I was so excited and nervous all at the same time. Mom dropped me off at the airport around 3am. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I pretty much walked right through security and hung out at the gate.

On the first flight from Harrisburg to Newark, there were a lot of people headed to Vegas. One lovely group asked me what I was doing/where I was going/etc. I explained that I had a traveling itch and basically put some stuff in a backpack and headed to Japan. They promptly told me I was a mixure of brave and stupid and that they hope they don’t see me on the news as the small American girl who got murdered and chopped up into pieces in Japan.

Awesome start.

The plane we took to Newark held about 100 people. It was so small that we actually had too much luggage and the plane was too heavy or something like that. Woo! Anyway, I ended up sitting next to Andrew. He’s in the Air Force and living in Guam. He was going to Tokyo before Guam, so during our 3 hour layover we had breakfast together. I like travelling alone because I don’t think I’d meet as many people as if I were in a group.

The flight to Tokyo was the nerve wracking part. There was no turning back. Once I landed I’d officially be on foreign ground, not speaking (or reading) any of the language. Fortunately, the in flight movies were pretty good, and while waiting in line to use the restroom the stewardesses asked me about my Vibram Five Fingers shoes. The ladies were awesome, and I ended up talking with them for a good portion of the trip. They gave me some tips about Japan (bathe before onsen, try a saki bath, be mindful of where to remove shoes, where to exchange money, and ask younger people for help as they’re more likely to speak English), and told me about their careers as stewardesses. One attendant gave me directions on exactly how to get where I needed to go. Good thing because it turned out to be a lot more confusing than I expected.