Right now I’m sitting at boarding gate twenty-five. My flight will begin boarding in under an hour.
Last night was the final goodbye to Chieko. I met her at half seven by the Maranouchi exit of Tokyo station. We walked to the place she knew I wanted to go. Of all the places in Tokyo we went to the most effective. We went to the tabehodai. I could have eaten anything on my last night instead I ate everything. We sat and talked like I wasn’t going to leave. We talked about food, grammar and all the things I’ve done. I ate constantly. I monopolised the okonomiyaki, I inhaled the sashimi and I ate konyaku without any seasoning. I took giant bowls of tofu and Udon. Sashimi was served in tasteful bowls each of which had only two slices. This attempt to deter me seemed more like a challenge. For desert I concentrated on wagashi and Japanese specialties. Next to us a pair of co-workers were eating. An American man and a Japanese woman who spoke strong American English. Their talk was full of buzz words and inanity. We sat and pretended not to listen to the stream of braggadocio that came from both participants. Every now and then we would try not to laugh. At one point someone in the room had a birthday cake delivered with great ceremony.
She seemed happy to see my strong appetite was still intact. Time shifted and eventually I could eat no more. We got up and left.
It was still early so we walked towards the apartment. Chieko wanted to go to a supermarket first. We went into a small convenience store and I picked up four boxes of pocky and some Hello Kitty sweets, Tokyo’s local brand that are only available from the station.
Then we walked through the streets to the apartment. We stopped at the Pororoca. Chieko wanted to buy me a parting gift. The gift was food. She spent time selecting appropriate materials to make mochi and she bought some daifuku. Then she began looking for things I couldn’t get in England. As we passed the ramen section she saw some pokemon branded kids ramen. She looked at it and I promptly named all the creatures splashed on the casing. She smiled and picked it up. A large pair of instant meals that came with their own Pikachu knife and fork. I was in a daze; it was similar to the end of my first day over six months ago. I was sleepy just like I had been six months ago and I was excited too. We walked to the apartment and I packed the new items neatly away. She checked everything was OK and we discussed where to leave the key. We went downstairs and decided the letterbox was a suitable location, preferably secured to the top by a plaster.
Then it happened. We said goodbye. It wasn’t dramatic or over emotional. I got in the elevator and waved. We said we’d see each other again and the door closed.
In the apartment I arranged everything, set things charging and sent some e-mails. With the help of Shoko I found a good way to say “Thank you for everything” and wrote it out on a small piece of paper in hiragana. Then I got into bed and failed to sleep.
A few hours later I got up and had a shower. I double checked everything and then walked out. The key and note was placed in the letterbox. My bags didn’t seem heavy and the trip to Ueno was pleasant. I used up the remaining change I had and money on my Suica on drinks from the vending machines.
Then I talked to the woman at the ticket desk just so I could use my Japanese. I bought a ticket, went through the gates and got on the rapid. The instant I’d gone through the gates things were slightly different. I’d entered Japan for the first time through those gates looking for nothing other than a payphone. The train was quiet and almost empty. Once it started I realised I was beyond the going back point. I could get off at any station on the way to Narita but I wouldn’t. The view was just like my inbound journey but reversed. The same roofs, the same fields and the same stations passed me by.
I’d sent an explanatory mail to most of the people in my phone book. Within seconds I had a reply. More came in constantly. Several were from people I haven’t seen in months or barely know. A few simply said “Thank you” while others had more detail.
In the airport I acted quickly. I got through the security check and up into the departure lounge. Check-in wasn’t going to open until half eight so I had almost an hour to wait. I felt like I was going to disperse into my component parts. Every single part of me wanted to move, dance and sway. I listened to music and found that I was getting odd looks from the passengers around me. I couldn’t stay still and I was glad. I checked my phone and found more e-mails, a missed call and an answer phone message. Chieko had called while I’d been hauling my bags. I called her back straight away and experienced the real emotional goodbye. She wanted to know everything was OK and that I was there on time. I told her it was all fine and everything was going perfectly. It was an awkward conversation, I’m not good with communication in general and phones are a particular problem for me. She asked me to e-mail her when I got home, send her pictures and news. She said she would call me every day so I could keep my Japanese strong. Then it came time to check-in. I said goodbye and hung up the phone. This did not stop the emotional torrent as I received an e-mail from her soon after. Mie sent one too. It told me that she’d enjoyed seeing Japan through my eyes, Eiji reported in saying he wanted to drink sake with me sometime soon.
I check my bags, they were slightly too heavy but I smiled at the man behind the counter. He placed extra fragile tags on my guitar and asked me the questions that were required. I went to the security check and went through quickly and efficiently. For the first time ever the metal detector didn’t go off. Then the immigration desk was next. The man was serious looking but the instant I used some humorous Japanese he lightened up. He asked for my “foreigner identity card” and I asked if he meant my “Gaijin cardo”. He smiled and said he’d need to take it. Until I came to Japan I have never once carried a legal picture ID. Now for the first time in months I don’t have one in my pasmo case. My passport is with me but it feels ungainly and the picture is out of date.
I walked through to my boarding gate and began writing this entry. In ten minutes the plane with board. My phone will be turned off and I don’t know for sure it will operate at all in England. The things that have become normal to me here are now just dead matter. My Yodobashi point card, my Suica card, my phone and other trinkets are now trinkets and nothing more.
They will remain so. Until next year.
Labels: Arrival, baggage, beginning, Chieko, flight, Travel, Ueno
