Miscellany…

Day 2 in Tokyo, Japan…  And some miscellaneous notes…

•  Walking around Tokyo, we are surrounded by a sea of Asian people —  we are the oddball westerners — and yet, no one gives us a second glance. Everyone has been so kind, friendly and polite. All the workers in the stores and restaurants smile and greet us politely. When was the last time in the US that a check-out person at a store actually smiled and thanked me for my business?
• I do notice furtive glances from other westerners as we meet on the street…  Kind of like we aren’t sure if we should greet each other or not.  We do kind of “stick out” in our appearance. Yesterday at the Tokyo Tower, we came across two girls taking pictures…  both tall and blond. It was automatic to just assume that they spoke English, and offer to take their picture for them. Otherwise…  since I am still learning the language, I tend to walk around in my “bubble.” I am hoping that after a while I won’t feel so conspicuous.
• Jet lag…  The jet lag is awful. I feel groggy during the day, and wakeful at night. It affects my body and mind in so many ways! It affects my appetite, my digestion, and most of all my sleep. My days and nights are completely mixed up right now.  From past experience, I know that after about 4 days, things start to improve. I can’t wait.
• Cell phones. My cell phone works here in Japan (Thank you T-Mobile!!!) I get free texting and data here, and calls back to the US are only 20 cents per minute… and I have wifi calling. My husband’s phone is from another company, and he can only use his on wifi. He will be getting a company phone here. I probably will get a phone for in-country calls.
• But…  Just because you have roaming turned off, doesn’t mean your phone won’t receive calls.  My husband got a call from back home at 1:40 this morning. It was 11:40AM back home.  We actually happened to be asleep at that point, but not after that. *sigh*
• Breakfast. Our hotel offers a very nice breakfast in the morning. Traditional western breakfast…  along with traditional Japanese offerings. See above photo. I kind of like the Japanese breakfast…  more savory choices than a western breakfast. They pretty much eat fish, rice, vegetables, and miso soup at every meal. I have even taken a liking to the various seaweeds that they eat. I think I like it here…