Japan Trip ☠ Part 1
In July, the GazettE announced that the final for their 2010 tour would be held at Tokyo Dome on 12.26. I've wanted to go to Japan since I was a little girl. I've wanted to see the GazettE since I first watched NLSG in 2006. I've been listening to them since 2005 and have yet to see them live. When I heard about the Dome, something about it just Clicked. Instead of thinking to myself 'I want to go...', I thought 'I AM going to go!' There was no thought on whether or not I actually could go. I was going and that's that. No matter what.
I worked hard and saved enough money to go. I bought my plane ticket on 9.11 and my overseas ticket in October the very second the application opened (quite literally, my confirmation number was 12). I've been excited for the trip, but even Thursday morning, the only thing that showed that something was going on were the butterflies trying to commit suicide inside my stomach. I was strangely calm and tired, but not enough to really freak out like I thought I would. Maybe it's my virgo-i-ness. We're very logical creatures, and generally, reason overrides total panic. I was worried that I'd cry on the plane and loose my mind, but I didn't... okay that's a lie, I cried a little when the first plane took off, but after that nothing.
Most of the rest of this will be copied from what I wrote in my book. So if it's present tense and sounds weird... DEAL. Okay? :]
5:40 AM EST
I arrived at the airport (BWI) at 4:45 thanks to my mom... She got up super early to drive me, even though she prefers not to see a human being for at least 2 hours after waking up. It helped me a lot, because I think if I had to get there myself, I would have freaked out more. There was a brief moment of panic when I got inside because I couldn't check into the check-in kiosk. However, closer inspection showed I was at the wrong airline. Apparently one check in kiosk does not equal another. Who knew.
Check in doesn't begin until 2 hours before the flight anyway, so I had to wait a bit. At that time I eyeballed the cute guys also waiting to check in, wondering if they were going to Tokyo too, or just Canada. I'm not very good at deciphering nationalities among asians. I got my boarding pass and hurried over to the security gate. The exchange office wasn't open yet, so I decided that the money that mom and dad gave me before I left would be emergency only and I could exchange it when I got there if I needed to.
I was briefly hindered at security because I'd forgotten to take my boots off, but that wasn't completely my fault lol. I got distracted because the guy in front of me had forgotten his pass at his seat and my naturally empathetic self forgot what I was doing for a second.. plus the tray guy forgot to tell me.
Opted to go pee and grab something small to eat at the news stand by the station. I was expecting it to be insanely expensive, but it wasn't that bad. I got a snickers and water. sip, nibble, sip nibble...
Airports sorta remind me of church between services. Most are just sitting quietly waiting, and those that are talking are doing it very quietly, save for the one or two who don't care. Zero problems taking off. I have a window seat! As I watched Baltimore disappear behind us, I had a little moment of OH.MY.GOD. I'M GOING!!!!!!!!!!! It was all in my head though, what everyone else saw was wibbling. xD cause this is where I started to cry a little.
My plane was very tiny. We had to go ouside to get into it... You know, like those movie stars do in old films? I wish I had a big hat and silky dress to fit the image in my head. I almost turned and waved daintily just cause. I got to watch the sun rise on the way. It was on the other side of the plane, so I didn't go blind, but got to watch the sky turn a rainbow of colors. As I watched the clouds outside, nibbling on "Maized and Confused Cornchips" (I swear. 'maized and confused cornchips') I wonder why no one's built houses up in the sky yet. It's very beautiful.
12:05 PM EST
Boarding in Toronto was delayed a bit. Apparently we needed to de-ice the plane, which was nothing more then getting sprayed with what looked like water. Which didn't make sense to me because it's definitely freezing up in the air, but whatever, they do this for a living. When we were boarding, two Japanese men greeted me at the entrance to the plane. They were like 'herro~ welcome~' and I said 'konnichiwa~ ^^' and they were like 'oooooh very good!' (LOLOL XD wtf). They checked my pass and told me where my seat was and it was 'arigato gozaimasu' from me and 'domo! merry-chrisu-masu!' from them xDDDDD I couldn't stop grinning as I went to my seat.
wth 12:20PM and my row mate is already asleep o_O
Nothing really exciting happened on the plane so I'll spare you all the boring details. I know you're sitting there going 'come ooon shut up and get on with it xD' BUT one thing DID happen! Some guy got really drunk and the head flight attendant had to tell him off. I don't know what the hell happened, but the guy and his friend got arrested and sent home when we arrived in Tokyo. EPIC FAIL. Other then that, it was basically the longest, more boring trip of my life. The longest trip I've taken on my own was to NY to visit Skye. But sadly, there was no Skye waiting for me at the end of this trip.
