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September 21, 2006
Welcome to Fukuoka!
Hi!!!
I made it to Japan! WAHOO!! And survived my first night. Wow. It's so amazing here. I thought that Turkey was different when I went there, but Japan is even more a shock to the system. The signs are so different, and the people are so tiny! I look like a huge fatty compared to the people here. I guess all that sushi and rice is keeping them thin.
So, everything about this adventure has not quite worked out correctly, yet worked out pretty smoothly. Yesterday morning Seymen drove me to the airport only to find that my flight was delayed 2 hours. So I hung around Rochester, no big deal. I arrived in Chicago, and my flight to Osaka was delayed 50 mins. No big deal again because they said we would land at 4:05PM instead of 4:00PM.
OK, so another weird thing...I forget all the time that I look asian. I really think most of the time (minus the times I'm looking in the mirror) that I look cacasian...like my sisters maybe ;-)...BUT, I guess I don't. Everyone has been trying to talk to me in Japanese. They are very confused when I get this glazed over look, shrug my shoulders and apologetically ask for English? The flight attendant on the flight kept speaking to me in Japanese, I think because I just smiled and nodded everytime she said anything to me :-)
OK back to my story...so we arrived in Osaka at 5PM. Really late. My next flight was supposed to leave at 5:30. Well let me just tell you about how organized and HELPFUL the airlines are here. Over the loud speaker, my name was announced that they needed to discuss my connection. Outside the plane, a very helpful (and beautiful and skinny as my pinkie) flight attendant apologized profusly for the inconvienence, and told me I had missed my flight. She had already gone and reserved me a new ticket, and once I left customs I could go pick up my new ticket on the later flight to Fukuoka. I explained that I was supposed to meet my friend at the airport, so she kindly offered to call ANA in Fukuoka and leave Maki a message. (Maki had changes and mix-ups all of her own, so our plans as of 11AM yesterday changed that we would meet at the airport and share a cab to the hotel together)
So blah blah, that all worked out. I arrived in Fukuoka with no other problems. (Note, the airplanes are VERY nice inside Domestic Japan. They are all upgraded and modern.) When I arrived in Fukuoka, I was over an hour later than I originally was supposed to be. I looked around a little bit but didn't see Maki waiting anywhere, so I assumed that she had taken off for the hotel without me.
I collected my bags and headed out on my own into JAPAN!!! I found the first taxi guy and pulled out my Sea Hawk brochure (all in Japanese thank god). He looked at it and nodded, and then in Japanese, sign, and 1-2 english works splattered in there, we agreed that taking the highway is best, becuase it's shorter, that I am Korean, but from the USA, I think he may have said that he is Chinese, that there is my hotel and the YAHOO Dome where they play baseball. (Such an experience communicating where I can't even say that I know how to say PLEASE!)
Same thing at the hotel. Everyone is just so friendly and trys so hard to communicate with me. The girl that brought me to my room was so cute. We couldn't really speak much at all as she knew even less Enligh than my cab driver...but she did say: "Me no speak English" which I in return said: "I don't speak Japanese" and we both giggled (because they do that here. They are so small, beautiful and dainty that they don't laugh, it's more like a giggle. I sound like a freaking hyiena compared to the Japanese girls here, with my loud offensive, CLEARLY a laugh, not a giggle.
K, anyway...she showed me my room, and via sign language I asked for an Ethernet cable so I could connect to the internet. When she brought it back, I tried to tip her, even though I didn't know the value of the money I had hehehe...but she refused a tip. Come to find out that you don't need to tip anyone at this hotel! Well, my room is awesome. It's huge and has all the comforts. It has a TOTO toilet like on the travel channel! I haven't tried it out yet, because the pictures on the side describing it are kind of scarey to me ;-). But I took some photos of it for Seymen, because he's probably the only one who would be as excited as I am, to see a real live TOTO Toilet :-)
Well after I used the facilities, I used the hand soap, which smelled exactly like the Japanese shampoo that our exchange students would bring me in high school (and my dad and sister when they went to Japan). Ohh the memories! So I decided to take a shower with their shampoo and conditioner. Shampoo made specificially for my type of hair...oh the luxuries of being in Asia!! My shower was wonderful after almost 24 hours of travelling. Once I had explored everything in the room, I decided to go to bed because I was a little lonely, and pretty tired...but when I laid down, my mind was racing and I couldn't sleep. Well after 2 minutes of laying in bed, I was saved by the bell....
Maki had finally arrived at the hotel! Phewww! The hotel told me that she wasn't checking in until tomorrow, so I thought maybe she had changed her mind and gone straight to her parents house. As it turned out, she was at the airport waiting for me, and we somehow missed each other. She was on the phones and I guess I was in la-la land trying to figure out how I was going to communicate in Japanese, when knowing NONE of the language. We worked it out afterwards that I probably walked right past her and didn't notice. She was worried that she didn't see me, and called her mom. Her mom started freaking out saying: "Maki, you didn't find Beth?? Oh my god, she doesn't speak Japanese! Do you want us to come out there and get you guys? What are we going to do!?" LOL. Awwww how sweet :-) Maki, in turn was praying that I had made it to the hotel...which I had...so all is well that ends well.
So Maki and I hung out until 1AM. We decided to get up at 9:00AM for our free breakfast...buffet stlye of Japanese style. I set my alarm clock and fell asleep in no time. But I woke up at 8:00AM, which is why I'm here, writing a book about my first night in Japan. I was really excited last night because Seymen was just getting to work when I signed online...so I was able to talk to him right away. But now it's 7PM and it looks like he's not working that late tonight...so I can't talk to him on IM. Oh well. :-)
Anyway, I'm going to get dressed etc. We are going to see the Fukuoka Tower and the beach this morning before our wedding appointment at 2:00PM. YEAYYY I LOVE JAPAN!! :-)
Posted by beth at September 21, 2006 07:02 PM
Comments
Hey Beth,
it sounds like your trip is going great! a few mix ups here and there but of course everything works out for the best. I could picture (And hear) you laughing when the "tiny, beautiful" asian girl giggled because you both said you don't speak the others language. how funny. take some pics--oh and you're supposed to be on vacation--so don't do too much caltrans work!
Posted by: Fulle at September 22, 2006 08:13 AM
Now you understand why I always feel like a giant when I go to Hong Kong.
Posted by: Alex at September 23, 2006 10:09 PM