I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so

Yokohama, Japan

Getting to Japan proved to be quite the adventure. The past couple of days had been pretty rocky then about 24 hours before we were scheduled to arrive, it was as if we’d interrupted Ursula and King Triton in the midst of the ultimate battle royale. The skies opened up and the ocean was as angry as I’d ever seen it. It was like we were smack dab in the middle of an episode ofm Storm Stories on the Weather Channel. When the ship would come back down to sea level after being sent airborne by a giant wave, a thunderous boom would sound throughout the ship, sending young children were ricocheting off the walls like pin balls and catapulting students out of their seats which made for an interesting class day I’m sure. It was really quite terrifying. I thank my lucky stars that our portholes on the second deck were closed. I was hoping when they opened then, I would find a cute little octopus stuck to the window to commemorate the occasion, but no such luck. So needless to say, when we woke up alive, we were excited to see land.

The day started with a view of the Yokohama skyline with Mount Fuji looming in the background. And in true Japanese fashion, we received quite the fanfare for our welcome, complete with a marching band and a color guard. Apparently this is common for ships docking in Japan. I hate to break it to the students, but most of the people in these ports will barely notice that we’re there let alone roll out the red carpet for our arrival. Way to set the bar too high, Japan.

The perfect storm severed our internet and our connection to the outside world, so I wasn’t able to solidify plans with the wonderful folks I know in Japan. I attempted to find internet about every 50 feet upon arriving in order to touch base with them, but who knew in a country so enamored with technology that it would be next to impossible to find wifi? And that everyone I know with an international cell phone doesn’t actually know how to use it?

So with the last minute change of plans, I headed to Tokyo Disneyland with my dear friend Christine, who is perhaps the biggest Disney fanatic I know. It proved to be quite the cultural case study. I could count on one hand the number of white people I saw in the park, including all of the Disney princesses. I found it odd that the main characters were all white, but the-shall we say-backup dancers were all Japanese. It was also quite interesting to see the effects of Disney mania on Japanese culture and vice versa. It was distinctly Disney, but with a Japanese flavor all its own.

Another something worth mentioning is Toto. No, not the little dog too from Kansas, the fancy ass toilets they have in Japan. Christine was actually the one to introduce me to Toto at her home in Southern California, but Toto and I had another run in at our hotel in Tokyo. I was finishing my business and enjoying the heated seat (we could all use one of these in the middle of the night during a Midwest winter, let me tell you), when it came time to flush. Simple enough, right? Wrong. I hit a button that looked like water flow. Well that picture wasn’t to indicate water flushing, it was to indicate water coming towards your bum to fashion as a bidet. It was all well and good, until the tube jutted up and out of the toilet bowl, proceeding to spray the entire water closet with water. By this time, I was up and off the heated seat, frantically pushing buttons to get it to stop, yelling for Christine to come and help. (Anytime someone yells for help from the bathroom, that’s never a good thing.) Luckily, I somehow happened upon the magic button that made it stop, but by this point the bathroom was soaked and Christine was in stitches, laughing away at my misfortune. I feel like everyone has at least one good Toto story upon first visiting Japan and there’s mine. Hope you enjoyed it.