I have arrived in Tokyo.
It only took a 14-hour flight and a 1-hour car trip from the Narita Airport to arrive at my hotel near Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo where I will be speaking on Friday morning.
That’s just hours away. I lost a day when I crossed the International Date Line.
(I’ll get it back on the way home.)
Although I have walked to a nearby bank to exchange dollars for yen, and a small market to grab waters for my mini-frig, I haven’t had time to sight-see just yet. But here are a couple of fun facts about my trip so far:
1. On my flight, I sat next to the lighting designer for the play War Horse, which is doing a month of shows in Tokyo.
It was his third touring production to visit Japan, and when it wraps, he’s headed back to the States to prep Cinderella for its national tour.
Needless to say, we chatted quit a bit about Broadway shows…until we both fell asleep.
2. I knew I was staying in Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighborhood during the business portion of my trip, but I didn’t realize it is a center for book publishing and used book stores.
As we drove down a major thoroughfare, there was storefront after storefront filled-to-bursting with books.
I just hope some of them are in English!
3. The TV in my room has limited cable channels and very little English programming, but I’ll admit I stopped and watched this show, even though I couldn’t understand a word.
It’s a very small world.
