Good friends dropped us off at Honolulu International Airport. Once again, I thought we were coming a little early and once again we discovered we were one of the last ones there.
Hawaii travelers are famous for always being on time or early. Hawaii travelers are also known for being friendly, cheerful and mindful of each other. Right away, we were included in the happy excitement of traveling together.
We were flying on Japan Airlines which is one of the more comfortable ways to travel to Japan.
I thought my underseat carry-on was going to fit under the airline seat in front of me. It did before.
It fit again, but just barely... It was so tight that it made it hard to pull out. Sigh...
The food was also not as good as it used to be.
Sigh....
Still...
It was a comfortable flight (I saw a lot of movies) and we were met at Narita Airport by our Yokohama Tour Guide, John. It was a nickname given to him because of a long haircut (like John Lennon) he used to have. It's also probably because he is a talented musician.
Our first accommodation was at Hotel Mystays Premier Narita.
The hotels in Japan are usually very clean with a lot of amenities. This was no different.
Red maple leaves in the dining hall entrance startled us until we saw that they were not real.
The name of our tour was 2018 Imua Tohoku Autumn Momiji Tour. Momiji means maple leaves so we were all looking forward to seeing red maple leaves.
We had to smile realizing that we used to see fall colors all the time when we lived in the Midwest.
The first thing we did at the hotel was to send out the boxes of omiyage (gifts) to relatives using Japan's very efficient delivery service, (takkyubin) Yamato Transport.
We would enjoy many different buffet meals throughout our trip.
We were then told to pack our blue bags that were given to us by Tohoku Travel for a two night stay because we'd be traveling through the country side and our suitcases would be delivered to the hotel in the next city.
I thought my underseat rollerbag would fit under the bus seat in front of me, but again... it was too tight a fit.
I ended up using my blue fold away bag for coats, dire necessities, etc.
It took quite a bit of tired brain power to figure out what to pack for two nights, but we managed.
We all knew from past experience that no matter how tired we were, we'd wake up at 2:00 AM. I was prepared this time. I took my 3 mg. of melatonin and when I woke up at 1:00 AM I took half an Ambien. I only take it on trips and very carefully.
It worked.
Yay!
Hawaii travelers are famous for always being on time or early. Hawaii travelers are also known for being friendly, cheerful and mindful of each other. Right away, we were included in the happy excitement of traveling together.
We were flying on Japan Airlines which is one of the more comfortable ways to travel to Japan.
I thought my underseat carry-on was going to fit under the airline seat in front of me. It did before.
It fit again, but just barely... It was so tight that it made it hard to pull out. Sigh...
The food was also not as good as it used to be.
Sigh....
Still...
It was a comfortable flight (I saw a lot of movies) and we were met at Narita Airport by our Yokohama Tour Guide, John. It was a nickname given to him because of a long haircut (like John Lennon) he used to have. It's also probably because he is a talented musician.
Our first accommodation was at Hotel Mystays Premier Narita.
The hotels in Japan are usually very clean with a lot of amenities. This was no different.
Red maple leaves in the dining hall entrance startled us until we saw that they were not real.
The name of our tour was 2018 Imua Tohoku Autumn Momiji Tour. Momiji means maple leaves so we were all looking forward to seeing red maple leaves.
We had to smile realizing that we used to see fall colors all the time when we lived in the Midwest.
The first thing we did at the hotel was to send out the boxes of omiyage (gifts) to relatives using Japan's very efficient delivery service, (takkyubin) Yamato Transport.
We would enjoy many different buffet meals throughout our trip.
We were then told to pack our blue bags that were given to us by Tohoku Travel for a two night stay because we'd be traveling through the country side and our suitcases would be delivered to the hotel in the next city.
I thought my underseat rollerbag would fit under the bus seat in front of me, but again... it was too tight a fit.
I ended up using my blue fold away bag for coats, dire necessities, etc.
It took quite a bit of tired brain power to figure out what to pack for two nights, but we managed.
We all knew from past experience that no matter how tired we were, we'd wake up at 2:00 AM. I was prepared this time. I took my 3 mg. of melatonin and when I woke up at 1:00 AM I took half an Ambien. I only take it on trips and very carefully.
It worked.
Yay!
Another exciting trip,
ReplyDeleteYour posts always make it sound like you had a good time. This one, however, has la little different feeling. I look forward to hearing more about your trip in the coming days. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are expert travellers, enjoyed this first day.
ReplyDeleteI usually cannot read your travel posts as you cram so much into each day that it is exhausting to follow along. I know you and Art love to travel, but I find it too tiring and bothersome.
ReplyDeleteLovely time of year to go. Our maple leaves have just given up this week. I loo forward to your pictures.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good..... You all have that trip 'down-pat' since you've done it many times.... BUT--I'm so glad that your Mom is going this time.... AND--I'm glad you are not going because of a death of a loved one...
ReplyDeleteI'm just so happy for you.... Enjoy every single minute... I will enjoy your photos.
Hugs,
Betsy
Glad you & Art are back safe and sound. We ran into Keith's friends at Kansai as we were leaving Japan, and they too were on a tour with Tohoku. Seemed like they had a great time. The JAL economy seats are teeny tiny (seems like since we pay so much more to fly the seat arrangement would be better, but NOOOO). And the temperature was a mite too warm. But I'm so happy to be back with my pets. I promised Bailey I would never ever leave him again :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for including us, Kay
ReplyDelete"Hawaii travelers are also known for being friendly, cheerful and mindful of each other. Right away, we were included in the happy excitement of traveling together."
Bay Area folk are good people, but I MISS HAWAII kine people!
Sorry you had some experiences come up a bit wanting and hope the rest of the trip goes much smoother.
ReplyDeleteThis tour is organized and have their customers organized too.
ReplyDeleteHi Lorna! It's amazing how many friends and relatives were in Japan at the same time we were. Hmmm... We didn't bump into any of them though, except my aunt, of course who met us in Sendai. So happy you're back safely too. We did experience an earthquake while in Japan which was a little disconcerting.
ReplyDeleteSounds nice
ReplyDeleteI think this is not the fun part of the trip. Actual travel is work.
ReplyDeleteAn earthquake?? Oh, my. You have amazing travels.
ReplyDelete