Thursday 12th September 2019
This morning was an early wake up (but thank god not too early) to get ourselves downtown to King Street Station. The ride down in the Lyft was good as the driver had spent some time in Australia and was also a substitute teacher. That dude got a good tip. He dropped us off right in front of a seemingly empty station.
The station was indeed quite empty at this time as it was just over an hour to departure. That meant no real lines to drop off bags etc. But sadly within moments of finding somewhere to sit, it seemed even the train station could not avoid Gate Lice. The lines began! Around an hour prior to departure they started checking passports (mainly that you had one) and assigning seats for the train (a pink ticket with a sticky label on it). We were close to the front, but not that close to the front unfortunately. It felt like a morning on lines was going to be upon us.
Before we could do much we were in line for passport check, then in line for ticket check, then we could rest a few minutes until they started boarding the train. The train was smaller carriages then I remember the last time I was onboard (2011), but I know it hasn’t changed other than getting older (even the train car signs were broken and replaced with taped pieces of paper). The seats were still comfortable though and there was enough space to ensure you didn’t smash into too many people (didnt stop the guy in front of me from trying to recline into me though, but i put a stop to that đ ).
The train left on time but sadly it was a very slow journey. Getting about 2 miles out of the station took 10 minutes and to get up to Everett, an hour. It was a very pretty journey though so I can’t complain all that much. The trip was all together a little boring. I ate the breakfast we brought with us. I drank a cup of coffee I purchased for an ok price. By the time we reached Bellingham we were about 2 hours into the journey. They did another Passport check to make sure everyone could get in and handed out customs forms. From there the journey took another 2 hours to wind its way into Vancouver. That drive would normally be about an hour or so plus wait time at the border. We didn’t wait at the border so that was a little annoying.
Once we pulled into the station, we had to wait onboard until we were allowed to go into Customs and immigration but, they did it car by car. It took a while to allow us to move (pretty much right after I used the restroom) and then it was more waiting in line (about 20 minutes). Our luggage made it safe and sound and by the time we got to the CBSA it was a few questions and “Have a nice stay!”. Off to the taxi line (did I mention it was a day of lines) and off to the hotel by cab (because Rideshare is illegal here at the moment).
Category: Life
Cruising North to the 49th
I know it has been a while since I last posted (really only when we are going on our yearly vacation) but it is time to talk. This year Heidi and I are off on one of those “Bucket List” adventures. This year we are taking an Alaska Cruise. But a lot went into this decision so I figured a good blog post about some of those decisions would be a good idea.
Going on an Alaska cruise is something that neither Heidi or I thought we would ever do. You have me, the man who has a fear of boats on the ocean. Then you have Heidi who hates the thought of a cruise ship and its big bad, waste of things like the environment and food waste etc etc. Well that changed a couple of years ago when a friend suggested we head up to Vancouver on one of the repositioning cruises for the night and see how it goes. So that is what we did. We had a blast and loved every minute. I think we ended up spoiling ourselves on this cruise as we took one of the larger rooms and then decided we couldn’t do anything smaller for a week, so that meant it was not going to be a cheap trip to Alaska,
The next part of the trip was selecting which Alaska cruise to take. This is the real problem because there are hundreds of options. First you have to decide are you going to do a one way or a round trip cruise? Round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver? One Way Northbound or Southbound? Then which cruise company? Small ship, Large Ship? Luxury or Budget? The options are just confusing. In the end we decided on a round trip cruise (because we didn’t necessarily need to go all the way to Anchorage). We chose to go out of Vancouver for our cruise rather than out of Seattle because it would not require a token stop in Victoria B.C. Those stops are just for a few hours to get around some US laws. Not worth it! For cruise line we went with Holland America for a few reasons I will get into below.
So now that we had our idea of what we wanted to do, figuring out specifics took some time. A lot of back and forth between me and Heidi going over a lot of items. Choosing which cruise line is one thing. Picking the itinerary and the ship itself is another! You have to decide do you want a new more modern ship that might be bigger, or an older ship that might be smaller. Bigger ship, more people. The bigger ship being more modern means better and more facilities onboard. Older ships would mean less people but also not as many or new facilities. We found our perfect match in this itinerary with Holland America. So there are a few reasons we picked this one:
1. The cruise visited Glacier Bay something we had been told on numerous occasions we needed to visit.
2. The ship was the Nieuw Amsterdam. While not the newest ship in the fleet, it was at the time we booked, the 2nd newest (now the 3rd). It was also very similar to the one we took on the repositioning.
3. The itinerary departed from Vancouver on a weekend which meant better timing for Heidi’s work (no matter what I chose it was going to be difficult thanks to work).
4. Holland America although normally catering to old people, attracts a very wide range of people to Alaska but the vibe felt fine to us on our overnight.
So with the cruise chosen and the date set (based on price and our schedules) we had it all sorted. We shopped around the different agencies vs direct to see who gave us the best deal. Why would we do this? Well sometimes Travel Agents get extra benefits for the cruise vs booking direct. Sure there are specials including things like drink packages or gratuities when you book direct, but travel agents can get those too. What extras you can get are things like beverage cards, extra dining packages or even just cruise credit. We went with AAA because the extras were good value and we know the agent. So everything is booked and now it is time to wait and occasionally check on price.
Glad we did that because one weekend we noticed that the price dropped considerably on our cruise, but what we noticed was that for a small extra payment we could go up to a larger room category. What room is that? Well we could get an Aft Wrap Suite. A room at the back of the ship that has a balcony that wraps around and you can see two sides of the ship. This would come in handy with so much scenery in Alaska. It ended up only $18pp more than when we booked so now we were truly set for an amazing journey to Alaska, A true once in a lifetime.
Getting to and from Vancouver was fairly easy. We booked the train up on Amtrak and rented a car (thanks to a free day) on the way back. Hotel was handled through work for a few days of free accomodation at a hotel that we wouldn’t normally be able to afford (not that Vancouver is easy to afford on a good day). It was all working out awesomely. I will post more about the hotels etc and the other bits and pieces during each piece of the trip. But suffice it to say, this will be a true trip of a lifetime.
Japan 2018 – Narita to Seattle
Sunday 8th July 2018
After getting the last of our bags all sorted we checked out of the Park Hyatt and got a cab over to the station. We could have taken the free shuttle but it would drop us on the whole opposite end of the station. We would have two ways of getting over to the New South Entrance to Shinjuku station. The first would involve crossing numerous platforms going up and down, more than likely stairs, to get to the platform we needed. The second option would be to wind through either streets or department stores. Taxi it is!
The taxi dropped us on a higher level than the train but a quick elevator ride and we were there. Pretty simple really. The platform for the Narita Express was well and truly on the other side of the station compared to say the Yamanote line. It felt closer to Yoyogi station than to Shinjuku. This was also the same platform for all the limited express trains that were used (so anything with a seat reservation). We got there just as the previous train was pulling into the station so we stayed out of the way as everyone piled on and the train departed. Mere seconds later our train rolled into the station and terminated. The cleaning crew went on so we would have to wait a little bit before we could use it.
