Arrived in Japan - 日本につきました！

So I finally arrived in Tokyo after about 17 hours of travel, not to mention having woken up at 0345 Mountain Standard Time. I met some great people on the plane and enjoyed talking politics and economics. It seems that most Japanese who travel back and forth between the U.S. and Japan are very concerned about the economy in the U.S. And of course sports – being the world cup right now, that seems to be the topic of interest. I got through the airport surprisingly very quick and bought a ticket on the express train from Narita International Airport and Tokyo station. It was about a 53 minute ride and was very nice. It is very beautiful in Japan right now and very green. However, it is starting the beginning of their rainy season and will last through the end of July. So Tiffany, you lucked out as you will miss out on most of the rainy season and arrived just in time for the most humid time.

The train that I rode on was not your normal train...it was an express train with only one stop in between the airport and the Tokyo station. The seating and view was much nicer than an airplane and they had wireless internet service along with AC power plug-in ports. A Japanese waitress came by wheeling a cart with all types of beverages, snacks, and other creature comforts that you could ever need or want. They even had a double-screened big monitor at the front of the car where you could watch the news, sports, ads, and had all of the train information….leave it up to the Japanese to make a ride very pleasant.

After a short stop at the hotel and doing some exercises to keep me awake, I caught a short subway ride over to my old Mission President's Apartment in downtown Tokyo. President and Sister Ames live in Tokyo where he has worked off and on for several years. We ate dinner and enjoyed catching up on our lives, updating each other on our contact with various missionaries, and reminiscing old stories of the mission days. President Ames had shares some things about me and my mission from his perspective. I found it very neet and very humbling to hear his perspective. What a great time it was to see them. Great times!