And we're here

21 August

A long flight over. I followed the approach of entering the flight exhausted. That plus Lisa’s Dramamine provided several hours of sleep. Having flown JetBlue recently, the Continental 777 failed to impress. The kids complained about the lack of shows to watch (they did not mention the smaller screens). The adults did not like the lack of room and the tendency to place metal boxes on the floor, cutting down on feet space. The bins were poorly set – not organized for 22 inch suitcase storage, creating much wasted space. Friendly, competent staff, but poor food.

Arrival was uneventful. Fingerprinted at immigration and photographed too all without hassle, then loading 12 bags on carts, green lighted through customs while adding 8 boxes (to be delivered) as unaccompanied luggage. Four suitcases and eight duffels, the latter to be stored inside the former once emptied (and thus saving significant space). Outside the secure area was oddly empty, like arriving at a second or third tier airport. Many signs in English to guide us, including big signs to the baggage delivery service, the greatest boon to traveling since the wheeled suitcase (of which I need to write more). Four firms offered their services; we randomly chose ABC (possibly reflecting my Japanese grammar which had ABC Foods as a firm). Instantly, several staff moved the luggage into one long line, wrapped each bag in plastic (cleanliness or security?) and filled out paperwork. For approximately $16 a bag, the luggage was delivered the next day to our apartment.

Thus, we only had backpacks and roll-on bags to board the bus. This meant that we could then walk the five minutes from the bus stop at a hotel to our service apartment. So much easier than trying to carry everything.

The bus location was well marked; buying tickets was no problem. The young ladies giggled at my Japanese. The bus was called a limousine bus, but the adjective was a tad excessive. We took the waterfront tour to the hotel – some fascinating architecture en route, then walked to the apartment. A walk down the street to a Chinese restaurant, then back for a full night of sleep.


22 August.
A full first day. I went to the Fulbright office in the morning and in the late afternoon we went to Minato City Hall to get registered as official aliens (long suspected by some, but now it’s official). Lisa took the kids around the area, finding two parks.

The Fulbright office was easy to reach. I received an administrative overview and other information. The financial administrator had graduated from Minnesota 30 years ago and had worked for Fulbright since then. He walked me through the finances and gave me 200 kY in bills and two checks for over 2 MY. I could cash them at the issuing bank, just down the road. It felt very odd to be carrying so much money, but I did not feel at all worried. Nor did I feel particularly wealthy because I knew how quickly that money could and would evaporate (at a back-to-school meeting, the middle school principal noted that the 1000 Y bills (about $10) just float out of wallets).

The director emphasized communications and danger. To be exact, contacting Fulbright with any problems whilst still small (including unhappy spouses). The danger was The Big One. The odds of a massive earthquake are low but the consequences disastrous. He emphasized stocking up on food and drink even in the service apartment and to consider keeping a full bathtub. I’m glad to know earthquakes are taken seriously. Another aspect was to keep the Fulbright and the embassy updated on our travels for emergency communication.

We went to Minato City Hall to be registered. How incredibly easy the process was and how helpful the people. Language assistance in English, Korean, Chinese. We went at 4 pm on Friday so we probably missed the long queues of people that the chairs indicated. Helpful young people manned the counters. We left with temporary certification, forms that indicated we existed (needed for opening a bank account &c), and processing for national health insurance. I had to sign a form stating our previous year’s income in Japan was zero. As we are taxed by what we earned in Japan last year, that means our insurance rate is almost free.

The twelve bags arrived from the airport and now line the walls. Tomorrow we excavate and unpack and discover what we forgot. Notice that each bag was wrapped in plastic, presumably to protect it. We had a huge pile of plastic wrap to discard. For a nation that prides itself on recycling, a huge amount of plastic waste from coverings and boxes is generated

We’re still in the euphoric stage – what’s different is exciting, new, and often better. Walking back from dinner we saw a road construction crew at work. Some had vests with flashing red lights. Safer, but a little silly. I’ll go with safer any day.

Similarly, the apartment is very well designed for optimum use of space. There is built-in space on most walls and the closets are well designed with a place to stow the small suitcases. The apartment comes with everything needed to cook – from pot holders to a (small) oven and range. We also have a rice cooker and toaster. All in a space that most Americans would think of as cramped but that serve us very well due to the thoughtful design. We’re staying in a service apartment, a furnished apartment for short-term stays, in our case until we can find an unfurnished apartment. Until then, we are on a bus route for the kids so they can easily go to school.

Going to Fulbright, I figured out how to buy a Passmo card, but promptly put it into the machine just as the attendant tried to show me how to place it over the reader. Fortunately, he opened the gate machinery and extracted it, saving my card and no doubt confirming his opinion of gaijin. The subway indicators are well designed. Every station, in addition to its name, is numbered sequentially on its line. Our stop, Shirokanedai, is number 2 on the Nambuku line, which makes it easy to remember or judge in relation to other stops. The challenge is reading the map. Not only are there many stations, some lines are incompatible with other lines in regards to transferring and tickets. There is an above ground train, underground competing subway lines.

Transferring stations usually involves long distances within stations, like Paris. Except in Japan the distances are given, so you know you have 250 meters to go. Outside the stations are local maps with a fair amount of English. I noticed at our stop there are two evacuation areas marked. We need to go and see them.