First Day

The hardest part was to say good-bye to the ones I love.  After that, my life in Japan starts. Our flight from San Francisco was long. Yes, that's the only way to describe it. We were exhausted by the time we got to Incheon airport. Luckily, they have "Rest and Relax Lounge" for passengers to be able to actually rest while staying at the airport. They have free shower rooms, free "bed" couches, free internet booth, free TV room.  So if you ever transit/get to Incheon airport. Check those out!

After 16 hours of layover, the long awaited flight to Osaka came.  We arrived at Kansai International Airport around 11:00am, local time. Took the JR Line (it's like Bart but better) to Tennoji station and transferred to Tanimachi Line. Japan's transportation system is superb!  I got my ICOCA (eco-card) and I was ready to go! 
 

When we reached our apartment, our landlord showed the two apartments that were available to us. We took the one on the fifth floor because we liked the lay-out better. The apartment is tiny compared to the American apartments but it is sufficient for us to live/survive.

After hours and hours of signing the lease, getting cash from money order, taking subways to desired destination, waiting for gas to be turned on, we finally got to go out and get a futon. A futon is essentially a mattress (in American terms). Japan IS expensive! The futon itself cost around $150 in US dollars! (Yikes!) But  we have a "bed" to sleep on now. :) 

Dinner happened only after we got everything done. And as for dinner, I had "Oyakodon" which literally means parent-child rice bowl. It had chicken and egg on rice. Noah got "Gyuudon" which is a beef bowl. They gave a raw egg on the side (if you request one) to be put into the bowl and mix it together with the beef and the rice. They are both very DELICIOUS!

By the time we returned to our apartment, we were so worn out that we went straight to bed after a nice hot shower .

Talking about shower, showers in Japan are very different from showers in the US. They have bathtubs to soak yourself in but you have to shower BEFORE you go into the bathtub. Also, it's a very big deal for Japanese people to have shower rooms separate from the toilet. Because toilets are dirty and showers are clean!