Galveston's first official sister city was Niigata, located on the west central coast along the Sea of Japan.   Literally translated "new lagoon," the prefecture (or county) featured tall cliffs, a sandy beach, lush landscape and mountains suitable for skiing during the winter months.  I visited during the summer of 1996, one delegate among 22 on this diplomatic trip, one year after the Japanese city had sponsored our Mardi Gras celebration. 

After a nine-hour international flight that seemed to take 36 hours to complete, we landed at Narita Airport, outside of Tokyo, at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, August 6.  We cleared customs and immigration before meeting our welcome party.  Hiro greeted us first, closely followed by Aki who handled our luggage.  I marveled at the surroundings as I searched the crowd for Reiko's face.  Almost instantly, I heard a voice call my name.  We embraced twice, as long lost friends.  Reiko's genuine, warm welcome introduced me to this whole new world called Japan. 

We boarded a bus for the two hour ride to our hotel in Tokyo, which included a tour of this most international city.  After a heart-felt welcome by the new director of Niigata's International and Cultural Department, Hiro reviewed our new fuller itinerary, thanking us for our exhausted patience.  We crossed the Rainbow Bridge into a sleak downtown, which featured office buildings of chrome, steel and glass.  The architecture suggested an ordered harmony as straight lines gently contrasted with curved angles and graduated, staggered shapes.  A distant ship terminal looked like a diamond.  Ignited with billboards and neon signs flashing the picture language of Japanese, one lone English word stood out: pictured next to a soldier of sorts, CONDOMS!  Even though it was 8:00 pm, people were still working.  As we stalled in a late rush hour traffice jam, I noticed a pizza delivery at one of the offices. 

We arrived at the Keio Plaza Intercontinental Hotel at 9:00 pm.  The quality of this five-star hotel was evident in the richness of the bed linens and intricate lobby displays.  Our wake-up call was for 6 am with breakfast at 7 so that we would be on time to catch the Bullet Train at Tokyo Station for the two hour ride to Niigata.

AND What a Ride!!  This elevated transit system, traveling at 144 miles per hour, moved so smoothly that passengers could easily walk around the car.  During our trip, I received pronunciation lessons in Japanese from Aki.  I mastered only one expression:  Arigato gozaimasu or "Thank you very much."  A good one to know . . .   This young man who taught language in middle school was also fluent in Russian and had taught Japanese in that country.  He was learning English and hoped to travel to America someday. 

At the concourse, members of the Niigata-Galveston Committee greeted us with cheerful hellos and bouquets of fresh-cut flowers.  Several held a banner written in words of welcome in both Japanese and English.  Smiles beamed from many familiar faces as we made our way to a stage.  We watched as four Geishas performed traditional dances for the crowd.  When I approached two of them, I was thrust between them and cameras snapped all around us.  Media of all kinds appeared from nowhere, flashing and filming our delegation of 22 for a full five minutes.  You would think all of these welcomes were the highlight of our trip but they was only the beginning . . . .