September 17th was another normal Los Angeles morning, the streets busy with commuters, the cloudless sky speckled with jets not unlike the ones we were soon to board. I showed up fairly early to the Los Angeles International Airport to claim the meeting area in the name of Destination Japan, and I could tell that the unsuspecting airport had no idea that Destination Japan's intrepid crew was about to descend upon it!
After some time, when the airport finally started showing signs of life, tours participants trickled in. Several of them had been up for several hours already, but each and every one was excited for the imminent flight across the great Pacific, ending with their momentus arrival in Japan. Some familiar faces had joined the tour, and their obvious excitement to be joining another group headed out to Japan only intensified everyone's anxiousness to board the plane and take off.
Once everyone made it through security, and we boarded our flight after a well-prepared participant saved my butt by letting me borrow his DS Lite charger, we were finally off to Japan.
Our flight was aboard none other than Singapore Airlines, an airline whose service makes economy seats feel luxurious. The long flight over was punctuated by the occasional loud, obnoxious, drunken professional surfer, but all in all it was a pleasant affair. We all knew that whether it was 11 hours or 100, it was only postponing the inevitable: we were taking Japan by storm.
We were greeted at Narita Airport by another part of the group. Whether to arrive in Japan as soon as possible, or simply to stem their total time aboard airplanes, I did not know. All I knew is that our already-formidable force had strengthened! With our increased numbers, we commandeered ourselves a bus, and made for our hotel.
After traversing the Tokyo Bay and a fair portion of Chiba prefecture on our way into the metropolis of Tokyo, we finally arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo. Anxious to settle in and rest before the big day, we checked in and said our goodnights. Tomorrow we set out to conquer, and there was nothing left in our way but for a few hours of much-needed rest!
For those that wanted to push their limits a little, the full day+ of travel to Japan culminated in an impromptu stroll through West Shinjuku and Shinjuku's red-light district Kabukicho. The lights of karaoke joints, pachinko parlors, and the late-night buzz of various entertainment venues. After bathing in Shinjuku's stunning lights, and briefly taking a dive into the sleepless Don Quixote thrift store, we returned to the hotel to rest up for our first real day of Destination Japan's Tokyo Summer Maximum.
|
|
|
|
[ top of page ]
|
|
| Day 1 & 2
|
| Leaving for Japan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
