DAY 1: Packing Jitters & Touchdown in Tokyo (July11-July12)

[ME in Inu-yasha's Kagome Cosplay]
Note: The theme for this Japan trip is Mango's "No Strings Attached in Tokyo". I am going to be 'real' and unrestrained. Everywhere I go I had to hold back or always have to gain the approval of others. But this time Tokyo is on my time. The lolita fashion fanatic that I am, the raving otome that I am, and the happy alcohol enthusiast that I am will all come into play. The challenge? Can I still do all that but yet keep my morals and social grace intact? Well, there is only one way to find out!!

On the eve of Tuesday, July 10 I was lost in my own world of procrastination. I envied Ron-Chan who was going to see the premier of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie at midnight which was technically the next day Wednesday, July 11. [The new Harry Potter Movie #5]
Because my lack of schedule, order, and fear of not being able to wake up at the break of dawn because I know that I am one lousy packer who waits for the last minute and if that were not so, I probably spend all night packing. It is for this reason I had to decline the offer to watch it with them. I spent the time instead by grinding my teeth in annoyance while imagining how enticing this pastime is. An opportunity cost that I had to make that went along the lines of being decked out in (my favorite Hogwarts' house), Slytherin garb while sitting somewhere up in the front of the movie theater screaming like the over zealous fan-girl I am whenever Draco Malfoy (actor, Tom Felton) appears. Sadly, this was only part of another lifetime. So, where you ask was Mango? She was sweating over the labor of washing dirty laundry that night in hopes that she can pick out a good selection of clean clothing to pack for the trip. In the end, she end up falling asleep right next to her suitcase with nothing packed while her clean clothes have made residence on her dust covered-floors. [Draco Malfoy (Tom A. Felton) ::fan-girl squeals::]
One wonders why I never learned my lesson. In response to that I would have to point out that I am a rather fickle person who does not know what she wants at all. So, at 5 am the next morning when I was aroused by the rude wakening of my mother kicking me. I bounced up like a spring and packed like a maniac. As a result of the accelerated packing I end up having clothing for four days and the rest of it was going to be bought from the famous trendy and cheap Uniqlo stores in Japan.
Rushing out the door in break-neck speed, I called Judy-chan, (perhaps my best friend ever who was also taking this course and coming on the trip with me) to get ready and wait outside her apartment so my mother can pick her up and take us both to the airport. Soon we got to the airport and got checked-in and re-aquainted with our peers again. Then, after a long wait we boarded the JAL WAYS flight and departed Honolulu airport for the Narita airport, our bounded-destination. Pic: Judy-Chan (my best friend) & Me on the airplane
Pic: Judy- Chan and I still on airplane
On the flight to Japan, I was thinking furiously on what my trip blog theme should be, but like a bad case of constipation: nothing came out. At the same time doing the homework we were assigned by Dr. Chun which I looked around the dim plane and noticed others who were also guilty of this 'crime'. I swear temptation was everywhere from the convenient high-tech multi-purpose remote that was tucked under our arm seats to the the I-pod in the deep of my pockets. Did I mention that the sandman was always sneaking up behind my shoulders during that prolonged eight hour-flight? Pic: Landing at Narita International Airport

When we arrived at Narita airport, we had to grow accustomed to the crowd, the food, the norm, and the surroundings. For the first-timer to Japan, it was pretty overwhelming and it just so happens that I am labeled one and feel like one. Back home, I was used to fresh clean air, but here I had the urge to wear a gas mask. Surprisingly, at the time of our arrival the climate was a bit on the breezy side and with some-what crisp air.
One thing that Jayson pointed out to us was that here in Japan they were very timely and timely the Japanese were. I got to experience this remarkable phenomenon and to this day I wonder if the every-day Japanese people ever had a 'traffic jam' before. It was just absurd to see the cars and various vehicles running across streetlights like headless chickens but yet able to meet their allotted times and places with no lag to spare. LOL I think it probably has something to do with driving on the left with the driver on the right-side seat. Maybe this is an norm for the other Asian countries as well, but it seems only in Japan where they uphold this timely-manner of doing things.

As I pondered this while riding the airport limousine bus for nearly four hours to our first destination; our hotel, the Le Meridian Pacific. By the time we got to the hotel, we had to freshen up quickly and get our gifts ready for our generous Meji University students who offered to welcome us at a initial banquet held in honor of us. Braving the Tokyo subway system for the first time, I shook like a flimsy willow tree for the entire five to six minutes-ride as I was rammed-tight to a cart full of strangers like a bed of sardine in a tin can. The entire time I was afraid to get groped from some pervert, but none of that occurred. T.R. Reid was right in his informative novel, Confucius Lives Next Door that Japan even in a crowded city like Tokyo, crime is at its lowest and nearly non-existant. In the book, Reid talks about the "social miracle" which definitely prevails with good morals and principles that can date back to the great teacher, Confucius of which we see nearly every subway passenger practice discreetly. Getting off at Ginza, we oohed and awwed at the street-life with the upscale-department stores to our left and right and the city's neon lights.
Before we know it we made it to the restaurant where the friendly Japanese university students awaited our prescence eagerly. Really I just wanted to sit with my Judy-chan but No! we all had to mingle, so it was on that account that I was separated from Judy-chan and had one of the Meiji students, Maki wedged right between us. It was at that moment when I knew I was to be swallowed by the sharks, the "language-barrier-sharks". The Japanese language that I knew was the equivalent of 'baby talk' and I could not even get my 'goo-goo-gah-gahs' right! I swear, if it wasn't for the joint efforts of Stacey and Miss Yoko of being my so-called "on-call-translators" during the dinner, I , Mango would literally end up hiding under the table and any amount of chicken wing-prodding and shrimp-waving (at that point, maybe a spare ticket to the Plastic Tree's concert might have done the trick..maybe...) would not bring me out until the signal was given for our time to leave. Well, guys that was pretty much how I felt all night, pathetic and downtrodden because my lack of language communication skills. Shame upon me! for forgetting all I learned in JPN 101 in my freshmen year. Bah! Hum Bug! ::hits head on wall:: Once again, Stacey if you are reading this I apologize greatly for bombarding with my trivial bouts of language-farts when you were clearly enjoying a splendid conversation with your seat mate. It was true, I wanted to talk to him as well since he blurted out that he played in a j-rock and punk band. ::sighs:: but I was stuck with Maki for the rest of the night involved in a language battle we both can't win. I really just wanted to be an outcast at the dinner banquet and 'pig-out' Tokyo-style all night, but working towards the effort of socializing the only type of food that passed through my lips was alcohol and drinks. For the most part the alcohol content in my body loosen me up a bit. Even so for the bit that Maki and I were able to communicate were questionable. According to T. R. Reid, it was taboo for the Japanese to talk about divorce and such, but Maki was asking of me such questions and in my drunken state I took offense. Sure if I was sober her questions would not have impact on me since it did not fit into my cultural or social context to such a degree. Maybe it does not matter if I was intoxicated or not, but I was shocked by her questions.

In conclusion, for the better part of the day I reached Tokyo and met university students that I probably never meet again. I say, good riddance!..nah, just joking. By the end of the welcome banquet it had rapidly became a drunken fest. In my drunken state, I remember doing the limbo through the Meiji students' "hands-of-honor-bridge". After that let's just say that the night ended with a passed out Mango on the hotel room's floor.