Preparations and Arrival at Tokyo

Since the first Osaka Go Camp in 2013 (click here to go to the wonderful blog of Jan Engelhardt, a fellow German Go player who blogs about this first edition of the camp) both of us really wanted not only go to Japan - that we wanted to do before the camp already- but also wanted to take part in such a camp. Imagine that: Three weeks of playing and studying Go and meeting fellow Go players from all over the world! This year we were able to go and thought we might (try to) follow in Jan's footsteps to share the experience with everyone who isn't able to go since we loved his blog. So let's start!

The last few weeks before such a big and long trip are always packed with tons of things - but don't worry, we won't scare you away with a meticulous report of what had to be arranged when and why. However, that's the reason why we only start blogging in Japan. "But doesn't the camp only start on June 28th?" Yes, we're already here. A "bit" early for the Osaka Go Camp but right on time to visit the capital and spend a week in Tokyo!


Our plane after arriving in Haneda

We arrived at Haneda this morning and two hours after landing we finally got through all the processes and got our luggage (the very last suitcases of our flight since the release of the luggage had already finished). Although I swear we didn't dawdle! Next we were headed for our hotel. Everthing was new to us of course, but we definitely agree with what we had been told before: The Japanese are very friendly and helpful people! They usually didn't even give us a chance to figure the ticket buying, etc. out by ourselves but stepped right in and kindly asked if they could help us. Everything worked out great (we even spotted the first Go club on our way) but when we finally reached our hotel, sweaty (because of the lack of elevators and escalators and the presence of very heavy luggage) and extremely tired (because we barely slept on the flight), we were told that we could only check in at 3pm at the earliest - and it was only high noon at that time.

We somehow managed to pass the time wandering the streets around the hotel, eating something some snack here or there and strolling through some of the shops on the area until we finally got the cardkeys für or room (with view on the Sky Tree, the highest TV tower in the world)... relaxed and watched crazy shows on TV to keep us from falling asleep until the evening (more on TV programmes and Japanese TV commercials later, promised!!)... and started writing this blog.

So, that's it for now!