Neetu, Phil, Chip, Trey, and Steve left from Yokosuka around 10:00a on Saturday to catch the train to the airport. After an interesting pit stop in Zushi, we all boarded the train for the Airport. Having learned from our trip down, we took seats in the "Green Car". These are the more comfortable seats in a more quiet car. It costs about $9 more, but is definately worth it.
Roughly 2 hours later, we arrived at Terminal 2 of Narita Airport. Phil, Chip, and I were supposed to get off there, unfortunately, the doors closed so quickly that only Trey managed to get off the train. The rest of us rode up to Terminal 1. We all went to the United check-in to find out that Trey and Neetu were suppposed to check in there, while the rest of us were supposed to be in Terminal 2 checking in at the All Nippon Airways (ANA) ticket counter. So... the rest of us headed over to Terminal 2... on the way, we ran into Trey who had found his way by bus to Terminal 1. (Confused yet???) Once we reached Terminal 2, we discovered that it was the busiest of the two terminals and was definately the most crowded. In true Japanese fashion, the terminal was kept at a constant 95 degrees. By the time we finally got our tickets, we were all sweating like crazy. We eventually made it through the ticketing mess and got a bite to eat at a resturant called "Pause". It was about as exciting as eating a pile of stale syrofoam peanuts. After another exciting lunch, we made our way through security and took a short break in the ANA lounge. We boarded the plane at about 4:30p... the boarding reminded me of a cross between Friday night at the fights and herding cattle. Basically a woman would walk through the crowd with a large sign that read "Economy boarding soon" while we all stood there sweating. Then, all of the sudden, they started pushing us toward the gate and onto the plane... not exactly a friendly process in my opinion.
The flight was uneventful.. the service was good and the food was good. The seats were okay... if I had a choice, I would not fly ANA again though.
We all arrived in SFO around 8:30a (on Saturday). Trey caught his flight back to San Diego while Neetu discovered that her flight back to DC had been cancelled. She ended up having to stay in SFO until 2:00, catch a flight to Denver, then back to DC. Fun times!! Anyway, Chip and I flew back to Colorado and arrived around 2:30p. Basically 2 1/2 hours before we left...
It's good to be home... even if only for a short time. I'll be headed back to Japan in just over a week. So, count on more details of the fun.
Some of the important things we've learned while in Japan:
- Make sure to look both ways before crossing the street! The Japanese usually take a red light to mean speed up.
- Don't order anything off the menu unless you know exactly what it is
- Always, and I do mean always, check your underwear for staples after having them laundered at the hotel
- The Japanese really know how to make good mochas!!
 Next Stop... Tokyo |  North of Tokyo... River crossing |
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