As I type this, the plane to Tokyo is finally pulling up to the gate after a 2 hour delay...and I'm already tired. Fortunately, it looks like we'll be boarding soon - as far as I can tell from the announcements in English and Japanese. Interestingly enough, sometimes the status update announcements come first in English, and other times in Japanese. The people seated behind me seem to be native Japanese speakers, their kids seemingly VERY excited to board the plane, and there's a guy who looked to be in his mid 30's sitting across from me on my left intently prodding a DS touch screen. I don't have as much patience as I thought I did, and I'm certainly not looking forward to sitting on a cramped plane for a 10-hour flight. I actually sent the wrong work documents to my email account and didn't notice until a few hours ago... how convenient, right?
My uncle's talking to a couple of other American passengers - middle aged women. Apparently, one of them has a son in Japan and she's seeing her grandson for the first time. Another Japanese<->American union success story, apparently. :) I ran over to the convenience store and picked up a hat for Satoshi who's taking time out of his schedule to show me around on Sunday and introduce me to colleagues on Monday, and also some AA batteries for the digital camera (both items topped off with a nice airport tax).
Seattle has a 9% sales tax both inside and outside of the airport...I'm beginning to wonder if not having to pay income tax is indeed equivalent trade.
Well, it's boarding time. Time to fly. Sayonara, Seattle.
@2:00 (hours on flight)
Wow. This is the biggest plane I've ever been on. It feels more like a comfortable bus rather than an actual plane. Believe it or not, they even give you "free" wine and beer on international flights...as much as you want, assuming the cart is there to serve you...BONUS! Especially after the flight to Seattle on Northwest, which charges for all food and drinks except a single beverage (either pop, water, or juice). It's so nice not to have people try to SELL you food, but rather GIVE it to you, and you get a choice of what you want, even!
The in-flight movies are meh, and run the gamut from that Disney reality-meets-cartoon Enchanted to Rock Hard with that chick who plays Pam on The Office. If I get really bored I may watch Rock Hard with the Japanese track turned on, that may be good for a few laughs, though I'd much rather get some sleep if I can.
They served us food, too. Chicken with stir-fry vegetables. You know the IBM caf is in trouble when airline food manages to pwn it... and believe me, this food isn't that good either (picture incoming for next meal) ^_^.
My uncle actually managed to use his frequent flyer status to negotiate my seat up to something called "economy plus" so my legs aren't cramping up as I type this...but they say nothing about extra armrests...the person on my left uses the entire left armrest and I'm using the entire right one, it still feels cramped in here despite the fact it felt VERY spacious upon first boarding. Sardine-can, indeed. Not a problem, though. I can cope.
According to the in-flight map (yes, they give you a GPS channel that shows exactly where the plane is --- COOL), we're over Juneau, Alaska. It's time to get some sleep... or at least sip this green tea they served me and attempt to get some sleep. *yawn*. It's not that I'm not tired, it's just so cramped in here, and I'm running on adrenaline...
@4:15 (hours on flight)
No sleep. None. The plane is still noisy and cramped, though a lot of people have passed out. Really wish I could join them. It's slightly more comfortable since one of the people next to me moved a while ago, most likely to an empty seat. No complaints here. Extra armrest FTW.
The in-flight map says we're over the Bering Sea, and will cross the International Date Line in the next hour or so. I can see Japan on the map now, it looks like we're about halfway there, maybe a little less. I'm grateful I can read the Japanese status reports on the map, since they stopped giving the distance remaining, speed, time in air, etc. in English. No idea why.
Interestingly enough, I haven't touched a video game since we've taken off. Not once. Weird, huh? Just had no desire to play. Not even the stuff I just bought.
I got up to stretch a little while ago, which was nice. My uncle has taken an interest in my book of sights of Japan, I wonder if he's going to suggest places to go to his Japanese colleagues when he's not working?
I just finished watching National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Apparently, the long lost City of Gold is hidden under Mt. Rushmore. Could have fooled me, I thought all that was in the Dakotas is a whole lot of farmland, cows, and < $50k housing. :D That's why it's a movie, I guess. Typical National Treasure, just like the first one. Mildly entertaining and killed an hour and a half, so I can't complain too much. International travel isn't as bad as people say it is. I'm still wired - I'm going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight, I think. @4:40 (hours on flight) Tokyo just showed up on the in-flight map! It's ALMOST as short as a domestic flight from here! It looks like we're going to fly right over Russia. They should land the plane and give us some vodka...
@6:30 (hours on flight)
Still unable to sleep. They served dinner. Vegetarian Lasagna. United Airlines = 2, IBM Caf = 0. Sad. Really, really sad... Out of sheer boredom (plus the fact that the laptop battery is down to a measly 25%) I decided to entertain myself with other movie selections. Walk Hard was just as bad as I thought it would be - I actually preferred August Rush (that movie about the music prodigy 11-year-old product of a one night stand searching for his parents who didn't even know he existed)...but I even stopped that one halfway through since I began to count down the seconds until we were on the ground.
@Japan
Japan's air smells...interesting. It's not quite smoggy big city, which it should be given it's Tokyo, but it's more...subtle. If anything, it's less crisp than Seattle's but not as stifling as Florida's. The temperature is a comfortable 55 degrees, so my overpacking for insane weather shifts looks to be unnecessary. Time to settle in and have some fun!
After a really long day, a painless waltz through Japanese customs, and a beautiful albeit uneventful 90 minute car-ride from the airport to the hotel, I don't know how much more I can write. The hotel room is nice, a bit small (especially for $230 a night), but one thing I had to mention...they gave me an ubertoilet. Notice the control panel on the left.
I've heard rumors about these things for years, apparently they're better for your rear end than using TP. Not sure how eager I am to try out those remote controls, but from what I can tell, I push the button and warm water cleans off...certain areas. Yeah, um....I'm tired. Do not want.
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