Departure: Early May 2004

Lost in Translation: I flew from Seattle to Tokyo on May 5th, arriving May 6th at Narita Airport, a sprawling airport complex some 50 miles northeast of Tokyo. Upon arrival, I was very much "Lost in Translation" (referencing the recently released movie starring my former friend, Bill Murray, but that's another story). I was "lost" in that I couldn't really talk to anyone since no one spoke English, nor did they want to even if they could. Deciding that I could still navigate myself to the hotel, even with a language barrier, I asked at the Narita airport information booth for directions to the hotel in Tokyo. At least these pretty young women at the information booth would talk to me since it was their job.

After inquiring, I was directed to take a train to a part of Tokyo known as “ Kinshicho ” (pronounced “ Keen-shee-cho ” - with the accent on the first syllable) and walk 3 minutes to the hotel. I was staying at a nice Marriott hotel somewhere in Tokyo and this sounded pretty simple. This young lady also was told to take the “north” exit from the Kinshicho train station once I arrived there. So, I bought a ticket, went to the train platform, showed my ticket to a man on the platform who worked for the train system and was directed to a train on track number 2. I got on board and sat down. Life was good.

The Train Ride: This was a “Rapid” train, meaning that it didn't stop at all stations. It was not a fast Bullet train but looked entirely modern with side seats, a snack bar in the middle of the train and comfortable seats. I sat in a seat that was reserved for senior citizens not because I am one, but because my bags would be out of the aisle.

As I sat there waiting, I noticed a diagram on the platform that indicated what appeared to be stations along this route indicated by a red, blue and green rail line. The red line looked as though a the train going on that route would make only four stops before getting to the Kinshicho train station. I liked that idea. So, after waiting about 10 minutes, at about 3:55 pm, I asked the station attendant (by pointing) if the train I was on would get to Kinshicho in ‘four stops' – and I held up four fingers. The attendant nodded and smiled broadly, then pointed to the clock. He didn't understand! I tried to ask him again but he politely waived me off, pointing to the train and his watch. Evidently, we were leaving soon, so I got back on board and the train left precisely at 4 pm. He was still smiling as the train departed.

I was supposed to be going to a train station near a Marriott hotel in downtown Tokyo (the term 'downtown' is a misnomer since Tokyo seems to be 'all' downtown), but after about 45 minutes of travel with city always around and many, many station stops, I really, really thought I actually was lost and would end up in Yokohama or further south around midnight or later when they shut the train line down. I could see my predicament coming -- the bedraggled American with too many bags suffering from jet lag and lost besides. Surely if I ended up in this situation, someone would have pity on me and get me to any hotel with a bed. Life was not so good now.

The other problem that soon became apparent was that rush hour was starting and more and more people were getting on the train. Many looked at me with curiosity no doubt asking themselves “What's this old American, with too many bags, doing on THIS train?” Well, they had a point and panic set in as I considered my options – stay put, get off, yell for help, ask someone if they spoke English, act strange or who knows what I would do if I actually was lost in Tokyo. Ever hopeful, I decided not to show my panic to the businessmen, students and others on the train but to act like all this was very normal for me. It was not and, inside, my little voice yelled out that I needed to be saved. Perhaps a limousine with driver was in order? At least in "Lost in Translation" Bill's character didn't have to worry about getting to/from the airport since he had a car and driver.

Kinshicho Station: So, I began to pay close attention to the train station signs since, on the platforms, the signs are in English and Japanese. I watched train station signs for what seemed like a long time. My neck hurt a bit since I had to turn around somewhat to look out the window. I also knew that when I saw the sign, if I did, I would only have a minute or so to get my bags off the train as I noticed that the stops at the stations weren't very long. I was alert and ready since I really didn't want to go to Yokohama, at least today. Fortunately, after something like an hour and a half, the sign for the station I was told to get off at came into view! When the doors opened, I was quick to exit with bags in tow (a back pack, lawyer's briefcase and 2 suitcases on rollers).

Now, however, I was still "lost" since I didn't know where to go. At Narita, the nice young lady at the information booth told me to take the “North Exit” at the Kinshicho station and then I would only a 3-minute walk. The trouble as that I don't know which way was North. I did know that I was very far west at this point – far from the Seattle area and what used to be home. There were no signs to direct me; correction -- there were many signs but all of them are in Japanese. No one seemed able to speak English or, for that matter, wanted to on this rush-hour platform. Nonetheless, I was unmistakably at the Kinshicho station. The hotel MUST be nearby, or so I hoped.

The Cab Ride: So, again not wanting to look too foolish to the several hundred Japanese on the platform, I took a chance, exited and looked for a cab. Outside the station, it looked like any busy street with people coming and going, several shops nearby, but there was nothing like a hotel anywhere in sight. After looking up and down the street, I approached a cab and was greeted by this very friendly Japanese cab driver who was all smiles. I said "Marriott" to him. The driver shrugged and had no idea what I was saying but he still put my bags in the trunk of his cab. When I asked him again and said that I wanted to go to the “Marriott” – I got a second shrug and the Japanese version of “Huh?” I then said "Hotel" and this he understood. He smiled broadly, gave me a nod and motioned for me to get in the back seat. At least he knew the “hotel” word. I got in the cab fully expecting that he would take me to his friend's hotel somewhere way across town and I would pay a healthy cab fare to go there. I wondered, as we took off down the street, if I'd still be "lost" after this ride. I missed the strange security of the train. But, at the time, getting in the cab was better than standing around the station or going who-knows-where, so off we went. At least I would have a nice ride someplace.

Ahhh, the Marriott: To my great relief, he drove about 4 blocks, turned left and there was the red "Marriott" sign right in front of me and several bellmen (-boys? -hops? - this really dates me) waiting to take my bags. I finally relaxed after check-in, went to the top floor bar for some hot sake and a long look out at the night sky and Tokyo cityscape. I saw the moon and miles of buildings with bright lights. More exhausted than I thought after 10 hours in the air from Seattle, the long train ride and cab scare, I had a very restful night in a beautiful room. I even soaked in the large tub in the bathroom. I was not "lost" anymore, nor would I be from that point forward.

Haneda Airport: The following day, May 7th, I took the airport bus for about an hour to the very modern Haneda Airport - where all the domestic flights come and go. This airport is the one my family and I flew into in 1958 but oh, how it has changed! What an efficient and modern airport with typical airport stores, a huge department store and many airlines. One thing that was interesting were the young ladies standing by their candy stands talking quite fast to no one in particular but always smiling to passerby's. It reminded me of a trade show where vendors are trying to lure you in. I wasn't lured in but acknowledged one lady, who then proceeded to bow to me. However, even in bowing politely, her ‘pitch' never stopped.

Okinawa: Around Noon, I flew south on an All Nippon Airways 747 for about 3 hours to Okinawa. On this airplane, they have a camera in the cockpit, looking out the window, and somewhere underneath, so the passengers could see the pilot's view when the airplane taxied out and took off. Soon after takeoff, the camera on the underside came on and one could see town, land, boats and water until they turned it off when we got above the clouds. They repeated this on landing.