Japan 2009: Travel Day - Toyko to Kyoto

We got up early today to get ready to check out. Steve and Mary tossed their clothes back into the dryer (the previous night's attempt at doing laundry backfired when the dryer barely worked and the clothes stayed soaked) as they hadn't come close to drying in our air conditioned room. We packed and headed downstairs for our last lovely free Japanese style breakfast. I don't have any of the salads on the plate here (I ate some of the mystery root salad the first day but decided later it tasted sorta fishy - oops!) I've got rice, miso soup, plain yogurt with fruit, hard boiled egg, rolls, black coffee and some orange juice.

After we ate, we went back up to the room, grabbed our stuff and checked out. We made our way through the station/pedestrian underpass on our way to the JR platform. We needed to take the train for a few stops to Tokyo Station to catch the bullet train. Steve insisted on being manly and helping us carry our luggage, but after a while the stairs got ridiculous - Steve and Mary would collapse the handles on their rolling suitcases to carry them up half a flight of stairs, turn a corner and have to carry them back down half a flight. They'd roll farther and find a full flight up. It was comical, but I also felt bad being the only one with a bag instead of a suitcase. We got to the terminal quite early so we relaxed in the lounge and attracted some stares from commuters. 

Eventually it was nearly time for our train to arrive, so we grabbed some snacks and headed up to the platform. The previous train was just heading out, and ours arrived right after. We got to watch the crew "turn around" the train (literally and figuratively). The cleaning crew worked fast to pick up discarded garbage, dust the seats, replace the head cloths, and turn all the seats to face forward. Eventually it was time to board. We were at the very back of the train, which was mostly empty. It was also very spacious. I had so much room that it was almost a hassle to reach my tray!

Mary and Steve let me have the window seat because I'm a huge dork and I love watching the world out train and plane windows. It didn't take long to get through Tokyo and into the outskirts, and then the countryside. The vegetation here really is amazing. The trees grow so densely! The rice fields are nice looking too. It was really fun to zip through looking at small towns and rural areas. I even saw the sea for a while. It was really one of the nicer train trips I've taken. In the US, the only train I took was from Rochester NY to NYC, and that was terrible - no AC, nothing to look at but the ass end of upstate NY, and nothing to do (no book, no cell phone, no DS). In Europe a lot of the train rides were pretty too, but it was a solid mix of pretty and industrial. There was a bit of that on this trip, but not too much.

We reached Kyoto pretty quickly, and hopped off the train. We took the subway a few stops, and from there it was a few blocks to our hotel. We were pretty tired so we relaxed until the restaurant downstairs opened, and grabbed dinner ("Italian" food - note to travelers, do not order risotto in Japan). After dinner, we walked to the arcade and took in a bit of Kyoto after dark, including the Geisha district near the river. More on all this to follow!

Japan 2009: Arrival

SeaTac Gate N10: 11 AM

I’m surrounded by toddlers, which does not bode well for the length of this flight. They are pressed up against the window leaving trails of smudge marks and crying out “airplane” whenever one passes. The fathers are keeping watch on the makeshift daycare, making small talk about their kids. Fortuitously it sounds as though only two toddlers are destined for Tokyo (and the one kicking the window is going to South Carolina, thank goodness) - perhaps the flight will not be as rambunctious as I feared. I was reminded of my fear of toddlers in enclosed spaces when a young girl threw a remarkably loud tantrum (“I want it! Now! I want it now!”) while I was looking for travel sized bottles in the Bartell Drugstore near my apartment last night. All that’s left for me now is to hope for the best.

I made it to the airport unexpectedly early (especially for me!) thanks to my Mom driving me. Added bonus, I got freshly baked mom cookies and to see my dad before we left the house. Now I’m sitting here waiting two hours for my flight, listening to the warnings about flu quarantine for anyone displaying a fever (all passengers will have their temperature taken at customs), and all passengers seated within 2 meters. A lot of the Japanese passengers are wearing masks, even in the airport, so I figure they must know the warnings are serious. Time to go grab a bagel so I have something to eat for the next 10 hours. I should’ve brought something with me but I wasn’t sure if they would let me in with outside food :(

Update: why the hell does everyone else want a bagel too? I had to settle for a Rice Krispy Treat emergency ration from a vending machine. I really wish I had stopped at Whole Foods on the way to the house. Alas, hindsight!

