Had a pleasant flight to Narita. Both Craig and Efren were in business class, so that was nice. We were on separate flights, however, but they arrived within a few minutes of each other. Craig arrived first and had no problems with customs or immigration (despite fretting over bringing medication into Japan). Bag showed up right away and headed up to the arrivals lounge to wait for Efren.

While waiting for Efren a suspicious package was left in the arrivals lounge, so it was cordoned off by police and basically evacuated. This made finding Efren a bit challenging, but about 15 minutes later he came bopping into the arrivals area, huge backpack slung over his shoulders.

We exited the terminal and re-entered at a spot that wasn't the subject of police activity and went downstairs to activate our JR rail passes. We bought these passes a couple weeks prior, and they allow for greatly reduced rates for traveling on Japan Rail (JR)'s massive rail network. Although we were picking up the passes today that we ordered previously, they won't be activated for a few more days when we start our travels. For the next few days, we will be around Tokyo so no real need for long expensive rail journeys on JR's network.

We never did hear anything about the suspicious package, so it was probably just something accidentally left behind by a jet-lagged arrival

Without the pass the one thing we did have to pay for is the transportation from Narita (which is out in the boonies) to Ueno station in Tokyo. We bought Keisei Skyliner tickets for the train to Keisei-Ueno station. The cost was about $25 per person, and it brings us to a station about 15 minutes walk from our hotel.

Although English is pretty wildly spoken (or understood), we struggled a bit to find the correct track. Eventually we got on the train and arrived about 45 min later at our station. Welcome to Tokyo!

We exited station and walked to our hotel -- which was about 15 min through Ueno Park. We probably should have opted for a taxi, but we didn't see one right away and were ready to get some exercise after being on an airplane for so long. The weather was crisp and cool, but by the time we arrived at the Ryokan Katsutero, we were pretty exhausted. It was about 6pm by the time we got there -- what a long day!!

The very nice lady running the place (who spoke practically no English) efficiently checked us in and showed us to our room. Staying in a ryokan is quite an experience. No chairs. Basically no furniture. Just a low table with a tea set on it and lots of tatami mats spread out with cushions for sitting. It will take us awhile to get used to this and to be comfortable sitting on the floor! For now, it is a bit challenging as all our luggage is just scattered around the room!. The room had its own bathroom with a "normal" toilet (more on that later). Decent shower with a very deep tub, which is typical as most people in Japan soak in the bath before and after cleaning themselves using the shower.

After getting settled we walked nearby to get dinner. Nothing too edgy tonite, just entered a noodle house and ordered some noodles that came with salad. The highlight of the day was when Efren tried to open the little packet of salad dressing. It should be held face down and "snapped" to spray the dressing all over the salad. Very creative actually. Of course we had no idea this was how it was supposed to work -- we tried peeling off the top and accidentally squeezed it face side up. End result was Efren was absolutely covered in sesame ginger salad dressing! Not a big deal, but probably the most memorable part was the server's reaction -- he was shocked and embarrassed and couldn't bring over enough water or napkins to help clean it up. Welcome to Japan!

Initial impressions --

1. Everyone wears face masks
2. Vending machines are everywhere -- a particularly popular brand of water is called "Pocari Sweat"
3. Restaurants hard to see into -- they place curtains at their entrance so you can't tell if they are open or closed or even if it is a restaurant. Especially if the name is in Japanese only (as it usually is)
4. There is no garbage on the streets. In fact, no garbage cans. Shop owners run outside and sweep everytime a leaf falls
5. Kids as young as 5 years old ride the subway alone
6. Safety doesn't seem to be an issue. People leave their wallet at the table when going to the bathroom. Men have their wallets totally sticking out of their pockets. Would be pick-pocketed in an instant any place else
7. They don't say"sayrohnara" when you leave. They say "goyzaimas". In fact, everyone working at the restaurant (including the cooks in the back) yell it out when you leave the establishment. Very charming!