Worldcon Dispatch #1
Sep. 2nd, 2007 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperOriginally written 8/30/07 1:25pm, transcribed from physical journal 8/31/07 8:03am, 12:37pm, 4:18pm
At Worldcon in Yokohama, finally!![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
solarbird and spazzkat have gone to programming, of which there is lots, though nothing yet I want to hit. So I'm breaking in my new journal with the first of my Worldcon notes.
Getting here was long, but painless at least for the plane part. We had an airport shuttle come pick us up, so we wouldn't have to worry about driving or anything. Once in the airport we ran into old gaming friendbethmo, along with another local fan we knew via Norwescon. Paul quipped that he'd expected to play Spot the Fan on the flight, but that this was kind of cheating. ;)
While we did have a couple of loud children on the flight, they were mostly not a problem. Dara slept and Paul watched a lot of movies on the plane's movie system as well as his iPhone; I read, whipping through Ivy Cole and the Moon and a chunk of The Summer Country. We all watched Hot Fuzz, though, which turned out to be hilarious.
The movies were getting shown on this neat little video system set into the seats--and which also let you see a map of the flight route and stats such as altitude, expected arrival time, time so far on the flight and such. Since Dara had the window and most of the shades were drawn, that was a nice way to keep track of our status. We flew up around Alaska and I think past a bit of Russia before angling down to Tokyo, rather than going straight across the Pacific. I don't know why, but I would guess so as to keep closer to places to land in case of emergency.
We got into Tokyo Narita airport around 3pm local time--the 29th, not the 28th, since we crossed the International Date Line. That was a little funky. So was getting greeted with a humidity level very like Kentucky. (It's been raining off and on since we arrived, but I have yet to get a good solid thunderstorm to clear out the mugginess.)
Our first hitch on the trip came when Dara found out we had the wrong shuttle tickets to get to our hotel in Yokohama; oops. We wound up getting on the same bus Beth and Jack took, which turned out to be longer-feeling than the plane trip, thanks to heavy traffic. But I noticed on the way that this particular Japanese freeway, at least, looked nicer and more compact than your average highway in the States--for one thing, there was a lot more foliage in view. The trees were all thick and lush-looking, and would possibly have been quite at home on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. That certainly matched the weather, anyway!
I saw three, count 'em, three large Ferris wheels on that bus ride, and the coolest-looking one was the one very near where we finally got off--at the Pan Pacific, where we got a taxi to take us over to the Navios. (The taxi was amazing as taxis go--neat and clean, with lace covers on the seats! Wow!) Tired and wet, we checked in to a very small but extremely neat room, where we fell over for a bit, enjoyed the feel of having shoes off, unpacked a few things, and then finally went out again to look around and so that Paul could get food. Dara and I were very not hungry as we'd eaten twice on the plane and once just before. But Paul got a tasty ramen dish, I got a smoothie, and Dara got a tasty berry sundae thing. That done, we went wandering back to the hotel, admiring the view of the water as we went.
Back in the hotel Dara got Net working on her laptop, but not so much with Paul and me for our devices. Didn't play with that too much before it was imperative we all get some sleep.
* * *
This morning we were all up and out early enough that none of the nearby shops (of which there are stunningly high numbers) were open, and we wound up in a Starbucks so Paul could get coffee. I broke down and got a frappucino--but at least I got one that was "azuki" flavored. I have no idea what "azuki" is, but it was quite tasty. So was the warm lemon scone I had with it. :9
We walked around a lot waiting for the con to open and so that Dara and Paul could take pictures. I have no camera, so I will instead say that from what we've seen so far, Yokohama is a lovely city. It's all beautifully laid out for ease of pedestrians, at least where we are, and the lack of litter is astounding to my American eyes. According to a Japanese etiquette page the con's site linked to, it's considered rude to eat or drink something while one is walking on the street. This certainly seems true, because I saw exactly one person drinking something while we were out. I think I like this custom; it certainly helps make for clean streets.
Another thing I like is that in two of the malls we walked through, they play subtle, lovely little chime noises and bird calls rather than Muzak. I love that a lot. :)
English is not uncommon on the signs in this general area; Paul and I are getting by with "kudesai" and "arigato" and pointing at things we want, though we're finding folks are sometimes understanding English too. Dara is doing better since she has actually studied the language, and we are relying on her for serious communication. In the meantime I am simply enjoying the sound of rapid-fire Japanese; it is a light and fast language and hits my ears like good steady rain. I think of how the humans in Elfquest describe how the language of the elves sounds like birdsong.
Registering for the con went well and I was pleased to meet LJ friendmelodican, who was right behind us in the line with his father. We have nice badges, with our names rendered in English and Japanese both, though Dara says they did "Korra'ti" wrong on ours. Oops. We have good canvas bags as well, though I wonder if they spotted the HTML typo on them--the HTML code for a © symbol showing up instead of the actual symbol.
We had an excellent lunch at Anna Miller's, where Dara and Paul wanted to go for the fannish link to Megatokyo. The sanwiches and fries were excellent and all a lot more lightly fried than they would have been in the States. We are going to have to go back to try the pie!
My hand is starting to hurt from unaccustomed writing, so I will stop here and see if I can get this transcribed and posted. And then get Paul Cornell's autograph, since I am a Doctor Who fangirl. *^_^* And at 4pm, the dealer's room will open, so hopefully we can buy stuff!
