Finally I have moved to Tokyo. About a week ago I bought my ticket, and then on Monday I left. Both of my flights I had a crying baby in the seat next to me, but somehow I was able to get a decent sleep on the overnight flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo from LAX. In Denver Int Airport, I met an older man who was getting on the same flight as I was. We started talking, and he was dumbfounded at what I was planning to do in Japan, saying that nowadays kids are all selfish and could care less about the rest of te world. He was an atheist, but still appreciated my values and what I was hoping to do. He said that even if you don't believe in God, you can still learn a lot about how to live from the Bible. He kept saying how amazed he was, and even pointed me out to the flight attendant when we boarded and bragged about what I was doing to her. After I arrived in LAX, I started the hunt to find the bus that takes you to international departures, since it is a separate building from arrivals. I ended up banding up with a Kiwi and two japanese americans who were on the same flight to Tokyo, and together we figured out how to get to Tom Bradly International Airport. We made it with just twenty minutes to spare. The overnight flight from LAX was 12 hours, and was with All Nippon Airwaves. Since the seats were fitted for Japanese, I could sit fully up and look around the plane since I was an entire head above the seats. It was pretty funny, I could see all the other white guys on the plane beacause they were mainly also tall for the seats.
I arrived at about 5 am tokyo time, exchanged some money to yen, phoned the church to say I had arrived, and caught a bus to ShinYurigaoka. There I met Jeremy, a missionary for Paz Japan. He showed me how to buy a train ticket, and we were off on the train to Noborito, where my new home is. My room is pretty average, with paper sliding door walls and tatama mat (bamboo mat) floors. I am currently staying above the church, but will probably move to an apartment in the future. It is hot and humid.... about 32-35 degrees every day, (85 - 95 F), with the hottest days getting aroung 40 (105 F) degrees. The humidity is around 82% in the morning and 75% in the evening. Its rainy season right now, so its rained already since I've been here.
After I dropped my stuff off in my room I had some breakfast, and went off to my first Japanese class. It was pretty cool, the teachers talked the entire time in Japanese, and our group was a mix of Coloradans, Nepalis, and a girl from Indonesia. After class Jeremy and I biked around Noborito, and he showed me where to get groceries and what was what in the grocery stores.
That night I took a speed train to to Shibuya, where the world famous scramble crossing square is, (where in tokyo drift, towards the end, they drift through the huge mob of people). I've heard that more than a thousand people will cross at one time, the average during the week (at less busy times) being about 300 people per minute. Sibuya is awesome, its one of the most popular shopping districts in Tokyo, mainly with really preppy and expensive clothing. In Shibuya, Ty, (an american about my age who is working with Fuse), and I went to get some Udon, (thick noodle soup). Really good stuff, and only about 105 Yen for a bowl (about $1.30 USD). From there we walked over to Cyclone, which is a concert hall and met up with some of Ty's Japanese friends. We watched some hardcore metal bands, all local Japanese bands.
This weekend is the 2 year anniversary for FUSE, the youth church I will be working with in Machida. A California breakdance team is flying in for 10 days and will be performing at the event. They are all staying at the church, so tonight I will have one of the breakers as a roommate for 10 days. Im pretty stoked to meet everyone and see how FUSE operates on sundays.
So far I am still figuring out daily life here, getting settled in and getting used to taking overpacked bullet trains everywhere. So far life is really chill, just hanging out with people, practicing Japanese and buying essentials. It was really stressful planning everything in Colorado, but now that I am here all the anxiety is gone and I'm just stoked on life for what's next.
Soon I will repost about life in Japan, and hopefully post some pictures as well.
Stay Blessed,
Isaac