In The Air: + 2.5 hours 

I am on a 777 and it’s absolutely packed. They let me onto the plane with my bag, my laptop bag, and my purse (victory!) so I didn’t have to check any bags. According to the captain, we’ll land early even though we have a strong headwind! Unfortunately, my luck with the toddlers did not hold. I am seated directly behind an adorable and very curious little blonde German boy, about 3 or  4 years old. He seems to enjoy standing on his seat and staring at me over the back of the seat. He looks like he really wants my mom cookie but I don’t care how adorable he is - my cookie! The toddler in the row in front of him is even louder and they’re feeding off each other now, making quite a lot of noise, but at least the younger one stopped crying!

The takeoff was beautiful! I love flying out of Seatac on sunny days. The mountain (Ranier) was out, and I got to enjoy views of it here and there, behind buildings as we sat at the gate and every time we turned while navigating our way to the proper runway for takeoff. I haven’t flown West from Seattle since I went to Hawaii years and years ago, and never in a path that took me truly Northwest, so I was really happy to fly directly over Seattle (I found my apartment! Easy to do when you’re a few blocks away from radio towers and Seattle U) and the sound. There were lots of boats out on Lake Washington since it is such a lovely day and I’m sure Greenlake was packed with people too.The ferries and big boats were out and the shipping lanes were busy too! We flew right over Vancouver Island and what I can only assume were the Canadian section of the Cascades - my first thought was that we were over the Olympic peninsula, but we were going far more Northerly, so I waved at Canada out the window. I really wish they would turn on the map that tracks our flight, I love knowing where I am when I look out the window. Usually the highlight of my flight is snapping a picture of Mt. Ranier as we fly overhead, but this time I was treated to the view in the other direction and it didn’t disappoint. There’s still a considerable amount of snow in the Cascades and they looked lovely and crisp out the window. I think I saw Mt. Baker, but I’ll have to consult a map later.

The cloud cover has become pretty blinding now that we are farther out over the Pacific, so it’s time to stop Earth gazing. I think I’ll put my book away and try to take a nap!!

The International Dateline, or, I Can See Russia From My Airplane Window: + 4 hours

I managed to take a brief semi-nap (woken by the aforementioned crying toddler) before lunch. I would have been crankier, but I can tell I would be very sore if I’d stayed in that position much longer. It’s been such a long time since I have flown on a long enough flight for meal service that I forgot just how terrible the vegeterian/vegan/kosher meal tastes (no wonder they usually just call it the “special” meal). Some things never change, and my meal request wasn’t processed, but they were unexpectedly able to provide me with someone else’s meal (the nice flight attendant would only say “it’s a long story” as to why they actually had extra vegetarian meals, but I won’t turn down free food even if it’s pretty gross! It’s definitely been too long since I traveled. I forgot all about the Coke Light that tastes like Coke Classic only slightly less sweet. Off topic notes: Nine Inch Nails really drown out engine noise and I’m really not used to my new haircut - I haven’t had bangs since High School (I think I’m missing all the WoW guys because that definitely deserved a “that’s what she said”). We’re 3500 miles into the flight now, and we’ve been flying past Siberia for ages. 

Almost There: +7 hours

Batteries are running low, SOS! I’m getting really congested so I hope they don’t hassle me at the health check. We’re nearing Japan and I should be able to see a bit of land soon. The little German boy and the little Japanese boy are sharing toys and playing with each other over the back of the seats. It’s pretty cute. Now the German daddy is teaching them how to make paper airplanes and they’re (all three) playing with them. The clouds are too thick to see through, so I’m going to shut down and go back to my book. I’ll be on the ground in about an hour!