Soon enough though we had access to the train and we got situated. The train was going to be relatively full with plenty of people getting on. Thankfully we were in the train in the first group of people as the train filled up people had problems storing suitcases (it only holds so many large suitcases but the racks were all full. The train rolled out on time to the second and off to Narita we went. The train followed the Yamanote line through to Shibuya to pick up more people and kept going all the way to Tokyo where it joined the rest of the train (we were the back half). From there the train picked up speed and ran express to Narita.
When we got to Narita it was a matter of a long long walk through to the station and a giant line of people at the ticket gates. Lines were a mess as people were lining up to have Suica cards refunded or fares adjusted and a lot of people were getting mixed up as they thought this was the line for rail passes to get out. It was a total mess! After winding our way up all the escalators to the departure level (numerous times i heard people say âshould have taken the elevatorâ) and found our way to check in. Lines moved quickly and we were checked in quickly as well.
Soon enough we were off to security after checking the prices at the currency exchange (why didn’t we change it for the fantastic rate in shinjuku..why!). Security was easy and I didnât have any troubles (iâm looking at you TSA) and then down to immigration we went. I tried to figure out how to fix up my tax free purchases with customs (apparently you just through the receipt in a box) and joined the extremely long lines for outbound immigration. After making it through the lines we headed off to relax in the lounge.
The ANA lounge was a shit show. People everywhere, crowding, very little in the way of seating, it was like being back at work, ugh. After finding a couple of seats and having to walk the entire length of the lounge to get a glass for a drink (again⌠ugh). We settled in to try and relax a little. We both were stressed over the environment and after a little while the lounge emptied out some so we found some more comfortable seats. Soon enough we left the lounge to head towards the gate via some final souvenir shopping.
We went to small shop that has always had good candy choices by the lounge. Without fail this place has always had choices that were not available elsewhere. Low and behold today was just like always. We managed to pick up a packet of Tokyo Banana kit kats and some pocky for Heidi before making the long trek to the gate.
The gate (58B) was all the way at the very end of the 50 pier and was both up a set of escalators and back down some stairs. Why⌠no idea! We got down there and went through a secondary security check (three times for me for some reason) and ran into some of Heidiâs friends we had drinks with the other night. We chatted before boarding was called and it was time to head over to the gate.
All Nippon Airways – NH178
Tokyo Narita to Seattle Tacoma
1815-1125
Boeing 787-8 (JA814A)
Business Class – Seat 9A
Boarding: 1751 (Gate 58B)
Push Back: 1815
Take Off Roll: 1840 (Runway 16R)
Top of Descent: 1028
Touch Down: 1100 (Runway 34R)
Shut Down: 1106 (Gate: S11)
Boarding was called for pre boards, though they didnât go far as you could see them trapped in the jetbridge. A couple of minutes later boarding officially began with the traditional bow from the staff. Moments later after all of the top tiers were through the gate they let us on. Onto the exact same aircraft we had flown over on. So far this year I am 2/2 for registrationsâŚ. That isnât all that much to talk about, but what is scary is that of 3 different flights on 787-8s with ANA, two out of three have been on the same aircraft. That is kinda of strange. If it had of been the same aircraft for all three, I would just give up!
This time Heidi was stuck sitting near me onboard, so there was no having to go back and forth between cabins. Thanks to Japanese efficiency they had the aircraft boarding right quick. Even with the fact that all of the economy class passengers were walking past us, it still felt pretty easy. Pre Departure beverages were served in plastic (but that is more of a need to be done quickly thing I think) and with a choice of OJ or Champagne. I took an OJ since I wanted to keep my single drink for something else later in the flight.
After they closed the door and came around to get all the cups we started to push off the gate. We pushed back and made the long long trek to the other side of the airport following a long line of other aircraft. As we taxied out to the active there was a long line of aircraft taking off right outside my window with an amazing sunset as well. Watching the aircraft take off gave me chances to practice some panning shots with my point and shoot camera. It went pretty well in my opinion.
It was finally our turn and we turned quickly onto the active and off we went. Although coming out of Narita is usually pretty bumpy, this evening it wasn’t that bad. Not saying there was no bumps, because there was a couple, but it was pretty easy. As we climbed out it was a matter of getting comfortable for what was slated to be a quick flight. Although it’s normally a 9 hour or so flight heading east, we apparently had some good tailwinds tonight as the flight was dropped down to just over 8 hours. Pretty slick, but it meant no real time to relax and sleep or enjoy more than the two meals⌠no snacks tonight apparently!
As we climbed out the service started with the handing out of menus, when they came back around to take orders they took drink orders and also the meal orders at the same time. One thing I noticed with ANA is that when they have a full cabin, they tend to take a while to get the service moving. When they do it is slow, but it’s very determined and thorough. This is not always a bad thing, but on a flight that may be short like tonight, sometimes you just want to get through the service. I guess you could just order a smaller meal like a bowl of the ramen and get some sleep, however that was not what I wanted to do tonight.
I went with the Japanese course as it would give me a final chance at some kaiseki. Although not as extensive as the first course option, the business class meal looked pretty impressive. There was some conger eel on it, which I never really enjoy, but I would still give it a go. The meal was delicious, extensive and just downright fantastic. But by the time it was almost over it had been 2.5 hours since we took off. This is a loooong time! When dessert came by I was a little greedy and asked for both options (but I didnât have any cheese, if that helps). This got a strange look but I was the last person in the cabin to be served so i guess it was fine. I tried to use the provided spoon for the blueberry tart and it cracked in half. Thankfully I had already eaten the cassis parfait (which was delicious!).
After dinner was finished I had a cup of coffee and a sake. Yep⌠sake. I got chastised by my wife for having sake when I shouldnât have, but I didnât care. I sat down and enjoyed it with the coffee and slowly sipped away at it. It was pretty delicious! By the time it was all said and done I was almost through my second movie of the flight. The FA came to take away all of the items and i put the seat back to try and get some sleep (though it never really came). I drifted back and forth between rest and awake for a number of hours and eventually got up about 3 hours out.
I didnât bother to try and get some food when I woke up, because I knew that at two and a half hours out, they started to offer the final food options throughout the cabin. So i fired up a final movie and just waited it out. As the time progressed towards Seattle you could smell the food begin to be heated up. The smell of warming bread just filled the cabin, so that was a great chance for me to get myself all sorted. When they came around to check on us, I took the option of the western breakfast with some cereal as well, because I had not had any in weeks⌠I was desperate!
The western breakfast was a great spread and included a lovely omelette. None of these fake crappy omelettes from the USA, this was a true, french style omelette, something the japanese do well. It tasted fantastic and was a good breakfast/early lunch as we would touch down just close to lunch time.
As the meal was cleaned up we were about an hour out from Seattle so I got myself sorted for the remainder of the flight. Getting my shoes on, getting the earplanes in and situated, cleaning up around the seat. We passed Victoria BC just as we started descent into Seattle. It was a nice sunny day in Seattle as we began to head down the Olympic Peninsula towards Tacoma and having to head back up. We passed over Bainbridge Island which meant out my window you could see downtown Seattle. You could see the three ships in port picking up boatloads of tourists up to Alaska.
It was sad to have the flight end which meant the vacation to Japan was finally over. We turned over Tacoma to line up for SeaTac and the end of this adventure. As we came into SeaTac there was a giant smackdown and a bounce to the left. Way to finish the flight with a bumpy landing. But the roll out wasn’t too bad and the taxi back to the S gates was relatively quick. We pulled into the gate and low and behold right next to us was a 777 from British Airways starting to be unloaded. This meant a rough time during immigration with a whole 777 load of people right ahead of us. Joy!
