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Soo after 3 months of keeping our frustration levels at bay, the reality that we were leaving was still sinking in. A number of times we have pinched each other to say are we actually going... after 8 farewell events?
Mands did a great job of finding the cheapest flight to London. Lucky for us it turned out to be the best way to enjoy over 20 hours of flying to the other side of the world. Made better by securing a free night in a hotel in Narita... purely by asking.
The in-flight entertainment kept us from getting bored. No small feat for us 2. The in-flight magazine includes a bizarre range of products, including gentlemen shoes whose major selling point is the massive height boost... so clearly shown on the ad. Yes, it did now feel like we were about to land in Japan.
Having only 18 hours on the ground in Narita (80kms from Tokyo), we decided to eat out locally, having considered and then ditching the idea of heading into Tokyo after checking transport options. Having caught the free shuttle bus into town, we soon discovered that no ATMs would accept our cards... any of our cards. Now, I would expect that an ultramodern country like Japan would have worked out the international cash card benefits... not so, apparently. So we give up on cash... a bit disappointing because we were keen to use the vending machines....where you could buy anything from drinks, a hamburger or cutesy kitch items.
We eventually found a restaurant and got stuck into some genuine Japanese food. Ordering was a little difficult, but we recognised many of our favorites. Thank God for pictures too!
Deciding the 50 minute wait for the free bus was too long, we began heading back to our hotel on foot. On the way we found a local temple... more of a massive park full of huge temples, shrines and features. The whole thing is left open overnight, so we got to sightsee in the dark... I think this added to the adventure of exploring... This was easily the highlight of the Japan stopover.Unfortunately the Hotel was far further than we thought. After an hour of walking, the fun factor was wearing thin. The humidity was soaring and we didn't have a change of clothes for the following day, having been told we couldn't check our bags through to London from Sydney...so the sweat factor was not nice. The problem was, we had no money to get a taxi.... The taxi we did stop said he didnt take credit cards, so we had few options... Mands was not too pleased. Eventually we found a Hilton and although they didn't have an ATM, they were able to get us a taxi that took credit cards. Lucky, the Hotel was over an hours walk. So much for foregoing the free shuttle bus.First stop London >
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