Day 0: Traveling

Hello from Tokyo!

After many hours of traveling, I’ve finally made it to my hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

A (extensive) recap of my never-ending day:

The night before my flight from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), United Airlines (UA) at SFO reportedly had a computer malfunction that caused many missed flights and delays.  This problem caused long lines even the next morning, the morning I was to catch my flight with UA.  Checking-in took me an hour of waiting and listening to UA employees yelling directions of who should be where.

United Airlines international check-in counter

In-flight lunch #1

Once pass security and after boarding, ten and a half hours of fun confined to a roughly 2’ x 2.5’ bubble of personal space awaited.  Somehow, I managed to fall asleep right away, only to wake up and see everyone already eating their in-flight lunch.  By the time I got the attention of a flight attendant, the only meal left was some sort of bland vegetarian noodle and rice dish. 

On a more amusing note, the girl sitting next to me supposedly “won a prize” for getting the white (instead of black) food tray.  One of the flight attendants then gave her a really nice microfiber first-class blanket.  For some reason, the flight attendant gave one to me as well!

In-flight lunch #2

Nine hours into the flight of constant daylight, another meal was served.  Due to the +16 hour time change, it was lunchtime all over again at what felt like 9PM.

With the time difference, I left home (SFO) around 11:30AM, and after ten and a half hours of flying, I arrived in Tokyo at 2PM.  So as I write this blog post at 10:30PM JST, it feels like it is 6:30AM.

After making my way quickly and easily through immigration and customs, I took the Airport Limousine Bus to the Tokyo subway station.  All of the limo-bus workers were extremely nice and hustled while still taking care not to throw luggage.  The ride also provided a nice view of the Tokyo area.

Airport Limousine Bus loading area

Heading towards Tokyo Station, view from the bus

However, my day went a bit south from there.  At the Tokyo Station, I got extremely lost in the massive underground maze of stores, restaurants, and railways.  After 30 minutes of dragging my suitcase and two bags around, I found the correct subway line and managed to buy a ticket.  However, once down at the train platform, I couldn’t figure out which side to take.  I must have looked completely confused because a very nice elderly couple who spoke very limited English came over to help me find my way.  It turns out the posted directions are fairly straightforward if you know how to look at it…

Sadly, these unintentional detours weren’t the end of it.  Once, exiting at the correct station, I managed to leave the exit in the wrong direction, resulting in another 30 minutes of roaming the streets of Tokyo with my suitcase rolling behind.  Once again, a wonderful old lady approached me and actually walked with me two blocks and pointed around the corner as to where my hotel was.

Hotel room

After settling into my tiny hotel room, I met two others from the GSP and as a first meal in Japan we ate Chinese food, haha.

Tomorrow is the first day of class at the University of Tokyo for Sustainable Urban Management.  Let the learning and fun begin!