Leaving the aircraft, thanking the crew, it was off into the FIS at SeaTac. I have been through there once in the past, on ANA back in 2013. Back when there was not as many flights into the airport. 5 years ago half of the international flights into SeaTac didnât exist. Now it can be an awful experience. When we got down there though, the lines didnât look too bad. We skipped all the way through to the Global Entry area which had no one there at all.
Global entry for Heidi went off without a hitch. For me though, not so much. For one, the machine refused to read my green card without the help from one of the CBP agents. From there it just started going downhill, not that I didnât expect it. So because i am in the waiting period again, apparently Global Entry isnât valid for me (not that anything anywhere says that). Apparently I also need to have my own customs form and need to go through the main line. Thankfully the CBP guys took pity on me and put me through the process without having to go back over to the other side with all the giant lines. Thank god!
They were all nice about it, which is perfect for me, but for next time I will make sure to do it the right way, rather than the way it happened. Hopefully this will all be sorted out soon enough so that there isnât too much of a problem. Once through immigration we spent more time waiting for our bags to come out, so I guess it was fine to take a little bit longer. All the bags arrived intact and customs was a non issue. When asked what food we had the answer was âkit katsâ âbut you can get them hereâ ânot these onesâ âhow many did you bring backâ âtoo manyâ.
Onto the train back to the main terminal, Lyft ordered and by the time we got out to the pick up point, we only waited a few minutes before the driver was there. Minutes later we were home, into the house, with Darcy in heidiâs arms within seconds.
Japan 2018 – Tokyo… Part 2!
Thursday 5th July 2018
We woke up this morning and went for a walk out to the Imperial Palace to start our day. Today would be a big day as we had to change hotels from the Marunouchi/Nihonbashi area out to Shinjuku. We had a light breakfast in the hotel but our first job of the day was to get our bags packed. For a small amount ($18 per bag) we could send our bags across town with same day delivery. That was so easy for us as we didnât have to drag out suitcases on and off trains or through stations. Bargain! We got that sorted with the help of the concierge (after a back and forth about what we had been told vs what they were going to do on the day, but it all worked out) and let them handle our bags and we paid for it on check out.
As we departed the hotel we headed off towards the subway so that Heidi and I could head out for a day visiting my friend Rumi. We went to TAFE (Technical College for all my seppo friends) when I was just out of High school. We have known each other a long time. She moved back to Japan in the early 2000s and we caught up the last time I spent a good amount of time in Japan (2011) but it has been a long time since we last saw each other. Rumi wanted to meet up just below the Tokyo Skytree area so we headed out on the subway.
Sadly today the weather was not that great with plenty of rain around. We looked around the shops below the skytree and even stopped to get a bit of a photo of the bottom of the skytree. After walking past the Japan Post Museum we stopped in there as well. It was a small place but still extremely interesting. My favorite part was exploring all the stamp collection they have of stamps from all over the world!! We had a stop for lunch in the food court area because there was so much selection and we enjoyed each other’s company a lot. Eventually though Rumi had to go meet up with her son as he got off from school and Heidi and I were off to keep exploring.
We braved the rain in Asakusa to see the Senso-ji Temple and that was when I realised I had lost my umbrella đ It was a fantastic umbrella that could withstand a lot of punishment and I was gutted to have lost it đ Heidi gave me hers (since she doesnât like using them) but I was still pretty gutted and made me feel awful losing it. We explored through Sensoji and I bought some little Ningyo-yaki which are little red bean filled pancake kind of things. They are usually different shapes as well (birds, fish etc). Very tasty! We decided to walk back towards where we could take a subway home and the rain started to come down heavy. As we walked down a street Heidi saw a sign for a cat cafe and it was as good excuse as any.
The cat cafe didnt have a usage charge for the first hour, just a minimum drink requirement and the drinks were not cheap (which is probably why there was no usage charge). It was also technically a bar, so you could get beer or wine if you wanted. It was pretty relaxed and a great way to escape the rain. Heidi was pretty happy so that is a win win I guess. We left just before an hour was up and headed off to catch the subway back to the hotel. After grabbing our bags from the concierge, we were off to Tokyo Station to get the train to Shinjuku. On the way through we tried to find the second assassination spot, but we couldnât from the way we entered the station. O well, maybe next time! The train was relatively packed but not that bad so we had come through at a good time.
The Chuo Rapid line out to Shinjuku takes about 10-12 minutes and it is an easy ride. We hopped off at Shinjuku and it was time to battle our way out of the worldâs busiest train station. We had decided to take a taxi to the hotel rather than trying to find the free shuttle, because I had read that it was very badly sign posted. Finding the taxi was easy and within a few minutes we were off to the hotel. The ride was short and relatively cheap (600Y) and we were dropped right at the door of our hotel, the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Funnily enough as we arrived, the staff were just getting our bags we had sent to the hotel onto a cart. It was quite the coincidence! We were shown upstairs to check in and after a little while was walked up to our room.
The check in took a little while because they had to check on the status of our room. Which was strange because the room we had been assigned on the form was a higher floor than what we recieved and the room we were shown into had someones suitcases in itâŚ. Awkward!!! We eventually settled into the room and got ourselves situated. The room was definitely still luxurious compared to Osaka but not the best of the trip. The hotel was nicely kept up for a hotel that hasnât had a major overhaul since opening but the green colored hallways are a tough choice.
We rested up for a little bit as we had been on the go for quite some time and contemplated dinner. We decided to take the shuttle over to the station (so we knew where to go) and then walk around to the far side of the station to a spot with plenty of nightlife. I was hoping to find a place that I had visited in 2011 but I didnât know the name, just the look and only had a photo to go by. We did manage to find it and I enjoyed my Okinawan dinner. Heidi didnât seem all that pleased to begin with but she did enjoy what she chose. The meal was cheap and plentiful and we both walked out with full bellies. We strolled around Shinjuku, picking up some stuff we needed for the next few days and ended up getting the shuttle back to the hotel and passed out on the stupid hard japanese bed đ
Friday 6th July 2018
This morning we had a quick breakfast after waking up later than usual and we got ready to meet our tour guide. We were going to meet a guide and head off to the Tsukiji Fish markets today. I had been before but Heidi had not. In my visit I was up stupid early to see the tuna auctions but Heidi vetoed that and just wanted to see the wholesale market and the surrounding areas. With another free guide planned it was going to be an easier day and a better explanation of how things worked and what things were.
We met our guide in the hotel lobby (he was waiting for us as we got down the first set of lifts from our room) and we headed off towards Shinjuku station. It was a rainy morning so I made sure to have a hotel umbrella with me today (since I was not going to risk losing another one). We were heading towards the Toei Subwayâs Shinjuku line which took us to the Tsukiji fish market area. It was a simple ride we just got on and waited for a while before getting off. Simple. Even though it was after 9 before we got on the train, the commuters were still in force and the crowds were there for a while before they emptyed out around Roppongi.
We got to the market and the guide took us into the outer market area which was all we could access for quite a while. We wound back and forth through the streets looking at items for sale. While not much fish around this area there was plenty of other items for sale for both locals and tourists alike. One of my favorite items was the 100 Yen stick of TamagoâŚ. It was delicious!!! We also saw some of the more famous Sushi shops and they were stupidly crowded. Some of them were over 100 people in lineâŚ. Pass!
