Japan, Day One

My recap of what happened in Japan, as best I remember it. Or at least, what I can legally tell. I'm going to break this up into a few posts, mainly to give me time to remember what exactly happened. Hopefully I don't screw this up too much.

Friday.
Ah Friday, my first day in the country. I wake up on the plane, going over my directions to Brian's meeting place. This is the time when I realize that I have no idea where he lives, what his address is, or what his phone number is even. We land at the airport on time, a good sign, and I head for customs. "Where are you staying?" I was asked. "With a friend" is my answer...apparently this must be common, as I was only asked to write down his name, nothing else. I guess there aren't that many Brian Estey's in Japan. I pick up my baggage and head for the currency exchange. Fill out some forms, wait in line, and when I get to the counter, what do I find out? I can't use a credit card to get Yen here, I have to use an ATM. Off to find a cash machine I go, and I don't find just one, I find 4. Do any of them accept my credit card, hell no. All I get is "invalid card" messages, and no money. Damn foreign countries. Not a major problem in the short term, though, as I only need 3000 yen to catch the bus to Brian's place, so I exchange the little Euro that I do have on me, hop on the bus, and hope Brian will be there to pick me up.

Two and a half rainy hours later, I get to Shin-Yurigaoka, and sure enough, there's Mr. Estey, big smile and happy to see me. At this point I find out that I actually landed in the middle of a typhoon, and that this is the worst weather Japan has seen in many years. Timing is everything. A quick stop at the post office to grab some cash, a short train trip, and I get to crash at Brian's place for a few hours while he goes back to work. Wake up at 5, quick shower (cold shower as I don't know how to turn on the hot water), and wait around for Brian to show up. At 6, he stops by, and off we go to meet Tamie (we're spending the weekend at her parents place as it's more comfy). This is where Brian's "familiarity" with Japan really shows, as we get on three wrong trains before finally catching the right one, in the process being about a half hour late in meeting Tamie. Must have been the weather. We finally meet up with Tamie, go buy some rain jackets, then grab a cab to her parents place.

I've never met Tamie's parents, so I'm not sure what to expect. What I got was two very friendly and welcoming people who made me feel like family/royalty from the get go. Shows how little they know about me, eh? They had fixed an excellent (and Kevin friendly) meal, which kicked some serious butt. Mainly the evening involved eating dinner, catching up a bit with stories, and heading to bed for an early start the next morning.