At Worldcon in Yokohama, finally!
solarbird and spazzkat have gone to programming, of which there is lots, though nothing yet I want to hit. So I'm breaking in my new journal with the first of my Worldcon notes.Getting here was long, but painless at least for the plane part. We had an airport shuttle come pick us up, so we wouldn't have to worry about driving or anything. Once in the airport we ran into old gaming friend
bethmo, along with another local fan we knew via Norwescon. Paul quipped that he'd expected to play Spot the Fan on the flight, but that this was kind of cheating. ;)While we did have a couple of loud children on the flight, they were mostly not a problem. Dara slept and Paul watched a lot of movies on the plane's movie system as well as his iPhone; I read, whipping through Ivy Cole and the Moon and a chunk of The Summer Country. We all watched Hot Fuzz, though, which turned out to be hilarious.
The movies were getting shown on this neat little video system set into the seats--and which also let you see a map of the flight route and stats such as altitude, expected arrival time, time so far on the flight and such. Since Dara had the window and most of the shades were drawn, that was a nice way to keep track of our status. We flew up around Alaska and I think past a bit of Russia before angling down to Tokyo, rather than going straight across the Pacific. I don't know why, but I would guess so as to keep closer to places to land in case of emergency.
We got into Tokyo Narita airport around 3pm local time--the 29th, not the 28th, since we crossed the International Date Line. That was a little funky. So was getting greeted with a humidity level very like Kentucky. (It's been raining off and on since we arrived, but I have yet to get a good solid thunderstorm to clear out the mugginess.)
Our first hitch on the trip came when Dara found out we had the wrong shuttle tickets to get to our hotel in Yokohama; oops. We wound up getting on the same bus Beth and Jack took, which turned out to be longer-feeling than the plane trip, thanks to heavy traffic. But I noticed on the way that this particular Japanese freeway, at least, looked nicer and more compact than your average highway in the States--for one thing, there was a lot more foliage in view. The trees were all thick and lush-looking, and would possibly have been quite at home on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. That certainly matched the weather, anyway!
I saw three, count 'em, three large Ferris wheels on that bus ride, and the coolest-looking one was the one very near where we finally got off--at the Pan Pacific, where we got a taxi to take us over to the Navios. (The taxi was amazing as taxis go--neat and clean, with lace covers on the seats! Wow!) Tired and wet, we checked in to a very small but extremely neat room, where we fell over for a bit, enjoyed the feel of having shoes off, unpacked a few things, and then finally went out again to look around and so that Paul could get food. Dara and I were very not hungry as we'd eaten twice on the plane and once just before. But Paul got a tasty ramen dish, I got a smoothie, and Dara got a tasty berry sundae thing. That done, we went wandering back to the hotel, admiring the view of the water as we went.
Back in the hotel Dara got Net working on her laptop, but not so much with Paul and me for our devices. Didn't play with that too much before it was imperative we all get some sleep.
This morning we were all up and out early enough that none of the nearby shops (of which there are stunningly high numbers) were open, and we wound up in a Starbucks so Paul could get coffee. I broke down and got a frappucino--but at least I got one that was "azuki" flavored. I have no idea what "azuki" is, but it was quite tasty. So was the warm lemon scone I had with it. :9
We walked around a lot waiting for the con to open and so that Dara and Paul could take pictures. I have no camera, so I will instead say that from what we've seen so far, Yokohama is a lovely city. It's all beautifully laid out for ease of pedestrians, at least where we are, and the lack of litter is astounding to my American eyes. According to a Japanese etiquette page the con's site linked to, it's considered rude to eat or drink something while one is walking on the street. This certainly seems true, because I saw exactly one person drinking something while we were out. I think I like this custom; it certainly helps make for clean streets.
Another thing I like is that in two of the malls we walked through, they play subtle, lovely little chime noises and bird calls rather than Muzak. I love that a lot. :)
English is not uncommon on the signs in this general area; Paul and I are getting by with "kudesai" and "arigato" and pointing at things we want, though we're finding folks are sometimes understanding English too. Dara is doing better since she has actually studied the language, and we are relying on her for serious communication. In the meantime I am simply enjoying the sound of rapid-fire Japanese; it is a light and fast language and hits my ears like good steady rain. I think of how the humans in Elfquest describe how the language of the elves sounds like birdsong.
Registering for the con went well and I was pleased to meet LJ friend
melodican, who was right behind us in the line with his father. We have nice badges, with our names rendered in English and Japanese both, though Dara says they did "Korra'ti" wrong on ours. Oops. We have good canvas bags as well, though I wonder if they spotted the HTML typo on them--the HTML code for a © symbol showing up instead of the actual symbol.We had an excellent lunch at Anna Miller's, where Dara and Paul wanted to go for the fannish link to Megatokyo. The sanwiches and fries were excellent and all a lot more lightly fried than they would have been in the States. We are going to have to go back to try the pie!
My hand is starting to hurt from unaccustomed writing, so I will stop here and see if I can get this transcribed and posted. And then get Paul Cornell's autograph, since I am a Doctor Who fangirl. *^_^* And at 4pm, the dealer's room will open, so hopefully we can buy stuff!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 05:04 am (UTC)It's called a great circle route. If you have a globe, take a string and put one end here and one end there, and stretch it tight. You'll see that the shortest route between hither and thither actually goes the way you went; it's the shortest way around the sphere. (It's called "great circle" because if you extended the line in both directions, you would trace a circumnavigation.)
Azuki is Japanese for what the Chinese call "red bean"; it's a sweet bean that has a flavor that's hard to describe but is a very popular flavor of ice cream.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 09:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 05:07 am (UTC)Sounds like you're having a great time. Dara's pictures are great.
Paul
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 09:51 pm (UTC)Beth mentioned coming over here before for WotC stuff, yeah. And I'm glad we ran into her too. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 09:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 11:09 am (UTC)Ok, so I guess I'm showing my age.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-04 06:17 am (UTC)(and the only place names I remember (Kamchatka and Irkutsk) are from the RISK map, so...)