I'm a Stranger Here Myself - Transitioning to Life in Japan

One of the things Japan does very well is move millions of people a day via train and bus. Mass transit almost always runs efficiently and on time. Even the slightest delay in a train's arrival or departure will be cause for an apology issued via the train station's PA. ’ Moushiwakearimasen', meanin g we deeply apologize, is the word, albeit rarely, one hears on such occasions.  The whole system, at least in the metropolitan areas, is a marvel of system engineering, integration, and efficiency. Quite amazing really. Trains and buses will be our primary means of getting from A to B as we have no plans to buy a car so a top-drawer mass transit system is a blessing. In order to make use of the transit system, we needed to add an e-card app to our phones to purchase fares. Such apps are used not only for purchasing train and bus fares but also for food and drinks at train stations and konvini (convenience) stores. Suica and PassMo are the most ubiquitous apps so we loaded the S...

After 45 years of living in the San Francisco Bay Area, 22 of them married to a Japanese woman,  Ikuko and I decided to sell our home and move to Japan. We hatched this notion some 7 years ago and after much work prepping our house for sale. jettisoning a lifetime's accumulation of 'stuff' we no longer needed and overcoming a 2-year delay, primarily covid, we finally made our goal a reality. The purpose of this online journal (I never liked the word 'blog'. To my ears it's onomatopoeic for the sound one makes when projectile vomiting after a bought of Olympic-level drinking, but I digress) is to share with loved ones not so much day to day activities but my impressions of life in Japan from the point of view of a 'gaijin', which literally translates to 'outsider'. So, I will start at the airport... We arrived at Narita, Japan's main international airport, on 7 July at 1440 (Japan typically uses the 24-hour clock) Thursday afternoon Japan time...