Flight to Japan

Ended up packing all night. Didn't sleep. Really really sleepy, but still couldn't sleep... Seems like as I get older, it becomes harder and harder to sleep during flight. It was an older plane with public movie screen in the middle instead of on the back of each seat.

Thanks so much, T, for picking me up at the airport. And thanks for lending us Suica cards! It saved us so much time! Without you, I probably couldn't find the hostel. That place (東洋ハウス)was pretty good for the price. Single room 4800 yen. Twin 6200 yen. (Per night.) Shared bath and washroom, fridge, and washing machine (100 yen each load). There is a balcony too. In this small Japanese style tatami room, we've got a electric keep-warm kettle, small TV, and even an alarm clock. Closet is too small, though. Can't put 2 suit cases in there. The only inconvenience was, the Taiwanese staff and owner can't speak English. They seem to cater only to Taiwanese guests. Their amateur- looking web site don't have English or Japanese. To be honest, Miki and I were slightly worried. Turn out it's not bad for the price at all.

S and K joined us for dinner. Thanks for coming all the way to meet me! We had ramen (too salty) in Nakano Broadway. (Watch out, their site sucks! It plays loud music.) K brought me a bunch of junk food. Thanks! (They turn into breakfast and lunch in the following days.)

Was trying to take pictures on my way so I could help Miki find her way, but lugging a 21.5kg suit case changing trains from platform to platform (sometimes with only stairs and no escalator) proved too much. I soon gave up. By the time I settled down, I was so tired, all that I could manage was writing her an e-mail. Didn't even send these 3. Oh well...

Actually, when we booked the room, it was supposed to have no internet access. But to my surprise, I was able to catch an unlocked wireless line! Awesome! However, we've been home late and were too tired, ended up not using it much.