Saturday we were packed, up early, and ready to go.
It was snowing. The hotel staff said that we should leave early because the train may be canceled. On the website, they flight was still a go.
We left the hotel at 9am. Had the stand on the corner and hope for a taxi to tokyo station and catch the Narita Express, the fast train to the airport.

Arrived at the airport at 11:00am. Our flight was not to leave till 6:30 pm.
Ate some lunch and waited.
The snow continued to fall. United Airlines Japanese staff, said the flight was still on schedule.

It was hopeful since ANA (All Nippon Airlines) was taking off and landing. I was worried because I could see our plane was not at the gate.
At 6:00 they said the flight was delayed till 8 pm, the airplane was routed to Nagoya and would be here in an hour. At 8:00, were told that the flight was delayed until 10:00. I was worried, but they said we were still going. Then at midnight we were informed that the flight was cancelled. The trains were not running, and we were informed that the hotels in the area were all full.

From then on, all of our questions were answered with “we have no information”. We had to spend the night at Narita Airport.
It was carpeting and someone comfortable in the gate area, but they made us leave. We had to go back through customs and immigration, collect our bags, that we now had to tote around.
We were given a snack, bottle of water, and a thin blanket, and we were on our own.

So we spent the night on the cold hard floor of Narita airport, with the bright lights, and many loud gate announcements for non existent flights. It was so cold I slept in my coat.

Woke up at 6 am. Chris went to scope out the situation.
They were already lining up to get re booked on a flight to get home. We heard all the flights were filling up. The line was all the way down the airport. We waited in line, they told us that they would take care of the cancelled flight to Guam, then at 12:30 they would start on the US flights. By the time that 12:30
came, there was a great degree of frustration. At 12;30, the Japanese staff had to put all their decorations out, had a little meeting while the anger level was building.
When our time came around at close to 2:00, I said just get me to Houston or anywhere in the US, we would get home.

Got boarding passes to Houston and then to San Antonio.

Made it home, but our bags did not arrive until 11 pm.
Home Sweet Home.
As I have said, its fun to go, but great to get home.

There are some things that are interesting and funny:
Japanese men obsession of school girls with big boobs

They like their potties. When I first came to Japan in the late 80s,
the japanese toilets were a trough in the floor, especially difficult to use on the bullet train, the Shinkansen.

Now toilets have gone hi tech, they wash the front area for women.

It washes the backside and dries it.

it has music so no one can hear the tinkle.

Now its posted on the door the type of the toilet.

Even hospitals have thee hi tech toilets, but sometimes difficult to find a place to wash your hands.

The trains:

We are so spoiled, just walk to our garage, get in your car and go wherever you want. In Japan, there are not so many freeways, traffic is terrible, so to get around, you must ride the trains. climb mountain of steps, and rush hour is just plan scary.

The beer in vending machines:

The masks: The idea is that if you have an upper respiratory infection, and in close area like the train, you wear a mask to prevent transmitting the infection. However, that only works if the mask is dry, when it gets wet from respiration, it does not a barrier. The Japanese put them on, wear all day, even outside. There must be another reason?

Today, Friday is our last full day. We leave tomorrow. Don’t know if I will ever be back, but I am glad I came and made peace with Japan.

We plan to walk to Akihabara for last minute shopping and eat Ramen for lunch, out last chance.

Tonight we will go back to Shinjuku to Moo Moo Paradise. In the morning, we plan to go to the flea market and look around. Then to Narita Express the train to the airport, to begin the long trip back home.

I love the Japanese convenience stores, the “convenie”. My first visits to Japan, they fed me so much raw and alive stuff. I thought I would starve. Till I discovered the “Convenie”.

They bring in fresh food 3 times a day. It has so many drinks, not just the US version of Coke, Dr Pepper, Sprite, water, energy drinks, and orange juice.

In Japan, there are every kind of juice, like blueberry juice, teas, iced coffees, on and on. There are fresh cooked food, all kinds of desserts, from crepes to cream puffs, many types of baked goods.

All Japanese hotel rooms have a hot water maker. There are these individual drip coffee packages, with a little filter that fits over your cup.

Everything to eat as well as toiletries you may have forgotten and various office supplies.

The convenie was a huge discovery for me and my time in Japan.

Started this morning we started our day with the usual continential breakfast provided my the hotel, free. That a new service, was not provided in all the previous years staying here.

Chris took off on the train to sightsee. I stayed at the hotel and worked on my blog. We met at noon with plans to have Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki is a dish our whole family grew fond of in the years going to Japan. Its paper thin sliced beef cooked with vegetables in a soy sauce type liquid. Now its difficult to find it unless its very expensive ($100. pp) with some rare special high fatty beef where the cattle live in a spa to give the meat lots of marbeling.
On our last visit to Japan we found thing ‘all you can eat Sukiyaki” place called Moo Moo Paradise. Its reasonable price and there is a big disclaimer sign out front that they apologize but they are using American beef. Heck we don’t care.

