I Saw a Japanese Man Quietly Laughing At Us
After a smooth, 14-hour flight from New York’s JFK airport, we arrived in Tokyo. I’d been on the same flight as my sister Janice and her husband Mark. It had taken some intense long-distance coordination, but we’d managed to find flights that landed us in Tokyo close to the same time as our youngest brother and his wife, Tim and Yoshiko. They were only an hour behind us. It was clear from the orderly lines and polite instructions at Passport Control that we were in Japan.
Through customs and still awake after 27 hours of travel.
“This way, this way, this way.” We were ushered through Passport Control with lots of helpful agents to tell us where to go. They held up a form that we did not have, and we were directed to go to a small table with stacks of forms and pens on strings attached to the table.
“Flight number? What was our flight number? Destination address? What’s the address?”
We’d been awake for 27 hours at this point. We filled out the forms, rejoined the lines, received a stamp, and I thought we were through. There was one more checkpoint, and I confidently showed the stamp I’d just received from the customs officer.
No, no. We need this other, only slightly different form that has basically the same information as the first one before we consider letting you sleep-deprived, confused, messy Americans through to our country. We went to another table with another stack of forms and fumbled around for a pen. To be fair, there were digital options if you wanted to scan a QR code and download an app. But again, sleep-deprived, confused Americans.
The first order of business once we got through Customs was to find a restroom. I’d forgotten how delightful Japanese toilets are. They are famous, so if you know anyone who’s traveled to Japan, you’ve heard about them. As soon as I sat down on the warm toilet seat, bird song and the sound of a babbling brook began to play. Buttons on the wall gave me multiple bidet options. Heated toilets seats may be the best “Welcome to Japan” they have.
Lighted, heated, and musical public toilet at Haneda airport
We barely had time to find seats in the waiting area before Tim and Yoshiko arrived. They’ve lived in Pennsylvania for nearly all of their 35 years of marriage, but try to come back to visit Yoshiko’s hometown of Machida every couple of years. Having them as tour guides and interpreters is a huge advantage. They directed us to get cash from the ATMs, purchase our Suica cards to use on the trains, and buy our bus tickets for Machida.
Outside the terminal, the December air was chilly but not too bad, so we waited for the bus on the sidewalk instead of in the glass-walled waiting room. We were interested in every detail. Yellow bumps on the sidewalks serve as guides for the blind. The vending machines hold both hot and cold drink options with mysterious Japanese labels. (The one recognizable brand was Coke.) The digital displays alternated English and Japanese with times and destinations for the buses. My brother-in-law Mark tried to match up the Kanji characters with English so he could recognize the sign for Machida.
“Are these the characters for Machida? He walked up to the digital sign and pointed. “These signs. They look like a window and a ‘J’. Or door – J – window.” (町田)
Yoshiko was trying to figure out what he was asking. I saw a man farther back on the sidewalk waiting with his family, quietly taking in our conversation.
Mark was still working on it, and we were all engaged, trying to understand. “Is it one character per syllable? Like Ma. Chi. Da? Three characters, three syllables?” We pointed to each character as we said it. Yoshiko started laughing. She tried to explain, but it wasn’t as simple as a one-to-one connection. I could see the man with the family looking at the ground and smiling. Our attempts to guess at the language must have sounded like a kindergarten conversation. As travel so often does, it turns us into beginners. Everything is new and assumptions don’t always work. Mark’s attention to detail was helpful though, as all of us could now recognize the Japanese sign for Machida, which would serve as a central point for this trip.
Buses from Haneda airport are comfortable and easy to find. [Photo credit - Janice McLean]
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Tips & Recommendations
Suica Card: Try to obtain your Suica card at a kiosk at the airport. At Haneda, transportation cards and tickets are right outside the Customs area. There you can get the “Welcome Suica,” which is good for 28 days and does not require a 500-yen deposit. It will make train travel much easier. The card can be loaded with increments from 1,000 to 10,000 yen and reloaded as needed. (At the time of our trip, 10,000 yen equaled about $63.) An alternative is Pasmo, which I had to get when I lost my Suica card. It was accepted as easily at train stations.
To and From the Airport: The bus provides undercarriage storage for your luggage, making it a better alternative to and from the airport than trains. This link is a comprehensive explanation of the bus options. Buses are quiet, comfortable, and inexpensive. It’s helpful to make an online reservation to ensure your space; however, tickets must be purchased right before departure. Research which bus lines service your destination.
Trains and Directions: This is Train Travel 101 - review a map to center yourself and know the general directions you will be traveling. Machida is a major destination, but we were staying in Zama, which was not listed on the boards. We had to know the major stop in that direction so we could get on a train going the right way.
Long Flights: Every time I book an international flight, I underestimate the time and effort and how exhausted I will feel. Even if I pay for a better flight class with more leg room and amenities, the long treks through airports and the weird timing and content of meals get to me every time. Consider a sleep aid to help you sleep on the plane. Try to have a light schedule the first day and allow for time adjustment. Exercise and be in your best shape – try increasing the amount you walk every day to prepare for all the walking and bag carrying.