Tokyo 1 - On the Plane

Japanese Sprite was a delight

My tweezers made it through customs. Spent the first half of the 10 hour flight picking Solvy bits from my Humitrope collar and depositing the tiny flakes into the plastic bag from the airplane blanket. The overly efficient flight attendant made multiple attempts to collect my trash, but I've managed to hang on to it.

I have been well-fed, as my son is not quite trustful of Japanese food: two packets of rice crackers (he tried one piece and proclaimed it to taste like a word I wish he wouldn't use so much), two trays of decent airplane food - "Japanese fish" and "Western beef" (like...cowboy?) minus the bun, a taste of the meat and the slice of melon. He is now making noises about being hungry, which in the past would have drilled intense fear in my heart. Until quite recently, our strategy has always been to keep his tank topped up, to mitigate complete disregulation. However, since returning from military boarding school four months ago, he is able to keep it together, and the fear has been replaced with just a fleeting, dull dread.

The flight attendant just brought milk, a tiny chocolate bar and a third package of rice crackers, which he ate without comment. This bodes well for our trip. The one potential tricky bit will be the food. And maybe the heat. And all the walking. And the lack of video games. And the crowds...

But I am optimistic. A year ago I could not have conceived of this much concentrated time together so far from home, and without backup. Today I enjoy his company and seek him out. I'm looking forward to uninterrupted connection and companionship. We have a lot to make up for.

While I tweezed plastic bits, my son investigated the on-board video game system ("Very, very outdated and strange. Pixelly... but at least they try.") first in Japanese, then in English, then used up the remaining power of his tablet, playing Minecraft.

A few rousing hands of Go Fish, a brief attempt to sleep, he then watched Frozen, chuckling to himself (my heart swells at this sound) while I dozed. Now he is wondering when the next meal will be served, and I wonder how much of it he will leave for me.

Soon enough we will land. I'm looking forward to his reaction to what he sees. Will it freak him out delightfully to be in a car on the left side of the road, as it did me the first time? Will he get a kick out of the futon on the tatami mat in the ryokan tonight? Will slipper etiquette trip him up? I hope this trip will blow his mind in a hundred tiny ways, as it cements our attachment. There is no one I would rather be here with right now.

Tokyo 2: Observations and Video Games
Tokyo 3: Earthquake