In years past, when we had lots of Japanese guests to our company, we would tell them that when they come to SA, we will have a Sukiyaki party at out house, with them bring the main chef. We would buy the meat, boneless rib eye, get it sliced as thin as we could get it. Take the Japanese guest to HEB Central Market to buy some of the ingredients. Then we would all cook at my house. I learned that each has their own family recipe with some variations. Fun times, my kids loved it.

So today we took the train to Shinjuku station, and walked to Moo Moo Paradise, only to find it closed. We were hungry and popped into a chinese chain restaurant. It was tasty and cheap, 1300 Y for 2 ( about $13.00)
Boy, the dollar is really weak on this visit.

Walked around and back to the hotel.
That evening we are going to Isakaia restaurant for dinner with Saako and Masumi. Isakaia is like tapas, you drink and have many little dishes. Typically it is really good. We went to this very local place, where everyone turns their head and looks when a gaijeen ( foreigner) walks in. Had our “Kanpai” toast with a beer. the atmosphere is interesting, but the food left something to be desired.

Akihabara is the famous electronics district. It is a few blocks from our hotel and one of Chris’s favorite places in Japan. Today, I am going shopping for some souvenirs for friends, a little momento of Japan. Chris wants to go to an area of japan that has old board games. We split up and I walk to Akihabara, visiting the shops. Most things are more expensive than the US, but I noticed a influx of some cheap Chinese goods, but that goes for wherever you go in the world.

My mission was for the cute and unusual. Found some things and headed back for lunch to meet Chris. He spent his time exploring around. He enjoys the freedom of taking the train. Sadly, I admit that of all my years of traveling to Japan, I never really learned the train system, except for the necessary places I needed to go. Chris is very good at it, some stations are in English, but for most you have to memorize the kanji.

For lunch we ate ramen, its so good on a cold day. There are 2 ramen shops right near our hotel. Upon entering the shop, you have to make your selection from a vending machine that dispenses a ticket, you give the ticket to the lady behind the counter that makes the ramen. It seems like a good idea, the cooks do not have to handle the money….good for me.

In the afternoon we walked around to see how the neighborhood had changed, if any. The hood is fine, few changes except for the restaurants. The 2 ramen places are new. Across the street from the hotel, one of my favorite Korean Bar Be Que, japanese interpetation, Yaki Niku, places closed. They had charcoal cookers and the most delicious sea weed salad. Now, it is a restaurant called “Chicken and Wine”, ???

Tonight we are meeting Masako, my first Japanese staff in San Antonio from 1992-1997 and her husband for the above mentioned Yaki Niku, japanese version fo Korean Bar Be Que. We met them at Shinjuku station and walked to the restaurant. Seated in front of a charcoal/gas grill in the middle of the table. Uncooked meat is brought out, lettuce leaves, raw vegetables, salad with sesame dressing, tasty, kimchi and other pickles, and that bowl of rice, “gohan”.

Had the traditional beer toast “Kanpai”, break your chopsticks “Ohashi”.
You cook your meat on the grill, wrap it in lettuce, like a taco, dip in sauce and enjoy. Its fun and social as well as tasty. Had lots of laughs and talk of old times with Masako and her husband.

The last plan of the evening was to video film the Tokyo night lights, Shinjuku is a great area, the buildings are lit up with neon, glowing with illumination. Walked behind Shinjuku station… ready to be dazzled by the lights….but who turned the lights out???? There were few…it seems that since the earthquake in Fukushima, and the nuclear breech and accident, there is a move away from atomic energy to importing foreign oil this caused the lights to dim in Tokyo to conserve energy.

This morning we went to Harajuku, the area where the young people hand out, frequently in Anime costumes, especially on the weekend. On the weekend, in one part near the shrine, there is a flea market. I love to look at old junk, it’s history, but in japan it is especially enlightening.

I once bought a photograph book filled with pictures during the WWII era. It showed a man in his military uniform, kissing his baby goodbye. Often wondered if he made it back. There are only foreigners browsing the remnants of others unwanted items, or the leavings of those deceased without progeny. Japanese like things new and shiny, no desire for the previously used and abandoned items.

I digress from the mission that is Harajuku. It the past, indi bands played on the corners, until law enforcement ended it. It was home to anime costume shops. quirky accessories and a good place to but things for my kids, items popular now in Japan before it trickled to the US.

Now it is home to be biggest haku yen store (dollar store), but still a good place to buy things for your kids. It has a huge McDonalds, crowded with Japanese teenagers, Chris wanted to try it to compare. I said its just as bad as the US, but the burgers are a bit smaller. He agreed.

