Earthquake and Insomnia

An earthquake struck Osaka and Nara, just before we left for Japan, on Sunday morning. It was a bit of a bolt out of the blue, after waking up from a paltry three hours sleep on Saturday night. I can only assume the adrenaline was pulsing through my veins, keeping me awake for most of the night — rather like this morning. 

It is 4.18 am and I have just woken up from another rough night's sleep. Sunday, I managed a couple of hours at most — this is starting to become habitual. Of course, I really have jet lag, after a mammoth 24-hour travel day yesterday. Arriving in Osaka at 11pm on a stormy night, we were greeted by our driver, who took us to The Miyako City Hotel in the centre of this vast city.

We began our journey earlier in the day, after arriving at Perth Airport at 3 am for our first flight of the day to Singapore, Changi Airport — a place we know well. As you are all well aware, I am not the world's greatest flyer, feeling every jolt and motion from the plane, but even I was pleasantly surprised, after experiencing one of the calmest flights I have ever been on. There was no turbulence, no catastrophic event, and we arrived at my favourite airport at lunchtime, ready for our next flight to Osaka.

We managed to grab a quick bite to eat, which consisted of a pastry and a macha green tea costing a whopping S$50, about the same price in Australian dollars. Prices aren't cheap in Singapore, but they are on a par with Australia and I never seem to mind what I pay when I am travelling anyway, especially when I am away from Perth. It is a sad fact, that I am becoming rather bored with life down under currently, especially in the most isolated capital city in the World. Any opportunity to travel is welcome, especially to Asia, my preferred destination of choice.

We headed to gate F30 in the large terminal 2 for our last flight, and by now I was feeling rather cranky, as you would expect. Insomnia and sleep deprivation has become a common part of my life in recent times. Having even less sleep on holiday, especially at a time when I should be relaxing, isn't going to help my sense of well-being anytime soon. Still, it is all part of the course when you live in Australia, flying internationally.

It's Golden week here in Japan, so the flight we were on was half empty. International visitors tend to avoid this rather hectic time in major cities across this country, when essentially the place shuts down for a week and people take a well-deserved break. This fact was unbeknown to me when I booked six months ago, but it wasn't something we could have changed anyway. We are here for my 55th birthday on May 9th, so the timing was non-negotiable.

Although we had much more space in the plane during this second flight, it was longer than the first, and decidedly more uncomfortable. There was a lot of turbulence and with the severe lack of sleep taking its toll, I was feeling particularly worst for where when we arrived in Osaka.

I did manage to get some great photos from the plane as we left Singapore, but by the time we landed I just wanted to sleep, even though my body just couldn't shut down. I've never really suffered from jet lag in the past, but these flights have been arduous. As I get older, I am becoming less inclined to fly long haul these days and certainly won't be doing this again in a hurry.

Getting through customs and border control was a breeze. I had heard horror stories from travellers about the red tape involved throughout the landing process. However, this wasn't my experience. Once over the strange official nature of the formalities of border control, having downloaded all the relevant information before we left in an app on our phones, we were through the checkpoints within half an hour. 

Japan is unlike any other country I have ever been to, and it shows as soon as you get to the terminal building. Everything is different: the language, systems in place to help you navigate the airport and the customs, culture and people. Bowing in appreciation will be something I will have to get used to. Japanese people are not the most embracing I have ever met, but they are super polite and eager to help to direct us to our destination.

Having been picked up by a car in the past, especially in Bangkok, I am aware of the logistical nightmare this causes. Two people from different sides of the world desperately trying to locate, a car in the middle of a rather congested haystack. Darrell and I have wandered around aimlessly for hours in the past trying to find our driver. Here in Osaka, the efficiency was palpable, and we were picked up within five minutes — impressive yes, but when you have paid $400 for a ride, I wouldn't expect anything less. 

And finally to The Miyako City Hotel in Osaka. Like all hotels in this country, the rooms are a bit on the small side, but the room we chose is substantially bigger than most I saw. However, the reason I picked this hotel in particular was because of the balcony, that gives stunning panoramic views of the city. It was difficult navigating it precariously on the 12th floor last night during a storm, but even so you can see just how wonderful the views are. 

With day 1 at an end and with a serious lack of sleep, it remains to be seen just how much we get done today. As long as I get a nap this afternoon, I will be happy. The weather should be better this Monday and we can at least start to explore this incredible city and all it has to offer.