Hicks, Hipsters, Hijabs, and Hibachis

The massage place not too far from school It only took 16 days in Japan for me to find a massage opportunity.  Mimi, suggested we go to a place after school that advertised a reasonable price.  Massages here in Japan can be quite expensive and this seemed too good to be true.  So she made appointments for us (as I couldn't read the website and didn't know what to say). Individual Shoe Trays Mimi arrived before me and I received this message on my phone:  "now I know why the price was so cheap."  It turns out everyone getting a massage is all in one large room.  It is a very well-lit area with about 9 massage tables.  Men and woman can receive a massage at the same time and I noticed this was because everyone was fully clothed.   Still, we already had appointments and decided to give it a go.  I am so glad we did! After a detailed briefing, all in Japanese, we were escorted to a small changing room where shorts and t-shirts w...

Ohayo and greetings from Japan! Ryan and I hit the ground running, or sleeping I guess, in the land of the rising sun.  We arrived at Haneda airport a bit delayed, landing around 11:30 pm on July 31st.  We stood in the well-signed immigration line for about 20 minutes.  Already we were loving the efficiency.  Right at immigration, we were issued our alien cards (residency permits) which act as our Japanese ID cards.   We only had a short way to walk to baggage claim where Maddie was waiting with her own gate agent for us next to the conveyor belt.  She made it safe and sound but was certainly a bit frightened.  Loading up our two luggage trolleys, we headed over to the customs import desk to have Maddie checked over and her import permit issued.  My last name was spelled incorrectly on the permit but the customs agent seemed to think that wouldn't be a big deal.  He didn't speak much English and we don't speak any Japanese so I...