Japan has officially left me on a high. There’s this warm, fuzzy feeling I get just looking at all the photos I took of Japan—approximately one thousand in number, not including the files in some of my memory cards yet to be imported to my laptop—taken from more or less ten different locations in the four days I stayed there. I probably caught the Otaku fever, and in my mind, the possibility of staying figuratively feverish with excitement over anything Japanese is so powerful that I am now contemplating re-learning the language that has taken a backseat for me due to unpredicted events in my life. The land of the rising sun always marvelously presents itself to even the most seasoned travelers that it leaves any visitor the burning desire to return again to this delightful country.
My Nippon journey just begs to tell its story.
Fascination
Japan has always had a place within me, an idea ingrained in me even at a young age. This comes as a surprise to most people who know me, as I’m not really the type who watches Anime and listens to J-pop music regularly. I associate this special affinity to my father, a Japanese citizen, who always sent balikbayan boxes full of Japanese toys and fashion items, and tape recordings of Doraemon cartoons, which I watched every afternoon even if none of the dialogues made sense to me. My father made several attempts to bring me to Japan, even planning for me to complete my master’s degree in his hometown in Fukuoka, but nothing ever worked out, as there was always something that got in the way of our plans.
Who knew I would get to live out this fascination I have for Japan, in the most unexpected of circumstances.
Touchdown Japan
If our flight touchdown were any indication of how this tour would turn out for me, then my being extra positive and happy was perfectly right at the time. I had a very smooth and pleasurable five-hour flight on board the very elegant Japanese airline All Nippon Airways, and my arrival at the Haneda Airport heralded the start of our remarkable trip.
One can already feel just how systematic Japanese people are just by watching them go about their business while walking through the long halls of the airport. It is expected of everyone to always keep left when on board walkalators because the right lanes are reserved for rushing passengers. Everyone seems to acknowledge this rule even if it technically isn’t a written reminder posted on walls.
A rush of cool wind to the skin
It was a rainy evening when we made it outside the airport and the sudden stream of strong winds in the 10-degree weather was a surprise—yet welcome—treat, given how my friends back home have been complaining of sweltering Manila heat. Japan’s weather was already transitioning to a new season, and the biting winter cold was already giving way to the refreshing winds of spring, which also happens to be the season when Cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Toshi-san, our English-speaking Japanese tour guide, warmly welcomed our group and told us, in impeccable English, that the weather will be better tomorrow and that there’s dinner waiting for us at the Skyview restaurant, which was just near our hotel. We boarded the shuttle service waiting for us and spent half an hour driving through the main roads of Tokyo to get to our place.
That entire time that I was inside the shuttle service I couldn’t help but wonder at how magnificently lighted the city of Tokyo is, so much so that I totally lost track of what Toshi-san was telling the group. My brain probably went into a quiet overdrive during the ride; I kept mum but my mind was already racing with thoughts of sheer bewilderment while inside the van. It just had to be that way with me—seeing it now for myself after years of just appreciating the Tokyo lights through photos and movies, the feeling was just magical and overwhelming, especially for someone who’s coming in to Japan for the first time in her life.
Save for a few key phrases that I was able to digest from Toshi-san’s whole thirty-minute run-through tour spiel, such as attaching the suffix “-san” to people’s names to address them courteously and that Tokyo could also be referred to as “Edo,” almost nothing was retained in me.
An “oishi yushoku” while watching the sea of Tokyo lights
About thirty minutes after getting out of the airport, we finally made it to our temporary home in Japan, the Royal Park The Shiodome Hotel in Minato-ku,
Tokyo. A four-star hotel right in the middle of a very busy passageway and just adjacent to the building of a highly recognized advertising agency, the Royal Park The Shiodome Hotel served as a great second home to our group for the duration of our stay in Tokyo.
Right after going through the motions of checking in our luggage and quickly inspecting our cozy rooms, Toshi-san herded our already highly charged group to Skyview Restaurant, where we had a very authentic seven-course Japanese dinner with the view of Tokyo cityscape as our visual appetizer. Without ado, I went straight to ordering Kirin, one of Japan’s local beers, to go with my enjoyment of the freshest seafood and meat dishes the restaurant had to offer me for the evening. This, along with the lively conversation I’ve had with the rest of the group, made for a great end to my first night in Japan.
I could probably be dismissed as just a starry-eyed first time traveler who’s senses are overwhelmed by what she’s experiencing, which would explain this more than positive evaluation I have of Japan, but it just is. Japan does not have “Endless Discovery” as slogan for nothing. There’s so much to discover, and I’ve only been talking about my first night.
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