the night before the trip, our mom and aunt came over to wish us a safe and memorable vacation. we did our usual get together, ate at a buffet type of family gathering at sushi parra. the two of them came over after dinner to pick up our dogs and to assist us with our packing. somehow i managed to pull my back muscle real bad and moms had to pretty much do all the packing for me. the idea of her packing for me was rather refreshing, unfortunately it wasnt all kicks and giggles. don't pack this and don't pack that type of roller coaster conversation lasted nearly 2 hours before i finally gave in and decided to let her the be the captain of luggage packing. i double checked the itinerary to make sure that the flight from chicago to tokyo did indeed say 10:55am. i set the alarm clock at 7:30am because a happy vacationer is a person who didnt miss their flight. albert, the third party journeymen, and alvin, the designated driver came to sleep over so we need not to waste time in the morning making unnecessary pit stops. waking up at 7:30am was a success but waking randy up at 7:30am was not much. the first wake up knock on his bedroom door resulted with no answer from him. after a few bass type of heavy banging, i got a few weak 'ok ok i'm up' from him. with that being said, i went back to my room to shower, dress, double check my luggage, toated the luggage downstairs, and warmed up the car. by then the clock was already showing 5 min till 8:00 and albert and i were locked and loaded. i sensed that something was missing and i was correct. mr randy chi was still in the bathroom. we left for the airport 30 minutes after 8am, was met by the highway with heavy traffic, saw a few car accidents, saw a car upside-down, and finally arrived at the airport with just a few minutes shy of 9am. our flight was delayed for 1 hour due to maintenance. that only resulted with randy gloating something along the lines of ''see, iduno why you were mad at me for. we shouldnt have left so early. i knewwww we weren't going to miss the flight'. to my surprise, majority of the passengers were vietnamese who were connecting from tokyo to saigon. the stewardess on the japan airline had extreme proper etiquette, moved graciously, spoke softly, and were very helpful. unfortunately, they were not much too look at. one of our dedicated stewardess was in her mid 20's and had a very plain jane type of look. our 2nd stewardess was in her late 30's and she just looked flat out beastly. the snacks and beverages were plentiful but the two tv style meals were horrible. the thirteen hours of flight was a dreadful one. by the time we were half way, i almost surrendered my sanity. our arrival was only met by another 2 hour bus ride from the airport to shinjuku (where our hotel is located).
couple of things i noticed about japan that really differed from the states. the people are very friendly and extremely helpful. the streets of japan are very clean and the japanese are very sanitary. majority of the japanese put some of type of effort in their outer appearance. guys with their dragon ball z type of hair do, walking around with luis-v messenger bags, name brand glasses, and expensive shoes. the girls wore heavy make up (i call them caked up), very short shorts, too much hair products, and if you didnt carry a luis-v/gucci/chanel bag then you are definitely not going to be part of the 'in crowd'. last but not least, i honestly don't believe the people of japan have dental plans. their teeth are BAD. their teeth looked like the aftermath of hiroshima bombing. their teeth needs more construction than the roads of chicago. overall, the first night in shinjuku has been a pleasant one.
lots of none japanese at the gate.
it plays games, music, and you get to select what movies/programs to watch. if it weren't for this baby, my flight would've been even more dreadful.
touched down at narita airport. randy n' albert walks enthusiastically away from the airplane exit
narita airport. much more high tech than o'hare
albert getting his camera out during our 2 hour bus ride
night time in shinjuku. city of light and city of night life
pachinco stations are located everywhere in tokyo. a marble/pinball type of gaming machine that only spits out more metal balls if you win (no money to be won). the idea of this entertainment still puzzles me. but you will see ladies n gents of all ages swarming these pachinco stations.
more shots of the night in shinjuku
some restaurants require customers to purchase meal tickets at a vending machine. you choose what you want, feed the machine with yen, and it spits out a small ticket for you to bring into the restaurant.
first meal in japan. $8,300 yen for this bowl of ramen.
cigarette vending machines?!
even among the homeless there are lazy and hard workers. those aren't just cardboard boxes, those are tents put up to stop heavy wind.
mini mart in tokyo. green tea and bento boxes are available.
ending the night back at the hotel.
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