Departure to Miyakojima (Sat. - June 14)

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I woke up at 7:40 AM (Tokyo Time GMT +9), brushed my teeth and started packing. Like yesterday, I was late for breakfast and I gobbled down my breakfast. I went down to the lobby and grabbed my luggage. Today there was going to be 2 flights (talk about the awesome take offs and landings I’m going to experience) first to Naha-shi and then to Miyakojima-shi as my final destination, both in Okinawa Prefecture.

The list of flights for YFU student. I have the biggest area :) This list was pasted on the bus.

We got our bags into the bus, and I headed on our way after the YFU Japan staff told us what to expect for the flight(s). Having arrived at Haneda Intl’ Airport in Tokyo (Not Chiba, Japan), we YFU students took pictures and gave good-byes, then approached to the check-in desk, where the YFU Japan staff gave us our tickets and we had to check in our bags having waited 45 minutes to get all of the tickets--that's alot.

Can you spot Okinawa on this list of flights?

I went to the check-in desk to check in my single, large baggage and I was mistaken to be a Japanese person by the young clerk counter after the conversation and she was surprised to hear I wasn’t one. She gives me my boarding pass and my baggage claim receipt and I proceed to gate 9. Ugh, security. It reminds me of the mean TSA agents back in SFO Intl’ Airport. Oh wait, they’re friendly (: Yay! I put all my stuff in the tray for inspection and walk under the detector. “Dozo” says the man in charge. I walk through and he gives me a thumbs-up. I grab my stuff from the tray, put on my metal belt and headed towards my gate. I noticed the whole time, I never pulled out my passport. As I’m walking to the gate, I happen to see one of Japan’s smoking rooms in an airport. It’s hilarious! People come in and out and smoke in there without even talking with one another, blankly staring at something and smoking with barely any interactions with one another.

I get to my gate area and sit (something aside: I accidentally typed ‘the bad word’ meaning feces when was typing the word ‘sit’. Opps.) I was down with my laptop bag and YFU students were also waiting in my gate. A girl shows me a video on her video camera that she recorded a crow attacking one another. One crow was pecking a what seems to be an injured crow while the wounded crow was on its back kicking in a motion that seem to say “get away”. Crows are stupid, well, that’s what I think from now. I sit down back on my seat and watch planes land like giants were trying to stop from running over a cliff, which can be heard as the 747’s thunderous roars from the reverse thrust of their touchdown landing procedures.

Haneda Airport in Tokyo--watching aviation traffic.

Gate 9 to Okinawa for Flight 913

The sound of the piano melody opening plays over the intercom, and the announcer tells it’s time for boarding, ending with the closing melody. I’m kind of angry at another YFU student who told me to watch his stuff and said he would be right back really quickly. Right now they’re boarding and he’s still not back. He comes back in 5 minutes and by now the line’s really long. No comment. I hold my feelings inside and just continue on, grabbing my laptop bag and boarding pass out. I hand my boarding pass to a machine which reads my ticket and it slides out the other side of the machine. I grab and walk on the jetway to the plane. It’s a big plane, the same *type* of plane I flew from San Francisco to Narita. I enter the plane, and WOW. I have economy and…. it’s like economy plus. Beats United Airlines. It’s the last time I’m flying with them when I grow up. United is crammed as hell (sorry for the language) while Japan Airlines is spacious.

Walking on the jetway to the plane

Boarding the plane (I didn't know why I recorded this--seriously)

I sat next to another YFU student (not the one whom I had to wait for) since we had seats next to each other and she also had a transfer flight. What I liked about Japan Airlines was that there was a projector that shows the front of the plane during take-off and landing, so you get to see the runway and the scenery (unlike the terrible United Airways—read the online reviews and see how really bad they are). So we take off and the flight attendants are serving drinks. I pull out my sandwiches (in a rather large box) YFU Japan gave during the bus ride to Haneda Airport and people behind stare at me like I pulled it out of my pocket. Funny stuff. I eat and type my blog on the plane until the pilot announces the approach to Naha (I actually understood the Japanese). Most of the flight had some strong turbulence that almost shook me out of my seat. I was the only one who said “wow!” in the flight; they’re probably used to it. The projector lights up with the map and I find out the plane traveled in almost a zigzag pattern as it went south of Japan (perhaps to avoid the bad weather?). Anyways the runway shows up on the screen and that’s Naha Airport we’re approaching. Beautiful view of Naha can be viewed through the windows (despite having the middle seat) and a moderate landing ends the journey. The plane stops at its gate and we’re in Naha city. I get out, (first to the bathroom) and with the same YFU student I sat with, we ask the counter in Japanese if they spoke English and how to do a connecting flight.

Arrival at Naha Airport--domestic gates

This was the first time I’m doing this, and I didn’t want to get on the wrong plane or lose my luggage so I made sure by asking. They tell me to go to another terminal while the other YFU student had to go straight to her gate, so we said farewell and left. The other terminal, eh? That’s far. I asked someone else where the connecting flight for ANA Airlines was and she explained with hand motions (funny ones rather) and we smiled. I got halfway through the rather giantic airport and asked an officer, and he guided me to the right direction. (“ANA Check-in Counter desu ka? Hai, achi desu.”)

Beautiful :) Just follow the sign to the ANA check-in counter

I approach the counter and they hand me a boarding pass. I sit down at my gate 38A and wait for boarding.

After getting my directions I head to gate 38A downstairs (the left sign)

Hey! Is that a Pokemon plane? Yup. (See picture). A good laugh and within a few minutes I board. I hand my ticket and I don’t know what to do with it with a rather more “advanced” machine.


