Arrival

At 5am last Saturday, we woke up to temperatures near -10 degrees Fahrenheit (!) to head to the airport. This was the final step in our months-long process to move from Chicago to Tokyo. We decided to move to Japan a few months ago, at the peak of lockdown in Chicago, for all the reasons you might guess, and a few more. Despite months of preparation, it is hard to believe that we are finally here. As much as I want to enjoy living in Tokyo on my own terms, my experience here will be hugely and unavoidably influenced by my kids. Hence the name of this blog. 

The trip took nearly 24 hours from door to door. We had seven checked bags. Five of those were large moving boxes. There were also two car seats, two strollers, a diaper bag, two backpacks, one duffle, one rolling suitcase, and two toddlers in tow. Wish I had taken a photo of our mountain of belongings at the airport. Here are the boxes:

I had shipped most of our things a month earlier. The problem with that is it takes 2-3 months. The checked luggage contained things we needed right away. Even after months of selling, giving away, and donating, we still had so much stuff. Things would just appear seemingly out of nowhere. Just when I though we were almost done, I would find another pile. And another, and another. Basically, we had too many things. 

We flew from Minneapolis to Detroit and then on to Tokyo. Miraculously for early February in the Midwest, the weather was calm and there were no delays. The long haul flight was even emptier than I had expected - no one in business class, and only two other passengers in our section. 

Entering Japan these days requires clearing a few hurdles. The Japanese Ministry of Health requires you to get tested for Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure. The test must be either a nasopharyngeal swab (the uncomfortable one where they go way up your nose) or a saliva test. You must then receive results before departing. 

We made an appointment to get the nasopharyngeal swabs for the entire family. My husband spoke with three different people to confirm that the test would be a nasopharyngeal swab and not an ordinary nasal swab. And of course, turns out it was just an ordinary nasal swab. We got tested anyways in case this was the only test we could get, because at that point, it was less than 72 hours before departure. Luckily, we were to get appointments for saliva testing later that day. We used syringes for the 15 month old (M) and 4 year old (E). Did you know that babies produce so much saliva that it took M half the time it took us to produce enough for the sample? We tested negative, so our journey continued. 

Next, another Covid test upon arrival at Haneda airport. Upon landing, we were ushered through a series of checkpoints where you must present the same documents: passports and proof of a negative Covid test (from point of departure). Then we were tested for Covid-19 via saliva testing (all except poor M, who cannot yet spit into a funnel and so had to undergo a nasopharyngeal swab). After that, we went to the quarantine area to await results. Despite the informational pamphlet saying it would take 2-3 hours to receive results, it took only one hour. Thankfully, everyone tested negative again. 

Immigration time. This took a looong time - almost two hours. This is because we were relocating and not merely visiting. It was also because I am not a Japanese citizen unlike my other family members.

Next was customs. We collected our checked baggage. With all our luggage, mostly in the form of massive cardboard boxes wrapped thrice around with plastic, they quickly waved us through.

At this point, I felt like a zombie. There was just one major thing left to do before leaving the airport: ship the checked boxes to be delivered to our Tokyo apartment. This cost only about $65 USD for four large boxes, and it took only 2 days. What an amazing service.

After shipping our boxes, we were at last on our way to the new apartment. The final requirement is a 2-week quarantine phase. I will let you know whether or not I survive this with one extremely talkative four year old and a one year old who likes to dive off sofas.