Well, the day I was dreading and looking forward to at the same time finally arrived. It was extremely difficult saying goodbye to the family Thursday morning. The youngest, Logan (19 mos.), had no clue what was going on. As I tried to give him a hug and kiss goodbye he was pushing me out of the way as he was more concerned with the fact that I was disrupting his Little Einstein video. Ungrateful punk.
I fell far short of my goal of only bringing two suitcases. I ended up with three BIG check-ins and two carry-ons. Plus I really thought the 3 check-ins were going to be over the 50 pound extra fee mark. Clothes for a 6'4" man are not light. The skycap at Philadelphia airport was about 75 years old and I thought he was going to drop from trying to lift my luggage. The final suitcase weigh-in (1 at 62 pounds and 2 just below 50).
The flights over were uneventful. I was able to sleep most of the way from Philly to Chicago and on and off from Chicago to Tokyo. United's movie selection was horrendous (Bride Wars, Frost/Nixon,
Gran Torino, InkHeart, Not Easily Broken, Seven Pounds and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans). The one I liked best (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) was certainly no Oscar classic but you can't beat seeing a Lycan get an 8-foot crossbow bolt through the head. If I'm lucky, United will still be showing two classic movies (Paul Blart: Mall Cop & Hotel For Dogs) on their Eastbound flights when I fly back in June or July.
The funniest moment of the trip came when we landed at Narita. We weren't able to depart from the plane until a team from the Japanese Ministry of Health cleared the passengers. This included completing a health questionnaire as well as a team of three MoH employees dressed in blue HAZMAT suits scanning the passengers for fevers with thermal cameras. I say HAZMAT suits so you understand their apparel but it looked more like blue Hefty bags duck-taped together. Several of them also wore plastic goggles like the kind we were required to wear in shop class in school. Bizarre, sad and funny all at once.
Now that being said, I have to say the Japanese customs and baggage were incredibly efficient. I was through customs in 5 minutes and by the time we got to the baggage carousel, they not only unloaded the bags but had grouped your suitcases together. They might have even been alphabetized because my bags were at the end of the pack. In Philly you feel like you won the lottery if you get your bag back.
Once I left the airport, it was an hour long bus ride into downtown Tokyo and then a quick cab ride to my apartment complex. Check-in went fine and the apartment personnel (concierges) spoke perfect English.
My next update will include views from the room.
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