Land of the Rising Sun

I am sitting in my room at the Westin Tokyo. During the fourteen hour flight from EWR to NRT, aside from time eating and going to the bathroom, I slept the entire way. I'm thankful for frequent flyer miles that allowed me to fly business class, but this also makes me realize that I'm almost certainly sleep deprived. I wonder how this will play out in a city that supposedly never sleeps.

I received meticulous instructions from my hotel about purchasing tickets from the "Friendly Airport Limousine Bus" company. Given how polite and friendly everyone has been so far, I think the "friendly" in their name is redundant. As I waited for the bus, I noticed that the two displays on either side of the driveway noted the same time, but different temperatures. I don't know why, but I thought it was strange that this discrepancy hadn't been fixed or reconciled. When I boarded the bus, every time I looked at a woman sitting by herself, she would smile and turn away. I had the distinct feeling those smiles stemmed from nervousness (please don't sit next to me!). I sat next to a young Japanese man wearing sunglasses who ignored me throughout the ride. In fact, the only people speaking on the bus were speaking in English. I started to consider the possibility that the Japanese are incredibly polite, but not necessarily friendly.

As we drove into Tokyo, I noticed a lot of building developments that look like building developments you might see anywhere, with lots of clothes--and mini satellite dishes--hanging on the balconies. I also saw two gigantic ferris wheels. And the Tokyo Disney Resort. As our driver approached the toll booths (that seemed completely automated), he must have used something similar to EZPass. Each of the booths had a gate that went up after a beeping sound (perhaps confirming payment?). For a culture that is seemingly so intent on appropriate behavior, I thought it was odd to have such enforcement in place. The bus offered announcements and signage in English for which I was grateful. I noted the statement over the announcement system: "Please do not use portable phones as they annoy the neighbors." That's a very different way of saying "Cell phone use is prohibited". And the Japanese do seem to care about whether they annoy their neighbors.

As I left the bus, I noted the only person to ignore the request to remain seated until the bus stopped was another American, who left his trash near his seat (another unique action). When our bags were brought to the curbside, I noted that everyone waited before picking up their bags (except the aforementioned American). The bus driver eventually said something and everyone started handing him their bag receipts. He matched each ticket and bag before people walked off with their bags. There was clearly an expected manner in which we would collect our bags.

I find myself wondering whether I'm offending someone or everyone with my action or inaction. When the housekeeping staff asked me if I wanted turndown service, my first reaction was to say no. But I felt so badly at the thought of his reaction such that I let him into my room. Everyone else keeps apologizing to me for one reason or another, even though I'm not offended in the least. Every time I travel to a new place, I experience the same feeling of nervousness that arises from being unsure of myself. It's the reason I go out of my way to help visitors to the US. I'd like to believe the other American on the bus is basically a decent guy; he may be reacting to nervousness in a different way than I am. First impressions lead me to believe that many folks here are unsure of being themselves.