[While waiting in the pre-waiting room]

If I were a kamakaze terrorist, I would pick Saturday to board my plane o' death. There are just so many people traveling on weekends that it seems the best time to get away with villanous activities.

Through customs, I took two carry-ons. Together, they clearly surpass the size and weight allowed by the airline. One contains roughly US$35K of hardware boards and boxes, and the other one has my laptop, a digital camera, and a DSLR. And yet, passing through the X-ray, no one said anything. I could have had a bomb and detonator! I'm dangerous! Pay attention to me! No one even cared to question my suspicious guava (I like fruit, can you blame me?), which is a little too soft in the middle. They won't think it's so harmless smothered in the captain's face and in his eyes.


[On the Skyliner train between Narita Airport and Ueno Station]

Turns out that the Japanese customs officials did ask me to open my luggage. But that was an open and shut case. Get it? Open and shut? Anyway.

The first thing I noticed about Japan (after leaving the airport) is that the Japanese have HOUSES! I didn't expect this. Given that this country has the 7th largest population in the world. Mind you, I'm not quite at Tokyo yet, and I'm sure this trend will change quickly as we get closer to the big city. Sigh... I want to live in a house again. Apartments suck. Even more so when it's just a room with a washroom attached.

For the first night, I will crash at my SFU friend BC's place in Roppongi. His company has given him a temporary residence until he finds his own place to rent. In Roppongi, the clubbing / night life district of Tokyo, his place costs his company $5000 CAD/month. Yowza.

Second thing I'm starting to notice as I'm looking out the window while typing this. Suzuki, Nissan, Mazda, Honda,... sure are a lot of Japanese cars around here. I wonder how many people would buy an American car. Maybe someone with a taste for dripping oil and depreciating value. Well, I see a few Beamers, Benz's, and Audi's too.

This train is fricken fast. Either that or everything's too close. My head starts to spin a little bit each time I look out the window at buildings whipping by. Can't stare out the window for too long.

A quick test with the wireless LAN. Random searches for networks returned 1, then 5, then 9, then 30, then 23 wireless LANs. This is while I'm still on the train.

Eating a Snickers bar now. My 3rd this week, thanks to NK. Ueno's the next stop. Closing my laptop.

[At the end of the night]

Got to BC's place in Roppongi, and then we went out to Shinjuku. First, we spent 30 mins trapped in the labyrinth Shinjuku station trying to find the right exit. Then we walked around the Shinjuku area and did a bit of furniture shopping (BC needs a bed ASAP because he's moving into an empty apartment next weekend). Came back to Roppongi, went to Roppongi Hills, and that was that. End of day. Tomorrow will have more walking, more adventures, and more getting lost.

More impressions: Japanese people generally dress very well. The girls are "very well packaged" as BC says, referring to their make-up. He says "their make-up technique is so advanced that you don't even notice they're wearing make-up". Based on what I've seen, I'd agree.

There are a lot of Japanese people.

Major Subway Stations are confusing as hell.

Veggies are EXPENSIVE. Try a handful of green beans for $3 CAD. A single red pepper (a beautiful one, like BC Hot House) for $2.50 Cad. Ouch.