Freezing in Tokyo
Greetings from Tokyo!
March 27, 2007 at 2:25am.
Konnichiwa!
Tokyo time, 3:25am.
So far, I've:
Had Japanese talking to me like I was one of them only to say "ok" when they find out I'm a foreigner.
Eaten a meal where I had no idea what it was that I ate, but it was delicious.
Giggled with Kaye and Erika over the tons of cute boys here.
Bought Pocky.
Warmed myself up with hot chocolate from McD's.
Gotten tricked by a vending machine.
Walked around for two hours, totally lost.
Stalked a cashier named Kobayashi at an AM/PM store.
Seen porn, like, everywhere.
Shivered uncontrollably in the super cold (for us Pinoys) weather.
I'm so tired, but it's been so fun.
Time for bed.
Sayonara.
Current Mood: cold cold
Current Music:Sound from my Tokyo Dome Hotel room TV - CNN
March 26 to 29, 2007. Japan was every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. It was the first time I went to a country that I didn't want to leave, and actually felt homesick for. Now I need to take Japanese language lessons and think of a way to live there for a year at the most.
Tokyo is so dynamic! It has character in every nook and cranny. It's rich with tradition, but at the same time, it's so modern, clean, and colorful. It felt like a pretty safe city, and we didn't feel wary venturing out by ourselves - even at night. I wasn't prepared for the very cold climate however. It was less than 10C there, and us Filipinos are used to 25 to 30C temperature, with our coldest being 15C! I brought jackets, sure, but they were flimsy ones that I had to layer to get warm. That was fine though, I was able to adjust to that. The major booboo I made was not bringing sneakers. I wore my peep-toe flats because it's such a hassle taking my shoes off at the airport for the security checks, and I brought heels because we were told to attend the conference in business attire. Because I already had two pairs of shoes, I decided to forego sneakers. I thought, hey, it's summer here and I'm not wearing any hot footwear for the airport, plus it's spring there, it'll be nippy, but doable. Hell no. I was so used to going around humid and balmy Southeast Asia that I forgot it was totally different in the Northeast. My toes got cold, and flats are not at all helpful in catching trains. I'll get to that later.
The Japanese are so nice. They'll help you out when they can, they're very polite and really quiet, plus they're so cool-looking. The only problem is communicating with them - the language barrier can be a bit hard to hurdle at times. Still, I didn't feel as lost as when I was in Taiwan, and I didn't feel any attitude like in Singapore. They're just that approachable I guess.
The company also makes a trip memorable, and I was lucky that I went on the trip with my co-journalists Edu (Manila Bulletin), Lowenz (Inquirer Online), Kaye (Speed), and Armin (Gadgets) plus our hosts from Epson Philippines Alex and Erika. They're a pretty good set of people - nobody was difficult or anything, which was great. Lowenz is my friend and ex-officemate too, so we go way back, and Kaye and I have been travel buddies for several trips already.
I have to stop myself now, because I can go on and on about Japan for days. It's no wonder that I'm only posting about the trip now, because I've really been overwhelmed by the pictures, the stories, and the whole experience. I'll have to post this entry in parts, because it's going to be extremely and insanely long. There, I gave you fair warning! This trip was my best one ever, and I hope I can go back to Japan some day soon.
Alrighty, let's get to the kwento!
Monday
Start of Day 1
First time on Japan Airlines. I was so excited to be going to Japan that I didn't mind the lack of movies and in-flight entertainment. I just read the magazines and listened to my Walkman.
Spicy Japanese nuts and crackers were the snack! I love these things. I ordered the JAL signature drink, Sky Time Yuzu, which tasted like a weird citrusy soda. I liked it.
