Journey to Japan: Settling in

Day 2

After the whirlwind of yesterday, travelling to Frankfurt, transiting in China and finally arriving in Japan, navigating the unfamiliar, dealing with missing luggage, and adjusting to this long-anticipated trip suddenly becoming real, Day 2 started more slowly. I let myself sleep in a bit longer and enjoyed a proper hotel breakfast. The calm after the storm.

The first mission of the day: get local IC cards, those magical tap-and-go passes that make life on Japanese trains and buses so much easier. I started at the ticket machines, scanning the screens, hoping to get what I wanted, but I didn't. So I braced myself and headed over to the Travel Service Center. Time to practice some of the very few Japanese words that I knew. Took a waiting number, and queued with my phone ready, translation app open. Thankfully, it was all smooth and efficient. Within minutes, I had the cards.

With that task done, I exited the station and started walking toward the stadium to pick up my race starter kit. The path there was rather quiet. I mean it was still a major road, but a lot less foot traffic. It was a welcome moment, the first real chance to let my thoughts catch up with me. Just me, the  straight sidewalk, and the realization that I was actually here in Japan. This isn’t a layover or a plan anymore, it’s happening. And more pressingly: race day is tomorrow.

I’m as prepared as I could be, I told myself. But if I’m being honest, I’d only managed one 10k run in the weeks leading up to this trip. Tomorrow, I’d have to do double that. I wasn’t nervous, exactly. More aware that it would be challenging, but determined to give it my best. And as I walked, I started feeling something that had been missing the weeks before: quiet confidence. The core logistics were falling into place. Travel cards? Sorted. Race kit? Almost there. Luggage? Still in Beijing, but that was a problem for Future Me.

At the stadium, a small white tent had been set up where the international participants could collect their bibs and race shirts. I collected my materials, bib number and shirt, and just like that, I had my first two proper souvenirs of the trip. The shirt was nice, the kind I knew I’d keep even after the race was over, no matter how well (or poorly) I performed.

To return, I boarded the train for the short ride to the hotel, just two stops. From there, I went for a bit of a wander, exploring the area and shops around the station. I needed a few more essentials thanks to my missing luggage and decided to stop at a supermarket. Which, for reasons I still don’t understand, was located on the third floor of the building, while the ground floor was a sporting goods store. Somehow, it feels like that setup should be the other way around. Surely a busy supermarket would benefit from easier ground-level access? But this is Japan, I am sure that there is a reason for that. 

The first section of the supermarket was packed, a human traffic jam, not sure why though or what everyone was after. But once I moved deeper into the store, things calmed down. I picked up some practical bits, snacks, drinks, and toiletries, the usual mix of forgotten necessities and impulse grabs that feel like travel essentials when you’re living out of a hotel room.

Time to make my way back to the airport to pick up my girlfriend who was arriving today. As the day wore on, the sky grew grey. Fog had started to roll in. I kept an eye on her flight status: The airplane was circling in a waiting pattern just outside the airport. Apparently the fog had disrupted visibility enough to throw off several arrivals.

Still, the waiting game came to an end when she finally arrived. Tired, but in good spirits. We made our way back to the hotel, dropped her things off, and took a short evening walk, trying to shake off the stiffness from travel and had a simple dinner nearby, good enough to call it a day.

And my luggage? Confirmed to be still in Beijing, scheduled to arrive on Monday, the exact day I was leaving Sendai. The suitcase will not make it in time for the race, but at least I had my shirt, my bib, my shoes and hopefully just enough endurance left in my legs.

Tomorrow, I’d run.