Our flight was scheduled for 3:20 so Jim picked us up at 12:30 to take us to the airport. Having him drop us off was so much less stressful than lugging all of our stuff on the tram and then to the train.
Once at the airport we checked in and tried to get our seats changed, but the plane was full, so no luck. The seats in the plane were 3 3 3 across, so Shane and I sat in front of Matt and Kaylin. We were just worried about the person who had to sit next to us in the row! Luckily the women who sat next to me had a 17 month old, so she was SO helpful! I was SO happy to find out she had a child. Before we took off the flight attendants came to check our car seat that we brought for Shane. They did not feel it was secure enough in the seat so they had me attach a child belt to mine and I had to hold him during take off and landing and if there was any turbulence. No problem.
Both kids were sleeping with in 15 minutes of take off and Kaylin didn't have motion sickness. I was so worried!
So, overall it went really smoothly...I just keep giving Shane food which made him happy and Kaylin watched Madagascar 2 probably 4 times!
We arrived a bit early and then had to fill out a TON of paperwork to get into the country. The Japanese are extremely worried about germs so most of the Japanese on the plane wore masks and we had to fill out a questioner about our health. There was someone taking everyone temperatures as we walked in, but we were taking so long filling out our papers that she was gone by the time we came by. Good thing because Kaylin had a temperature the day before we left! I know she didn't have one that morning though, but I was still nervous.
Next we had to take an hour long bus ride to a hotel near where we are staying and then had to take a cab, well, 2 cabs to our apartment. Again, I was worried about Kaylin getting sick on the bus, but she was fine.
Our apartment is great. 2 bedrooms, living/dining area, bathroom (with a heated toilet seat!) and kitchen.
Matt is working LONG hours. He usually leaves around 8 and gets back around 9 9:30. There is a continental breakfast upstairs so at least we get to have breakfast together...and at least we get to see him. Not so if we stayed back in Amsterdam!
So, during the week I am left to explore on my own. I haven't gone too far though. The subway is difficult to get to because there are not any elevators to get down to it, so I have to lug the stroller down...I just haven't had the patience to do it yet...maybe next week!
Observations so far-
The city is very modern and looks like any other big city. They drive on the opposite side of the road, there are Shrines all over and they have some crazy walkways over a few of the intersections that are NOT stroller friendly...more on that later.
The city is extremely clean. I don't think I have seen any trash on the street yet.
Eating or drinking while walking around is rude. Which I think is why there isn't any trash on the street. Same goes for the subway.
During the work week all of the men are dressed in suits and the women are also dressed very well. . Even on the weekends I have noticed that people still dress very nicely. When I first started going out with the kids I was pretty selfconcious because we already stick out like a sore thumb and then here we are with shorts, tank tops and flip flops on! While having one kid strapped to my front or back and one in the stroller! I did a google search to find out if it was appropriate to wear sandals, tank tops etc here and I didn't get any results back saying it wasn't okay and no one has yelled at me so I guess we are okay. I just don't want to offend anyone!
The Japanese are extremely polite and will bend over backwards to help. Not may people speak English, but they will still try to help you. Their work ethic is amazing. I really think the majority of the people don't leave work before 7 on a regular basis. Definitely a live to work culture and not work to live like the Dutch.
Many people wear surgical masks if they are sick or to prevent getting sick.
Earthquakes are very common and there is an emergency kit in each apartment.
Matt took this picture for Bill...they sell the Bullet here!
I think I could write a book listing all of the parks we have been to since we moved! There is a small park about a 5 min walk away.
A shrine next to our building
Kaylin LOVES going to look at the fish at another Shrine near us. One day a Japanese woman came up and gave Kaylin some food to feed the fish. The whole time the lady was talking to her in Japanese and Kaylin was laughing and talking to her just as if she understood what the woman was saying. It was so cute. Shane's shoe fell in the water this same day. Luckily the woman ran over and had someone fish it out for us!
This is where we are staying. The Atago Forest Tower, 13th floor.
View of the Tokyo Tower from our window. Here is some info on the tower, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Tower
They have the biggest apples I have ever seen! Shane loves them and saw Kaylin eating a whole one one day and was pretty upset that his were cut up...wouldn't even touch them. This kept him busy for a good 20-30 minutes!
I added a slideshow on the top right of the blog and plan on adding photos for the duration of our time here, so keep checking it!
2 comments:
Thanks for the update! Sounds like you're having a good time. That tower is HUGE!!!! And Shane with that apple *cracks* me up! HAHAHAHA!! Too funny! I hope you enjoy the rest of your time there! :)
So glad to hear about the adventure. yOu could look into wearing both kids and eliminating the stroller, I have had some sucess with this. A on my back, R on the front.
Post a Comment