We did what we could to pass the time as the wholesale market just changed restrictions to now only allow access after 11am so there was lots of people standing around waiting to get in. When 11am came it was like the flood gates for tourists opened and everyone bolted for the gates. We wound our way through this area but it was mostly closed down with very few stalls still open and most people were cleaning up. Sadly this will probably be our last ever visit to the market as it moves next year. O well!
We left the market headed for the Ginza area and a stop for sushi lunch. The guide took us to a rather respectable looking place that I would not have even approached. It didnât have any english anywhere and those are the places I would probably not try on my own. The restaurant opened at 11:30am and we showed up at 11:28am giving me time to pack up my umbrella before we sat down. We got in before the big rush of people coming in for lunch as this was Ginza and there are plenty of businesses around. Being in Ginza you avoid the Tsukiji mark up prices that everyone in the market area charges, but you are close enough you get the exact same fish. Score!
As soon as they opened we were shown to a table and several other people joined us directly after. The chefs were churning out sushi minutes later as people came in and sat down. As we were at a table and not the counter we had to wait for our plates to be finished first before getting food, if you were at the counter, they got shoved in front of you as they were finished being made. The sushi was delicious and the omakase was a good choice. It was around 1600 Yen each so very reasonable for the quality and size we were served.
After leaving lunch our guide walked us down to the central part of Ginza and we parted ways as we thanked him for showing us around. He suggested we head up to Ginza Six to the new garden on the rooftop and you know how Heidi likes gardens. The view of the buildings was good from up there and I could see how nice it would be on a sunny day, but the rain was a killer. We left Ginza Six and walked our way through to Yurakucho station (after some shopping) to jump on a train. We had to change in Akihabra to a new train line for this trip as we were taking the local towards Shinjuku not the rapid.
We jumped off at Iidabashi and headed towards the main shopping street and Kinozen. If you have seen some of the random shows that pop up on Netflix you may have seen Kantaro the Sweet Tooth Salaryman. This is one of Heidiâs favorite shows and her favorite episode is the Matcha Bavarois. Well that episode is filmed at Kinozen as the show may be a drama but the places they go to are real. So we decided to head off to Kinozen for some Wa Sweets.
There was a small wait while some people headed out but we didnât need to look at a menu, we knew how to order this one. Ni Matcha Babaro kudasai⌠well thatâs what i attempted to say, whether that was correct is a different thing. The wait was nothing and we had the lovely Senbei Rice Cracker in the shape of a pig (delicious) in our hands within seconds. The dessert showed up and Heidi was excited. It looked delicious, it tasted devine and I can see why people come here a lot.
Japanese desserts have always been so good with the attention to detail you donât get anywhere else. They will pick one specific item and focus so much on it to make it perfect. It warms my heart! After finishing our desserts we decided to walk along the canal to the next stop on the train since the rain had stopped and it was only about a 30 minute walk. By the time we made the other station we had been on the go for a while, so we headed back to the hotel for a bit of a relax. For dinner that night we headed off through the park around the hotel to find a Coco just a couple of blocks overâŚ. Delicious way to end the day!
Saturday 7th July 2018
Our last full day in Tokyo before heading home was a Saturday and that would be ideal for the kinds of places that donât really happen during the week. After a gym work out this morning we headed off on a bus (for the first time in TokyoâŚ. ever), The first stop of the day was NHK Studio Park. We both love Domokun and they have a small NHK store at the main studios in Tokyo. They also have like a small museum place and for 200 Yen entry its a bargain.
After a small hiccup finding the right bus stop we finally got moving towards NHK along the edge of Yoyogi park. The park looked great and had a lot of different parts including the Youth Olympic facilities, the Horse Club and a number of small playgrounds. We got off around the corner from NHK park and walked up to be greeted by a Giant Domo Statue⌠love it! There wasnât any english translations for a lot of stuff at the Studio Park but we made due and it kind of kept in line with a lot of what we did while in Japan. Found random things to go to, where we couldnât really read it but still had a great time. We got a number of freebies for our $2 including a wrist strap, some file folders and some stickers. We made one or two purchases at the store but we also got to watch rehearsal for an NHK talk show thing⌠maybe⌠we werenât sure.
After leaving NHK we walked down into the Shibuya area taking a stop on top of a building with a free view of the scramble crossing before braving the crossing on our own. We were getting hungry but neither of us could make up our minds what we wanted and we spent plenty of time just wandering around trying to find something. We decided on a couple of sandwiches and some salad from the Tokyu department store. Pretty delicious! After walking around some of the department stores we head off to the Mega Don Quixote for some shopping. This was when we had both decided to leave all of our souvenir shopping till so that we didn’t spend all trip carrying them around Japan.
I went a little bit nuts getting all the different Kit Kat flavors and almost filled the entire basket. I wanted to check out a few other things while I was at it but Heidi got a few pieces in the stationary sections. We were able to get our purchases tax free as we spent over a certain threshold (and were willing to not touch the items before we leftâŚ.. tomorrow). It was a good deal. We came out of the store with a 100 Yen soft serve to help with all of the stress and frustration of dealing with a Don Quixote store (Aisles are small, lots of people). We made our way out of Shibuya via some back streets before heading up to the station for our next stop⌠Harajuku.
This was going to be a rough stop as it was by now the middle of Saturday afternoon, it was hot, humid and the crowds of tourists were out in force. If the train was any indication of what was to come, I should have cut and run. But we made our way over to Takeshita Street in Harajuku for the street of doom. It was wall to wall people walking up and down one tiny street. We shopped for a little bit, but didnât spend much just browsed slowly up and back. By the time we got down to one end, we were truly over it and just wanted to get out. Back through the crowds to the station we went, bravely exiting the tourists for another day.
We journeyed back to the hotel via the New South Exit from Shinjuku station and after walking for almost 6 hours we were done! We collapsed on the bed of the room for a little while before heading out for a final dinner in Shinjuku. We headed to a place recommended by Rumi as her favorite Ramen. I loved it (Heidi wasnât loving it too much due to the shellfish broth) and thought it was a great place to go! We left there and Heidi wanted to play some pachinko, but she didnât realise just how noisy they were⌠holy crap they were loud⌠like deafening loud. You need earplugs just to even walk in the building. Instead we hit up an arcade to have some fun spending some last cash.
Sunday 8th July 2018
We woke up this morning, our final morning in Japan and walked down to Yoyogi Park. Intending on just walking around the park itself we ended up coming into the entrance with the Meiji shrine. So we walked up to the shrine, explored for a little bit and made our way back to the hotel to pack things up. Packing took a while as there was a lot to do. We had packed an extra bag so that we could carry all the souvenirs (although we usually just fill it with dirty clothes).
We spent a short amount of time out of the hotel checking out the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building free observatory and trying to find an overview point of Shinjuku station I went to last time (but I couldn’t find it) before going to Mos Burger for lunch before heading back to the hotel. Our final morning in Japan was over, time to get back to reality.
