Finally in Japan!

After what felt like an eternal plane ride I arrived in Narita Airport on Tuesday, at 5:00 p.m. It felt so strange leaving San Francisco at about noon on Monday and then getting off the plane into tomorrow evening! Real time travel. I am now 14 hours ahead of New York City time. So I virtually lost a whole day but I feel energized. I went to dinner with a very nice young Japanese college student. Her name is Rie, and she speaks very good English, even though she kept saying that she doesn't. She took me to a little Udon Noodle Shop for dinner. I had a nice bowl of Udon in broth, with a big piece of fried tofu, and there was a special tempura counter where you could pick from a large variety of tempuras. I had piece of butternut squash and what I thought was mixed vegetables. It turned out it was vegetables, with little shrimp, that still had their shells on and their heads with black beady eyes. But it was coated in batter and completely fried so I ate it anyway. When in Japan, do as the Japanese do. I took a brief walk around the Shinjuku section of Tokyo, which felt alot like New York, a little like the Times Square area, but not as big. Lots and lots of Japanese business men in black suits, herds of them really, walking in the streets. It was great to begin taking in the sights. But it is late now and I do need to get up early. Tomorrow I wll see more of the city and get to go to Kabuki theater.