July 7-8, 2010: The trip to Japan

The two hour flight to San Francisco felt quite short because I was able to catch up on some sleep. Going to bed at 1am and trying to wake up at 3am is no easy task, and the though of leaving family and friends loomed over my head as I showered. Once 6am hit, I would be on a eighteen hour journey to a new life.

Saying goodbye was much easier for me then I expected. As I packed my bags with my mom and said goodbye to my dad late into the night before my departure, I did not cry, but the tear-ducts were nice and loaded ready to spill. It was quite a puzzle trying to figure out how to pack for a year, needing to plan ahead for a hot and humid summer, and then have proper clothes for a very cold winter. Eventually I got everything into four bags, each weighing just under 50lbs according to our scale. The goal was to check 3 bags, pay the extra bag fee, and then have two carry-ons.

My first lay over in San Francisco. Since I had 4 hrs to kill at the airport, I figured it would be best use of my time to spend it with one of my good life long friends, Isaiah Masters. He met me there and brought me to his house were we chowed down on a McDonalds breakfast. It was great to briefly catch up, since we wont see each other for at least a year. Usually, his family comes up and visits us in Seattle for one week each year, or our family goes to his families house, so I was glad I got to see him one last time.

If anybody is ever flying to Japan, or has the option of flying with ANA (All Nippon Air), do it! It is an amazing airline, with great service. Boarding was so organized, and as we entered the plane from the jet way, the staff lined up at the door welcoming us with a friendly bow that greeted us. Once we started flying, they started coming around with drinks and meals for everyone…and the drinks kept coming every 10 min. We were served two meals, I can’t remember what the first one was, but we had four different meals to choose from. The second meal we were served chimichangas, which I though was kind of funny.

Once I landed at the Tokyo/Narita airport, it was a race to get to the immigration line. I only had 1hr and 50min to get to my next flight. If there was any portion of the trip I was worried about, it was here. After waiting 45min to get through immigration I still needed to pick up my bags and go through customs, which was really fast, no waiting. The next task was to navigate my way around a new airport with only limited signs I could read. I ended up asking the wrong person for directions. This lady directed me to the 4th floor on the wrong end of the terminal. Once I was re-directed, I booked it back across the terminal only to find another very long, slow moving line. On my boarding pass, it read that boarding starts at 16:30, it was now 16:00. Time passed so fast compared to the progress I made in line. Over the intercom system, they announced that flight 3235 service to Sendai may begin to board. I was still at least 20 min away from the front of the line. Luckily they opened up a counter for my flight, so they could help me. It was now 16:35, and my flight left at 16:50. Once all three bags got checked, I was told that I needed to be at gate C by 16:40…so in like 3 min. I ran up the stairs when I was met by security…what great timing. So took my laptop out of my bag, tore off my jacket, picked it up on the other side of the metal detectors and ran down another hall, down some more stairs, and then onto a bus. I was the last one on, just in time before it pulled out onto the tarmac where it would take us to our small propped plane. The humidity was not on my side either. I was already sweaty from running around the airport, but the bus was hot and sticky, being that it is rainy season. Once I found my seat on the plane, I turned on the cold air and let it dry the beads of sweat running down my face.

One hour passed and we began our decent into Sendai. As I looked out the window, a familiar sight greeted me: trees, sun setting behind mountains and ocean. After I picked up my luggage, Junko san and Hiromitsu welcomed me with hugs. We ate a quick bite in the car as we made our way to the church, where we would be joining a bible study/prayer meeting. I was greeted with a warm welcome when we walked into the meeting. Luckily I was not feeling any jetlag, and was able to stay alert. I sat there for about an hour and a half and struggled to follow along since I do not know a lick of Japanese. But Junko san was so kind and translated what was being talked about. When the meeting ended, I got to meet everyone and begin to learn their names. Everyone helped me move my bags into the apartment where I will be staying for two nights, which was very kind.

After a little unpacking session, I showered and turned on something familiar as I fell asleep, The Office.