Japan 2018 – Osaka to Tokyo & Tokyo pt 1
Tuesday 3rd July 2018
After waking up super early when I didn’t need to I checked my phone to see the time and saw that the burglar alarm at home was going off. I checked my phone and saw that it was probably because of the person coming to feed the cat. So I disarmed the house, cleared all the problems and set it back up again. Nothing looked out of place, the activity log matched what I would expect, so all was fine. The cat didnât seem to care.
We both rested in bed and watched some TV before we got ourselves ready for the last big internal travel day of the trip. Today we would be heading back to Tokyo on the Shinkansen. We had decided to take it easy this morning so that we would not stress ourselves out worrying about time. We gave ourselves plenty of time goals to ensure we made it to Shin-Osaka on time. We used our last breakfast coupon to get some pastries to go from a place in the station and then we scoped out a way to get to the subway line without steps (which we found).
After going back to the hotel, grabbing our stuff and checking out we made our way through the rush hour crowds of people coming out of the station into the hellmouth. When we got down to the platform, then it became apparent things were not going to be easy. The trains were pulling in almost packed full of people and there was still plenty of people piling themselves onto the train. When we finally found a spot where we could get on, we missed the first train because we were not game to throw our bags into the scrum. Then on the second go (trains were running about one every minute) only Heidi was able to get on and she got rammed into the train with everyone else. So it looked like we were going to seperate.
It took me two more trains before I could get on and i barely made it on with my suitcase and i got crushed in the process. Then I found out the train I was on did not go to Shin-Osaka but stopped short. So I had to get off at another station and risk the whole train jam thing againâŚ. Fun. I made it through though and caught up with Heidi at Shin-Osaka. Thankfully we had given ourselves plenty of time.
We made our way through Shin-Osaka Station up to the Shinkansen platforms and found where we were departing from. We camped out for about 40 minutes or so (after several contemplations of ditching our train and heading for an earlier train to Tokyo, but we didnt). Our train pulled in and we jumped onboard and stashed our bags in the usual spot. We swam upstream to our seats and got settled in for the long (well not really) ride up to Tokyo.
Todayâs train was a Hikari and would stop at Kyoto, Nagoya, a couple of other stops before Yokohama, and then into Tokyo. We had the usual seats and just enjoyed the ride. We finally ate our pastry breakfast and I worked on the trip report while Heidi did some of her japanese lessons. The train cruised north as we watched people get on and off. We pulled through stations we had seen in the daylight and some we had only seen at night. Sadly though the clouds were out so there would be no sighting of Fujisan today đ
As we pulled in towards Tokyo Station it was sad to be getting off. Waiting there at the carriage though was a staff member from the Shangri-La Tokyo, they were waiting to assist us with our bags and take us to the hotel. It was crazy though that they would offer this. It was not a problem though and they took one of our suitcases for us and escorted us through the craziness towards the hotel. After checking in and getting stuff sorted in the room, Heidi wasnât feeling to crash hot so she crashed out in the room. I grabbed my rail pass and my camera bag and I headed out towards the station again. I have been wanting to take photos at Haneda for a long time, so that was my goal tonight. It was pretty easy to get out there. Take the Yamanote line to Hamamatsucho and then take the Tokyo Monorail all the way out to Haneda. The best part is the whole thing was free with the rail pass.
I checked the spotting sights to see which terminal was going to be better in the afternoon and it said Terminal 2, so ANA it was going to be. The terminal was great, bright and clean. It felt more like a shopping mall and even had a Lawson in it. So i grabbed a drink and a sandwich (since I had not had lunch yet) and grabbed an elevator all the way to the top floor. The observation deck was on the very top of the terminal and the sun was shining. I spent several hours on the roof of the terminal getting plenty of photos (and sunburnt at the same time). I got some good special liveries and a few airlines I had not gotten before.
After finally watching the weather start to get iffy, I retraced my steps back towards Tokyo Station and met up with Heidi for some dinner. We wandered the surrounding streets as we were both pretty tired and didnât wish to go far. We came out of the night finding a small, local possibly chain, restaurant and had a great dinner. We picked up some treats for dessert and headed back to the hotel to crash out for the evening.
Wednesday 4th July 2018
This morning I got up early and went to the gym (while Heidi groaned and rolled over). It was relatively easy morning in the hotel as we had a breakfast meeting with the hotel (work requirement). The breakfast at the hotel was great and the pastries were excellent! It was a good morning and by the time we were finished it was around 11am. So Heidi and I decided we would take the opportunity to go out to Omiya & Saitama so that I could go to the JR East Railway Museum.
We took the Shinkansen up to Omiya (since it was free) and then connected on to the local strange subway thingy over to the Museum. When we arrived though, unfortunately there was a big sign saying âClosedâ. No reason given (at least in english). Nothing online stating they were closed on the english site. They close tuesdays, but not wednesdays. This was confusing. We tried walking around wondering if it was just that entrance, but nope closed. Turns out that it was closed due to the preparations for opening the new section the next day. So that plan was out because it would be extremely crowded for the next few weeks. Pass!
So we got back on the shuttle thingy back to Omiya and then got back on the train towards Tokyo. We managed to time it pretty well because a few minutes after we got there, one of the Double Decker Shinkansen (the Max) was scheduled. Score! So we got our tickets and headed off towards Tokyo. We jumped off at Ueno so that we could walk around through some of the market streets between Ueno and the next station.
We continued down to Akihabara for some lunch and a bit of an explore through the streets. But during the middle of a pretty tasty lunch, my nose started to spew blood and lots of it. This was not good when I was running short of tissues, japanese bathrooms donât have paper towels and there was lines to get into the restrooms. Ugh!
I did what i could and it eventually stopped but that pretty much killed my mood for the rest of the afternoon. I just was not in a good frame of mind. So Heidi and I went back to the hotel and settled in to watch some netflix to keep us busy. We ventured out of the hotel for some dinner and walked around the station area to scope out the finally finished Marunouchi side of the station. We happened to find one of the sites of an assassination while we were walking around. Neither of us was all that hungry for a big dinner, so we grabbed some food from the Daimaru department store and headed back to the hotel to relax. Not the best day, but it was still a good day in Tokyo.
Japan 2018 – Nagoya & Kyoto
Wednesday 27th June 2018
Waking up earlier than we really needed seem to be the way things were going to happen this morning. Sadly it looks like sleep patterns may be off because it just did not go to plan. Instead we bummed around in the room trying to keep ourselves on a relatively normal fashion. Todayâs plan was to go for a walk this morning to get some breakfast, then head out to a museum out of town and then who knows what the rest of the day.
So we rolled out of the hotel (which we were really liking so far) and started to walk out of the neighbourhood. We followed the railway lines up towards Nagoya Station and our chosen spot for breakfast. Located in the depths of the surrounding areas of the station was a lot of different, i guess you could call them strip malls. They were rows of shops and restaurants for all differents kinds of things. In amongst this haven of deliciousness was our intended destination. We wandered streets till we found Chapeau Blanc.
This little cafe had a fantastic deal. For the cost of a beverage (490 Yen) you would also get all the pastries you can eat. So for $5 you can have pastries and the drink of your choice, that is a bargain. Donât get me wrong the pastries may not have been the best you will ever eat, but the iced coffee was good, the pastries were decent enough (we went back a few times) and they throw in hard boiled eggs too. What more could you ask for?
