First glimpse of Japan

So when we first arrived in Japan we were focused on where we needed to go to get our bags and get them checked again for our domestic flight to Okinawa. We were ready to lug all our bags again to get them checked but in Japan things are much different than in the states. We started pulling our bags off the belt and one of the employees got a cart and helped us with all our bags. He waited in line with us to get the tags put on and they even took all the old ones off for us. I was just taken very much by surprise when they were so willing to help us when we had no help before and when we asked for help they wanted money in return. We then went to get in line to go through customs and that was pretty easy. We figured out where our gate was going to be and started to go through security. We were not sure if the restaurants and shopping were inside or outside of security so we asked if there was food on the other side of security and they said that there was. The security was really laid back compared to what they have to do in America. We basically had to just put our bags on the belt and walk through a metal detector. They had to put Tyler's carseat through the x-ray machine and kept apologizing when it wasn't working. We were then very disappointed to see that the only place down by the gate was a small area where you could buy drinks, snacks, and there were a few soup/noodle options but no actual restaurants or anything. We did end up getting a milk tea and a green tea because we were so thirsty and at least needed a drink while we figured out what we were going to do.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that they had a kids play area so that tyler could run around and let out some of his energy after sitting for so long. We had at least a couple of hours before the plane would board so Nick went off to go explore and see if he could find where all the other stuff was since it is supposed to be a really big airport. It turns out that all the food and shopping areas were before you go through security and the guy at security was very confused as to why we wanted to go back out. The security is kind of a one way thing where once you get out you have to back the same way. Thankfully they were fine with letting us out and we went to go find something to eat. There were a lot of different places and even a McDonalds but not all the same menu items. Plus I couldn't read anything so the fact that most restaurants have plastic displays of the dishes they serve made it a little easier in choosing. Nick can also read a little bit and speak some Japanese but it has been 6 years since he has been back. A lot of the options were curry and soup and we wanted something more light and cool so we ended up getting sandwiches. Even the way they make sandwiches are different. Mine was shrimp and it also had egg salad on it. It sounds weird but it was really good!

I also got a melon soda and it came with some broth on the side. They also usually always have a self serve water station and we had our fair share of ice water before we went to go look around more and head back through security again. We ended up getting iced cream at McDonalds and they had blueberry oreo mcflurries. I tried to order a kit kat one but they were all out. The portion sizes are also much smaller and with the mcflurries they only came in one size. Sodas off base are usually not unlimited refills unless you have the option to buy "drink bar" which is serve yourself drinks.