Immediate thoughts on touching down at the airport and getting through customs etc was how painless and efficient it all was. There seemed to be a real sense of trying to ‘get it right’. Lots of airport staff on hand to get things moving quickly and painlessly. First impressions were of how polite everyone seemed collectively, or as they say in Japanese ‘reigi tadashii’. Japan takes time management very seriously apparently and the ease with which we made it through the whole process was testament to this.
One thing that struck us was the age of many of the workers. With around a quarter of the population being over 65 there has been a real push since the economic crunch to keep people in work until 70, with attempts to ‘redefine’ the notion of retirees at 65. Sounds familiar…
Leaving customs we were met by a camera crew for Tokyo TV who wanted to interview us as to why we had come to Japan. I would love to say we came across as erudite and articulate but the reality is we were probably a bit dazed and bumbling. The questions were funny too, they couldn’t get their heads round we were traveling by camper van, it hasn’t taken off here as it has in the UK. They also were concerned as to how we would possibly be able to cook in such small confines. After a bit of head nodding the interview ended.
A wi fi dongle had been delivered to the airport. Japan has 97% wifi coverage and whilst there are places where you can get free wi fi it is intermittent. Added to that as we want to go off the beaten track it is essential. Again I was helped by an elderly volunteer with a spring in his step to locate the terminal post office.
Tactile marking was good throughout the airport.
These small rectangular areas provided audio in English and Japanese. This one gave the route to the toilets. Much on this in further blogs but I have been really impressed with the support for people with VI here.
We bought our travel pass (foreigners get various much cheaper offers) for 3 days unlimited subway travel and then headed to board the train to Tokyo. In some ways we felt a little smug getting from a to b so easily but truth to be told it’s so far proving difficult to get much wrong as things are properly staffed here, they are so helpful and so much is in English.
Random Acts of Travelling 