Gate 38A - Miyakojima-shi. Looks like Hawaii, huh?


"Gotta catch 'em all!"


My ticket. Again :) (I took it just in case I lose it)

I tell the attendant I didn’t know how to ‘work it’ so she explained to me that the ticket had a square barcode and all I need to do was to show it on a scanner and I’m all set. We board a bus which takes us to the back of the airport and our plane is a 737-500. Small plane compared to the 747. I enter the plane through the stairs up the plane and find my seat. Aw man, it’s not a window seat as they said when I checked in my ticket. As the plane fills up, I noticed not all the seats are filled so I ask the flight attendant if I could change seats. “Hai, dozo.” And I move my stuff over to the front seat (Yeah!). I get a beautiful view of Naha after a wonderful takeoff and it is ABSOLUTELY stunning. WOW. I couldn’t help but grab my camera and snap some shots (though electronics are supposed to be turned off, cameras shouldn’t interfere with the radio frequencies of the autopilot because it doesn’t emit radio waves).

Look at the tiny cars on the lower left corner


The tip end of the island

The flight was a pleasant experience, no turbulence with the sunset in view and the clouds that sent your mind into peace. The flight was a low alititude flight (seemed like around 10,000 feet-15,000 feet) and the water was in clear view. I’m enjoying the view and all of the sudden we’re decending. That was about 20-30 minutes. We’re decending a little too fast and the plane seems to be decending erratically (no autopilot??) and every few minutes the pilot would send the engines in full thrust to give the plane more lift and we were in a ride of ascending up and descending down for about 5 minutes—very odd. At last the Miyakojima (Miyako Island) is in view and I can see the whole island, it’s bigger than I expected (seems bigger than Naha though it’s really not) and spacious. Boom! The plane lands and I’m pulled forward as the plane activates its reverse thrust with its flaps on the wing fully out until coming to a controlled speed to exit the runway. Miyako Airport has a rather traditional look for the airport on the outside than most airports (compare to SFO, see picture).

Miyako Airport

I take my bag and enter the jetway into the airport. It’s modern on the inside. I follow the signs to the baggage claim and when I enter the baggage claim area, I can see my host family behind a glass wall waving at me. I wave back with a smile and bow while my host mom tugs on my host sister and points at me. I try to tell them I’m waiting for my bag by using body language since the baggage carousel hasn’t started. 2 minutes of waiting. Yes, finally. I see my distinctive green band I tied on my bag for easy identification and I tug it off the spinning carousel. I approach the exit and grab my baggage claim receipt and show it to an officer and he nods and points to the exit. I thank him by saying “Arigatou” and he nods once more.

There was my host family holding a “Welcome Jimmy” sign. The awkward moment every YFU student expects. I am introduced by the wonderful English-speaking Shimoji-sensei, my YFU area representative, introducing me to my host family (Yukichi-dad, Yukiko-mom, Natsuko-sister and Bunta-brother [nickname Bun-chan]). I bow with a “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” . Bunta and Natsuko say hello to me and I say hi back.

Outside of Miyako Airport, Shimoji-sensei, my YFU coordinator took this picture for me

Yukiko (mom): Jaa, Ikou? / Well, let’s go?

Me: Ikou. / Let’s go.

Yukiko: Hai~ / Okay~

Yukichi grabs my bag and I say I’ll carry it insistently, he says “Daijyoubu” (It’s okay) and not wanting to appear aggressive as a first impression, I let him carry it. We walk to our van and Yukiko asks me about Miyakojima.

Me: Jime jime desu ne. / It’s humid huh? (Seriously, Naha was less humid, Tokyo was like SF)

We get in the van (I get in the wrong side) and Yukichi points me to the other side (the driver’s side in America, but passenger side in Japan) and we laugh. We drive away from the airport and have a light conversation. Bunta’s (boon-tah; not bun-tah) trying to give me the sign but I said “Arigatou kedo kekkou desu” (Thanks but it’s alright) He insists but Yukiko comes in and says “Iranai tte” (He doesn’t need it) to Bunta. He approach the house and Yukiko points to the house. Such a nice and big house compared to the ones in Tokyo. We enter, take off our shoes and Natsuko runs up the stairs pointing to my room (“Jimmy no heya”).

My wonderful new home for the next 6 weeks~ (literally, abstractly and it's actually a new house my host family bought)

I put my bags in my room and I walk out to talk with my mom, who offers me tea after such a hot trip home. We talk about names, age, and the schedule for the week. I’m going to school on Monday since it’s Saturday and there’s no school on Sunday (with the exception of some sport clubs practicing). My mother and I will walk to school on Sunday for me to familiarize myself with the area. She tells me “Kyou yukkuri-shite ne. (Rest today okay?)” I tell her I’m going to take a nap, and she asks about dinner. I tell her to wake me up about 7 PM and fall to sleep. My sleeping area was a futon on a bed with a towel-like blanket. The futon was SO comfortable. <3>

Knock knock, the room goes and Yukichi tells me it’s time for dinner. Rice and miso soup. I was aware of the cultural differences and tried to be careful not to break any rules—it was weird eating and living with someone whom I’ve just met with a few hours. I grab my chopsticks and my mom tells me to wait. She brings out the vegetables. The family sits down and we all say “Itadakimasu” and chow down. I ask her how to eat (properly) and my father, Yukichi, shows me that my soup is on the right, rice bowl on the left. I thank him and eat. After I eat, I said “Gouchisou-sama” (which means “Thanks for the meal!” but literally means ‘It was a feast’). “Hai~” Yukiko says and I sleep straight away (first time after a record-breaking days of not brushing my teeth).

That was a long day.