Japan here I come!

Quiet Japanese garden

I am sitting in my hotel in Kyoto having been given a scant 10 minutes to write something! I arrived her today having flown via Tokyo as there are no direct flights by Qantas to Osaka and I wanted to use my frequent flyer points. Once in Tokyo I was subjected to my first dose of Japanese efficiency and processed very quickly. I had my two index fingerprints taken and my photo in less time than it normally takes through passport control. I was quickly onto an airport bus whizzing across Tokyo to Haneda airport. We drove on the Expressway and I didn't see much as there was a high concrete wall lining the road so it was rather like driving through a tunnel with the roof cut off. I arrived at Haneda in good time for my flight and wondered whether I could get on an earlier flight. This looked easy as there was a big screen with all the flights and indicators saying whether there were any seats. Five minutes later I was hurrying to the gate as my new flight left in 20 minutes! It was all too easy.

Sitting on my domestic flight from Tokyo to Osaka I experienced my first dose of Japanese instruction giving. They are most determined that you know the rules and that you stick to them. The screen on board had the 8 major rules you were expected to obey - all the usual things like put your seat up when asked, don't leave luggage in the aisles, don't assault the pilot. Once you had read the rules you were given an elaboration of them complete with cartoon characters illustrating what not to do eg don't put your life jacket on in the aircraft, don't try to open the plane's doors. In case we still hadn't got the message we had the rules a third time with real life pictures illustrating the correct thing to do. At the end the hostess (and we all know that the Japanese have a lot of trouble pronouncing the letter 'l') bowed and said, 'Have a good fright!'