I thought my little thirty-five hour journey to get home was long, but my goodness. Little did I know that a forty-two hour return trip was even worse! I was thinking about my first trip out of the country and how I thought that five hours from Atlanta to Mexico City was FOREVER long. I look at flights that short and laugh now.
After only four hours of sleep on Saturday night, Ian and I woke up at 5:30AM so that we would have enough time to say goodbye to his grandfather and Margaret before heading back to my Grandmother’s house for one last breakfast. Daddy had agreed to take us to the airport, and we said that we’d leave at 8AM. However, Mommy called me at 5:45AM saying that Daddy woke up through the night, got sick, and couldn’t take us now. 
Without panicking yet, we asked Margaret if she would be willing to take us. Without even hesitating to think, she said yes. This is why she is awesome. 
At 8:30AM CST, we—Ian, Mommy, and I took off on our voyage. It was sad to leave behind Paducah but much easier this time. Last year when I left, I cried halfway to Clarksville (at least an hour). As soon as I’d stop crying, I’d think of something stupid like how I forgot to say goodbye to Shadow, the family pet, and start all over again. This year is was more like “Ahhhhh, man! I don’t want to have to go back to woooooorrrrrrkkkkk!!! I want more vacation time!”
Since Mommy was with us and the last time she flew was the 70s, we taught her how to get from one side of the airport to the other. I think security blew her mind. I’ve been through security countless times, and I still get nervous and flustered going through it, so I don’t blame her. Once we got through that and found our gate, we went to the Admiral’s Club. Oh heck yeah! Since Ian and I are proud American Express holders, we were able to get into the AC and bring a guest free of charge. There’s nothing quite like having a nice place to rest, free drinks and snacks, and have someone to serve you and kiss your butt while you wait for your flight. 
From the AC, we could see our gate below and people waiting down there. I said to Mommy, “Look at those poor fools down there” as I sipped my free Coke and nibbled on my free cookies.
Our plane from Nashville to NYC was nothing more that a little puddle jumper with two seats on one side and one on the other. Tiny! As we were landing, we could see the skyline of NYC, including the Empire State Building. I’ve never been to NYC before, but I’ve heard that JFK is one of the worst airports in the USA. We sure didn’t have any bad experiences………although it is very difficult to have bad experiences when you’re waiting for a flight in the Admiral’s Club. Plus, we had a great view of the NYC skyline from the AC.
The international flight was a whopping fourteen hour trip, and normally that would mean about thirteen restless and sleepless hours for me. HOWEVER, a friend of ours told us about melatonin before we left, which is a natural sleep hormone and is supposed to help with jet lag. Oh my goodness! That is a miracle drug! Ian and I both took one right after dinner was served and the lights were turned out. At that time, we were probably flying somewhere over Canada. Neither one of us woke up until we were over Japan. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and saw that we were flying over the northern island of Hokkaido, nearly to the main island of Honshu! Ha! I felt a little bit bad because I didn’t get my money’s worth out of the flight….meaning I slept through a few drink and snack services and only watched one movie. Yet, I have never felt better after traveling. Neither Ian or I have been jet lagged, and both of us were still relatively energetic after our flight.
Since there is a fourteen hour time difference, we left NYC at 7:10PM Sunday night and didn’t arrive in Tokyo until 10PM MONDAY night. We literally skipped over Monday. After clearing passport control and customs, we grabbed our bags and made our way to a resting place in the international terminal. We rested for a bit—bought some snacks, rechecked flight information, and Mommy marveled over how clean the Japanese airport was and how fancy the toilet was. 
Since we had such an early flight the next morning, I suggested that we go to the domestic terminal and stay the night there. We found the shuttle bus, but the sign said that it only ran 6AM-11PM. It was midnight. Instead, we found the subway, paid for it, and took it to the domestic terminal ONLY to find out that the domestic terminal was closing and we needed to go back. 
A very helpful security guard showed us to the night bus platform, which only ran every hour and a half, so we had to wait about an hour for the next one.
Once we got back to the international terminal, we (along with everyone else stranded at the airport that night) found a row of seats to call a bed for the night. Mommy was concerned about our luggage being stolen as we slept, but we had to explain to her that this is Japan, and that just doesn’t happen here! Ian fell asleep almost instantly. The boy has absolutely NO problem sleeping anywhere. I set my alarm for 5:30AM (so that we’d have plenty of time to check in and get to the domestic terminal) and tried to lay down for a brief three hours of sleep. I slept for maybe thirty minutes…..there was waaaaaay too much going on at the airport for it to be a restful sleep for a light sleeper like me! There were people walking around, the bright florescent lights, occasional announcements, the hum of the escalator, etc. When I finally gave up on sleeping, I realized that Mommy was also awake. Instead of fighting sleep, we Skyped people at home to let them know that we made it to Tokyo safely.
When the check-in counter opened at 5:30AM, we were the first in line. Originally, Ian and Mommy’s flight was at 6:30, and mine was at 7:30. I’m not sure why, but that’s just how it was. However, we got the lady to switch so that I could be on the same flight as them. Then we had to get our butts in gear and race to the domestic terminal to make that 6:30 flight. By golly, we did….even with time to spare! I went to the bathrooms by our gate and walked into what I thought was the women’s room. Yes, I noticed that there were urinals to the left, but I didn’t think anything about it and assumed that it was female urinals (THEY HAVE THOSE HERE!). It wasn’t until I was leaving my stall and saw a man standing at the urinal and another walking in the bathroom that I realized I was in the wrong place. 
Without stopping to wash my hands, I raced out of there, noticing the MEN’S sign (even printed in English for dumb foreigners). Gack! I don’t know how I didn’t notice it!!
All of us were surprised at the size of our plane. It was a giant 777—the same size that flew us internationally—and there was maybe a grand total of forty people on the flight. For it to hop from Tokyo to Fukuoka seemed like a giant waste of money for the airline, but whatever. The three of us enjoyed that flight. The stewardesses were extremely nice to us, and in the 1.5 hour flight, we had three drink services. Plus, it was a beautiful clear morning, so we saw the sprawling city of Tokyo as we took off, the majestic and famous Mt. Fuji, the great Lake Biwa, and Osaka Bay. Seeing Fuji was really incredible. That mountain is probably the most famous place in all of Japan, so now that I can say that I saw it, I feel like it increases my Japanese experience.
By this time, our journey was mostly over, but I still have a bit to write about, so please stay tuned for the next blog!
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