Me, a few months after moving here
Hello there! Welcome to my first post! I’M THRILLED to see you here! I hope you enjoy the read. Today, I will tell you about what it was like to come to Japan from Brazil.
(HEADS UP: I’ve written the collocations that I think that might be new to you in CAPITAL LETTERS)
In Brazil
My husband had been living with me in Brazil for 3 years when we decided to come to Japan together. He came first at the beginning of 2022 IN ORDER TO have residence and a job here to be able to sponsor my VISA to Japan.
Three months after his departure, I decided to TERMINATE THE LEASE AGREEMENT of the house we were living in in São Paulo and MOVE back IN WITH my mom to save some money.
It was the best decision I made. Besides saving money, I GOT TO spend a lot of quality time with my mom and my brother, who lives next door to my mom. And I really appreciated that.
When the time to come to Japan arrived, I HAD MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT IT. I was super excited to come to Japan and reunite with my husband, but at the same time, I was sorry to leave my family, friends, and dogs behind knowing that it would take more than 2 years for us to meet in person again.
At Garulhos airport
On the day of my flight, my mom threw a coffee party in the afternoon, and our friends and family came to say goodbye to me and wish me a safe flight. I couldn’t enjoy my time with them very much, though, because I had to do the last-minute preparations for the trip.
But EVERY NOW AND THEN I would go to the kitchen to talk to them and have a snack. It warmed my heart to see them all talking and enjoying each other’s company in my mother’s kitchen. “Gosh, I will miss that” – I thought.
When it was time to say goodbye to my dogs and leave home, MY HEART ACHED. I felt like crying already, but I managed to HOLD BACK THE TEARS. I was especially worried about Lua, my eldest dog, because she was quite old and her health was not very good. I was afraid that I wouldn’t see her again. I have good news, though. Today, one and a half years later, she is still going strong.
The flight to New York
My flight was at night and my brother drove me to Guarulhos airport. My mom, my godmother, her son, and a family friend who is like an aunt to me went with us in the same car. When I had to say goodbye to my mom and my brother at the departure gate, I couldn’t hold the tears anymore and let them flow. Right after I went through security, however, I grabbed my phone and started messaging them. They were still in the car going back home.
Boarding the American Airlines plane that would take me to New York
This was my first time traveling abroad alone. It was also my first experience going to a country whose official language I can’t speak. Oh, and it was also the first time I could enjoy an airline lounge before a connecting flight. That’s right! I got access to the airline lounge, where I could rest in those comfortable armchairs and take whatever I wanted to eat and drink from the buffet.
The right to use the lounge came as a happy surprise. I’d bought one of the cheapest tickets I could find online, but to my surprise, it was not a regular ticket.
And that lounge CAME IN so HANDY! After a 12-hour flight, all I wanted to do was to FRESHEN UP comfortably in the washroom. There was a shower room in the lounge, but for some reason I can’t remember, we couldn’t use it. But we could use a private washroom. That was my chance to wash myself in the sink, CHANGE INTO new clothes, and brush my teeth. Luckily, I had a CHANGE OF CLOTHES and a face towel in my carry-on bag.
I left that washroom feeling sooo much better! Despite not having slept at all on the flight to New York, I was feeling ok.
At the airline lounge in New York
By the way, the flight had been great! I’d traveled on a massive American Airlines airplane, and I didn’t feel any turbulence.
Flight to Tokyo
The second flight, from New York to Tokyo, which took around 14 hours, was also great. I didn’t feel any turbulence, either. Now I understand how good it is to travel on gigantic airplanes. It seems that THE BIGGER the airplane THE LESS turbulence we feel.
On the Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo, there was extra leg room and we WERE PROVIDED WITH slippers, which was a surprise to me. Another thing that was surprising was that we left New York in the daylight and the whole trip was in the daylight. It means that we were going to Japan together with the sun.
I was checking this screen every few minutes ><
Flight to Osaka
I WAS SUPPOSED TO have a final connecting flight from Tokyo to Osaka, but I missed that flight due to a delay in my previous flight. In the airport, I noticed that the staff couldn’t speak English very well, but their skills were good enough for them to understand me and tell me what to do in English.
