First Impressions

Greetings from Tokyo!

Well, we made it. For those who don't know, I'm going to be in Tokyo for the next two months perfecting the art of model wrangling. Seriously though, if anyone has any ideas about what my title should be just let me know. I'm a chaperone/chef/body guard/personal assistant/friend to the gorgeous  up and coming model Liz Kennedy. This will be my first experience in Japan and also my first experience blogging... so here ya go!

I suppose I'll start with the 15 hour plane ride. Nothing that exciting happened. Liz slept most of the time contentedly curled in some of the most awkward positions I've ever seen. Very impressive for sure. They provided us with blankets and pillows and we had awesome little private touch tv screens. I managed to watch 5 movies in between naps and snacks: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Family, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, the One Direction movie, and Turbo. The best part was that all of the movies were free. I have to say I'm very impressed with United. The seats were spacious, the food was good, and (you may not agree) the movie selection was impressive. Hopefully the plane ride back will be just as comfortable!

Once we sailed through customs, we saw a nice man holding up signs with our names on them. I have to say I felt pretty important. The car was tiny and our driver had some serious trouble squeezing our luggage, but we were finally off into the city of Tokyo. Here's the first pic I took.

Not very great, I know. But that's a pretty sweet bridge. I couldn't get any good ones of the skyline, so this is what you have to deal with for now. After some serious miscommunication with our driver and the model agency, we finally made it to our apartment. It's fairly spacious. The Japanese don't like having toilets and bathtubs in the same room, so we have a room each for those. The literal bath room also is equipped with a sauna but everything is in Japanese so Liz and I are reluctant to press any buttons. The apartment also has two bedrooms, a living/dining room, and a tiny kitchen. I'll have to take a pic of that someday because the oven is comically small. Liz and I are staying in bunk beds in one of the rooms, but right now we're the only two in the space. Eventually Olivia, another model, will join us.

After we dropped our luggage off last night, Liz had to go directly to a casting. It was quick and pretty painless for Liz even though we were both exhausted. They wouldn't let me go in to the casting, so I waited in the car. Did I mention they drive on the left and the steering wheel is on the right of the vehicle? Driving around here is definitely an experience. They are nuts!! Every trip is like a crazy New York taxi ride. Today, was no different. Liz has 9 castings left after the one we went to together this morning. Again I had to wait in the car. Do they think I'm dangerous or something? I just want to see some behind the scenes model action! Hopefully when Liz books some jobs I'll be allowed at the photo shoots. (Castings are like auditions and the shoots are the product of being chosen for the job.) The upside to waiting in the car was people watching. The fashion here is impressive. Sometimes flamboyant, always interesting, I could spend hours observing the people of Tokyo. Hopefully I'll have some pics for you in my next post. Anyway, they dropped us off after the first casting and we walked to Subway for lunch. Not your typical American subway, but close. I had a chicken cheese sub with cheese squeezed out from one of those things that looks like it's supposed to hold frosting for decorating cakes. I also added some horseradish. It was delicious!! With this subway find, at least now I know Liz won't starve to death under my watch. Last night we got some goodies at a little convenience store, but I'm looking forward to buying some real food at an actual grocery store. Liz and I will go exploring tomorrow to find some food if she isn't booked the whole day. Otherwise, I'm going to adventure on my own.

I think that's enough for now. It's pretty chilly outside so I think I'm going to relax and watch some Hulu. More adventures to come!