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Arma in Japan: Week 1: Jetlag in Narita

by Mr.RMA

Mr.RMA The journey really begins, and wouldn't you know it, traveling to Japan from Boston is somewhat tiring! |'D
Anyways, this covers my first experiences from the start of the trip, to my arrival in Narita and finally my current destination. My brain short-circuited through a lot of this, but there is still plenty to tell.
I can’t tell you why flying across the Atlantic Ocean and proceeding across the vastness of Eurasia would be considered the cheaper alternative to just taking the pacific, but, well, it was, and my adventures in Japan required a near round-world journey to get there. Naturally, this caused a fair bit of jetlag, not to mention I could barely feel anything when I sat down for a few days… Still, for as much of an exhaustive toll the trip took on me, it was quite memorable for a few more pleasant reasons. For starters, the descent into the Swiss city of Zurich was absolutely breathtaking. Some of that might’ve been just the amazement of seeing Europe in any capacity, but the sight of the alps dominating the horizon remains vivid in my memory. The airport was pleasant as well, for the hour or so that I spent there waiting for the next flight. A bit of relief in the face of a near-6000-mile flight that was to come.

The descent into Narita was charming in its own right, but it was hard to really take in the sights upon arrival. Sleeping on either flight proved an impossibility, leaving me without rest for about a day and a half, so I was just happy to get to the hotel when I could. Still, while waiting for the shuttle, I could firmly remember just looking around for a bit and letting it really sink in that I was in Japan. It honestly didn’t feel real at first, and I don’t think that was completely because of the exhaustion either. There are just some places you don’t ever expect to visit for one reason or another, and when you get there, you have half an expectation to wake up back in your bed, just because it seems that unbelievable. Quite a bit of sleep followed and I woke up, still in Narita, and I really think that was when the reality started to hit, for all the good and bad that entailed. On one hand, the ecstasy of being in Japan was still fresh, everything was new, the most ordinary things seemed amazing, honestly it was like being a young child again from the wonder of it all. Of course, much like being a little kid, the amazing new things of the world can also be thoroughly confusing to the unfamiliar. As to be expected in Japan, everything was written primarily in Japanese, and only the occasional sign or document had English translations, of varying qualities. It’s the kind of thing that’ll definitely make you feel pretty lost and isolated. Not to mention I think it was starting to dawn on me that I was not only far away from home, but I was going to be away for quite a while. It was sobering, to say the least. It still feels draining to think about that as I type all this, likely it’ll always be there, that feeling, at least a little bit, even if it’s more a memory than a legit feeling in the future. This kind of change does that I suppose.

A few days were left before I had to transfer to the hotel where all of the new teaching recruits were going to be trained, so I decided to try and make the best of the time I had once the jetlag wasn’t keeping me bedridden. Narita was quite the ways off from the rest of greater Tokyo, certainly much more of an airport town than anything, so I figured I’d catch a bus into the center of the massive metropolis, Chiyoda City, to take in some sights for the day. I had no idea where I was going once I got there, I didn’t have a plan or anything, it was purely spur-of-the-moment. For a time, I was just wandering through Tokyo station, getting lost in the crowds, walking circles around the maze-like building of the massive railway site, until I finally caught a glimpse of an opening through the buildings, and I decided to give that a closer look. Initially I thought it was some simple park, maybe a nice place to look at some Japanese flora, and indeed there were quite a few lovely trees covering a decently sized plane of land, but there was something else that caught my eye… Some historic structures that looked distinctly early-Japan in nature, and sure enough I spotted a sign informing me that I was nearing the Imperial Palace. I wasted no further time going in further once I realized this, excited for what I might be permitted to see, not that I expected much to be open to the public, certainly not for free… and yet I was quick to be proven dead wrong on that account. Not only was there a tour of the palace grounds, it was absolutely free of charge, and I dropped by just as the last tour of the day was about to begin. Don’t know how those stars all aligned, but I’m absolutely grateful for it. I got to see an insanely stunning sight, the home of the Emperor of Japan in all its glory. It might’ve been raining at the time, but I barely noticed, I was too awestruck as I tried to move through the rest of the tourists to get good snapshots in. With all the modern, industrial buildings surrounding such a historic and, at times ancient-looking environment, it felt like something of an Imperial Central Park. It’s hard to put the brilliance of the place into accurate words, and I’ll probably show my pictures of it somewhere soon enough, but at the very least I can give you all a more-than-favorable recommendation, in case any of you drop by Tokyo at some point.

With that rejuvenating detour out of the way, I was a little more motivated to take on the following week of training. I can’t divulge much of what happened, company policy and the like, but I assure you, it was an exhausting few days, taking in all the info for seemingly endless hours, and I can only hope my notes will be enough to retain all that information once my job actually begins. In the midst of the training, I was informed that I was going to be living in a city called Ushiku in the Ibaraki Prefecture. From what I could research of it, the place looked pleasant enough, apparently there’s a massive Buddha statue somewhere in the city, so I knew I needed to track that down in due time. All that said, the information I was learning over the week was occasionally in overload-levels, and it made the whole thing a little more intimidating by the end of it. This is a legitimate job with quite the responsibility tagged onto it. I’ve had jobs of fair importance to a community before, but not quite to this level, where I was told said community at large would be expecting my arrival, and I was going to be well known by everyone, long before I knew any of them. Scary expectations, all that, but a lot of that fear faded a little once I arrived at Ushiku and was escorted through the city to get all the stuff I’d need for my apartment. Taking it in, I know it’s still rather early, but first-impressions make me feel like I could easily call this place my home for the indeterminate future. I’m hoping tomorrow to really get a good glimpse of this place, just by walking through a lot of it, hopefully getting to see that statue particularly. The cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom as well, looking forward to seeing that in person.