Arrigato Mr. Roboto (Part 1)

Ok, so my trip to Japan was freakin amazing and quite interesting. I have so much to tell that it requires a 2-part description. This will be my first installment of my journal dedicated to my trip. I call it: Part 1!

So I managed to wake up at 5:15 in the morning so that John and I could catch the 6am train to Incheon Airport just outside of Seoul. Our flight was at 9:50, but the bus takes 2 hours to get to the airport.

5:47am- We get our tickets and we're lining up to get on the bus. I realize that the bus has no washroom and I can't hold it for 2 hours. I told John I would be right back and I walked to the bathroom.

5:53am- I walk back to the bus and John looks like he's going to kill me. Apparantly they started boarding while I was in the washroom. They overbooked the bus and there were no seats left. We had to stand all the way to the airport.

8:03am- We arrive at Incheon Airport. John wants to kill me. Did I mention that he pulled an all-nighter with the intention of sleeping on the bus and plane?

9:50am- Our flight takes off to Kansai Airport in Osaka. Yeah baby!

10:22am- I ask for a beer. Not only do they not charge me for the beer but they give me 2 bags of salted peanuts to wash down the beer.

11:05am- The flight attendant brings me my 3rd beer and my 8th, 9th, and 10th bags of peanuts. Slightly better service than Air Canada.

11:45am- We land on a huge body of water. I hadn't realized that Kansai Airport was built in the middle of the Sea. At this point the trip is already worth it!

12:42pm- We hop on a train with hopes of getting to the Korean Consulate before 1:30pm when the Visa department closes. If we don't we're screwed!

1:27pm- We run out of the train station and hop in a cab. He has NO FREAKIN IDEA what we're saying. 2 minutes wasted.

1:29pm- We ask some dude on the sidewalk how to get to the Consulate. GOOD NEWS! It's only 5 blocks away and we have approximately 53 seconds to get there. We run like demons to get there.

1:34pm- We enter the Consulate sweating like fat kids. AWESOME NEWS! The Visa department opens at 1:30pm not closes. Frickin Hell!

1:35pm-4pm- We spent the next couple of hours chatting with all of the foreigners doing the exact same Visa run. We all walk to our hotel together and make plans to do it up Kawasaki style that night.

Here is where I end part 1 of this story. Part 2 is definitely the more exciting part of the story, but to fully appreciate it you require the background information from part 1. Stay tuned for more,

Ronnie-San