Day 77 – Logistical Pre-Port

Nov 13th

Logistical Pre-port
The ship docks on Port Island, which is connected to Kobe by railway called the Portliner. It runs directly into the Sannomiya area of central Kobe, so they reassured us it would be very easy to get from the ship to the center of town easily. Phil, the conduct officer, explained how Japanese society is highly ordered, thus making violent crime and thievery rare. Then, Bob played a video explaining the immigration process upon entering Japan. It includes having our finger prints taken and are headshots taken. (I love posing for pictures, so I got pretty excited.) Apparently, some kids smuggled a person on in China, so we heavily warned against trying anything again. (Later, Julie and I found out that the culprits were the two girls next door who smuggled a guy friend who was studying abroad in Shanghai.) Bob also shared that there have been no terrorists attacks on foreigners since 1995, and Japan has a lower rate of crime than the US. There also could be minor tremors from earthquakes while we’re there.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was hearing Dan’s reason for why he is likes Japan: “Nobody is rich. Nobody is poor. And everyone has talking toilets.”