This is the text only format of my online journal for people who can not view the journal in their browsers. No fancy pictures. Just the facts. Please sign my guestbook
This entry was posted on 2001-04-03
United Airlines flight to Tokyo Narita and Arrival into Tokyo
I'm sitting here en route to Japan hardly believing that it's real.
This flight is rocking. Business Class is wonderful. The service is superb (far better than coach and the flight attendants are nice! Wow!), the seats are huge, and there's plenty of leg room. But the best part is the food. They have a little buffet set up which means unlimited food. That's a good thing since I slept through lunch. They should be serving us another full meal in about an hour or so.
I still can't believe that I'm sitting on a Boeing 747 on my way back to Japan for three full weeks.
I got really psyched up at the airport this morning because I saw a group of Japanese school children all in their uniforms. They must've been on a school trip and are on their way home. It was a great pre-flight experience because nothing is more Japanese than high schoolers in their school uniforms. I'll be seeing plenty of that.
I also learned that right now it's cherry blossom (sakura season in Tokyo! I can't wait to see the trees in bloom and to witness the Japanese going crazy over them!
Believe it or not, my Japanese comprehension skills are coming back. I am able to eavesdrop in on Japanese conversations. And I'm understanding the flight announcements in Japanese. I watched The Contender (which I hadn't seen) in Japanese (oh, every seat in Business Class has its own personal television screen) in Japanese and UNDERSTOOD IT! I'm so glad that this is coming back so easily because to be perfectly honest I am a bit nervous about graduate school.
But there's no denying that this flight is looooong. I've watched movies, slept, read, listened to music, and ate to keep myself occupied. I can't recall how I managed such a long flight before stuck in Coach. And I'm really short. I wonder how tall people do it. . .
Right now I'm cruising at 36,000 feet in the hump of a Boeing 747 thinking that this has to be a form of heaven. We're somewhere over the Pacific past the International Date Line. We have about three more hours before landing.
Anyway, since I don't have much more to say about the flight I ought to end this. I'm sure you don't want to hear details about the massage feature on the seats or the leg rests!
I (obviously) do have my laptop, so I will update a lot. To keep updated, please join my notify list.
Oh, and while I'm at it, show me lots of love by giving me heaps of Clix and signing my guestbook!
Ja ne!
I arrived! The flight was delayed due to wind conditions at the airport. But I whizzed through customs and immigration and therefore got out of the airport pretty quickly.
One of the many things that I hate about Narita Airport is how far it is from the city center (I'm not going to even get into any of my other reasons for hating Narita. You'd be reading all night). The express train takes an hour and a half.
Maybe I am just tired and really jetlagged, but tonight I was particularly annoyed throughout my entire ride on the airport train. For one, the usually smooth train was making an odd noise. It sounded like a cross between a screaming child and a dying dog. Secondly, the businessman next to me was snoring and snorting pretty loud. But I was most annoyed by the foreigner across the aisle (I believe he was from Indian or Pakistan) who was listening to his discman so loudly that practically everyone on the train could hear the Beatles' greatest hits. About halfway through "Help," he decided to serenade the other passengers with his "fine" singing. I desperately put my hood up and held my ears shut.
I have never been so happy to get off a Japanese train. When we finally pulled into Shinjuku station, I breathed a sign of relief.
Now onto another slight mishap. I always manage to pack way too much shit. I have 4 bags: my purse, my laptop case, my carry-on, and my huge duffel on wheels. Arriving at Shinjuku during rush hour with so much shit is not something I'd recommend. I had to carefully maneuver my luggage around people.
I didn't want to deal with finding my hotel on foot for the first time with 20 tons of shit, so I took a taxi (only later did i find out that the place I am staying has a free shuttle from the station).
Phew. I made it to the hotel in one piece. The people who work here are really nice (although they did tell me that my lame-ass Japanese was good. Lies!). I've decided to stay here in Tokyo for three nights before I head out into the country. First of all, I want to practice my language skills before venturing out into the middle of nowhere. Secondly, I hauled my shit, I'm tired, and jetlagged. There's no reason to leave this city tomorrow. And finally, Tokyo just has so much to offer. I do want to explore a little because no matter how many times I have been here, I will always manage to find something new.
Tomorrow I want to see the cherry blossoms (sakura). They are so beautiful right now (I saw some from the train) and I want to take some time to appreciate their unique beauty. Besides, sakura is the quintessential icon of Japan. And of course tomorrow night (I'm too tired to do it tonight), I plan to venture out to Tokyo's lesbian bar.
But right now it's 8pm here. Why am I sitting in front of a computer when I could be enjoying Japan? I think it's time for me to take a little walk. Bye!