We made it to Osaka. It was a very long flight! It went on and on and on just like the energizer bunny. I was ready to shoot the fucker!
We had a slight delay in our departure time. A passenger had left their passport on Another airplane and we had to wait until it could be found and returned to the passenger. The pilot made up for the one hour delay and we arrived on time.
We had the easiest trip through immigrations and customs I have ever experienced. The workers are very friendly and helpful. So far I am most impressed with how clean the country is. It is 92 degrees with a heat index of 102. Makes a girl from KS feel like she is home.
I had the most interesting conversation with my seat mate. He is probably in his late 30’s and has a PH.D. In science. He works at a science lab in Chicago and teaches at a college. He grew up in Japan and was returning to visit his aging parents. He gave me lots of tips on what to eat and things to do. We talked about a wide range of topics from Trump to living a minimalist lifestyle and lots of other things. He shared some of his understanding of how Japan and the USA are alike and how they are different. He works too hard and rarely makes time for himself. It sure made the time go by faster while we were talking.
They kept the airplane dark after they served us dinner about an hour after we took off. They passed water bottles out about every hour but didn’t feed us again or turn the lights back on until about two hours before we landed. Neither one of us was able to sleep much on the plane.
Most of the passengers on the plane were citizens of Japan. There were several babies and small children aboard but we rarely heard them cry.
We are going to take showers and put on fresh clothes then go walk around and find some dinner. It is mid afternoon here and we need to stay awake until at least 8:00 so we can start adjusting to the time difference.
Tomorrow we will take the train into the city and change hotels. Not sure what we will find to do but I’m sure it will be fun!
Sounds like great conversation, an awesome start to your adventure! So excited for you 🙂