Landed

     Touchdown!  Been awake since 7:30 Am on saturday EST and am still going strong at 8AM Monday EST.  Bring it!  Jet lag is nothing.

     Met some interesting folks on the plane - italian guy from Detroit who travels.  Michael in the automotive industry in the states but also Japan, and Liz who married a sensei at a dojo in tokyo and teaches high school here (and gave me her cotnact info!).  At first the convo was travel ego... `oh ive been here and done this, have you?  if not I have the bigger ...  `  you get it.  Then it calmed down to life chats, discussions on current events, backrounds and experiences, and then our experience and knowleedgge of Japan specifically.  they were surprised to learn I was engaged and ditching Cait for 14 months!  You have their sympathy, Cait   =P

     13 hours on that plane was nuts.  Glad I had the aisle seat, as I was up about 10 times, hanging in the flight attendant station with my new friends, stretching awkwardly.  Lower back no likey.

     Landed, customs, blah.  tried some Japanese with the bag delivery service, where I simply asked if they spoke english.  All three workers stopped waht they were doing, looked, and laughed at me!  Then one helped with baggage.  I tried asking why they all laughed at my Japanese attempt, but it didn`t register and we just smiled at eachother.  Word!  Then I nearly left my longboard deck at a payphone, but the security guy kept an eye on until I came back.  I need sleep.

     Hotel is interesting.  Smells smokey, bathroom is a little grody smelling.  Room is smaller than my dorm room with a capsule bathroom.  The faucet controls the shower water as well, and the toilet sprays cold or hot water on your bum should you so desire extra cleanliness.  Many signs are in broken english - `Please are mind the safetey`, I got this odd shirt that looks like a hospital gown, and I learned the hard way NOT to figure out the TV remote on your own because I found the unmarked, not obvious `switch to porn` button all of the sudden.  I later found the directions with a still not clear explanation as to what button activates the porn from your regularly scheduled program.  Hmmmm.

    Dinner with chopsticks was rice with soup and spring rolls and some tart greenish stuff that I ate right up.  Cool.  Gonna grab a beer from the vending machine and go to bed.  Pics and vids to follow!

     By the way, thank you to any and all that contributed to the blue folder of pictures and letters that Cait gave me.  I started to read on the plane, but decided to save my fellow passengers a spectacle.  Time for a sleep on the hard futon, hope it helps my back.  Tomorrow I meet two colleages and we navigate to the city to the guest house.  Should be a gas!