All filled up we walked back through Nagoya Station to get our bearings, book some train tickets for the rest of our trip and head out to our destination for the day. We were to jump the same train we took to our hotel last night but this time go all the way to the end. Which we did, via getting stuck in some railway works. It was interesting to see how the city differed from the small amount that we had seen so far. You went from very commercial, to very industrial relatively quickly.
Our destination was the end of the line and the museum right next door, the SCMaglev Railway Park which is the JR Central museum. It mainly covers the Tokaido Shinkansen along with also the new Chuo Shinkansen being built (the Superconducting Maglev). It was an amazing museum with so many things to see and thankfully not crowded at all. We explored all kinds of trains and I had been wanting to come here for quite some time. Although I did not win the lottery draw to drive the Shinkansen simulator, I did get some time driving a normal train (I did good, or at least that is what the lady said).
We both enjoyed the museum a lot and we even managed to have an old train to ourself for lunch. That is right⌠for lunch. They sell Ekibenâs at the museum (because of course you would) and you can eat them outside, in an old train that is air conditioned. We had our lunch in there and at one point, we were the only ones inside! We both tried not to purchase everything in the store before leaving and we headed back to the hotel to rest a little bit as we were both feeling a little jetlag.
After a couple of hours of resting we walked back up to Nagoya station but this time in a different direction. We checked out some stores in the station area before jumping on a subway over to Sakae. From there we had dinner at a Japanese Curry house (CoCo for anyone who cares) and did some more wandering through shops. We cut things early because I wasnât feeling good and hadnât been for a good portion of the day. We got back to the hotel around 730ish and i was passed out in bed by 8pm.
Thursday 28th June 2018
This morning we were heading south to Kyoto. After another pastry breakfast (this time from the 7-11) we headed off to the station. I was definitely not feeling well at all so Heidi made the decision that when we made it to Kyoto I was to ask the hotel about seeing a doctor. We made it back to Nagoya Station with plenty of time and waited for our train. While waiting on the Platform almost six Nozomi trains came through in the small 20 minute or so window. Those trains are really constant! Our train rolled in and we scrambled on with our bags. Soon enough we were in our seats and cruising out of Nagoya towards our next stop of Kyoto. Since this was Shinkansen we didnât have long to wait.
We pulled into the Kyoto Station and found the nearest taxi rank (on the opposite side to I remember using last time) and we headed on our way to our hotel, the Ritz Carlton Kyoto (thanks work!). Upon arrival we were met by almost 4 staff and quickly sent off to our room. One staff member got a quick hand off of documents from the front desk and we were whisked off to our room for check in. Almost 6 staff helped us from the moment we got out of the taxi, amazing!. We had a beautiful room and even though it was on the floor above the lobby, it didnât matter. We had a view of the river and it was quiet and peaceful.
After a site inspection with the sales rep, we headed off to get information on someone to go see to get me fixed up. With an appointment made for 5pm, we found the local 7-11, grabbed some lunch and then headed off to Inari station (took 2 subways and a train). After exploring the Fushimi Inari area with the million other tourists who were there, I left Heidi to explore on her own around the mountain while I headed down towards the town to explore. I found a cat cafe, the prices were cheap and included a free ice cream, so I was sold.
I spent a little while there (around 30 minutes or so) before walking off to meet up with Heidi. After heading back to the hotel for a little bit, we jumped into a taxi to head to the doctors. Low and behold after what felt like the quickest doctors visit ever I was given a prescription and then spent more time waiting for drugs than I spent with the doctor! We start to wander the streets after this in search of some dinner and found an Ippudo, however the wait was long, so pass on that! Around the corner from Ippudo was a good looking ramen place, with no wait and plenty cheap too. So we went in there! They had an english menu but we didnt need it because pointy talky ordering worked well.
After a stumble back to the nearest subway station and two trains and a walk back to the hotel, we flopped into bed to rest up before a big day the next day.
Friday 29th June 2018
Today was our big tour day of Kyoto. We were planning on getting in as much stuff as we could. We had arranged a tour guide with the Good Samaritan Club and they would help us get around the city. Our guide was due to meet us at 9am in the lobby of the hotel and we would head out from there. When we got down to the lobby it was full of guides waiting for their groups, so I guess a lot of people do it! Once we met up with our guide Nao we headed off on the subway. Umbrellas in hand today because the rain looked pretty nasty.
This morning we visited the Nijo-ji castle and the Imperial Palaces. The first being the spot where the Emperor would meet his guests and the second being his places of residence. Both were outstanding to visit and not that crowded thankfully. The rain was on and off all morning though so that was annoying. After the morning of the old reign of Japan we headed down to Nishi market for a stroll through and a look at all the tasty morsels on offer. I snagged a croquette for 100 Yen and ate it as we walked (although my guide was shocked since we had lunch upcoming but it looked so good!). After that we bought him lunch around the corner from the market at a place that had Curry Udon. I had a cold ramen dish with plenty of vegies and sesame dressing. It was delicious!
After lunch we jumped on a bus and headed out to the Golden Pavillion. This is where there were tourists and lots of them!! It was beautiful and stunning but holy crap it was like shooting fish in a barrel. From there we headed over to another temple which had less people. By this time we still had some time left with the guide so we headed off to explore a very little known perk of Amex cards in Japan. Apparently there is a VIP lounge inside one of the temples. The guide knew of the temple, but had never seen the lounge before we we headed over. It wasnât much but it gave free access to a temple and some privacy away from the rest of the city. It was a good way to wind down and finish our tour.
After finishing the tour we headed back towards the city and it started bucketing down. Thank god for hotel umbrellas because we needed them! The rain was coming down hard and fast so we took refuge in a store that had over 300 different ice cream parfaits on offer! Yes please! With that as our early dinner we stopped by a store on the way home for a sandwich and a drink and soon enough back at the hotel after being gone all day. Tomorrow we would be leaving Kyoto and moving on. No doubt we will return.
Japan 2018 – Narita to Nagoya
Tuesday June 26th 2018
After clearing immigration faster than expected we headed down to the bowels of Narita Airport Terminal 1. The train station entrance was directly outside where we exited customs, which was fantastic and meant we saved some time stumbling around. Once we got downstairs we had to line up at the JR Service Center to get our Rail Passes Exchanged. Because we were ahead of schedule it meant we had more time to do what we needed to do.
Tonightâs plan was to take the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, then a Hikari on the Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya and then a ride on the Aonami line for one stop to Sasashima Raibu. Long travel time of 3 different trains to get us the 200-300 miles down to Nagoya. This would seem really complicated, but it really isnât. Two of the trains would be covered by our rail pass and the other one would cost us 200 Yen (roughly $2). Pretty decent prices to be honest. To add onto that because we were ahead of schedule we could spend a little more time in Tokyo Station and be less rushed.
While booking our tickets they told us we should be changing in Shinagawa, but to be honest, we know Tokyo station better. Our plan was to stop by somewhere in the Station, pick up an Ekiben and eat it on the train as we cruised to Nagoya.
We were able to get on the 4:19pm NEX to Tokyo station and that put us a good hour ahead of schedule. This wasnât the first time we had taken this train so we knew what to expect. We chilled out on the train as it cruised out of Narita and headed towards Tokyo. The free wifi onboard helped and I spent the time getting my phone up and running. It was nice to finally be out of the plane, but we were both in good moods and not feeling tired.
