by Audrey -

Of quarantine and customs gates

And how grateful I am that the good people in Kasumigaseki (literally, mist seat, politically, the subway stop where the Japanese governments are)  have realized swine flu will not kill us all.

A while ago I heard horror stories from returning Golden Week travelers.  They spoke of bunny suits, ski goggles, ir thermometer guns, and hour-long trapped-on-tarmac inspections.  As my plane touched down at the end of May, I was fully prepared for an extra half hour of boredom. In fact, I was even a bit paranoid because I was feeling a little chill. Perhaps the flight itself had tipped me into the “feverish” zone?

A pleasant surprise then, to only suffer suspense for ten minutes, as a blue smocked fellow walked down one aisle and up the other. I actually mistook his actions as preparation because he wasn’t really looking at anyone.

Moral of the story: low expectations save the day.

Expectations were higher for customs, however, because I am a triply registered alien. Registered to work, registered to leave/enter the country, AND registered for (wait for it) the Automated Gates.  This lets my bypass the entire customs line when leaving and entering the country – since only registered people can use the gates, I get through even more quickly than most Japanese citizens.  Kind of like Clear, but free.   You scan your passport, scan your fingers, an attendant does a brief verification of stuff, and on you go.  I like systems that reward people who know what they’re doing. On the other hand, I feel like I’m being rewarded for something like my willingness to suffer through the initial registration process.   Reminds me somehow of taking standardized tests.  Maybe because it’s a really esoteric “problem” but once you get the patterns, it’s really easy.

Anyhow.  This totally wouldn’t save you time in the US because you’d have to wait an hour for your luggage to appear.  Coming back to Narita,  I got through customs and baggage in 20 minutes.  Happy camper.

by Audrey -

April, flowers, visitors

April was BUSY.  Busy because lots of people came to visit, and the weather got a littttle bit warmer so people here started coming out of their holes.  People and flowers.   It was like (mentally) getting dropped into a world of white-pink clouds.  If you ever have the chance to visit Japan in cherry blossom season, it’s not over-hyped.  And like sunsets, the pictures never quite do it justice – the fun and wonder really comes from just being there, surrounded by these things immediately and peripherally.  (And a good part of it comes from everyone else keeping them in the backs of their minds too).

It was great taking a little walk at lunch, and seeing a middle aged suit taking pictures with his phone.  Next to the punk stripey-socked girl also taking pictures with her phone.  Both of them looking at the screen, slightly shaking their heads, and looking back up with a little smile.

Some other highlights of the month include:

  • getting a ride through Tsukiji on a fish cart! With fish! (So cool I forgive people for making me get up to go w/ them)
  • hanami at yoyogi with assorted friends and friends-of
  • making pizza, yum.
  • having a trip to china cancelled

lowlights

  • discovering that friday-saturday-sunday counts as one 24 hour period in terms of atm cash withdrawal limits
  • being stuck at work ’til 11pm
  • being stuck at work ’til 1030pm
  • being stuck at work…