Flying to Japan is not an easy task. From San Francisco, it took over 10 hours straight so it should be about 5-6 hours from Hawaii. Eitherway, try sitting down for that long without getting up and moving around much. Also, when you fly to Japan from America, you have to cross the Interational Date Line which means that you have to add one day ahead. So, if it is Monday in the US, it is usually already Tuesday in Japan.
Nevertheless, the moment you see that first glimpse of Japan from the plane window, the time spent on the plane is well worth it. Japan is not a very big country at all. It is a group of islands that is about the same size as California when you put them together. However, most of the people live in the Tokyo Metropolis which keeps the rest of Japan fairly agricultural.
After arriving in Narita International Airport, I had to clear their Customs procedure first and get a stamp in my passport to let me in the country. Then, our big group of teachers were escorted to buses that then took us into Tokyo (about 1 1/2 hours driving). We got to our hotel which is located in Akasaka and is centrally located near their governmental buildings.
My first task was to get acquainted with the Tokyo Metro subway system. Tokyo has a very busy but thorough and convenient subway system. You can just about get to anywhere in Tokyo via the subway. In fact, the majority of the people ride the subway to work and school everyday. Even young kids use the subway on their own. Of course, if you are new to Tokyo and her subway system, it is very easy to feel scared and intimidated during rush hour. During the busiest times of the day, people are literally pushed into the train system by attendants.
So, in my adventure to get familiar with the subway, I traveled to Shinjuku, Ginza, and Harajuku. All are popular shopping areas and are well known for interesting fashion. The people here all very friendly and polite. They will go out of their way to help people especially foreigners.