Friday
Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun
Traveling on Tokyo Trains, for those who've never ridden them before, are very similar to NYC's trains, but without a Skye to point and tell me where to go. I'm so very, very tired and have been awake for over 24 hours. I arrived in Tokyo on time, but got lost getting a card, got lost looking for the train. The people in the station are so helpful. I finally found the ticket station and decided to stand in line and ask if they sold Suica cards. I decided to get one after I saw this video. They did sell the cards, but I couldn't figure out how to add more money after the initial purchase of the card ((they have different machines for different things)). A lady at the station helped me after I pointed at the card and said 'motto yen... doko?' and looked sad xD She spoke english though, and took me to the correct machine and showed me how to put more money on, then showed me which platform to get on. Before she left, she got a time table thing and asked where I needed to go. I told her I had to change trains to get to Ikebukuro, so I needed to get on the JR Yamanote. She circled the time and the station I needed to get on and off at.
Aka, I thought she was the most amazing helpful person in the world.
That was before I met Dr. NakaMats. (It wasn't really Dr. NakaMatsI don't think, but it LOOKED kinda like him (aka older japanese business man. I was TIRED. OKAY?!))
Miss. Most-Amazing-Helpful-Person-In-The-World had also written a 3 next to the time, but I forgot what she said it meant. Track 3? Train 3? Car 3??? She mentioned all three so I couldn't remember what it was. I was also the ONLY person on the track so I was like >_> well fuck what do I doooo.
Then Dr. Nakamats came and sat down.
Me: 'sumimasen.. eigo ga wakarimasu ka?'
Dr. N: '*smiles*yes'.
I showed him the train scheduled I'd been given and asked if I was on the right track.
DR. N: 'oooh... no it's the other one...*looks at watch* I have 4 minutes til my train comes :D I'll take you!'
me: EH Σ(O_O;) I don't want you to miss your train!
Dr. N: oooh it's no problem. ^^ trains here ALWAYS on time!
me: @_@;; okay....
dr, N: Where are you from?
me: @_@;; baltimore.... ah, USA ^^;
Dr. N: OOOOh! I know Baltimore *nodnodnod* I go to DC for business.
So anyway, he showed me where the train was and I go in only a few seconds before the doors closed. (´ー`) Thank you uber nice man that looks like Dr. Nakamats~~
I figured out later, on the day I left, that I could have taken either train, but one was an express that cost more. Oh well~
The train was about an hour and some to Nippori station, and I was worried I'd miss it the stop or wouldn't know how to get there, but it was REALLY shockingly easy. The train's signs are first written in Kana, then in Hiragana, then in English, so it really was VERY easy to get to Ikebukuro...
Ikebukuro station though....
Let me tell you how uterly confusing Ikebukuro station is. It's a HUGE transfer station, AND it has a mall inside of it, AND six main exits as well as who knows how many little exits. I did not know what exit to take. First mistake in my preparation for coming to here. After wandering around the station for about 45 minutes I finally decided to stop and ask someone how to get the fuck out of here. Of course by this time I was in the mall portion of the station, and there were no train people. I don't like asking store workers directions cause I always feel bad for not buying anything... and also cause it annoys me when people do that to me. So, I opt for asking someone close to my age. The first people I saw was this guy and girl who looked ehhh... 16-25. Its hard to tell with these people. I told them I was lost and didn't speak Japanese and they looked petrified for a second, but gibbered to each other for a minute and apparently came to a decision to help me out. After lots of hand motions and repeating the word 'out' and 'exit' a few times, they figured out what I needed and found an exit for me.
However, it was the wrong one I needed, but I couldn't be specific, so I am grateful. It just occured to me as I type this out, that I was extremely lucky... If they'd taken me to the East exit I would NEVER have found the hotel... I needed the West Exit, they took me to the south west exit. So yeah. Very, very Lucky...
But still, I was very lost. It was terrible. haha. Someone finally directed me to the Police station ("po-ri-su! *point*") and after a very confusing talk with the secretary there, who's single english word seemed to be 'sto-raigh-to' So after a while I figured out what she was trying to tell me and continued to wander until I found my landmarks that I'd saved from Google maps.
It was somewhere around this point that I realized that I hadn't just been lucky enough to find the four nicest people in Japan at the train stations... Everyone in Japan was nice. Everyone was willing to drop what they were doing to help you if you were lost. Everyone I met at least, I mean I'm sure there are a fair amount of douchebags and all, but still.
As I'm watching this second video, I realized that I really should have taken off my shoes before entering the bathroom... ._.; that's like really bad that I did that right >_>;;;; oh well... I really wanted to try out the bathtub, but I knew that if I did, I'd fall asleep. So I took the most wonderfulest shower ever, dried off and crawled into bed. I forgot to even put on pjs xD I was sooooo tired.
