot and drinking coffee. And then the stupid flight ended up being delayed another 30 minutes because they had to refuel it (it arrived RIGHT at 7:55). And I got stuck on the window side again squished in there by a big fat guy. Lovely.
Ok enough of the bitching, I'm here in the US and safe. That's all that really matters, although it would be nice to get an aisle seat with a quiet old person behind me on the way home. Lol.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
I'll be home for christmas....
Mwahahaha I will be leaving for home TOMORROW!!!!! Everybody bow down to my awesomeness. Lol. Seriously though, sorry I haven't updated this blog in awhile. I've been really busy here with exams & a report. On the plus side we had like a foot of snow fall last weekend! It was totally fun, we went out at like... 11:00 pm on saturday night and threw each other into the snow, made a giant reclining snowman, and basically had fun. Eagle turned up the christmas music and it was awesome (maybe can steal photos from saori later my battery was dead).
Then I've spent quite a lot of time working on a presentation, a report, and studying for an exam. Last night I walked down to Sunkus (コンビに) to pay my bills before I left town (still missing water bill but... whatever). I walked down mountain. Bad thing about 1' of snow? They scrape it off on the sidewalks to reveal the 2" of ice underneath. I just about fell and cracked my head open 20 times on the way down the mountain. I will NEVER do that again. Seriously, unless it snows again or that ice melts I am taking the bus. It is waaaay to dangerous. Especially as I have to occassionaly cross the street.
But I've got all my christmas gifts packed & ready to go, I'm going to finish cleaning up my apartment this afternoon & packing my clothes and I will be ready to go!!!! And as a bonus I get to see Saori's apartment in Sapporo because she's letting me stay the night there so I don't have to get up as early on Friday morning. More updates after I get to KY. Love you all & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Then I've spent quite a lot of time working on a presentation, a report, and studying for an exam. Last night I walked down to Sunkus (コンビに) to pay my bills before I left town (still missing water bill but... whatever). I walked down mountain. Bad thing about 1' of snow? They scrape it off on the sidewalks to reveal the 2" of ice underneath. I just about fell and cracked my head open 20 times on the way down the mountain. I will NEVER do that again. Seriously, unless it snows again or that ice melts I am taking the bus. It is waaaay to dangerous. Especially as I have to occassionaly cross the street.
But I've got all my christmas gifts packed & ready to go, I'm going to finish cleaning up my apartment this afternoon & packing my clothes and I will be ready to go!!!! And as a bonus I get to see Saori's apartment in Sapporo because she's letting me stay the night there so I don't have to get up as early on Friday morning. More updates after I get to KY. Love you all & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
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