PFHR: Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real.

PRETTY: These little origami peacocks were at the currency exchange station. I think the one I picked up is still in my pocket.

HAPPY: This outdoor light at LAX was very welcoming.

FUNNY: Two year old boy in the train station who spun around and around and around and around, clearly stir crazy from having been on a plane.

REAL: Yesterday we traveled for over 24 hours straight. Two flights, one bus, two cars, three trains, and a fair bit of walking. This is Travis’s fifth or sixth time making this trip, so he’s a pro and was patient with me when I hit a psychological wall on the Chuo train line between Shinjuku and Tachikawa. It was crowded, dead quiet, and I was hanging on to three bags and an overhead hand rail that was almost too tall for me. I didn’t cry, I just stared at the floor. Dropping all my bags and pouting about being tired wouldn’t have done a bit of good… but it was tempting. 🙂

A few more thoughts on travel: 

• The trains really are quiet. Most trains aren’t places where you have a lot of conversation or phone calls, etc. but Tokyo is different somehow. I’m used to hearing the homeless guy on the BART mumble to himself  or the music leaking from someone’s headphones. None of that here.
• ANA takes the cake when it comes to flights. It serves it back to you too, with a scoop of gelato and a cup of coffee. I would totally fly them again. Their economy seats were like United’s economy plus, but wider. In-seat power, friendly attendants who made you feel like a guest and not cattle, and quiet. Without a doubt the most efficient flight boarding I’ve ever experienced, too.
• I need to start using those Japanese words I know: hello, good morning, thank you, please. It’s a strange hurdle. I’ll use them with Travis but choking them out when speaking to a person who actually speaks Japanese and does it fluently is intimidating.

Oh, and Karen, I don’t think I’ll have a choice about trying new foods here. 🙂 Already did, last night when we realized that no restaurants on base where we’re staying were open. I’m not sure what I had, but I had something with liquid and udon noodles. And a few pieces of celery, which at that point (24 hours of travel and menus all in Japanese) were like a beacon of comfort and familiarity.