Solo Steph- Japan Day 1

So Jen and I have totally different travel schedules. I left at 10:30pm Monday, and she left at 11am Tues. So here is a little travel log of my time :)

In Bangkok at midnight. Saw LOTS of interesting people! The things people travel in . . . Really!


It is VERY cold in Bangkok airport. Most cold on the 4th floor, where all the gates are. I tried to sleep on a bench for about an hour and nearly froze to death. So I headed to the 3rd floor, which is about 10 degrees warmer, and got some instant soup.
The Thai's LOVE this stuff, it's called Mama and was only $0.50


On my 6 hour flight to Japan, I totally had 2 open seats next to me! Score!! This flight was at 5am so I was hoping to catch some sleep on this flight. Nope, didn't happen. I might have collectively gotten about an hour, but that was it.


So, I think my favorite thing about Japan so far is their toilets!! Ha! They not only have heated seats, but they also have remotes! This one was in the airport. You can make it play "flushing sounds" to muffle you're bathroom noises. Or you can turn on the bidet (clearly marked by the very detailed pictures!). So funny!!


Welcome!!


Spent most of my day here. It took me 2 hours to get to our hotel from the airport. Jen and I flew into different airports and so I got to do the commuting since I got in earlier.


Had NO clue how to order dinner. The owner/cook was nice enough to show me how to do it all. You push the button for what you want, then put money in the machine, then a ticket pops out. Then you give the ticket to the cook. And then you wait.


This is what I ordered. Found out today (after showing the picture to our contact) that it was wheat noodles, pork and a type of curry. Oh man it was GOOD!


Here is the place. They are all really small restaurants.


Me and my noodles. The guy was laughing at me b/c I couldn't keep the noodles in the spoon b/c they were SO long! And crazy thick. They were slipping off my spoon and splashing soup everywhere! He was really nice and brought me a fork :)


So outside of the restaurants, they have plastic food to show you what they have. So I had to have the guy come out side so I could point to what I wanted (since that coin machine was all in Japanese!)


I was pretty proud of myself for ordering something all on my own and it actually being pretty good. It was a fun experience for sure! I had no clue where/what to eat, but it turned out great!
And b/c I'm not familiar w/ their culture, I was afraid that if I didn't eat it all, they might be offended. So I ate the entire bowl, which was HUGE! I was so full that I got side cramps from walking back to the hotel! I was crazy full! But I even said "Delicious" in Japanese when I left (thanks Survival Phrases Podcast!)


Vending machines EVERYWHERE!! I mean, 3 right next to each other. Then you walk 10 steps, and there are 3 more- with the Same stuff! Some have beer, some water, some coffee, some cigarettes. Some even serve the canned coffee warm!


I keep thinking to myself, "Look at that cute little Japanese restaurant, it's decorated so cute!". Then I realize- it's not a "Japanese Restaurant", it's just a restaurant in Japan! I keep forgetting I'm in Japan! But really- their places are so cute and so . . . Japanese!!


It is kind of cold here, so I bundled up for a night out (1 hour of walking near the hotel to be exact).


The view from our room. I was quite impressed w/ the room actually. It was small, but not crazy small. It was a nice comfy size and had tons of amenities.


I love the coins w/ the holes in them! I haven't gotten any yet w/ the squares cut out :)


They had a high def TV in the room. Got to watch a little V-ball


Bathroom stuff. The water for the shower was connected to the sink- so you turn a knob & it goes from the sink to the shower. Crazy!


And of course- the toilet! I'm fascinated!



So that was it for my day 1. There were lots of details in between, but I think you get the big picture :)
We just wrapped up day 2, which I'll work on posting in a few days.

But just so you know, I LOVE Japan!