but when i arrived here, they’re everywhere! even in remote areas, you’ll see that there’s at least one vending machine. and one time, i distinctly remember, i saw a vending machine in the middle of a rice field!

so when you’re thirsty, you don’t need to look for a sari-sari store or a supermarket. there may be a vending machine near you.

I remember the first time I rode the train on my own. I had to go online to research how I’d go from my place to the city. Good thing that you could search everything online. The train schedules are there, the lines that I need to board and even the number of minutes of waiting/walking that I need to do. It also gives the number of minutes you’re on board, and the total travel time. Maybe the only other thing that it needed was the platform number. But anyway, all the major information that I needed were already given. And since they’re trains are on-sched, don’t be surprised when people tells you that they’d be there by 17 minutes or 23 minutes. We could basically estimate the exact time we’re going to arrive at a certain place.

Because of the train schedule in our place (the train pass every 30 minutes!), I usually have to hurry (and run!) to catch the train. Don’t you hate it when just as you arrive the platform, the doors of the train close? Argh.. And then I would have to wait for another 30 minutes for the next train. Sucks, right? Anyway, I think I’ve gotten used to this schedule, though there were those times that I was left still by the train. hehehe.

there is what we call the airport limousine bus. when i first saw the word limousine, i immediately thought “wow, i’d be travelling in style since it’s a limo!”. don’t be fooled, it’s just a plain bus. maybe they added the limousine part to say that it’s like a “exclusive transportation service travelling to and from the airport”. there are several routes, and mostly they stop at major train stations and sometimes, major landmarks in a city. and depending on your destination, basically the fare is a bit expensive. back in 2005, our fare from narita to tokyo station was 3000 yen, and we travelled for about 1.5 hours.

if you’re travelling by train, there are also several kinds of train that you could use. there are express trains (really fast trains), or there are ordinary trains, which basically stop at ALL (or MOST) of the stations. and, depending on your destination, there’s a big possibility that you’re going to transfer lines. from centrair (chubu international airport at nagoya) to my place, i transferred trains twice. and the fare? it’s a bit cheaper than the limousine bus.

so which one is better? if you’re really tired, i’d suggest that you go by limousine bus. it’s really tiring to go on and off a train with a big suitcase in tow. but if the train would stop near your place, it would be better if you use the train.

when we got off the plane, we immediately felt the cold breeze of autumn (we arrived here in november 2005). first things first, the toilet. since i’m in the country famous for it’s robots and high technology, japan didn’t disappoint me when i first tried their toilet. it was so modern, with a heated seat and so many buttons to do a lot of things. well, i didn’t want to try anything that i can’t read, i might accidentally push an emergency alarm or something haha.

first thing that we did was to fall in line for immigration. we just submitted our accomplished form, which we filled inside the plane, and our passport. after briefly looking at our documents, the immigration officer made us pass through. we’re officially inside japan!

after that, we took our suitcases and went straight to customs. the officer didn’t even open my bags, he just asked what’s inside my bags and if i have something that i should declare to customs. when i said that i only have personal effects on me, he let us pass.

it wasn’t that bad when we first came here. but the thing was, not one from the officers could speak in english!

“All my bags are packed
I’m ready to go..”

it was my first time to travel abroad. and my first time to be away from my family for a long time. so i guess that would give me an excuse to be a “bit” paranoid.

i was so paranoid that i left something at home, that i triple-checked everything i’ve packed – after i’ve packed (i literally opened my suitcase again RIGHT AFTER i’ve packed!), before i left our house, and even before i said goodbye to my family. i have this feeling that i forgot something important, like my passport, my e-ticket or my wallet. (Note: I didn’t bring any cellphone since my cellphone wouldn’t work in Japan.)

so how do you cope with this paranoia? there’s nothing wrong with double-checking, even triple-checking everything that you have, especially your passport, ticket and your wallet. but it would be better if you have a belt bag or body bag where you could put all those important stuffs. What I did was, I had this small neck-bag for my passport, my e-ticket and a pen (unless you’ve already prepared this, you’ll need to write on the embarkation card for the immigration). I’ve also prepared the money that I needed to pay for the terminal fee (during that time, it was 500 pesos. I think right now, it’s already 750). All the other important documents were in my laptop bag.

And because of the strict security in airports, I’d suggest that you wear something without any metals. And for the shoes, wear something that could easily be taken off. I was wearing rubber shoes that time and i had to untie and tie my shoes everytime they have this “body check”. And we were checked 3x! (That was already inside the airport and our luggages were already checked in).

The boarding time was a long wait, and I was fortunate enough to be with my officemate, at least I have someone to talk to while waiting. A good book, an mp3 player or even a PSP/DS Lite would really be helpful to pass the time. Or if not, you could always just take a nap (just be sure to ask someone to wake you up or you might miss your flight.)

“And I’m leaving on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go..”

And before you board the plane, say a little prayer to keep you safe wherever you’re heading, and a prayer for those people whom you’re leaving behind.

Bon voyage!

Yokoso! Welcome to my site!

just this afternoon, my sister asked me how i survived living alone in japan. she was asking me how i coped with the loneliness and the excitement of living in a foreign land. as i look back on the time that i first came here, my sister told me that instead of just telling it to her, it would be better if i could blog about it. it may be helpful to other people who would be coming here for the first time.

here’s my survival kit to japan.