February 27, 2008 - Shake, Rattle and Roll
Flight UA875 started out ok from Seattle to Tokyo. I slept for the first five hours or so after eating the not very tastey meal they served.
Six hours into the flight the 777 began to shake and jump a lot. Particularly disturbing was the side to side zagging while the nose pitched up and down. The seat belt light went on and I prayed that the end be quick and painless.
|
| Beautiful View of Tokyo Bay. 40 knot tailwind made for a rough landing. |
For the next 45 minutes my palms were sweating and my teeth were clenched. Hiroko, my other half, on the other hand showed no outward sign that the turbulence bothered her. When we were finally out of it, I settled down and went back to sleep until the next non-tastey meal.
When I mentioned later that I thought we had a good flight, Hiroko protested and said it was a horrible flight. I asked why, she said because of the turbulence. I found this interesting considering I was the one sweating all the way through it wondering if our life insurance would be enough for the girls and whether or not my Mom knew where our wills were, etc. while she sat there apparently calm, cool and collected. You would think it would be just the opposite.
One explanation may be that I was able to sleep for most of the time while she had to spend 9 hours trying to read that crappy in-flight magazine. Perhaps if I had spent 7 hours with my thumb up my ass instead of blissfully sleeping the turbulence may have ruined my flight too.
Regardless, it was great to be back in Japan again. We were through customs and immigration in about 15 minutes and had our luggage in 20. I've always appreciated the speed with which Narita processes passengers. SeaTac blows in comparison.
We decided this time instead of having her family pick us up or riding the Narita Express back to Tokyo we would take one of the many limousine buses that carry passengers to the big downtown hotels. It only costs $30 and takes only an hour and a half. We got to the ticket desk about 10 minutes before the next bus was due and were at Yuki's house in Okamoto (Tokyo) in less than two hours. This is a great way to go. There is however a drawback. The bus service exists because the large hotels it services are not near any train lines. So if your destination is near one of these hotels or you have someone pick you up like we did then take the bus.
|
| Uncle "G" united with the boys. (Notice Yuma trying to pass off an elbow to my throat as a joke.) |
Grandma, Grandpa, Kazuki and Yuma were there. (Yuki's husband Haruki was working late.) It was like a homecoming. Everyone looked happy and healthy with perhaps the exception of Hiroko's father, who looked paler than the last time I saw him. Regardless he still looked pretty genki for a man that was diagnosed with leukemia 4 years ago. (Glevic has literally been a life saver for him.)
We ate dinner and then the ladies spent what was left of the evening talking while Hiroko's dad and I entertained Yuma. Within thirty minutes he had the whole floor covered with cars, train sets and transformers. As we found out later its much easier to get him to take his toys out than to put them away (I'm the same way).
Somewhen around 8:30 the Ariji's headed home and I nodded off on the couch. Normally I'm not so familiar as to fall asleep on someone's couch but anywhere I'm loved and respected is a safe place to crash. Of course I had a blanket over me when I awoke.
Thought for the day
"It's a good thing that God is greater than the FAA or we would definitely be screwed."
February 28, 2008 - Tama River
The weather in Tokyo was warm and sunny. Yuki told us it had been very windy the day before (we knew this from our approach into Narita), but this day there was only a slight breeze.
Hiroko and I decided to take a long walk along Tama Gawa (river) near to FutakoTamaGawa station. On a day like that one could easily be tempted into moving to Japan. The riverside is open and uncrowded with paved walking lanes. People ignore you and you're left to your own business. All the hours of fighting the pressing crowds and the constant struggle with the language and culture are easily forgotten in a leisurely stroll along the river.
Fortunately my wife Hiroko was there to bring me back to reality before the words came out of my mouth. She saw my look and gave me "the look". I kept quiet and simply enjoyed the day.
|
| I shall name you "Butterball". |
Other than feeding my Happy Meal to a stray cat by the river nothing much else happened that day. I spent the evening preparing for the morrow's trip to Shikoku.
Thought for the day
"Give a cat a fish and you feed it for a day... teach it to beg for french fries and you feed it for life."