Japan and First day in Oz...

Three flights, four doses of Nyquil, two movies, a book, a surf video, and two airline meals ago I left Orlando, and now about 25 airplane hours later I am in Port Douglas, Australia. The flights really weren’t that bad because I slept a lot of the way to Japan, and almost all of the way from Tokyo to Oz. Anyways, I am finally posting my first entry while listening to an aborigine band play a song that sounds like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” downstairs. So here goes.
I flew into Narita a little over three days ago, Saturday afternoon, and was met at the airport by Tim and Jon, two missionaries who work with the Repps in Chiba. First thing I did in Japan was to go join the Oyumino Gospel Choir for a few soul tunes. It’s not quite the same sound as a southern black church choir, but they did a pretty good job. “How Hexcellent Jesus, deh ees none like youuuuu.”
Japan is a little chilly. As we flew south from Siberia, I watched Miles of pack ice stretch all the way to the shore of the north big island of Japan, Hokkaido. Hokkaido was nothing but snow, ice, and mountains, but was gorgeous as we flew over it. Honshu was snowy in the northern part, but by the time we got down to Tokyo bay, the ice was gone. But with the wind blowing and the temperature near freezing, it still felt pretty cold to this Florida boy.
Anyways, I slept on the floor in Tim Bentson and Matt Gillingham’s apartment, on a little futon mattress, for two nights. Sunday I went to Japanese Bible study and church. The pastor of the church, Dedachi, called me Daniel-san. After church, Matt and Tim took me by train into Tokyo, which took quite a while. On the train, a lot of people have surgeon’s masks on. Apparently it’s culturally acceptable to wear one in public if you are sick or if you’re afraid of getting sick.
Once in Tokyo, we found a place to eat some Yaki Soba for lunch. The tables each had a griddle in the middle (actually, it basically took up almost the whole table), and we cooked our noodles with vegetables and meat right there while sitting at the table.
We went to Meiji-Jingu, a shrine in the middle of Tokyo (most Tranquil!) and then to Tokyo tower. From the top of the tower, Tokyo looked incredibly huge. We were there just as it got dark and the lights stretched on as far as I could see. I did catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji’s silhouette to the southwest as the light faded.
Monday morning I went to English class with Matt to see what it was like. He teaches some older ladies English and then they have an English Bible study. It was interesting. Then Tim and I went to Chiba city, which was a pretty cool area of shops. We met Sachiko there, Tim’s 20-year-old English student. We all went to Starbucks to talk about the prodigal son story. As I was talking to Sachiko, it struck me that her culture is so much different than ours that certain themes in stories are hard to get across, such as what was wrong with what the prodigal son did. Was it spending money? Or having fun?
I went to dinner with Jon and his family in their awesome Japanese house (complete with mat floor and paper windows). Then we went to the airport so I could catch my red-eye flight for Oz.
I arrived in Cairns at 5:50 AM today, waited an hour for the bus to Port Douglas (on which I was the sole passenger) and listened to the bus driver tell me everything I needed to know about the Cairns area during the hour drive. I dropped my stuff off at the Parrott Fish Lodge, packed up my small backpack, and toured Port Douglas by foot. It’s got some amazing scenery. The mountains come right down to the coast, and the clouds hang over the high rainforest, sending showers intermittently throughout the day. It’s the wet season.
At midday, I caught a bus up to Mossman Gorge, where I hiked a few miles through the beautiful rainforest, spotting some wallabies and interesting birds along the way. I swam in the Mossman river along the way (the crocs are all a little further down below the rapids), and crossed a swinging bridge. The forest was incredible. Huge rocks covered with moss were everywhere. A huge variety of trees and plants were crunched together in the thick jungle. And some awesome creeks with waterfalls flowed down toward the Mossman River, making for some swimming holes with no one else around. It rained on and off every few minutes. Sadly, I didn’t spot any tree kangaroos. Oh, and there are some trees there that apparently make you itch for up to 9 months if you touch them. Sounds like fun, huh?
After Mossman, I came back to Port Douglas in time to see the afternoon swarm of rainbow lorikeets blanket the town. These bright parrots, colored green, orange, purple, and blue, closed in on the trees like locusts. The air was alive with their squawks.
Barrier reef tomorrow!!!