This duo of travel logs rolls up the hell of a travel day getting to Japan.

Travel Log: Day 56 (8/22), Houston Texas, Pacific Ocean

We caught our hotel shuttle to the airport at 7am, and did the airport stuff. We went through TSA pre check and the rules were of course different again. It doesn’t inspire confidence in the TSA procedures. If there were an effective set of rules it would be consistent across locations. The problem is that each power-tripping employee running a line makes up arbitrary rules. Keep in mind this is TSA pre check. They still made us take out our liquids and laptops when we have not had to in the past. On top of the fluctuating rules they then expect you to follow them at lightning speed. The lady was a jerk to me because I was going to send my bag down the line outside of a bin (like I have done many times). AC needed help and was feeling rushed. I was telling AC she should never feel that way. If they are going to waste our time with inconsistent rules, we can waste their time by not hustling.

The flight was pretty awesome. The airline (Zipair) was the nicest plane that I’ve ever been on, and it’s a budget airline. It also helped that the flight was less than half full. I was able to stretch both legs out, the bathroom was spacious, and the Japanese staff had incredible customer service. The flight was about 12 hours but didn’t feel that long. It had nice touches in the seat like a tray that folds in half and a second upper phone/tablet holder.

At some point over the pacific ocean we crossed the international date line and went from 8/22 at ~8pm to 8/23 ~11am. Kind of a cool trick, at least until the reality of trying to sleep and dealing with jet lag sets in.

Travel Log: Day 57 (8/23), Pacific Ocean, Tokyo Japan

Airport

Upon landing at Tokyo it was around 11pm for our body clocks, but around 2pm the next day in Tokyo time. We were all feeling run down between being past our bedtimes and breathing that dry airplane air for 12 hours. The first order of business was hitting the 7-11 ATMs to get a good amount of Yen. We then muscled through our fatigue and executed the difficult but cost effective transportation option. We bought Skyliner tickets to cover the bulk of the distance from Narita into Tokyo. Then we bought IC cards for the local train routes. For both of those purchases we went to the customer service counters rather than kiosks. With our mental fog we wanted to make sure we weren’t doing something wrong/stupid.

Skyliner

We got on the Skyliner after one of the staff members saved us from walking the wrong direction. I was impressed by the efficiency of that train. It goes 93 mph and only makes one stop before the terminus (Uneo station) where we needed to exit. It only takes about 40 minutes to cover that long distance to Tokyo. We got off the train and then did what I thought was our next move of using the IC card to access the JR lines. What I didn’t realize is we were at the exit gates for the Skyliner and needed to put our Skyliner ticket through those turnstiles. When our IC cards failed, the staff got us sorted out.

JR Uneo and Airbnb

Once out of the Skyliner area we did a full circle of the exit area looking lost as shit because we were. I went over to the information staff and a lady was already coming out to greet us. I think she knew we were lost but didn’t want to embarrass us, so waited for us to approach her. She pointed us to the JR Uneo station which was down the street a few minutes. All of the staff we encountered were so helpful and kind.

We made it through the two JR lines pretty easily because of JC’s eagle eyes. She can instantly spot things on signs that I have to spend time and energy to find. With her eyes and google maps we find the lines we needed and then had a short walk to our Airbnb.

First impressions of the Airbnb are largely positive. It is definitely small, probably smaller than our hotel suite in Houston. However, the finishes and workings of everything are immaculate. It’s the little things like the doors all closing and latching perfectly, and the lack of imperfections in the construction. It’s a stark contrast to most Airbnbs where you get up close and it looks rough compared to the pictures.