sechan19 | Day One

I spent my ten-hour flight to Narita in a variety of ways. I watched one-and-a-half episodes of Hexagon; I made funny faces at the two-year-old sitting next to me; I got disgusted with the in-flight movie; and I wrote a little... mainly generalized thoughts about the nature of travel, its specific meaning to me, and how that meaning has changed as travel has become more and more intrinsic to my life.

The airplane landed about twenty-five minutes ahead of arrival time. However, given that it took twenty-five minutes to taxi to the gate - it evened out in the end. I sailed through the health inspection, immigration processing, and customs check, and suddenly found myself in the all-too-familiar south wing of Terminal 1.

Eunja wasn't right there waiting for me, so I took the opportunity to walk down the terminal concourse and acquire 1) money and 2) a new cell phone card. (I was beyond delighted to find my cell number still secured... not that there are many people who kept hold of that number, but it does mean that I don't have to go into an office and explain why I need a new contract. My old contract is still good.)

When I returned from those errands, I reactivated my phone while waiting. Eunja appeared moments later, and we had a rapturous meeting. It was just so delightful to see her. She has a new and utterly adorable haircut and we took off for the JR terminals (so I could activate my rail pass) chattering like a pair of girls continuing a conversation left over from yesterday.

Truly, it doesn't feel like it's been a year since we last met. (In the interest of disclosure, I should note that it hasn't technically been a full year. It's been eleven months and some change.) We got my rail pass, and then we took the Keisei Line into the city, because the JR Narita express is crazy expensive and we wanted to ride together. We navigated our way to the hostel, where I checked in, dumped my luggage, and saw a man about a horse. Then it was time for dinner.

Walking back up the main drag (in this part of the city, Asakusabashi, Edo Dori) we found ourselves in a cute little Izakaya-like retreat that offered a variety of appetizer-type snacks, as well as sashimi platters. We split a platter and added edamame and tempura garlic (yes, that's what I said) to the mix.

The tempura garlic was out of this world. 'Nuff said.

Over dinner (and on the ride into town) we talked all kinds of things... politics, weather, eating habits, Japnaese vs. American confectionery, different concepts of space, my plans for the next two weeks, ways to fit in as much us-time as possible around all that crazy stuff I've got going on, and so forth.

We wound up the evening at Doutour Coffee for a little sugar and more conversation, and we solidified our plans for tomorrow. I realize that this is a business trip, but I am spending at least one day with Eunja - just enjoying. Call it language research, if you like. ;>

Tomorrow we'll be meeting around 10am and then heading out to the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art. Eunja got hold of some tickets to their Gauguin exhibition, and that whole area (which includes a great example of Meiji-era, modernizing architecture in the form of Tokyo Station) is just begging for exploration. We'll be packing our umbrellas (cause it's 72 and stormy here) and our sense of adventure, humor, and fun.

Every time I come back here, it's like I never left. I really love that feeling...