Mar. 10, 2013

Darrell wanted to see if he could buy a poster tube to protect it during the flight home. Hiroko became a woman on a mission. She lead us to the stationary section and asked a clerk, who went into the back room to get one. While we waited, I took a look at a section filled with model trains. Tobu had just about everything one would need to start a new hobby, of course the bullet trains were very well represented.

After we finished at Tobu, we went back to the hotel to pack up our bags, check out, and meet Masa and Chieko in the lobby. I checked our flight status with United Airlines to see if our flight from Narita to LAX was on time. I discovered that United Airlines, specifically a manager named "Melanie" working the graveyard shift in Chicago, changed our Business class seats to middle seats in economy in the back of the airplane. To make a long story short, this came from an inquiry into getting Lucio the same upgrade given to Darrell and I to business class because of a change of aircraft on our flight to Japan. I was on the phone with United Airlines for over an hour. Darrell and I had our itinerary, conformation numbers, and seat numbers in business class. United would only upgrade us to economy plus. A matter we would deal with further at the gate. It was close to noon and our bus to the Narita airport departed at 2 pm sharp. We had enough time for one last meal in Tokyo, so we went to Sushi Horikawa, which was very conveniently located in the lower level of the hotel. Sushi Horikawa buys its fish exclusively from the Tsukiji Fish Market in central Tokyo. Our lunch was so fresh and delicious. Certainly as good as any of the sushi we had on this amazing trip. Especially delicious was the "chawanmushi" steamed egg custard with shitake mushrooms. Everything about this place was simple but classy down to the high quality pressed paper place mats and the ornate kingfisher shoyu dispenser.

2 pm came very quickly, almost as quickly as the unexpected sand storm which hit about 15 minutes before our bus arrived. It looked like a nasty weather system only some what muddy. Masa and Chieko told us that Tokyo can get an occasional sand storm which comes from the Gobi Desert of just north west of Beijing, China. The winds were gusty and warm with very fine gritty sand blowing around. We stayed in the lobby until the bus arrived. We gave Masa, Chieko, and Hiroko our fondest farewell and thanks for their amazing hospitality. The bus left at 2 pm sharp for the 2 hour drive to Narita Airport. The skies were brown the whole way to Narita. If you look closely at the pictures below you might be able to make out Tokyo Disney's Space Mountain in the lower center.

We made it to Narita Airport 15 minutes early. We went to check in at the United Business class counter. The female Japanese agent began to process our check in and presented us with our economy class seats. I showed her our confirmation for our business class seats and our seating chart. She was instantly puzzled. She tried her best to correct the problem. She made a few phone calls with no positive results. She even tried to get us into first class because business class was full. Darrell asked if we could purchase miles to get into business class. She said that United wouldn't allow mileage purchases 24 hours prior to flight time. I thought to myself... "Hmmm a company that doesn't want to take a customer's money...Unbelievable!" The best she could do was to give us priority security passes and complimentary admission into the United Club. So, with United Airlines...beware. Just because you have a confirmation in hand and seat numbers doesn't guarantee that you will actually get your seats. Thanks a lot Melanie...you know who you are!

Priority security was much nicer than waiting inline for standard security. We went directly to the United Club to wait for our flight. Because of the sand storm, there were numerous flight delays. Our flight ended up departing almost an hour late. The United Club and Narita had observation windows facing east, so I spent some of the time watching the planes come and go. I got a visual of a spectacular sunset through the remnants of the sand storm. What a way to remember my departure from the land of the rising sun with an amazing setting sun.

10 Days, 6 cities, 6 hotels, and close to 2000 miles traveled across Japan via cab, wagon, subway, trains, shinkansen, and jets qualifies for one very concentrated and amazing experience. Reflecting on the many wonderful tastes, beautiful scenery, amazing destinations, and ever so hospitably polite people I have to chalk this trip up as one of the most enjoyed experiences of my travel life. The entire Japanese culture is one to learn from and enjoy. From its ancient history, to its innovative way of approaching life and society Japan is definitely a place to behold. I look forward to the possibility of visiting sometime again soon.

I hope you have enjoyed the blog. Thank you for viewing!

Rick Mindermann