Brandon and I got up early Friday (5-1-09) morning and made sure that I had double checked everything. Being the obsessive compulsive person I am when it comes to traveling I checked my bags twice the morning we left even though they had been packed for two days and checked twice each day before that. I can't help it; too many bad travel experiences I think.
I wasn't really looking forward to a 12 hour plane ride by myself so I made sure to stock good meds to knock me out; my biggest concern was not that I was alone it was that I was going to end up sitting next to a talkative person who would refuse to let me sleep or that I would finish my book too soon and have nothing else to do.
The flight from Louisville to Detroit was uneventful and I was thankful for my short layover in Detroit. It allowed just enough time to eat, use the restroom, find my terminal and prepare for the 12 hour flight I had ahead of me. Right as I started to get bored they made the call for us to board the plane. All through the airport were warnings and announcements that everyone needed to board the plane at least 30 minutes before take off or their reservation would be threatened to cancellation. A hour and 15 minutes before take off they boarded us. As soon as I got on I climbed in my seat, stowed my bags, popped two melatonin and a benadryl sinus and laid my head on the window ready to sleep. I barely even noticed that we took off an hour later. I woke up in time for dinner and then went right back to sleep. I woke up 3 hours later in time for a midnight snack and conked out again. After 6 hours sleep, which I was amazed I got, I was fully awake and ready to read. Ispent the rest of the 6 hours reading and eating breakfast.
Luckily the seat next to me was empty and the girl on the isle was small; over the 12 hours we rotated who got to use the spare seat to lay on or prop our feet on. Before I knew it we were landing in Tokyo. As the entire planned began to move around and get up the flight attendants blared over the intercom that no one was to move, get up, or remove their seat belt. Due to the swine flu the health department boarded our plane in full gowns, gloves, caps, booties, and goggles. They carried cameras that read every body temperature on the plane, they collected health surveys, and asked everyone at least 5 questions a piece. Those that were not satisfactory were given a red dot and asked to remain on the plane; everyone else was free to leave. The health department was taking temperatures with thermometers and doing mouth swab tests; those that didn't pass that test were quarantined and had a blood draw. We sat on the plane for 45 minutes waiting for them to collect their data and decide; I was only too glad to be released :-P
After getting off and going through customs and immigration I met up with Jen and we hopped on a train for Asakusa, but not with out Jen making sure I was ready for Japan first. ;) Jen gave me a survival kit for Japan that included Green Tea Kit Kats that I don't recommend, a fork and knife for when chopsticks wouldn't do the trick, a cell phone charm (they are huge in Japan), a hand towel for when there were no paper towels in the restroom, a cloth tissue holder for when there was no toilet paper, and mask to wear if I got sick or didn't want to get sick.
YAY for being in Japan!!
*(coming soon: Fun in Tokyo)
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