As we arrived into Tokyo station we knew what now had to happen. We were in the middle of the afternoon commute, in one of the busiest train stations in the world. This was not going to be fun dragging some suitcases through. But hey, might as well. It was fine, it was a bit overwhelming but we did it. We both made our way up to the Shinkansen gates and then I went back to the Ekiben place to get some food. This was probably the dumbest idea ever because it was stupidly crowded and a little bit oppressive. But I made it out and my first purchase in Japan was for ekibens!
We headed up onto our platform, found our car location (handily printed all over the platform at your feet) and lined up to await the train to come in. There was Shinkansens all over the place both Tokaido and also run by JR East. When our Shinkansen showed up they had to clean it, so that took a little while but soon enough we were onboard and had to stash our suitcases behind the last row of seats.
The train pulled out of Tokyo station on time (as you would expect) and we picked up speed as we headed for a few stops in the Tokyo area before heading out into the country proper. Once we left Yokohama that was when you could feel the speed really increase. Sadly though our train was going to make plenty of stops. Had we rushed through Tokyo station we could have made the earlier train that made less stops and saved us plenty more time, but it was fine.
This portion of the journey was when we both started to struggle. Lordy was it tough staying awake. We found it rough to try and keep our eyes open probably for a good hour or so as we both were lulling ourselves to sleep. It wasnât even 7pm in Japan and we were ready to be in bed. The ekibens were consumed onboard (I have no idea what mine was, but it was alright) and we both just watched the scenery change outside as the train sped past the cities.
As we pulled into Nagoya we both got ourselves ready for another slog through the station to find the right spot to head to the Aonami line to our hotel. The signage was good but we had to go a roundabout way (at least it felt that way) to wind through the station to another part of the station. We dropped some cash for our IC cards and as we rolled to the platform the train started making noises that it was going to depart. We made it with seconds to spare.
One stop on the train line, dragging suitcases through a very deserted station and we were a minutes walk from our hotel for our stay in Nagoya.
Japan 2018 – Seattle to Tokyo Narita
Monday 25th July 2018
Itâs Monday morning, my alarm goes off and I have a needy cat annoying me. Must be the weekend, well not today. Today it is vacation. I get to spend some time taking a trip that my wife and I have been waiting to take for almost 4 years. The day was finally here, but yet I was excited but not overly so. Which is strange, but not really.
A lot to get accomplished around the house today before taking my first flight of the year and the first in at least 7 months. The morning went by quickly but not without its hiccups. I forgot to take a jacket to keep warm if needed (woops⌠hopefully wonât be a problem) and pretty sure i forgot to arm the house alarm. The ride to the airport was easy and the lyft took mere moments to arrive.
After making our way from our drop off point to check in, the wait took a few moments and we were checked in. It was super simple and our bags were right on the money in regards to weight. We took our boarding passes and headed off to security where we had no issue thanks to clear. Well that was meant to be the thing, however this is where I started to get hassled. Clear was stating that I did not have a Pre Check boarding pass. However I had one printed and a mobile boarding pass that both stated the same. After being verified by Clear they then dragged me in front of a TSA rep to get the same done (which is not meant to be the way) just to prove I am Pre Check (which I already knew).
So once into the line for the security I get stuck behind the family that doesnât know what they are doing but I am stripped down ready to go in moments and then⌠wait. More waiting, lots of waiting. Finally get through and my Camera bag gets pulled to the side. No word all I hear is âBag Checkâ. Just dandy! Doesnât help that there was like no TSA agent listening to anyone so I had to wait over 10 minutes for someone to finally get to my bag. I waited more for TSA today for a bag check than I did at check in and clear. How is that even possible.
For my bag check they wanted to check my camera lenses apparently. Which I wasnât aware was a thing for precheck. The guy working it was not that great either and I didnât want him damaging anything. He asked me how to open the bag and I told him âI would prefer to do thatâ and he finally let me do that. He went for the lenses and I told him he better be careful with that or the TSA will be footing the bill for new equipment. Soon enough I was on my way and they still couldnât find a complaint card to make a complaint about the poor service today. So that was convienient.
Next stop was the lounge, after a breif stop by work for a little bit. The Club at SEA was the required lounge to visit today and this was my first real visit. Holy Crap is this place small. Like REALLY small. This lounge is meant to have all the people who are flying international flights, which is crazy. It was like an endless stream of people coming into the lounge and it was rough to find a seat. The offerings were limited but I did not really want that much to be honest.
I made sure to relax a little, try to get into the holiday mood. I was dissapointed that onboard the flight today I wasnât going to be able to sit with Heidi and to add insult to injury, an aisle seat because the true windows were taken. Not exactly my favorite way to start a vacation. Soon enough we escaped the lounge and headed off to the gate to get ready for boarding.
All Nippon Airways – NH177
Seattle Tacoma to Tokyo Narita
1320-1540+1
Boeing 787-8 (JA814A)
Business Class – Seat 7K
Boarding: 1250 (Gate S12)
Push Back: 1318
Take Off Roll: 1339 (Runway 16L)
Top of Descent: 1421
Touch Down: 1505 (Runway 16R)
Shut Down: 1511 (Gate: 208/29B)
Boarding came soon enough after what felt like a mountain of children boarded. I swear about â of the plane was preboarded. Thank god I was not down the back of the bus today because holy crap would that suck. Heidi and I were in the first half dozen or so Business Class passengers onboard and that was when we waved good bye to each other. When I got to my seat the person in 9A was settling in and he said hello, so I said Hi back. I let him know that if he didnât want his seat to let me know, I would be happy to swap.
Then he said something I never thought I would be happier to hear. âMy wife, she is in 7K, will you swap with herâ. Win win on both sides!! They get to be together, and I get my window seat. Holy crap this would be the luckiest thing the whole day. I gladly swapped and also made sure to thank them several times over. Every staff member I spoke to after that started to thank me for swapping so the couple could be together. I was very happy to let them know it was not that big of a deal.
I got situated as the rest of the plane came walking past my seat and soon enough we were pulling off the gate. As we started to get ready to taxi all the staff lined up, bowed and waved to everyone. The traditional ANA departure⌠always a site to behold. The long taxi line out to the North end of the runway and as we went past I noticed two fire trucks having water cannon practice. Fun times!
We took off to the South and turned towards the west and back to the northwest as we started the long haul westward toward Asia. The service took a long time to get started and they handed out the wrong menu to begin with. Which must have been awkward⌠but still, I wouldnât need to keep it because it would be the same on the way back. Since the service was so slow i started to watch the first of many movies for this trip to ensure that I kept myself entertained.
Lunch finally began with the canapes and drinks. Because we were leaving the USA it would have to be the western options. I would keep the Japanese options for the departure in two weeks time. So the western menu started with a Cajun prawn thing and some corn soup. The soup was delicious and Heidi agreed because I recieved a message through in seat messaging to confirm it. The main I chose was the beef and expecting it to come out tough when it was actually deliciously tender. The sauce was pretty spicy so that wasnât what I expected. Finished off the meal with some cheese, the japanese dessert (because I didnât feel like cheesecake) and some coffee.
