Dec 27, 2011 - Last day in Narita

We were due to depart the hotel for the airport by late afternoon, so we had most of the day free. There was still one thing on our agenda that had to be done. Our plan was to take a picture of Jack in his Christmas sweater in front of this hotel called the Hotel Chapel Christmas. This is a hotel that Jeff had seen many times because it was on the bus route into town. It is just across the road from one of the hotel stops along the way. It has huge Santa Claus figures all over the property and is decorated for Christmas all year long...

Dec 25, 2011 - Newark to Narita

Well this is a first. I was randomly selected at the gate to have my shoes checked for bombs. They also rifled through my carry on which I have had happen before, but not the shoe check. I sat and waited for them to do their very thorough investigation before I was allowed to board. There were quite a few people pulled aside for this I found. Jeff is flying this trip and Jack and I got first class. Good, because flight is about 14 hours long. They've changed the first class cabin on the 777 since we flew to China in 2008. You're kind of...

Oct 26, 2011 - Layover in Tokyo

The 14 hour flight from EWR to Tokyo wasn't that bad, and I had 6+ hours to kill in the airport. A coworker had suggested I go visit the town of Narita, but I just didn't have it in me. Last time I was in Tokyo airport, I remembered finding a massage/reflexology place, so I checked in to the lounge and made my way through the airport guide until I found it ("Raffine" in case anyone needs the info). Lucky for me it was only around the corner and down the hall from the lounge, so I booked an hour of reflexology. If you've never tried this, my...

Aug 26, 2011 - In Japan - Narita

Well, after about a half day of flying from San Diego to Narita, I am finally in Japan! The time difference from here to Edmonton is 15 hours ahead so I now have to be aware of the time difference when I make international phone calls :-). The flight was pretty nice, I flew from San Diego to LA via United Airways and then had a three hour layover at LA International Airport. After that I flew via Singapore Airlines and had a 10.5 hour flight to Narita. Singapore Airlines is a fantastic airline. They have really good food especially for an...

Jul 2, 2010 - Going Home- Part 1

I woke up at 6:00 AM so that I would have enough time to get ready and allow us to have plenty in case anything bad happened. I finished getting ready, packing, and cleaning my apartment around 7:30. I met Gus downstairs for breakfast. The managers wife saw me, and then asked if I had the keys. I tried to tell her that I was going to eat first and then bring down the keys (since my luggage was still in my room), but she instead asked steve to come be our translator. She then understood after he translated what I said. Gus and I sat down...

Jun 19, 2010 - Our first glimpse of Japan

I looked down from the plane and saw houses, cars, rice fields, and a bunch of greenery. I assumed that we were flying over a more rural part of Japan. Once we landed, we got off and went through customs where they gave me my very first stamp. The employee seemed surprised that I had nothing else in my passport. We very quickly found our baggage, went downstairs, and proceeded through another checkout where they inspected our passports and asked where we were staying. We stopped for a bathroom break, and then found the desk where we bought...

Sep 25, 2009 - 旅立！ Departure.

母親が駅まで見送ってくれた。 横浜からバスで成田空港まで。ちょっと贅沢３５００円の旅。 『日本　→　台湾』 ９月２５日　成田第一ターミナル　１４時１５分　エバ空港 出発前の挨拶でもしようとしたが空港でインターネットのラインを見つけられないまま出発の時刻になった。 PM5:00 台北着。 眠気と少しの緊張のある私にカスタムの男の人が「Have a good...

Aug 14, 2009 - Narita

We have finally arrived in Tokyo. The crossing from China was fine. JAL did a good job of transportin us. We left at about 3 in the afternoon and arrived at about 6.30. Customs and passport checking was very efficient and we got out with our bags withi 15 minutes. After that we called the hostel and they came to pick us up in the airport. The hostel is located in rural countryside in the middle of nowhere. The nearest bus stop andlocal shop seems to be 1km away. It seems to us that the owner has got a house and given it`s 20 minutes drive...

Aug 14, 2009 - Sight seeing in Narita

We woke up reasonably early in the morning. We were sleeping in a six person dorm with a family that just had come in from British Columbia in Canada. They were completely jet-lagged and hence had started moving around and making noises at around four in the morning. However, we managed to sleep to quite late thanks to some eye masks and ear plugs that we had bought the other day in the Beijing. Our sleep in the hostel had been pretty good. We slept on mattresses on the floor. First time for me and it felt very authentic. One of the main...

Aug 13, 2009 - Beijing > Tokyo

Today we traveled between Beijing and Tokyo. The trip wasn’t particularly interesting. There was a new train between Beijing and the airport. This wasn't around last time when we were in Beijing. The train was fairly good and very cheap. The Beijing airport is very impressive and very large. It looks surprisingly similar to T5 at Heathrow (probably same architect). We flew with JAL between the two cities. The service was pretty good and the staff were very polite and courteous. The inflight entertainment system was very good and they...

Feb 14, 2009 - Toyko to Narita

We spent the night in Tokyo and wandered down to see the nightlife in the Ginza area. This morning we went to the Tokyo Imperial Palace and had a walk around the eastern gardens. The temp has got a bit hotter, about 22 degrees, and dressed up in our winter woolies we've been feeling it. We then took the local rattler train to Narita to save 1660 yen rather than the Narita Express. It was interesting seeing the locals commuting. We made it to Narita after one train change and no errors. Out in the suburbs the amount of english used on the...

Feb 1, 2009 - Townsville to Tokyo airport

Flew out of Townsville looking at all the Macair planes sitting there. We didn't get fed on the Qantaslink plane as they only catered for the 11 passengers booked. We had 43 passengers trying to get home etc. Don't know who ate the 11 meals but we only got a biscuit each. Caught up with the rest of the gang in Qantas Club in Cairns then off on the big plane to Narita. Uneventful other than Kim getting bumped out of a seat near to a seat near the toilet. Expected temperature at our destination 5 degrees. ....and there's people on the...