Back to Japan

April 8th: At 4:30 a.m., I get up to ensure that everything is ready to go for the limousine bus coming at 6:30 a.m. to take me to the airport. I'm headed back to Japan on an ANA (Asian National Airways) flight, and then tomorrow, back home.

By now it seems that I have become one of those people who drone on endlessly about their trips. I don't care. First of all, I've only gotten 3 comments on my travel posts (i.e., every post for the month of April), and all of them came from Asian porn sites. So there's no one to be offended. Second of all, I'm really writing these posts as a record, for me, of the best trip I've ever taken. Also, there are some people I love in Japan who might be reading this, and I want them to know how I experienced the trip they so beautifully planned for me.

On the flight back, I again watch "It's Complicated." It's funny, it's in my age group, and I love Meryl Streep's character. Also, I want to check out the clothes she's wearing so that I can emulate some of the styles. (A bit more laid back than my own.)

When I get off the flight, I spend 45 minutes in the immigration line with my backpack suitcase which is filled to the brim with my clothes, souvenirs, and a "ton" of jade stuff. I'm guessing it weighed 50 pounds, and it was a long wait in line due to the number of people entering the country. This was my first, and last, experience with a backpack. I immediately gave it to my son, Alex, when I got home. My kids grew up with backpacks. They're used to it.

Once I finally emerge from customs and immigration, I survey the crowd, looking for Kentaro. Unfortunately, there is a misunderstanding on my part. I forgot that Kentaro gave me the information about my last hotel, and told me he had to work today and couldn't be at the airport. So I get a chance to discover just how challenging it is to navigate in Japan on my own, without my friends' thoughtful assistance. After repeated requests for help one of the ANA staff members comes and shows me how to use the pay phone (the instructions are all in Japanese, and I don't have the right coins), then lets me use the company phone to call Fumi-san and find out the name of my hotel: Tokyo Bay Hotel Tokyu.

When Kentaro and Mari picked me up on March 28th, he told me that he had booked my last hotel near the Narita Airport, and also that it was near Disney Tokyo. When I tried to find a cab or bus to get to the hotel, a man in a suit with a luggage carrier asked if I needed a cab. I said yes, and he told me the cost to my hotel would be US$170. It seemed a lot for a hotel close by, but by that time I was stressed out and tired from lugging the backpack, so I let him escort me to the ATM, where I took out 20,000 yen. He then took my luggage out to his van and gestured for me to step inside.

We drove for a long time, about an hour. I was just wondering if I'd made a mistake, hopping into an unmarked van with a stranger, when we pulled up to the Tokyo Bay Hotel Tokyu in the Chiba prefecture. Given the distance, I understood why the trip cost so much. Although there were plenty of hotels right next to the airport, Kentaro later told me he felt they weren't good enough, and he didn't want my last night to be in a bad hotel. How thoughtful is that?

The hotel he picked was indeed beautiful. Inside, it looked like a fairyland, with a large structure in the middle resembling a carousel and ponds with stepping stones and other magical edifices inside, all in the Disney theme. I didn't have a camera and have searched on Google unsuccessfully to find pictures of the massive lobby. All I could find is the picture above.

Kentaro soon called my room shortly after I arrived, apologized for the misunderstanding at the airport (which was all my fault), and asked if I felt like having any company tonight. He works in nearby Roppongi. Wikipedia says Roppongi is a district of Minato, Tokyo, famous as home to the rich Roopongi Hills area area and an active night club scene. I remember one of my tour guides mentioning that it costs one million yen per month to rent a home in Roppongi.

Anyway, I told Ken sure I would be happy to see him. He was going to stop in after work at about 7:30 -8:00 p.m. My plane had landed at 3 p.m., and I got to the hotel around 6. I was beat. I had a meal in one of the hotel restaurants, took a quick bath, and was about to grab a nap when I got another call. Ken was there. It's worth missing a nap to see Ken, so I quickly got dressed and met him at the door.

I really appreciated Kentaro coming to see me after working all day. Ken is a salaried employee, which means that he is paid as if working from 9 to 6, regardless of how long he works. If his boss gives him an assignment at 5:30, he works until it's finished, even if that is 9 p.m. There really seems to be an incredible work ethic in Japan.

Ken told me there was a sky lounge in the hotel, and I asked Ken if he wanted to go up there for some champagne. We did, and shared a few splits of Moet while enjoying the view of Disney Tokyo and watching the buses with mouse-shaped windows drive by. At one point, there was an incredible fireworks display, and we had a perfect seat, right by the window.

Although there was a large stage in the Juan sky lounge, the place was empty when we were there. Every picture I've found on Google only shows people on the stage and not, as I had hoped, the lounge itself. We share three splits in total, and then our server came and gave us two gold plastic balls with "Moet" on them. They opened to reveal a little charm that said "Moet" and hooked on your glass. Although, as Ken remarked, the "jewel" on the charm was the "same quality as you could get at Claire's," (the American discount jewelry place for teens), still it was a nice little souvenir of my last evening in Japan.

Kentaro had to work the next day, so I wouldn't get to see him. Before he left, he gave me many gifts from him, Mari, and Fumi-san. Some I opened while he was there, and one of them was a beautiful scarf that he and Mari bought for me. I love it, and have worn it almost every day since coming home.

April 9th: I have my last breakfast in Japan, reading The Japan Times. Soon, Fumi-san, Mari, and Kentaro's friend Tristan come to travel with me to the airport. Again, as is always the case when my friends are around, I cannot so much as pick up a tiny bag. They insist on doing it for me (once the porter has released them to us). It's interesting that, at the Tokyo Bay Hotel Tokyu the porters are all girls, and small ones at that. I can tell you, the young lady who came to retrieve my luggage from the room and take it to the transport bus had her hands full, trying to get that massive blue suitcase on cart! After that, Tristan was the lucky one who got to carry it.

At the airport, we check in and get rid of the heaviest bag. The backpack was tucked safely inside it, awaiting its new owner. Fumi-san, clearly an expert at arranging enjoyable gatherings, surveys the restaurant options and explains the descriptions to me. There are pictures, but all the words are Japanese. We select a beautiful restaurant in the traditional Japanese style (yes! even at the airport), and enjoy a glass of tea while we await our food. As it happens, Fumi-san selected a fresh vegetables salad and delicious sesame soup. After trying it, I add a bowl of soup to my own meal.

Kentaro was texting Mari to ask what we were talking about, etc. Mari gave me two "juice boxes" of a brand of saki she said was very good, and Tristan gave me 3 keychains for myself and my kids. (Which they loved!)

We were all laughing and having a great time at lunch. Suddenly, we looked up and it was time to go! Kentaro called Mari and she put me on the phone just as I was gathering my things up. As soon as I heard Kentaro's voice, it dawned on me that I was leaving these wonderful people and I got choked up with emotion and started crying!

Then, I had to go as the boarding was very soon. Tristan, whose family lives in the Phillipines and calls Narita Airport his "second home," advised me that my gate was very near the metal detectors I was passing through. So I shouldn't have any trouble getting there in time.

At the metal detectors, my two juice boxes of saki and a tube of self-tanning lotion was disallowed, and so I had to leave them behind. This took awhile, to get everything else crammed in my bag, and now time was really running out. Finally, I was released and began hurrying down the hallway, looking for my gate.

I heard a lot of knocking on the glass wall above me, and finally looked up to see Fumi-san, Mari, and Tristan furiously waving at me. I furiously waved back, tried to tell Mari they'd taken my saki, then blew them a kiss and ran to my gate, just in time.

Then I found my aisle seat on the plane and made myself comfortable for the smooth and uneventful 13 hour flight home.