GW Day 4: Leaving the Kanto Region

Okay, just to let you all know the title does not refer to me leaving home to become a Pokémon master (anyone catch that? lol). It is actually signals the start of my journey to Osaka and Kyoto. Enjoy!

22:41 - Just to catch you up with my day (Tuesday to America's Monday) - at about 11:00 I arrived at Narita Airport (happy to be back in a familiar place), around 12/12:30 I made it back near our school Kanda University and took care to write/send 10 postcards [葉書｜はがき]/2 letters [手紙｜てがみ], withdraw some money from the post office (the safest and surest place to do so), and use some of said money to extend my commuter pass three more months (we don't even really have this much time left . . . weird). Talk about accomplishment!

After all that I went back to my dorm in Baraki Nakayama to prepare for Osaka and Kyoto. I had a pleasant conversation with my boyfriend Don who was very sleep drunk (lol), posted my Seoul pictures to Facebook (thus removing the veil of secrecy I had put over my whereabouts for the past few days), and caught up with friends and family. Making sure to leave at a reasonable time, Ms. Pigit, Dimplez (my bear), and I are now headed towards Shinjuku where we will catch the NIGHT BUS!!!! The night bus is a nifty little service that allows you to travel overnight to get you where you need to be early in the morning. Funny thing is, where I need to be doesn't exactly allow me to check-in until 15:00 (maybe they'll be nice and let me in at 14:00?).

But I digress.

I got the relax seat option for the style of bus I would be riding on which looks nice in the picture so I'm hoping for a relatively long rest, at least after I post my Seoul blogs. Despite much confusion in choosing the correct route to Shinjuku I realized that the destination was not the problem (all roads lead to Shinjuku . . . okay not all of them, lol) but the route itself posed a problem. The awesomely helpful website we students use here to track trains/routes often gives many options, labeling them according to 1) ease of use, 2) cost and 3) speed. I happened to decide on the one that was the best of all three criteria (to Kyri's dismay because she did not see that route when she made for Osaka last week). Well my stop is coming so I better go!

22:53 - Don't you just love getting turned around? Well I don't. But thank goodness Shinjuku is rife with maps and tourist information sites along the sidewalks. I finally found my departure area - the Sumitomo Building - checked in at the Willer Express desk and got on my bus. I must say that all of the staff was very helpful, very enthusiastic, and consistently remained on their toes so as to best serve us riders. A+ Japan transport company!

Just as the picture showed, the seats are definitely the relax seats. Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a seat with decent reclining ability that fits your body from head to toe. A well cushioned seat, it also has a light source, air conditioning vent and seat head cover (think the protective visor on baby car seats) for each individual. They do appear to be sort of tight but everything works out in the end for everyone's enjoyment. While I haven't been the most forward-thinking person by putting my stupid backpack in the area above us, I made sure as not to obstruct the reclinability of the person in front of me. I'm not really tired right now so I think I'll switch over to journaling (even though the buses main lights just went off . . .). じゃまた！