We are sitting in our hotel room in Tokyo. We arrived yesterday evening after a long flight from Atlanta. The hotel is located just a short distance from Tokyo Tower in Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is just a 15 minute walk from where my husband will be working in Shibaura. From our hotel window, I can see Tokyo Bay and the Rainbow Bridge crossing it. I can see airplanes leaving Haneda International Airport, and I can see high-rise buildings all around — for miles. As we rode the bus in from Narita International yesterday, I saw the silhouette of Mt. Fuji in the distance, back lit by the setting sun.
We have spent the day exploring this area of Tokyo… walking the route to my husband’s new office, walking the perimeter of Shiba Park and around the Tokyo Tower… just trying to get acclimated to our new surroundings. Map in hand, and GPS on the phone, we have meandered through the streets. Addresses here are difficult to understand… street names/building numbers are not often visible, and many signs are written only in Japanese characters. It is weird to be on this side of the language/culture barrier… to be the “foreigner.”
It all feels very surreal to me at this point. It is still hard to believe that this is happening. The past few weeks have been hectic and stressful with preparations, and leaving behind our home and our family and our pets. I am excited to finally get here and move on to learning about our new city and its culture. I am sure that there will be days when I regret the decision to come here… but I hope there will be many more days that I revel in this amazing experience.
Tomorrow afternoon, we are scheduled to go on an apartment hunting trip with the relocation company. They have eight apartments for us to see in the area close to the office. We are hoping to find something soon, so that we can start to feel more settled in this place. More tomorrow, and photos to follow…
Four Years in Japan ... and now Three Years in London 