Early afternoon, it started to rain, and I resisted buying an umbrella, that I did so many times and brought it home to my children. We took the train back to the hotel. During the afternoon it snowed. Lying on my bed, listening to my Ipod, drinking a hot cup of green tea, watching the snow coming down, a rare sight in Texas.

It is so unusual to be in Tokyo without a packed schedule of business meetings, hospital visits, lectures.

Today is was just Chris and me, can do whatever we want. One thing I want to do it eat all the food that I missed. On other posts, I mentioned that I thought I would starve when they tried to feed me that fancy food. However, I discovered the “working man’s food” as I call it.

The hotel, St Hills, that I stayed since the hotel was built, until I left Japan in 2006. I was surprised that several of the front desk people remembered me. It was a comforting feeling. They now have a free continental breakfast.

For our first lunch, we had ramen. It’s the best here.

Saako came and I did an interview for my radio show on the social situation in Japan that lead to the declining birth rate.

We walked to Akihabara, the electronics district. Chris’s favorite. We walked and walked. Took an afternoon nap, such a luxury. For dinner we had Japanese curry.

Todays plan was to meet with the Japanese women that worked for me in San Antonio and would travel with me to Japan. In the early days of traveling to Japan ( 1989- 1992) I hired a translator when I came to Japan. It was the most cost effective, but soon learned that you are only as good as your translator.

In 1992, I hired the first Rann Med lady, Masako. then Rumi for 7 yrs, Madoka for 4 yrs and Kyomi for one year.

Another was Saako, she did not work for me directly, but for our importer. She came to Rann Med for one month for training and when I came to Japan, we worked together going to hospitals.

Today we were having abit of a reunion with their families. These women, came back to Japan and have all had children and are some of the rare, career women with children. Typically, women in Japan quit work when they get married for for sure when they get pregnant.

We met for a tempura lunch with their children and two with husbands.

For many years, I felt like a failure in Japan, and tried to seek if there was a purpose in all my hard work and investment. Maybe this is my purpose, to have influence in the future women leaders in Japan.

I did a short video interview with each of them and asked…..what did you learn while working at Rann Med and Ann Hardee that helped you be a careet woman in Japan. Each of their answers were surprising…I thought they would say that I taught them to speak up and give their opinion, but they all had different answers. For me it was so touching.

Today is Saturday. I will speak on Cancer Care in the US. Unfortunately, I am the next to the last speaker. I always prefer to get it done earlier, so I can then relax.

I listened to other sessions, they had 9 foreign guests, all doctors, talking about cancer care in Europe and Japan. I am the only one from the US. The person that was in my session was a male nurse, Per, from Sweden. He spoke about safe handling of chemo drugs. For the non medical person….long term handling of chemo drugs may cause the nurse, doctor, pharmacist to get cancer. I was glad he covered that, since I could just mention it.

Chris and I worked for months to develop some new software instead of using the old tired Powerpoint. We asked ahead if there would be internet available during my speech, for the short film clips, we were told “yes” several times, but on that day. It was only available in the lobby of the hotel, not the conference center.

I must say at this point that the conference/forum was excellent. The facility was beautiful, the planning and organization was perfect.  Tei and the Japanese staff that came from the hospital I visited the day before, took really good care of us.  It was impressive on many levels, there were 9 international speakers. I am honored to be representing my country, the USA.The conference was in English, with simultaneous translation, its very expensive. Everything was really top notch.

Due to having to remove the video clips and replace them with stills, my speech ran a little short and working with simultaneous translation, more difficult for me. I am used to sequential translation, you get more non verbal feedback from the audience.  Had more time for questions. Of course, I second guessed myself later, oh, I should have said this or that.  Although, I  got a good reception for my speech.

Afterward we had a party of the guest speakers and sponsoring staff. Before the party, Per, introduced me to his friend that accompanied him to Japan. We hit it off. When the party opened, he followed me and sat next to me. We had lots in common and I have not connected with another man like that since my husband.

The party hosts told me that since I was a radio personality, they would like me to be the entertainment. On the spur of the moment, I had to get up and tell something funny. I told the stories about when the first years of going to Japan, they would feed me, or try to, the fancy food. “creepy crawlers” stuff still alive, and I thought I would starve, till I found the convenie.

Next I told them about why they called me the Viagra Nurse at my last job. But I did the PG rated version. They loved it.

Soon it was time to catch the Shinkansen, bullet train to Tokyo. Rumi, that worked for me for 7 years in San Antonio as a manager.  During her employment she also  traveled with me to Japan for translation and business. She now lives in Nagoya Japan. She came and attended my speech. The plan was to all go together to Tokyo.  There were memorable times together. No matter how bad the Japanese businessmen were to us when we met with our distributor, we could always find something to laugh about when the stressful meetings were over, It created a bond for life.

I did want to stay and talk to the Swedish guy some more, but time to move to Tokyo. There we would have a reunion of the Rann Med ladies that worked for me.