We were totally in Japan.
January 7, 2009: Stopover in Japan
Alma and I left her parents behind in Manila (actually, her dad had stayed in Romblon for the high school reunion), as we just couldn't take off any more time from work and school and had to get back. (This was what had made our flights so expensive, unfortunately, but c'est la vie.) The flight from Manila to Narita was uneventful. Being in Japan was interesting, although since we only went from the airport to the hotel and back, it's not like there was a ton of culture shock. But there was a little. We got to the hotel fairly late and needed to find something to eat. We checked the little convenience store first, as I still had some yen on me, but there wasn't much there and really we were hungrier than that. The hotel restaurant was open and took both American money and credit cards, so we went. I had a pretty decent supreme pizza, although while it was good it had that slightly ersatz feel that I always get from American-style pizza made in other countries. Alma had fried chicken. When we left, we left a five-dollar bill on the table and I paid the bill by Visa. After we got back to the States, Alma's Japanophile friend pointed out that tipping is at best uncommon and generally just not practiced in Japan; I wonder how they reacted when they went to clean the table. (Really, given the amount of foreign travelers who pass through the hotel - as it's the official hotel of Japan Airlines for people stopping over via Narita - I must imagine that many, many people "mistakenly" leave tips in that hotel restaurant every week, if not every day. They probably know how to deal with it by now.)
One thing I did find interesting - in that "I probably shouldn't, but I do" way - was just how little English was spoken. I'm certainly not the type of person to expect that people in other countries know my language, but even at customs the guy only had a couple of words, surprising when you'd think that most non-Japanese passing through there know some English. On the other hand, it's my understanding that many Japanese, even if they know some English, are uncomfortable speaking it in front of native speakers, which I pretty obviously am (certainly once I handed over my passport). Perhaps it was just that. The woman at the hotel convenience store surely did not speak any English, however; during the transaction she spoke in Japanese the whole time and it was only by virtue of the numerical display on the cash register that we could even do business. Again, I don't have a problem with that; I just found it interesting.
We were totally in Japan.
See? I was actually there.