First Impressions

Waiting and waiting, for hours and hours.... that was the name of the game even before I saw the 4 HOUR DELAY sign flash up next to the flight to Narita airport. My flight! So after all the incertainty of traveling into Japan without a valid visa or a flight back home, I got to enjoy the beautiful airport of Helsinki for a bit longer. Then, as soon as I finaly found myself on the plane, I fell into deep sleep, dreaming of all the fantastic possibilities Japan would offer:

"Intended duration of stay? Occupation? How much cash do you have on you? Are you carrying drugs, narcotics, swords, or weappons with you? When are you planning to leave our country? Where do you have your flight booked to? Where are you going to stay in Japan? What is the purpose of your visit? One moment please. Could you step into our office for a minute? ---I'm sorry, sir, but someone like you we won't ever need in Japan. REJECTED!!!"

Phew, just a bad dream that I woke up from. Okay, standing in line at immigration. Do I have all my papers handy? Is everything filled out all right? Are all the trick questions about swords and opium checked with a NO? Okay, so all I can add is a nice friendly smile, hoping for the best. :-) Three minutes later I am through passport control, bagage claim and customs. The officials are friendly, polite, and surprisingly civilized. The only reason I had to stand in line for almost an hour was their rigorous questioning of all the Korean passangers, who happened to be waiting for their connection to Seoul.

Finding the minibus that would take me to Shiojiri wasn't hard. The driver was holding up a sign with my name on it. What a welcome! I enjoyed the ride accross Tokyo, towards Nagoya and Nagano. Everything is as expected: the city's hughe, the country's mountainous, the cars are funny. Whereas Europeans prefer long sedans, and Americans love SUVs that are just big in every aspect, Japanese cars are compat, but interestingly tall. Which is understandable, since you want to save as much space on the ground as you can, you build things higher. The WagonR+, which many Hungarians consider an ugly freak of modern design, that the Suzuki company could only save by selling it at insanely low prices, is only one of many similar models. They are tall, square, and mostly reminescent of enormous flower-pots on wheels. Ugly as they are, the Japanese seem to like them.

Finlly we arrive in Shiojiri. The minibus is supposed to drop me off at Nagahara's English school. Eventually we stop outside a liquor store called Nagahara's. The driver jumps out to check if we're correct. Indeed, he motions me to step out. Here I am... Is this where I'll be teaching? I take a look at the beers. Lots of local brews, and a few world brands. They also seem to have a lot of hard liquor. Before I have a chance to inspect the wine selection, I am greeted by a short friendly man, who introduces himself as Nagahara. He's the owner of the store and the husband of my boss, who owns the school upstairs.

Very soon Mrs. Nagahara arrives too, and she drives me over to my appartment. That's where the first shock hits me. The place that will be my domicile for the next year, is too small to be called an appartment, although it is devided up into too many sections to be called a room. With its generously 15 square meters, (more realisticly it's probably closer to 12) it is way smaller than the my tiny room in Budapest. However, with its fully equipped kitchen (the one thing it lacks is space!), a bathroom, a separate toilet, a closet, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, free internet, and a TV, it is far superior to my place in Mexico. It even comes with two remote controls (one for the TV, the other one for the heating/cooling system), in case I felt too lazy to walk that single step accross the room. So what am I paying for all this? 25000 yen, plus utilities!

The bathroom is awesome: although the whole thing is more like a shower-cabin with a sink and a mirror, it has a builtin bathtub! The toilet has its own little room, which is normal for hungarians, but everyone else might think that it's weird, especially since space is such a luxury here. Interestingly, the toilet is so high tech that I still haven't figgured out all of its functions yet. It can spray water in different directions, and it has something like a blow-dryer built into it. (It almost makes me feel like a primitive barbarian, not knowing these basic things about human hygene.)

The best thing about my room, however, is the loft. It has already become my favourite corner. This is where I set up my bed, which Nagahara-san pulled out of the trunk, single handedly. What I'm talking about is a futon, I mean a REAL futon, not what they sell in Europe and America as such. It is thicker than a blanket, but so thin that you can fold it up and put it into the closet for the day. However, it is soft enough to provide padding between my body and the floor. (No more backpain!) It comes with a blanket, and the bedsheets fit right on it. Perfect. Slept like a baby on it.