And that is DAY 1... or more like Day .5 lol
♥ Part 1
♥ Part 2
♥ Part 3
I worked hard and saved enough money to go. I bought my plane ticket on 9.11 and my overseas ticket in October the very second the application opened (quite literally, my confirmation number was 12). I've been excited for the trip, but even Thursday morning, the only thing that showed that something was going on were the butterflies trying to commit suicide inside my stomach. I was strangely calm and tired, but not enough to really freak out like I thought I would. Maybe it's my virgo-i-ness. We're very logical creatures, and generally, reason overrides total panic. I was worried that I'd cry on the plane and loose my mind, but I didn't... okay that's a lie, I cried a little when the first plane took off, but after that nothing.
Most of the rest of this will be copied from what I wrote in my book. So if it's present tense and sounds weird... DEAL. Okay? :]
5:40 AM EST
I arrived at the airport (BWI) at 4:45 thanks to my mom... She got up super early to drive me, even though she prefers not to see a human being for at least 2 hours after waking up. It helped me a lot, because I think if I had to get there myself, I would have freaked out more. There was a brief moment of panic when I got inside because I couldn't check into the check-in kiosk. However, closer inspection showed I was at the wrong airline. Apparently one check in kiosk does not equal another. Who knew.
Check in doesn't begin until 2 hours before the flight anyway, so I had to wait a bit. At that time I eyeballed the cute guys also waiting to check in, wondering if they were going to Tokyo too, or just Canada. I'm not very good at deciphering nationalities among asians. I got my boarding pass and hurried over to the security gate. The exchange office wasn't open yet, so I decided that the money that mom and dad gave me before I left would be emergency only and I could exchange it when I got there if I needed to.
I was briefly hindered at security because I'd forgotten to take my boots off, but that wasn't completely my fault lol. I got distracted because the guy in front of me had forgotten his pass at his seat and my naturally empathetic self forgot what I was doing for a second.. plus the tray guy forgot to tell me.
Opted to go pee and grab something small to eat at the news stand by the station. I was expecting it to be insanely expensive, but it wasn't that bad. I got a snickers and water. sip, nibble, sip nibble...
Airports sorta remind me of church between services. Most are just sitting quietly waiting, and those that are talking are doing it very quietly, save for the one or two who don't care. Zero problems taking off. I have a window seat! As I watched Baltimore disappear behind us, I had a little moment of OH.MY.GOD. I'M GOING!!!!!!!!!!! It was all in my head though, what everyone else saw was wibbling. xD cause this is where I started to cry a little.
My plane was very tiny. We had to go ouside to get into it... You know, like those movie stars do in old films? I wish I had a big hat and silky dress to fit the image in my head. I almost turned and waved daintily just cause. I got to watch the sun rise on the way. It was on the other side of the plane, so I didn't go blind, but got to watch the sky turn a rainbow of colors. As I watched the clouds outside, nibbling on "Maized and Confused Cornchips" (I swear. 'maized and confused cornchips') I wonder why no one's built houses up in the sky yet. It's very beautiful.
12:05 PM EST
Boarding in Toronto was delayed a bit. Apparently we needed to de-ice the plane, which was nothing more then getting sprayed with what looked like water. Which didn't make sense to me because it's definitely freezing up in the air, but whatever, they do this for a living. When we were boarding, two Japanese men greeted me at the entrance to the plane. They were like 'herro~ welcome~' and I said 'konnichiwa~ ^^' and they were like 'oooooh very good!' (LOLOL XD wtf). They checked my pass and told me where my seat was and it was 'arigato gozaimasu' from me and 'domo! merry-chrisu-masu!' from them xDDDDD I couldn't stop grinning as I went to my seat.
wth 12:20PM and my row mate is already asleep o_O
Nothing really exciting happened on the plane so I'll spare you all the boring details. I know you're sitting there going 'come ooon shut up and get on with it xD' BUT one thing DID happen! Some guy got really drunk and the head flight attendant had to tell him off. I don't know what the hell happened, but the guy and his friend got arrested and sent home when we arrived in Tokyo. EPIC FAIL. Other then that, it was basically the longest, more boring trip of my life. The longest trip I've taken on my own was to NY to visit Skye. But sadly, there was no Skye waiting for me at the end of this trip.
