The day started like any other, with mad packing that I had failed to do the night before and another strange and unhealthy breakfast/lunch from the convenience store. Our flight was to take off at 12:00 so we left at 10:30 for Haneda Airport. I would've preferred to leave an hour earlier but our student guides from Showa assured us we'd make it on time.
Oh how wrong we were.... The train to Haneda airport is quite a long route and it gets very busy as well. So we didn't arrive at Haneda Terminal station until 11:30. To make matters worse we went to the wrong terminal and had to dash across the length of Haneda airport on the automatic pathways with the poor girls trailing behind in their heels. We checked our bags in at 11:40... only twenty minutes until scheduled take off. However at security we were too late until at the last moment they managed to rush us through with what I would barely call a security check.
We waved good bye to the students from Showa and I was able to thankfully exchange LINE and Facebook with a few of them so that I could keep in touch. I was sad to say good-bye to the students as they were all lovely and helpful people who I hope to soon see again. However, our good-bye had to be a quick one as the plane was now due to take off in less than 10 minutes. We ran to the gate and managed to get on board a few minutes before they closed the gate.
Finding our seats was an issue as they were at the back of the plane and we couldn't decipher which boarding tunnel to use. I took one way and Calvin (My partner) took the other. Turns out he entered the first class area and had to walk the entire length of the plane looking like a silly gaijin ;) The flight was surprisingly comfortable. As a 6 Ft westerner I was expecting my knees to be against my chin on a local Japanese flight but I had more than enough room, in fact I had more room on the internal Japanese flight than I did on the British Airways flight from London to Tokyo which is just ridiculous.
Finding our seats was an issue as they were at the back of the plane and we couldn't decipher which boarding tunnel to use. I took one way and Calvin (My partner) took the other. Turns out he entered the first class area and had to walk the entire length of the plane looking like a silly gaijin ;) The flight was surprisingly comfortable. As a 6 Ft westerner I was expecting my knees to be against my chin on a local Japanese flight but I had more than enough room, in fact I had more room on the internal Japanese flight than I did on the British Airways flight from London to Tokyo which is just ridiculous.
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| One of the many camera screens |
The flight was very nice and short with only a few terrifying features added designed to scare the hell out of you. For some strange reason the Japanese like to see a front view of the plane as it takes off.... AND LANDS. I'm sorry but seeing the ground rushing towards you as you plummet to the earth in a plane is not something that makes you feel at ease!! These screens are everywhere as well so short of closing your eyes there's not much you can do. I will say however, they did switch the view to a birds eye view of Tokyo which was really pretty and fun to watch but as for take off and landing.... NOPE.
This marked our final moments in Tokyo before we were quickly flying over the rest of Japan heading north to the frozen winter lands of Hokkaido. Our most interesting experience upon landing was the massive group of school children on board who were obviously on a school trip. Clearly they were local to Hokkaido or some where that did not see many foreigners as we were met with intense stares of curiosity, wonder and awe plus the occasional smile or wink from some of the older girls which was a little weird.
I shrugged it off and grabbed our bags which thankfully had made it onto the plane with us and headed outside, unsure of how to find our host. Thankfully though, being white in Japan makes you very easy to spot! Our host found us and she was with our secondary host. Our hosts; Erika-san and Taka-san. They treated us to lunch at the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds which serves delicious noodles and beef! I gorged myself on the stuff as I hadn't eaten much during the day. The food was delicious, and it was the first of many dishes that I would enjoy in Hokkaido. The drive to Lake Toya would take a couple of hours but we were to take the scenic route which again (Forgive me) I filmed more than I photographed so YouTube will come soon! I promise.. I really do... Maybe... We stopped off at a really cute service station and rested for a little bit before continuing onward to Lake Toya.
It was about another hour to Lake Toya and all I could think was that everything was so quiet and peaceful and green. I mean seriously.. this place is green.. everywhere is green. I'm honestly surprised the sky isn't green either! It really is beautiful on Hokkaido and everywhere is filled with forests and trees with the occasional building looking very out of place. The roads were quiet and peaceful so I managed to get a lot of nice footage of the passing surroundings. However, I wasn't prepared for what I was about to see... Lake Toya. The place that I would be calling home for the next year of my life is undoubtedly the most beautiful place I have seen.
It was breath taking seeing the town for the first time. In the evening we were taken to a place called the 'Guten Tag' which is a German themed pub/restaurant, with nothing German inside. However it's a really nice and cosy place with the most delicious food I've ever eaten. The karaage (fried chicken) is absolutely amazing and I love going there whenever possible.We met several people from the international exchange committee who were all very welcoming and helpful. I was able to use a lot of Japanese and I was able to communicate a lot better than I thought I would.
Finally, we were left in the evening to our own devices and we explored all the closets in the house which revealed an interesting sword collection as well as a variety of books in the house. Sleeping was a little difficult as the bed wasn't what I was accustomed to but I'm sure in time I will grow used to it. Whilst I do still miss Tokyo, I am already in love with Lake Toya as well, despite it's isolation from the rest of the world. I feel this year and next is going to be an amazing year!
I shrugged it off and grabbed our bags which thankfully had made it onto the plane with us and headed outside, unsure of how to find our host. Thankfully though, being white in Japan makes you very easy to spot! Our host found us and she was with our secondary host. Our hosts; Erika-san and Taka-san. They treated us to lunch at the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds which serves delicious noodles and beef! I gorged myself on the stuff as I hadn't eaten much during the day. The food was delicious, and it was the first of many dishes that I would enjoy in Hokkaido. The drive to Lake Toya would take a couple of hours but we were to take the scenic route which again (Forgive me) I filmed more than I photographed so YouTube will come soon! I promise.. I really do... Maybe... We stopped off at a really cute service station and rested for a little bit before continuing onward to Lake Toya.
It was about another hour to Lake Toya and all I could think was that everything was so quiet and peaceful and green. I mean seriously.. this place is green.. everywhere is green. I'm honestly surprised the sky isn't green either! It really is beautiful on Hokkaido and everywhere is filled with forests and trees with the occasional building looking very out of place. The roads were quiet and peaceful so I managed to get a lot of nice footage of the passing surroundings. However, I wasn't prepared for what I was about to see... Lake Toya. The place that I would be calling home for the next year of my life is undoubtedly the most beautiful place I have seen.
It was breath taking seeing the town for the first time. In the evening we were taken to a place called the 'Guten Tag' which is a German themed pub/restaurant, with nothing German inside. However it's a really nice and cosy place with the most delicious food I've ever eaten. The karaage (fried chicken) is absolutely amazing and I love going there whenever possible.We met several people from the international exchange committee who were all very welcoming and helpful. I was able to use a lot of Japanese and I was able to communicate a lot better than I thought I would.
Finally, we were left in the evening to our own devices and we explored all the closets in the house which revealed an interesting sword collection as well as a variety of books in the house. Sleeping was a little difficult as the bed wasn't what I was accustomed to but I'm sure in time I will grow used to it. Whilst I do still miss Tokyo, I am already in love with Lake Toya as well, despite it's isolation from the rest of the world. I feel this year and next is going to be an amazing year!
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