After lunch I relaxed the seat back and kept watching my movies. After finishing up the 2nd movie it was time for some more coffee and some trip report writing. Trip report, coffee and a movie, felt like the good old days! I didnât want to eat all of the food on this flight, it just isnât that long and with the late start, well I wasnât that hungry. So i decided to have some of the lighter dishes for the 2nd meal. Ramen, Ice cream and some fruit maybe? I dunno⌠too many choices.
It had been a pretty easy comfortable flight, getting away in Business class is always fun right? This could be the last long haul flight for a while in the front as well, So I would need to enjoy it.
The rest of the flight went relatively smoothly. As I watched the third movie around two and a half hours out they switched on all the lights (rather than using moodlighting) and got everyone up. It was a tad shocking but it was ok, since I had not slept anyway and kept a good amount of light trying to come through my windows anyway.
As the movie progressed and began to finish I started to choose something for the final service. I didnât really feel like eating much as it was only a few hours since I had just eaten so I decided to eat the Ippudo ramen (which has always been a good choice on ANA). They did not dissapoint with a nice bowl (albeit not the special ippudo bowl) of noodles and broth for âŚ. Dinner? Or was it lunch again? I dunno⌠so confused.
We started our descent relatively early but as with any approach into Tokyo they warned of turbulence. Thankfully it was not as bad as that night back in 2009 when it was the roughest approach I have ever had in my life. This time thankfully there was a few lumps and bumps but nothing out of control. As we approached Narita it was the usual routes past Narita township, the AEON mall and then over the hotels like the Hilton and touching down. We were a good 30+ minutes ahead of schedule.
What I didnât expect on arrival into Narita was a bus gate. Usually the USA flights all get gates in the 50s, as they usually turn the plane right back around. Apparently not us today as we were headed to âGateâ 208. This would be only the second time I have had a bus gate in Narita and that was back in 2013 on the way back from Hong Kong. We pulled up, the crews took a while getting the steps up to the plane and then to hand over paperwork. But finally we were let off the plane and I was the second person off. You better believe I am going to step down and take some photos!
A quick bus tour around the ramp and we were let off at Gate 29B, the bus stop that would let us up into Immigration and Customs. This would be the real battle as you try to get a spot in what is usually the really long line. Today though both Heidi and I breezed through. There was no wait and all and in fact we were both helped in seconds. Last time we came to visit the process took almost 45 minutes for customs, today, no more than 3. We waited longer for our bags to come out than for immigration and customs combined! What I had scheduled to take at least an hour took around 20 minutes!
Back to it…..
It has been a long time since I have written anything on the blog, a looong time. But over the next few weeks I am going to try and blog more, especially in the lead up to my big trip. This year we are off to Japan and I will make sure to give everyone a full run down of everything that has been happening, the planning etc.
But after that, I don’t know, does anyone really want me to keep updating? Do I just let it die in the wind, do I just turn it into a page full of my plane photos? I don’t know….
What do you think I should do?
Trip Report – Summer Grand Tour: LA to Seattle
Sunday 2nd July 2017
Waking up and heading out this morning was on the plans. It was the final day of our vacation and both of us did not really want it to end, but we did want to head home (at least Heidi wanted to just see Darcy again). After breakfast at the hotel (one final waffle for the road!) and checking out, we gassed the car and headed out for the airport. With the mess that is LAX we gave ourselves plenty of time. The roads were with us this morning as what is usually a 2 hour drive, turned into less than an hour. We made it to LAX with so much time to spare.
We stopped for some ice cream at Thrifty Ice Cream (found in a Rite Aid, drug store ice cream is awesome!) and then we headed over to Imperial Hill for some spotting for a while. I got to see a few new planes, get some decent photos and Heidi enjoyed some sunshine (as the marine layer slowly burned out). After a while it was time to get back on track to the airport. We topped off the car, and headed back over to the National lot to drop off Buzz.
Back to the terminal area to check in for my second flight of the trip. We were flying home Delta (due to time and price) but they had just moved in LAX. So our flight was going out of Terminal 2 so that is where we got dropped off. Once inside though they made it clear that only International check ins are at T2 and all domestic check ins are T3. Well that is just stupid! So we had to drag the bags over to T3 and drop them off. We decided to go through security at T3 rather than T2 as it was a little bit quieter. Through Pre Check (a bit of a line) and it was back to being in the airport. We took the bus over to T2 so got a free ramp tour on the way.
Over in T2 it was a mess (but then so was T3) there was no help desks anywhere, barely any signage and over all a shit show is the best description. But the terminal was pretty (thanks to Westfield forking out for the upgrades before Delta took over). We found a place to sit down and get some power, relax and wait out the bedlam. After an hour or so our plane showed up so we headed over towards our gate.
Delta Air Lines – DL2515
Los Angeles to Seattle Tacoma
1445-1715
Boeing 737-800 (N390DA)
Comfort+ – Seat 12F
Boarding: 1420 (Gate 21B)
Push Back: 1452
Take Off Roll: 1502 (Runway 24L)
Top of Descent: 1642
Touch Down: 1704 (Runway 34L)
Shut Down: 1730 (Gate A1)
Just before boarding was called I had a chat with the gate agent mentioning that it was a flight with a large stand by list and that all the upgrades to Comfort+ had been completed and if there was a chance of any further upgrades. Next thing I know two new boarding passes were being printed. A little bit later Boarding was called and it was a major shit show! People lining up everywhere, everyone thinking they can get onboard when they shouldn’t. Total bedlam. Thankfully we had the new boarding passes and were heading onboard soon.
We got settled onboard and the flow of people just kept coming. A lot of people mixed up with seats and a lot of back and forth about people apparently sitting in seats that weren’t. Eventually we were able to button up and get ourselves pushed back. It was a quick taxi out of the ramp area to the taxiway but we were in a constant line up. We were onboard a 2ku fitted aircraft so even though it said we could have wifi from gate to gate, I couldn’t get the hook up to settle down till we were almost on the runway. So I stayed offline till we were airborne.
While we were waiting to line up, I started to get a movie selected so that I could enjoy some entertainment on the flight. Movies were included but then I also had a Wifi promo code as well. We took off with plenty of power out over the ocean before turning back over the coast just north of LAX and headed North. I turned on the wifi and got connected and fired up a movie to watch.
About 20 minutes after take off they handed out a snack to everyone in Comfort+. We were happy to buy a snack box each as we had some credit from Amex to use. But they didn’t offer them out for sale at all. Hell we didn’t even get to have any biscoff, they offered one type of snack packet and that is it. Very disappointing.
The flight just kind of went on without a hassle, I watched my movie, hung out on the internet, all the usual things in this day and age. Pretty soon we were crossing into Washington and starting descent. It was pretty easy flight. It was great to be able to just relax all the way home. We had a straight descent into SeaTac and before we knew it we were coming in over Federal Way and Des Moines. We touched down on the far runway and had a long taxi to get over to the gate.
We pulled into one of the holding spots just off the B gates and here we waited. We were in the penalty box because we were early (or the other flight was running behind, not sure which). I had originally turned down an offer for a ride home thinking we would be at the gate quickly. Sadly because we waited so long, we probably could have been picked up. O well!
We were finally into the gate and off the plane. We didn’t have to wait long for our bags (well within the 20 minute time frame) and soon enough we were off to a ride share and home. Within 20 minutes of pulling into the gate, we were home and in our house. That is a good thing right?