Tokyo, Japan. Yes, I am really here!!!

As I lay in bed this morning at 5 a.m. in San Francisco I still think...is this really true...and I really going to Japan...TODAY? I answer YES, get out of bed, today is the day. What are you waiting for? Adventure awaits you!

I am up, showered, breakfast, and ready to go before 7:30 a.m. This gives me a few minutes in the lobby to catch up.

We leave by bus at 8:30 a.m. Check in at the airport quick and easy. My luggage now weighs 51.4 pounds and I did not add anything to the suitcase. The lady does not charge me extra, just warns be to not make very many purchases. I thank her with a smile. She has no idea I will be bringing home a second 50 pound bag of purchases. One suitcase on the way there and two allowed on the way home. I sure I will have no problem filling the second bag.

Our flight was delayed twice. We left the San Francisco at 1:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. CST). We were so excited when the plane took off. The group is traveling on two airplanes. The pilot announced that we were on the plane. It made us feel very special.

During the flight I slept, ate, read, wrote in my journal, met people and watched the movie "The Bucket List". A group of us decided to develop our own "Japan Bucket List".

I chatted with a woman from Japan who had been living in the states for 15 years. She had married an American man. She was going home to take care of her sick mother. She talked about how it was her job to care for her mother. She didn't seem sad at all, just matter of fact. We talked about kids and Japanese customs. She was so willing to share with us.

The lady next to me sneezed. Our knew Japanese friend told us that one sneeze ment someone was talking about you. Two sneezes ment someone was talking bad about you and three sneezes ment someone loves you. A very funny Japanese belief.

She also told us "Japanese students work hard to find ways to not work hard". She was talking about her own son. We agreed that United States students are very much like Japanese teens.

Time went quickly and we arrived at Narita Airport. Off the plane, gather luggage, and quickly to customs. In customs we had to have our fingerprints taken electronically, no ink, then our picture taken. Everything went smoothly. Then next task was to find our buses. This was easy. People were waiting for us to direct us through the airport, across the parking lot, and to the correct bus. It was unbelievable how efficiently 160 people can be moved from place to place.

The bus ride was interesting. We traveled by city group. I will be part of the group called Katori. That is our host city next week. Finally I get to meet my 16 travel companions. What a suburashi (wonderful) group of people. Everyone is friendly and very interesting. It will be great to get to know everyone.

The ride to Grand Prince Hotel in Akasaka took 1 1/2 hours. We crossed Tokyo Bay. Drove past Tokyo Disney. It looks much like Disney in U.S. We see rice paddies tucked in between houses and in low lying areas. Japan grows 100% of the rice consumed in the country.

There are many factory buildings with apartment buildings nearby. The balconies of the apartment buildings have clothes hanging to dry. Factory buildings are very clean. We drive past the Mitsubishi factory. It is very large and like all the others very clean and modern looking on the outside.

We see Tokyo Tower used for radio and tv signals. It looks like the Eiffel Tower. We also drove past large towers for incinerating garbage. The heat formed is used to heat sports complexes with swimming pools. Japan recycles 100% of their garbage. The U.S. should take some lessons.

We arrived at the hotel at 5:55 p.m. This gives us 1 hour to check in and get ready for dinner. I think we will be kept on a very tight schedule for the next couple of weeks.

I am in room 2814. This is on the 28th floor. The rooms are similar, yet different, from United States hotel rooms. When you enter there is a long hallway before you are actually in the room. My room has two single beds, a sofa that curves around two walls with windows above, and a desk.

The bathroom is two rooms. The first room has a sink and mirror. The second room has a toilet equipped with a heated seat and bidet option, along with a tub/shower. I notice a drain in the floor of this room. I am sure it is for people who wish to take a traditional Japanese bath. This means you wash completely outside the tub and then get in the tub to relax. It is very important to not get any soap into the tub.

At 7 p.m. I leave my couch with a beautiful view of Tokyo to go to dinner with a gentleman who was a Fulgright Scholar in the 1970's. He was very helpful in the restuarant with ordering food and enjoyed talking about the United States. He had studied for 3 years in the U.S. and then taught Japanese Culture for 3 more years before returning to Tokyo. He recently retired from a career Economics, but was a little brief about what he actually did. He has never been back to the states.

Dinner: raw octapus cut in small pieces dipped in soy sauce, chicken rolled in sea weed, breaded and fried then dipped in barbeque sause, fried noodles, sushi with rare beef, fried rice, broiled squid dipped in soy sauce and red wine

Everything was very good. I was amazed. I don't think I will have problems finding thing to eat that I like.

The evening ended quickly. But I am starting to get tired. The loss of sleep is catching up me. Tomorrow is another day of adventure in the "land of the rising sun".