Buses, Planes, and Trains, Oh My

Tokyo, Japan known for its beautiful sky line, neon lights and.... rice paddies?

When I flew into Japan I landed at Narita airport, which is an hour outside of Tokyo. The only view you get is rice paddies, small towns, and greener for miles, which has a natural beautiful.

After departing the plane you have to go through immigration before being directed off to a room that is on the back wall with one room and and a desk in order to get your residency card.The whole process is fast and easy, you just hand over your documents, scan your fingers and then bam, you got yourself a brand new card. This card will act as your ID card in the country so you do not have carry around your passport if you don't want to.
P.S. The room has a no cellphone use policy so don't be like me and use your cellphone and get stared at by the other people in the room. 😨

Luckily for me, my buddy met me at the airport to help me with the next step of my arrival journey, getting to my place of residence. Due to Aoyama Gakuin assigning you a tutor/guide/buddy before you leave, you are able to have a local's advise, knowledge, and assistance. I HIGHLY recommend you take advantage of that and ask them about anything and everything. Also ask them if they would mind meeting you at the airport. My amazing buddy Soari, better known as Tommy, helped me so much.

I know that many people,myself included, can figure it out on our own if we have to, but why not have help. I know I was kinda of tried from my long flight, and it is a daunting task to figure out not only a foreign public transportation system, but what do with your luggage and where to go, and being slightly starstruck in this new place.

Now the next thing you should think about is cash and what to do with those pesky bags of yours. I recommend keeping either your carry on or whatever small bag you have, and filling it with a two days worth of clothes and send the rest to your residence via the baggage delivery services in the airport. There two companies just to left of the main lobby once you come out of customs. Now the cost depends on how many bags you have and how heavy they are. For me I had a medium and large suitcases both just under 50lbs., for which I paid about $45. Now that may seem a bit much but I was happy because it freed up my hands, made my journey easier, and it was nice not to worry about it.

For more info check out the list on the Narita airport website.
Another tip make sure you get a drop off time from the company you pick encase there is no intercom or front desk attendant to receive your luggage at your place. This is because if no one is there they will not drop off your luggage and you will have to call and reschedule a new drop off time.

Next thing is getting ¥ (yen). It easier to get ¥ (if you don't already have it) in the airport, remember Tokyo is mostly cash operated, so it is best to have cash whenever possible (plus it saves you from those additional charges banks like give when you use your card).

From that point you can move to planning our route, if you haven't already. When in Japan I agree with most local opinions on NOT taking a taxi until you are much closer to your destination, if at all. The taxi system in Tokyo is much like in America, where it is very expense and better to avoid when possible. There is no Uber, Lift, or any other ride sharing services so will have have to take shuttles and public transportation.  I started off my journey to m new home by riding the hour bus shuttle to Tokyo station, I recommend the shuttle because it is cheaper and drops you off a mere 5 minute walk to the station.

For more information on the different options check out the website.

In the station you can buy your train pass. It costs 1,000¥ to buy the pass its self, and then you can put however much you want. I arrived about a week before the semester starts, which means I had a week before I could get my discount student train pass, so I didn't want to put too much on it. For me I put 1,000¥ on my pass so I can go out and explore before that time. Obviously that cost will change depending on how much traveling you plan on doing before you can get your student pass.

Now when you are on the train it can be very busy, especially if get on the train during rush time. The rush time can go from 7 to 9 in the morning and 5 pm (17:00) to 10 pm (22:00). Also note the stories are true they will squish and cram you into the the train to pack as many people as possible. Which why it is better to have less bags with you, so the easier it will be for to move around the train but also the station.

And again I have to say a huge thank you to Tommy for helping me with that last part, so I say it again get to know your own Tommy if you can and they will be your life saver.

After the we had conquered the trains we sat down and ate at a popular conveyor belt sushi place call
Sushi Roll (スシロル) and had an amazing time with great sushi, especially the cheese and salmon. 😋 Before calling it a night.

またね