Friday
Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun
Traveling on Tokyo Trains, for those who've never ridden them before, are very similar to NYC's trains, but without a Skye to point and tell me where to go. I'm so very, very tired and have been awake for over 24 hours. I arrived in Tokyo on time, but got lost getting a card, got lost looking for the train. The people in the station are so helpful. I finally found the ticket station and decided to stand in line and ask if they sold Suica cards. I decided to get one after I saw this video. They did sell the cards, but I couldn't figure out how to add more money after the initial purchase of the card ((they have different machines for different things)). A lady at the station helped me after I pointed at the card and said 'motto yen... doko?' and looked sad xD She spoke english though, and took me to the correct machine and showed me how to put more money on, then showed me which platform to get on. Before she left, she got a time table thing and asked where I needed to go. I told her I had to change trains to get to Ikebukuro, so I needed to get on the JR Yamanote. She circled the time and the station I needed to get on and off at.
Aka, I thought she was the most amazing helpful person in the world.
That was before I met Dr. NakaMats. (It wasn't really Dr. NakaMatsI don't think, but it LOOKED kinda like him (aka older japanese business man. I was TIRED. OKAY?!))
Miss. Most-Amazing-Helpful-Person-In-The-World had also written a 3 next to the time, but I forgot what she said it meant. Track 3? Train 3? Car 3??? She mentioned all three so I couldn't remember what it was. I was also the ONLY person on the track so I was like >_> well fuck what do I doooo.
Click to view
Then Dr. Nakamats came and sat down.
Me: 'sumimasen.. eigo ga wakarimasu ka?'
Dr. N: '*smiles*yes'.
I showed him the train scheduled I'd been given and asked if I was on the right track.
DR. N: 'oooh... no it's the other one...*looks at watch* I have 4 minutes til my train comes :D I'll take you!'
me: EH Σ(O_O;) I don't want you to miss your train!
Dr. N: oooh it's no problem. ^^ trains here ALWAYS on time!
me: @_@;; okay....
dr, N: Where are you from?
me: @_@;; baltimore.... ah, USA ^^;
Dr. N: OOOOh! I know Baltimore *nodnodnod* I go to DC for business.
So anyway, he showed me where the train was and I go in only a few seconds before the doors closed. (´ー`) Thank you uber nice man that looks like Dr. Nakamats~~
I figured out later, on the day I left, that I could have taken either train, but one was an express that cost more. Oh well~
The train was about an hour and some to Nippori station, and I was worried I'd miss it the stop or wouldn't know how to get there, but it was REALLY shockingly easy. The train's signs are first written in Kana, then in Hiragana, then in English, so it really was VERY easy to get to Ikebukuro...
Ikebukuro station though....
Let me tell you how uterly confusing Ikebukuro station is. It's a HUGE transfer station, AND it has a mall inside of it, AND six main exits as well as who knows how many little exits. I did not know what exit to take. First mistake in my preparation for coming to here. After wandering around the station for about 45 minutes I finally decided to stop and ask someone how to get the fuck out of here. Of course by this time I was in the mall portion of the station, and there were no train people. I don't like asking store workers directions cause I always feel bad for not buying anything... and also cause it annoys me when people do that to me. So, I opt for asking someone close to my age. The first people I saw was this guy and girl who looked ehhh... 16-25. Its hard to tell with these people. I told them I was lost and didn't speak Japanese and they looked petrified for a second, but gibbered to each other for a minute and apparently came to a decision to help me out. After lots of hand motions and repeating the word 'out' and 'exit' a few times, they figured out what I needed and found an exit for me.
However, it was the wrong one I needed, but I couldn't be specific, so I am grateful. It just occured to me as I type this out, that I was extremely lucky... If they'd taken me to the East exit I would NEVER have found the hotel... I needed the West Exit, they took me to the south west exit. So yeah. Very, very Lucky...
But still, I was very lost. It was terrible. haha. Someone finally directed me to the Police station ("po-ri-su! *point*") and after a very confusing talk with the secretary there, who's single english word seemed to be 'sto-raigh-to' So after a while I figured out what she was trying to tell me and continued to wander until I found my landmarks that I'd saved from Google maps.
It was somewhere around this point that I realized that I hadn't just been lucky enough to find the four nicest people in Japan at the train stations... Everyone in Japan was nice. Everyone was willing to drop what they were doing to help you if you were lost. Everyone I met at least, I mean I'm sure there are a fair amount of douchebags and all, but still.
As I'm watching this second video, I realized that I really should have taken off my shoes before entering the bathroom... ._.; that's like really bad that I did that right >_>;;;; oh well... I really wanted to try out the bathtub, but I knew that if I did, I'd fall asleep. So I took the most wonderfulest shower ever, dried off and crawled into bed. I forgot to even put on pjs xD I was sooooo tired.
And that is DAY 1... or more like Day .5 lol
♥ Part 1
♥ Part 2
♥ Part 3