As I didn’t sleep on this flight, it’s hard to tell when one day ended and the other one started. I almost finished entirety of Summertime Rendering, with only 3 episodes left as we landed.
Just getting out from the plane took about a hour. I was very sleepy and tired at that point. I got out to passport control, which had way smaller line than last time. Customs were also super easy and didn’t take too long. Getting my suitcase was a bit stressful, because it ended up being almost the last one out… I waited for like 20 minutes before I finally saw it.
I withdrew some cash and topped up my ICOCA, which still had 360 yen on it. There was still 4-5 hours left before my check-in time… I didn’t really know what to do, but decided that maybe I should go to Shinjuku, put my suitcase into coin locker and then go to internet cafe.
And so I went to Shinjuku, to find that there was no coinlockers outside the station gates, and you can’t exit from same you enter (and I have no idea why), so I couldn’t leave them there. I idled and thought what to do for a while, and idling at Shinjuku station is the worst. Just by standing in the corner you’re obstructing the flow of people.
I couldn’t stand standing there, and decided to just go to Sangubashi station where our apartment was nearby. I found out about ecbo cloak app, which allows you to put your bags in konbinis and other various shops, and after being irrationally anxious about possible awkward language conversation, I’ve decided to do it. I rehearsed how it’d go a lot of times, but as always, in reality I just fumbled on the first sentence and defaulted to English and gesturing, le sigh…
But it was really nice to get rid of my backpack and suitcase. I got tamago sando and juice and walked to Yoyogi park.
I sat down on the grass and ate. I was so tired and sleepy at this point, so when I layed down, I was ready to fall asleep right there, despite being eaten by various bugs. There was about 3 hours left before check-in.
And then the host told me they can check me in earlier, and it’d be in like 1.5 hours, omg. I ended up finishing the anime there, and then picked up my bags and then met the host. There’s 2 entrances to the apartment, and we kinda played cat and mouse because at first I saw the door closing from one side, and then from another, lol.
It was a nice interaction. I told them that this is my second time, so the explanation was much shorter this time. He didn’t recognize me, although he did say that my face was familiar. I told him that last time I was here with a talkative British guy while I was the shy Ukrainian.
I managed to unpack everything, and finally showered. █████████████ would arrive in like 3-4 hours, so I just idk layed there.
I don’t really know what happened next but I literally started losing consciousness. At that point I was without sleep for like 30 hours and I put on 3 alarm clocks and I still somehow ended up sleeping through them. I woke up 2 hours later, and █████████████ was still getting here, although she was now in Shinjuku station.
I went out and met her at Sangubashi station and she unpacked a lil and showered immediately. Just rested for a long time after.
We went out to eat and I ate the same meal at the same place as my last trip. It’s sooo yummy. █████████████ as always only ate like 1/3.
