I flew from Grand Rapids to Chicago to San Francisco and landed in Tokyo on Sunday at 1 a.m.  Saturday was basically nonexistent as crossing time zones feels a bit like time travel.  One of the things that many warned me about was how going from one cultural extreme to another (Brazil to Japan) could be a little bit disconcerting and border on traumatic.  I'm hoping that this dramatic transition makes things all the more shockingly interesting but this is still to be determined.

I began to feel cultural differences as early as lining up for the flight in the San Fransisco airport.  I barely made it to the gate in time because of a mechanical delay out of Chicago and was hurrying to line up.  A Japanese man, clearly in line right ahead of me and dressed in a full suit and tie, heard me coming up behind him and turned around to speak to me.  First he apologized and explained that he thought he had cut in front of me in line.  When I assured him that he hadn't he apologized a second time anyway before turning back.

Slightly sweaty and bewildered, I found my seat on the plane and the differences continued.  My seat mate was a very calm, petite Japanese woman.  I greeted her when I sat down and was met with a startled look of surprise and a small smile.  That was the height of our communication for the next eleven hours.  What was most interesting about the flight, aside from the three romantic comedies I watched (The Longest Ride, Love - Kate and The Proposal) was the intense silence that prevailed.  Other than the flight attendants, I don't think I heard anyone talking the entire time.  It was one of the most quiet and relaxing flights I've ever been on.

We landed in Tokyo's Haneda airport in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  Tokyo has two airports - Narita, the larger, more international airport and Haneda, the smaller, more domestic airport with only  a recent addition of some international flights.  I had chosen to fly into HND because of its proximity to the actual city center.  It only took us about an hour to get to the city whereas flights into NRT can add on an extra four hours of driving time.  

The final thing that impressed me about Japan was its efficiency and organization in terms of immigration.  Yes, the initial visa process was long and required a tiresome list of documents, but when I stepped up to speak to the immigration officer I was issued my actual official plastic resident card immediately and was asked if I wanted a work permit.  After saying that I did, I stepped off to the side, filled out some additional paperwork and was granted the right to work in Japan which was shown by a special stamp on the back of my newly acquired card.  To put this into perspective, this would have either taken 9+ months in Brazil or would have simply been declared impossible.  My first year in Brazil I never actually received my resident card even though I went through all of the official channels.  The second year I had to fly to the U.S. embassy in Brasilia, have an interview to prove that I was who I said I was, pay for an official seal on my birth certificate and then wait three months.  Getting the right to work in Brazil is extremely difficult and I never even attempted it.

I was met in the airport by my host counselor, a short Buddhist priest by the name of Nobuyuki Okamoto, and his driver.  They took me to a hotel nearby his area of Tokyo where the president and secretary of their local Rotary club were waiting to greet me and welcome me to the country.  This whole affair was made slightly awkward by the fact that: a) it was about 2 a.m. at this point b) Nobody could speak English and I can't speak Japanese c) my welcoming committee consisted entirely of men, all of whom I towered over in terms of height and d) I was wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt from traveling while everyone else was decked out in suits and ties.  It was an odd and slightly comical start to what has already been a really interesting journey these past two weeks.  Stay tuned!