Asia Trip 2024 - Japan Pt.1 - Arrival
June 28
After only a few days in Hong Kong, we once again found ourselves back at the airport, this time preparing to board our flight to Narita, Japan. This was our first time visiting Japan, and after having that experience, I really hope it’s not our last.
Hong Kong International Airport with a view of Tung Chung in the background.
Passing time at Hong Kong International Airport.
Tokyo, 2024/06/28 18:38 JST
When we landed we were greeted with the gray skies and rain of the summer rainy season. We hurried through the airport as quickly as we could. We had to get through security which was quite busy as several other flights arrived at the same time as us. There was a driver waiting to take us all the way from Narita to Fujikawaguchiko, a town located just north of Mt. Fuji, or Fujisan as the locals call it. The drive took us through Tokyo during rush hour which made for a fairly slow and long drive.
I had my camera out and wanted to take some photos but I tried to forget about taking photos and just try to burn everything into my memory. This is something that’s very difficult for me to do for two reasons. One, my memory is just terrible and two, I kept seeing things that I wanted to photograph.
At this point in our Asia trip I was still dealing with some jet lag. The effects of the jet lag were difficult to shake off during a drive in rainy conditions where we slowly crept along in heavy Tokyo traffic. There were so many times I just wanted the driver to stop so I could go explore some nearby area I saw from the car. I absolutely love visiting new locations in far away lands. So many things are different and new to me, and even though I know it’s not, somehow, everything seems worthy of a photograph. Shapes, textures, colors and lines all caught my eye. I found myself snapping photos of such mundane subjects simply because it was new to me. It’s like being a kid all over again.
During the drive I immediately began to notice how much better the drivers are in Japan when compared to… well, lots of places in the United States. Most of the drivers were courteous toward one another. Whenever someone was merging onto the highway, the other driver that’s already on the highway opened a gap to let them in. Then after the driver finished merging, he or she flashed their hazard lights a few times to thank the other driver. Of course there were exceptions (BMW drivers), however the majority of people didn’t drive with the rage and selfishness that’s all too common in the US. While the traffic was heavy, it was significantly less stressful than driving anywhere in the Northeast US.
Of course, being someone that loves cars, I was immediately on the lookout for interesting or unique vehicles as well as vehicles we just don’t get in the US. I was loving what I saw. Not only are there different vehicles, there are also different styles to common vehicles like semi-trucks. In some cases it looked like the drivers were able to customize their vehicles, but other differences such as the running lights along the bottom of the trailers were also different. Again, this is something most people probably don’t notice or care about, but being in a different place and seeing new things brought out the kid in me.
Seeing all these cars made me start think about how I was really hoping that there would be some way for me to be able to make it to Daikoku Parking Area in Yokohama, something I’d been hoping to do since I found out we’d be visiting Japan. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance. All the more reason to go back to Japan I suppose.
After a long and cramped drive with one stop at a rest area, which by the way, was significantly cleaner than a lot of US rest areas, we eventually arrived at our rental house. It had been dark for quite some time by this point so we didn’t get to see what the scenery was like after we left the Tokyo city limits. I’m not even sure anyone was awake except for me and the driver for most of the drive. After getting all our luggage into the house we immediately took a short walk to a nearby ramen restaurant. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice. However, instead of opting for the bar, we sat a chabudai which I was not cutout for. Within a short time my knees and lower back started to hurt. Typical chubby American problems I suppose. It was okay though, the meal made up for it. A nice bowl of hot ramen on a cool summer evening really hit the spot after a day of travel. I was really excited for the next day to arrive so I could see what the town of Fujikawaguchiko looked like.
