Japan, Day 1 – Narita to Shinjuku

Carol | August 7, 2015 | Japan, Travel | No Comments

Our 12 hour flight from Dallas landed in Narita at 2pm Tokyo time. The first thing I noticed upon landing was the sauna-like heat and humidity that instantly made my skin feel dewy and sticky (similar to summer humidity in Savannah, GA). It was a bit oppressive but not so bad to keep me indoors. We spent four hours at the airport going through immigration, being interviewed by a travel Japan group, exchanging currency, picking up a portable WiFi device, eating Ramen, and exchanging our Japan Rail Pass before boarding a train for Shinjuku.

Narita Airport, Terminal 2

Immigration – We each turned in a Customs form and our passport. We were then photographed and fingerprinted on both index fingers before receiving our temporary visitor visa giving us permission to enter the country.

Interview – Karl and I were pleasantly caught off guard for a mini interview on what brings us to Japan. Why Did You Come to Japan? By TV Tokyo they asked why we were visiting, how long we were staying, what we’re most excited to see, and some questions about the people we’re planning to visit. I hope to eventually find the interview though I’m sure it’ll make me cringe and feel retarded.

Currency Exchange – We had some Euros to exchange in addition to US dollars so we filled out a form for each currency and then watched a small team confirm the authenticity, count, calculate, and exchange our funds.

We took Bus 8 from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1. The inside of the bus was cute. I need to remember to take a photo of it when we return.

We visited the post office in Terminal 1 to pick up a portable WiFi device we ordered from eConnect. $90 for three weeks of Unlimited High Speed Portable WiFi. 😉

The Pocket WiFi device was super easy to set up. It took less than 10 minutes.

We ate the most delicious ramen! I don’t even know how to describe how awesome and full the flavor of this stuff was. I’m proud to say I managed to clumsily use my chopsticks to eat my ramen. I even attempted to slurp my noodles like the Japanese but I need to practice because I kept splashing myself.

Makers of our amazing ramen. This was also our first transaction using Yen.

Checking out the air field at Narita airport.

JR Rail Pass – Getting around Terminal 1 and the central building was a little confusing. I’m unsure of how many loops we made on each floor before we finally found the JR office in the basement. We turned in our JR Rail Pass Exchange orders along with this form and our passport. The clerk at the rail office made our first green car reservation for us.

Our 21 day JR Pass will cover almost all of our transportation needs while in Japan. We chose to purchase the more luxurious Green pass while enables us to reserve seats on Green train cars since we will be traveling during Obon, a very busy Japanese holiday period.

Taste like sparky lemon juice. Not very sweet. A little tart.

Calpis Water – a non carbonated soft drink based on lactic acid. It has a milky, slightly acidic flavor. The flavor is unlike anything we have in the U.S. I really like it.

We took the 6:15 Narita express train from the airport terminal to Shinjuku. The hour and a half ride was the highlight of my day.

Tired Karl is tired, but we are enjoying the spacious green car.

Observing the Japanese countryside and city was a surreal experience. Everything is very orderly, even the landscape. Buildings and vehicles are compact and have an almost toy-like quality due to the boxy proportions.

Shinjuku

I still can’t believe we are really here! We got a little turned around walking from Shinjuku station to the Sunroute Plaza Hotel but seeing a bit more of the city was fun. I felt very alien, but safe, and excited. Can’t wait to explore once we are rested and backpack free!

Sunroute Plaza Hotel Shinjuku – I am in love with our tiny Japanese room. I took pictures of everything and will do a later blog about all the cool bits.