Free at last

Before we traveled to Tokyo, all journalists covering the Olympics were told we needed to download an app on our phones called OCHA. It is put out by the Japanese government and is meant to monitor our health while we are in the country. We register our temperature each day and answer a few questions about how we’re feeling.

Thursday proved to be a big day in my OCHA life, as for the first time since I arrived, it read “cleared,” meaning I had successfully maneuvered my way through 14 days of being here without getting sick and therefore, was now clear to leave the Olympic bubble without fear of being tracked down and put in jail by the authorities.

The freedom felt weird, to be honest. For two weeks, I’d been walking from my hotel to the bus, from the bus to another bus, from that bus to the venue and back, adding in the bus to the media center from time to time. Granted, it is so hot, there’s not really much desire to go anywhere beyond those locations, particularly those locations that have air conditioning.

My first jaunt outside of the Olympic bubble was a quick trip outside the media center, where I followed the stairs down into a large plaza, where there was a number of stores and restaurants. I did not venture into any of them, but I just walked around, getting a look at a part of the nearby area that I had yet to see in my two weeks here. 

COVID is still a big thing here in Tokyo and the numbers are rising, not so much amongst the Olympic family, but in the city in general, so my apprehension to go out and about a lot is justified. I am also part of a production at the Village Players Theater in Wolfeboro next weekend and me not being able to participate because of a positive test would make things difficult on everyone else in the cast and that’s the last thing I want. Me being gone for two weeks is enough of a hassle.

I have a few days left and I will probably go out and see a little bit here and there, but I don’t foresee myself climbing on a packed subway and riding about the city. In all honesty, I’d probably get lost if I tried that anyway. To date, this trip has been a success and the last thing I want to do is to mess it up in the final days.

This is the Main Press Center, as seen from outside the security perimeter for the first time.