12th Tokyo Crazy Country Dance Festival (12TCCDF)

The 12th Tokyo Crazy Country Dance Festival hosted by Hiro Suzuki, ran from 20-22 April this year.  

On the 8th of April, I received an email from Hiro, but it wasn't until the 9th that I checked my inbox.  The email said that if he paid for my travelling expenses, etc, would I be interested in attending his event (and teach) like I did before, in 2008.  I looked quizzically at Allan, my husband, and he said 'Go for it!' :)

It was kind of a mad rush from then on until I boarded the plane to Tokyo on Tuesday night, April 17.  On the 10th, right after my morning class, I got all the necessary documents together, went to the photo studio to get my mugshot taken, and headed straight to my ticketing agent in KL where she showed us (Allan & I) how to fill up the form for visa application to Japan (policies for application have changed since 2008). She checked to make sure all documents were in order and then told us to hurry.....the embassy closes at 4:30pm.  We hailed a taxi at 4pm and rushed to the Japan embassy.  Made it just in time, got our queue number and waited for our turn to submit my application.  

The reason for all this haste was because the day after, April 11th, is a national holiday to celebrate the coronation of our 14th King.  Added to that a Japan visa application takes 3 working days to process.  Which means that if I submit on April 10 (Tues), I'll only get the visa (if approved that is) on April 16 (Monday), since Weds is a public holiday.  I needed to fly Tuesday night!  And I wasn't about to purchase the air ticket until the visa is securely in my hands.  But as my good fortune would have it, the embassy would be open even on April 11 as they're not following all the gazetted holidays in Malaysia.  To cut a long story short, I got my visa on Friday, bought the air ticket the same day and started packing for Tokyo. :D

Next came the travel jitters.  I've travelled alone only once, that was to Sydney, but even then I was to meet Allan there so that wasn't too bad.  This time, I'd be travelling alone and upon arrival I'd have to get myself onto a bus to Shinagawa Prince Hotel where Hiro will be meeting me.  All of this seemed extremely daunting especially since there may be some difficulty in communication as I don't speak Japanese.

To prepare myself for the journey, I printed the necessary information about the limousine bus that would take me to my destination.....floor plan of where the ticketing counters and bus stations were located at Terminal 2 Narita airport....price of ticket... etc.  I also armed myself with a Japanese phrase book...lol!  I'm all set!.....I hope... ;)

Tuesday night came and Allan sent me to KLIA airport.  We had a bite at McD's before I said goodbye and headed towards the checkpoints.  The flight took off as scheduled at 11:30pm and lucky for me the seat next to me was unoccupied so I had 2 seats to myself.  The flight was actually pretty empty....not like in 2008.  Hmmm.....

Anyways, I slept soon after supper was served only to be awakened at about 5am when the captain made an announcement over the intercom.  He was asking if there was any medical doctor or medical professional on board as someone needed assistance.  That got my heart racing!.....this was just like in the movies I thought....what kind of medical emergency could the person be facing?!  I hope he/she would be alright..... What are the chances of a medical doctor being on board, especially since there are so few passengers.

But luckily, there was...  And he checked on the passenger (who happened to be seated only several rows behind me), put an oxygen mask on her and monitored her pulse.  I don't know if he administered any injection but I know that I saw a metal briefcase with at least a dozen different vials in it being handled by the chief steward.  Anyways, by the time we landed, the passenger was on her feet and walking out of the plane on her own steam. Phew!

I remember on the previous trip, going through immigration took quite a long time, as there were many people.  This time, it was plain sailing.  After passing all the necessary checkpoints, I headed straight out and immediately found the limousine bus counter.  Before purchasing my ticket, I called home to say I've arrived safely, then called Hiro to let him know too.

Purchasing the ticket was a breeze, as the ticketing person spoke English.....hmmm....all that anxiety for nothing :)  I bought myself a ticket (3000 yen, approx. rm115) with only just 5 minutes to spare before the bus arrived.  I headed out the exit straight to the bus stop which was located immediately outside the exit door.  Got in line, had my big luggage tagged to be deposited into the undercarriage of the bus and waited.

As the bus arrived, all the 3 limousine bus staff stood facing the bus and bowed together (really low) to greet its arrival.  Interesting...!

The journey took over 1 1/2 hours.  Needless to say, the rocking of the bus sent to me lullaby land almost immediately.  I woke just in time to see the bus turning into Shinagawa Prince hotel, my drop off point.  Hiro was already there and we greeted each other warmly :) He looks good....healthy and energetic. 

From Shinagawa Prince Hotel, we drove through town to get to where I'd be putting up...Art Hotels, Omori.  I happily checked in, said goodbye to Hiro (because he had things to do that day) and took the elevator up to my room on the 14th floor.....only to find that the room given just won't do.  It was a one bed studio!  there was another 'bed' but it's actually a sofa.  The kind that you could pull out and it turns into a bed of sorts...?  And I'm supposed to be sharing the room with Hsiao Ling from Taiwan.  It would really be a tight squeeze. Immediately I buzzed Hiro and he made a U-turn back to the hotel to straighten things out. 

Apparently, the hotel had misunderstood, but things were quickly corrected and I got a new room (with twin beds and a sitting area) on the 13th floor.  

my room, shared with Hsiao Ling :)

View of city skyline from my room

View of sakura-lined street below.

I was so sleepy that I dozed off almost immediately and only vaguely remember greeting Hsiao Ling when she came back from her city tour..haha. She was so kind and thoughtful.... she bought me food knowing that I won't be joining them for the trip to Machida....and so would have to find my own dinner.  I was touched.  

I rested a bit more after she left with Hiro & Niels for his workshop in Machida.... then decided to go out for a walk and some cool fresh air.  I know the street well (in the pix below) as Ivee (my friend who came with me to Tokyo in 2008) and myself walked this street many times over trying to find our way back to Urvest Hotel (our hotel back then).  We spent an entire hour trying to locate our hotel, but we had fun :)

The temperature was cool and nice, with a slight breeze.  I walked straight along the road right up to Ito Yokado, the departmental store which Ivee and I frequented during our previous stay.  Did a bit of browsing, but didn't buy anything.  On the way back to the hotel, I spotted a cute tri-wheeled vehicle.

interesting three wheeled 'motorcycle' with a
top to shelter from sun and rain. How ingenius.

Another familiar landmark from my previous trip.  The
unique pedestrian bridge, and the dedicated
bicycle lanes below.

By 8pm, sleep overtook me again and I slept straight till morning.

Next:  Trip to Kamakura & Yokosuka