maandag 12 november 2007

Chp1 - The first day east...

As the sun was rising a plane landed on Tokyo Narita international airport. It was going to be a sunny day the stewardess had said while the plane was taxiing to the gate they were assigned. As the plane was emptying people were trying to get to customs as quickly as possible. It had been a long flight. A young man with dark blond hair, and green eyes was coming from the plane relaxed but tired. No one was waiting for him so he wasn’t in a hurry. He looked around and was trying find out where he was supposed to go. After 20 minutes of waiting at the luggage area, he got his suitcase and his dufflebag and was now standing on the curb waiting for a cab. He didn’t have to wait long because a taxi pulled up. It was some kind of Datsun, probably a Bluebird the man thought. “Where to sir” said the taxi driver after the man explained his Japanese wasn’t very elaborate. “Ameyoko Street please” said the man. The driver nodded and merged into traffic. Once arrived near Ameyoko Street the man paid and walked 2 streets further to an apartment building. He had bought a small apartment where he was going to start his new life. He opened the door with the key he had received earlier from his new neighbor and entered the apartment. It was not as big as the places he was used to but he didn’t care. There where 2 rooms, a living room with a small kitchen, and a bedroom with a small bathroom attached. It had been cheaper than a lot of other apartments around Tokyo but that had its consequences. It needed a new floor covering because the carpet was worn out and dirty in some spots. The kitchen wasn’t the newest either but it worked, the walls needed some paint but the place was clean and easily fixable so he didn’t care. He put down his bag and his suitcase and looked around some more. “This is where your life is going to change Rob” he said to himself.
Rob was a young man, 22 to be exact. He loved cars or basically everything else powered by gasoline engines. He was born in a city in The Netherlands, but decided that after he graduated and got his engineering degree he was going to move to Japan and try to get a job there. He really wanted to work in a tuning shop or for a car company as a designer, because eventually, that’s what he studied to become: a designer. Rob wasn’t rich but he was able to afford the trip, the apartment, and some other basic needs to survive in Japan. His parents had supported him and had helped him search for a place to live. They had been troubled by the decision at first but then they started to see that this was really what Rob wanted and there was no way in stopping him. They had finally been able to find an apartment and Rob decided to buy it.
After inspecting the place Rob was glad to see that the owner had kept his word and had left the bed as said in the advertisement. Even though this would mean he didn’t have to sleep on the floor tonight he was defiantly going to buy a new mattress soon.
He left his stuff in the apartment and went out for a walk. Ameyoko street was crowded with people as the street consisted of many small shops. He looked in some shops and figured out what he could buy there and what he needed to get from other stores. He bought a couple of things including a telephone, a map of the city, and some food for the day. He went back to the apartment and asked the neighbor who lived in the apartment below him for a cab number and some places where he could go buy a car. After getting some he thanked him for the tips and called a cab.
After 20 minutes they where on their way to the dealerships…

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