Journal from Japan

     Our 747 full plane from San Francisco left on a clear, bright morning.  The pilot circled the Golden Gate Bridge - no fog to obscure the view.   Dave Griffiths, my seatmate from New Jersey had never been to San Francisco, so he was glad he got to see the main tourist attraction.
Three movies, three meals, and 11 hours later we arrived in Tokyo at the Narita Airport.  It was huge, clean, efficient, and quiet.  The luggage carts can be used on an escalator.  A man stands at the top to re-arrange the luggage so it doesn't topple when the carts point down - we found that system didn't work all the time, which was especially unfortunate for the person just in front of you.  It was 5:30 in the afternoon, Tuesday, November 14 when we began the 2 hour bus ride into Tokyo.  Everyone fell asleep even though our guide was giving very helpful information.  She understood and joked about it.  Our hotel has 40 stories and has a huge Merry Christmas decoration neon sign at the front.
      Former Fulbright Scholars volunteered to be our hosts for dinner and took us to a nearby restaurant.  Mr. Yosai Hayashi, who had studied in Madison, Wisconsin from 1967 - 69 was host for me, Mary, and Fritz.  He ordered many dishes, and we ate them all even though we were very full after the several appetizers.  Among the items we had were tuna - all fish is raw of course - and I tried octopus (tako) for the first time.  It was white and (?) and you could see the suction cup on the round slice.  He ordered 4 main dishes and 4 desserts.  None of us wanted dessert, but it was necessary for him to be polite and provide a full meal, and it was necessary for us to be polite and eat.  We shared food to taste them all; the three of us are not sure if that was polite or not.  We exchanged business cards with Mr. Hayashi, remembering to present them with both hands and a slight bow at the waist.  He presented his, we remembered to take it with our right hand over our left, and gave it careful and important attention before placing it in our own business card case.  The case may be put in a purse or pocket at the top of the jacket - but never in a hip pocket.  That would not be respectful.  This is the land of manners and effort as well as the land of the "rising sun" (which I am not seeing today because it is cloudy.)
      Sayonara,  Nancy Hart
      P.S.  Later you'll want to know more about the restroom at the restaurant.  It had a warmed seat and a panel of 6 buttons to push, won't you?