*waves a rainbow flag*

(this is copied from an email I sent dad - cause I am too lazy to type a separate message)

Yes, I'm back in Japan now. It was a bit of a stress when I arrived at the airport...

First I was given the wrong form (for arriving into the country) to fill out so I had to stand in a long line twice. It took me so long, that when I went to claim my baggage I was told "everyone already collected their bags from that flight" and I should go over to a "bag information counter". Luckily my bag was there (the very last one to be claimed for my entire plane)

Then I went to buy my bus ticket to get to Shinjuku (where I would meet my girlfriend Sayuri). So I got a ticket and head outside to where the bus stops were. They stretched in a long numbered line along the side of the street. I check my ticket (which was all in Japanese) and saw the #2, so I headed to the #2 bus stop and asked a guy who is putting bags in the bus there if this is the right stop for my ticket. He took a glance at my ticket and said the "2" stood for "terminal 2" and pointed to another number (#30) written on my ticket, saying that was my bus stop.

So, (lugging my cart with my heavy bag) I made the long walk from #2-#30 bus (did I mention that it was SOOO HOT and MUGGY? I felt like I was walking in a sauna).

But, when I got to the #20 bus stop I noticed there were no more bus stops after that. So, I approached a lady who is loading bags into the #20 bus, and asked her "where is the #30 bus stop?". She took one look at my ticket and said "this is not a bus ticket, this is a train ticket" (keep in mind my ticket was all printed out in Japanese).

ARG.

They had given me the wrong ticket at the counter.

I don't want to take a train because I have my huge suitcase to lug with me. So, the lady tells me I have to go back to the counter I bought the ticket and get a refund and then buy a bus ticket.

So, I walked all the way back to the ticket counter. But, then I was told by the lady behind the counter that I have to go down one floor to the "train information counter" to refund the train ticket & THEN come back and buy a bus ticket from her counter.

OH MY GOD!!

I was near tears by this time.

So, I find an elevator and get down to the bottom floor. I am looking around but I don't see the "train information counter". So, again, I have to ask someone (while fighting back tears of frustration).

Finally, I find this counter but it is so crowded, so I have to take a number an wait (by this time I have been at the airport for an hour and a half and it feels like it is in the middle of the night to me because of the time difference).

Eventually, I do get my refund and the proper bus ticket and get on the bus to Shinjuku.

Okay, so I am on the bus and there are like a whole bunch of accidents. The traffic is barely moving. As a result, the trip which should have taken 1 1/2 hours, takes over 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to Shinjuku.

The only saving grace out of this whole fiasco was that Sayuri was waiting for me in Shinjuku and surprised me by booking us a room in the Tokyo Hyatt (we got a fantastic panoramic view of Shinjuku).

Needless to say, I was so jet lagged after getting to Tokyo; but, I still was determined to have a good time.

On Saturday was the Tokyo Pride Parade. It was so different from the Vancouver Pride Parade. While the Vancouver parade gets a lot of support and sponsorship from the city, the Tokyo parade feels more outside at the fringes of society. They didn't even shut down the road we were walking on, so we had to be careful to not getting hit by passing cars in other lanes.The floats weren't as big and as elaborate. I recognized many people marching, as our community is so small and close knit here. It felt really important to be out there and walking and being vocal and representing our community (more so than in Vancouver where the society acknowledges and is more accepting of the queer community). I waved my rainbow flag I got in Vancouver proudly as I walked. It was REALLY HOT and MUGGY. But we tried to keep our spirits high, dancing in the streets and spraying people around us with water guns. It was a good experience.

Love and Miss you all
grace