I Slept

I slept. 

Woke up to a colourful dawn of pink grapefruit hues across Yokohama Bay. There is a rainbow coloured ferris wheel and a theme park outside my hotel window. The spiral rollercoaster with tiny people on it – probably shrieking in excitement – is the antithesis of what I’m like in my compartment.

I did 45 minutes of Yoga with Adriene. I said 'hello' to Benji the dog and on-screen yoga companion – the first time I’d heard my voice all day, which was quite a surprise. 

Played my Gameboy in bed (dusted off for this trip). I could only find one cartridge that was already inserted. In my other life, I am a novice Pokémon trainer named Yellow with a Pikachu nicknamed ROLOCHU on the way to Veridian City.

I slept more.

To be pulled out of sleep aggressively by the ringing telephone. It was hotel reception, they were connecting me to the ward officials of the town where my Obaachan lives.

‘A fellow passenger on your plane has tested positive for omicron. You will now have to do the full 14-day quarantine at a government designated hotel.’

Oh no! I knew this was likely to happen coming from virus riddled London, but still I was aghast. I asked her whether the whole plane was being put under extended quarantine? The ward official said no, only passengers who came in close contact with the infected person. (I must’ve been sat close to them! What bad luck.) They told me I would be moved to a new hotel at the end of my 6 days here, and that because this was going to be a longer stay than expected I could order items such as pants online.

Then I began to cry because I’d come all this way to spend お正月(New Years) with my grandmother and now I was going to have to miss that too! Was there no way if I tested negative to complete my isolation in her house instead? She sounded sorry for me, but said I had to remain in a government hotel for the full 14 days, ‘What if you were to pass the virus on to your Obaachan?’

I let the news sink in for the rest of the day. I don’t remember what I did. All I know is I talked to my loving friends who all sympathetically suffered alongside me. 

//

The next day I woke up thinking it was Christmas Eve, but I was a day ahead of myself. 

I started to unpack my suitcase and took out my portable fairy lights – thank god I brought decorations to brighten the place up a bit – and a cardboard cut-out of a wintry tree house with woodland creatures, which I could assemble as a Christmas activity. I placed all my belongings on the racks and shelves, hiding the hotel toiletries and instruction manuals in the bin liner they gave me for my used linens, shoving it all under the bed.

Jumped around to a hip hop work-out video on my travel yoga mat then danced to Charli XCX.

Still getting used to the small kettle the hotel has provided, as it’s more like a hot water pot. The water remains warm a long time after it’s been boiled and there’s a button you press down to release the steam to humidify the room.

Things I’m glad I brought with me for hotel quarantine:

1. Tin mug. The ‘return to Japan support group’ on Facebook were correct, the cups provided are too small and you can’t have a proper brew in them.

2. Tea bags. They provide small sachets of instant coffee but that’s no fun, nor does it help pass the long stretches of time.

Basically, the elements that make a good cup of tea.