First day in Oita

So anyway, 1 day after I planned so, and 2 days after I started out, I landed in Oita today at 11.15 am. Like all sleepy corners of the world, Oita, too, hasn't changed drastically. Last night I thought about how ironic it was that a mere 5 years ago, in 2003, I was just coming to Japan to settle in. I knew nothing about what I was getting into at the time. This time, though, I recognized Himeshima out the window, as well as Kunisaki and Musashi (D&D, home of cheap beer, I am pleased to report, is still there). It was a very happy homecoming.

I met my friends Fujiwara-san, her son Toshihiro, Kimura-san, her daughter Ai, Kyoko-chan, Shimpei, and Yuriki at the airport. We then made a plan to have lunch at Saki in Musashi, following the acquisition of my hired car.

Little did I know that hiring a car would take 3o minutes.

Silly me, I wanted to protect my cash supply by paying for the hired car with the exact same credit card I used to make my reservation with. I naively thought that since I was dealing with an international rent-a-car company (Mazda), and I had made a reservation using a credit card, I could also pay with it. However, as it turns out, Japan is still a relatively closed society when it comes to credit cards.

It took 30 minutes for them to call to assure that my credit card was, indeed, quite valid, and that I quite indeed had credit available (I've been a Faithful and Promptly-Paying Member since 2001...). In fact, I'm so Faithful and Reliable that I now have a WorldPoints account. This world, obviously, does not include the Oita airport branch of Mazda rent-a-car. As I learned.

Now, in my defense, the Doha training is doing quite a bit of good. At no time during this ordeal did I get impatient, or irritated, or even feel inconvenienced in the least. In fact, I found nothing wrong with the whole thing. Hell, in Doha, this would have probably taken a week and fallen under the 'inshallah' business principal (where things happen if they are willed, in lieu of careful planning or prior organisation for the occurrence of an event). Then again, since Doha as a whole has recognized that this is 2008, and that people do come from other countries with credit cards issued in those places, and that credit cards are an international 'thing'.

I heard that Post Office ATMs here are finally linked to the Cirrus network, so that means I could go get cash from one. I will have to try this out. However, the concept of an ATM being open and available 24 hours a day is still stuck in immigration (or at the car hire shop, if you will).

But it's wonderful to be back. I ended up changing my hotel reservation. I shelled out a bit more for a carpark (the most important thing, particularly with a hired car), Internet in my room, my own bathroom, and no curfew. Works for me.

Most things remain the same here, which is comforting in a way. A few more combinis that were not here before, a new department store, shops closed here and there...

So it goes.