They gave me two options to come to Osaka. It was already late at night and the airport I was supposed to take my last flight to was going to close soon, so my options were to take another flight to another airport, or come to Osaka by BULLET TRAIN. Guys, I’d thought that all airports are open 24/7, but apparently some of them aren’t, so be aware of that.
I OPTED FOR the flight because I had 2 big suitcases plus a carry-on with me, and it felt like it would be more difficult to take a train than to take a flight. Later on, I discovered that bullet trains don’t allow passengers to board with suitcases unless they book their tickets beforehand and let the company know that they would be bringing suitcases with them. Thank goodness I opted for the flight.
There was another girl with me talking to the airport staff and she opted for the bullet train ride. She had big suitcases with her. I WONDER what happened when she boarded the train. I hope everything went alright for her.
So, I called my husband and let him know that he would have to PICK ME UP at a different airport and and then I HEADED TO immigration. I had very little time to go through immigration, check in for my next flight, and go through security before boarding. One member of the staff took me through all of that. IF IT WEREN’T FOR her, I WOULD HAVE MISSED that flight, too.
Although going through immigration was pretty fast, moving around the airport took a long time! Tokyo airport is huge, and we had to walk a lot! And TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, I had to push a cart with 2 suitcases weighing 32 kilos plus a carry-on bag weighing 10 kilos.
I’m sure that I would FREAK OUT if I had to try to find my way alone in that airport with so little time in my hands. I AM so THANKFUL TO that woman for GOING THE EXTRA MILE to ensure that I would take that flight.
It was a winter day, but after running around the airport pushing that cart with all my LUGGAGE, when I arrived at the BOARDING GATE, I was sweating. I was the only person there wearing a T-shirt and sweating. I had a few minutes to calm down before the boarding started. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I even took a picture of myself to remember how crazy all of that was ><.
My heart was beating so fast!
On the plane, I sat by the window and I saw the RUNWAY CREW waving goodbye to us while the airplane was getting ready to depart. I had to LOOK AT them MORE CLOSELY to MAKE SURE I was really seeing that. I had never seen that in my life. It really TOUCHED MY HEART. It was so kind of them to do it! I waved back at them with a smile on my face. Later on, I LEARNED THAT it’s the custom here in Japan. Japan was already surprising me in the VERY FIRST HOURS I was here.
Even though that last plane was much smaller than the other two I had taken, THE one-and-a-half-hour FLIGHT to Osaka WAS SMOOTH, too. The sky was dark with no clouds, and I could all the lights from the cities we flew over. It was a beautiful view!
32 hours later…
When I arrived at the airport, my husband and his friend were waiting for me. His friend had kindly offered to go with him to the airport to pick me up. I hugged my husband and shook hands with his friend.
To be honest, I was not sure if I should bow to him or shake hands, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable with shaking hands. What I actually wanted to do was give him a proper Brazilian hug to show him my WHOLEHEARTED APPRECIATION for his taking the time to drive all the way to the airport to pick me up.
At the Osaka airport
On the drive to our home, I still couldn’t believe I was finally in Japan. I can still remember the feeling I had when my husband’s friend parked his car in the parking lot and I finally stepped on the street. I looked around. I looked up at the apartment that was going to be my new home. “This is crazy! I came to the other side of the world!” – I thought.
This is the picture I took from our apartment balcony that night. I was finally there! It was hard to SINK IN! I had seen that apartment and that view in the video calls I used to make with my husband when I was in Brazil, and here I was, seeing it all in person!
The view from our apartment here in Osaka
I spent a total of 32 hours to get here. 32 hours! And I came alone! MIND YOU, I am very afraid of flying. I am proud of myself for having faced that fear so well! But I need to admit, God made things easier for me. If there had been any turbulence in those flights, I would have freaked out.
This is the end of this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it and learned a lot of new words and collocations. 🙂
See you in the next one! Bye!Eliana Capiotto
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