Up, Up, and Away!

Fasten your seatbelts. You have just boarded JAL airlines and your final destination is Narita International Airport, located 70 kilometers Northeast of Tokyo Japan. Your flight is approximately 16 hours in air, so make sure you have adequate reading material with you!

The plane lands, alittle bumpy but hey at least your on the ground now. You wonder what your experiences will consist of. You hope and pray they let you sleep some since you've crossed a time zone or two! In your suitcase you have stashed several gifts from the States for your Japanese hosts. You've read somewhere that it is customary to give gifts upon arrival. You've learned that in Japan they appreciate the honorary custom of the gift melon, but you know it wouldn't get past customs. Your not sure why a melon, but you are about to find out. Passing by the local vendors in the airport you start to realize that fruits are highly overpriced. You think to yourself that someone would have to obtain great wealth to afford as much fruit as we consume in the States. You find out that this is not overpriced, but the amount that the Japanese pay for their fruits. You pass customs without a hitch. You meet your host, Machiko, shortly after customs. You're exhausted but smile and bow as you see your Japanese host. You bow because they are, yet youv'e heard of the cultural custom. You smile and reiterate to yourself that you're very pleased it's not a sloppy kiss on the cheek. You don't remeber the trip home much, because you slept. You wake up when the Japan Railway train stops, approximately an hour and a half later. You enter the apartment, remove your shoes, and pick a pair of silk japanese designed guest slippers . Culture is flooding you at every turn. You appreciate the softness of the slippers and the sentiment it bestows upon you. You meet his wife! You bow again. She politely shows you the apartment. You note the differences of their westernized bathroom. You explore it more, and ask a dozen questions about the Japanese bathing customs. You learn that the room is loaded with the latest technology. A toilet that does fancy stuff, and a whole room dedicated to shower in. The room is empty except for a small stool and basin. She advises you to clean your body first, soap and all, rinse, and then proceed to the stainless steel tub. You find that the tub is dedicated for relaxation only. She talks about what you might encounter in a Japanese style bathroom out in the city. She explains that the Japanese toilet consists of a hole in the ground and a lid that covers it. She advises you to face and squat towards the toilet, and to always carry your own toilet paper or tissues because it is rarely found in the customary bathrooms. You sigh and realize that when you were at the airport you recieved three free small packages of tissue from men around the airport. You noticed they had Japanese phone numbers on them, and were very colorful. You made sure to take everyone that was offered to you. After watching you go completely nuts over the bathroom, she finally takes you to your room. The sun is blaring across the paper thin walls, you notice the bed is directly on the floor, a futon of sorts. You remove your gifts and offer them to the host family. They graciously accept the chocolates, (you remember how much Norie craved American chocolates) and other well chosen items. You open your journal and begin a quick entry before heading to bed.


You write (complete with drawing):

Well this is weird because we left on a Monday and now it's already Wednesday. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us. Atsu and Machiko are wonderful, pleasant, and very polite! A great couple working with and for God. We got pasted customs okay and then left for a train ride for an hour and a half. We were so tired that we couldn't even stay awak and this the best part; their showers and toilet are so cool. I wish Americans would do the same. Well the flight was long so I am going to sleep:)

to be continued...