So Haneda Once Again

The day had arrived where I was suppose to fly back to Oregon. I tried to relax and enjoy these cute mini donuts from TAU Hiroshima. But the hotel forgot to tell the maid I was staying a little after regular check out. Given that I was the only guest on that floor, it seem a bit much that she kept pounding on my door. Finally the front desk apologized. It wasn't helpful, I was stressed because of the almost daily cancellations of flights by JAL, and the fact that I could not find any information as to what terminal my flight was leaving from. 

So I left early because of that, and because I had to change trains to get to Haneda International Airport. I reached the monorail station as planned, but when I asked a worker there which track I should be at, they told me the wrong one. More than once. I knew what direction the monorail would be coming from, since I had been at this station once before. So I picked that side, and I was right.

I wasn't right in guessing the terminal. And there were no information anywhere as to what gate the flight was leaving from. Thankfully the information person must have been prepared because she was able to tell me and explain what bus to take to get to the right terminal. Also it probably helped that there were very few flights that day. So eventually I made it back to the terminal where I had spent the night of March 11th, 2011. I didn't visit the shops where I slept that night, just saw them from below. Kind of fitting because it felt like another disaster trip.

Checking in and getting through security was pretty fast. No temperature checks, just asked me if I had been to China and one other place. The airport was almost empty. They did have cute displays in places though.

The play area was closed because of the virus. Since there weren't any children, I don't know if it would have mattered. Lots of social distancing this day.

There were some shops that were open. Just no customers.

I found my gate and I found a restaurant that was open. Curacion Cafe.

It was time for lunch and time for something good. Chicken curry, tsukemono pickles and a draft beer.

It was all good. 

I still had some time to wait. That was my gate and no one was there. But at least I made it to the airport without too many difficulties. So being a little early was okay.

I don't normally take photos in the bathroom, but I thought it was interesting to see what Japan was doing in regard to the virus. The air hand dryers are popular in public restrooms, but they had sealed them off from use.

And had installed an air cleaner system. Public health is serious in Japan.

Meanwhile, still waiting. So a few photos of the almost empty Haneda Airport. This was March 31st in the middle of the day.

I didn't forget to take a carpet photo.

The plane was waiting. The only flight by Japan Airlines to San Francisco that day. Only the second flight that week. With none going out of Narita Airport. That was a major reduction.

It was about tea time now, so I ate a little Hiroshima lemon cake. I also was carrying my Moi-même-Moitié bag with me. I didn't want to lose it.

Finally boarded the plane. Lots of space. Having a whole row of seats to myself, with no one in front or behind me. Everyone was wearing a face mask also. No delays with take-off, since there weren't many planes flying. Strange feeling, like it was another world. 

Since we were flying out of Haneda, the route was slightly different. And I got to see something special. The top of Mount Fuji above the clouds. That was nice because I had thought about going to a few places at Mount Fuji this trip, but because of the virus and the uncertainty of my flight, I did not. So seeing the mountain as I left was a bit sad, but also beautiful.

Back on the plane, service was excellent. I think because of the situation, we were given a little first class treatment. At least business class. I started with white wine and rice crackers.

Eventually lunch was served. This was a bento styled lunch created by a famous Japanese chef. It was very delicious. That's miso soup in the cup.

Several hours later, breakfast was served. I had trouble sleeping, in part because the disinfectant bothered my sinuses. I wore gloves for most of the flight, so it didn't bother my hands this time. The airline sprayed the interior of the planes with disinfectant in hopes of reducing viral spread. I ended up watching the new "Little Women" movie, which was nice.

I was tired, but I still enjoyed breakfast from Soup Stock with green tea to drink. It's funny, because I would pass by Soup Stock in Ikebukuro Station all the time, and it always smelled good. But I never ate there. My flight from Japan had small reminders of my times of being in Japan.

My last post will be about the second part of my trip back to Oregon.

Returning

As long as I am able to, I will be traveling to places I want to see. And those where I want to be. So at the end of November, I found myself back at Portland International Airport. Which is rated highly by many. I think because it's one of the more easier to figure out which way to go airports along with the vendors there keeping prices more in line with what is sold outside of the airport. Along with decent places to eat at like Tamale Boy. Breakfast was a Portland bowl without eggs this time.

While watching the planes roll by.

And there's my non-stop flight. Flying on a day before most people fly, it worked out for me.

Up in the air they made an announcement. Because below was Alaska. Without clouds.

Apparently, it's rare when Alaska is visible from the air, like this. Snow covered mountains and frozen glaciers for miles.

Meanwhile, I actually got the meal I wanted. I don't know why airlines are so bad with meal planning, but almost every flight I get stuck with having to eat something I don't want. This time it was miso salmon from Chef Naoko of Shizuka restaurant and MUJI bentos. Wonderful Japanese food at those places. This meal might not have looked like much, but it was delicious. Also I was happy to enjoy those little heirloom tomatoes.

Finally reached my destination. Japan.

More snowy mountains below.

Far away city in Hokkaido. Possibly Kitami.

Goodbye Hokkaido. Maybe one day I will see you from the ground.

And hello Iwate, Honshu. 

While I had been remembering the last time I was in Japan at this time, this flight down the coast was a lot like that flight on March 11th, 2011. Kamashi below.

Over Miyagi Prefecture and that's Kesennuma below. Thankfully this time nothing bad was happening below.

Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. One day I want to explore the northern coast of Honshu. One day.

And after a short time in immigrations and customs and then a short wait for my train, I reached Ikebukuro in Tokyo. While it was early for it to be dark, the nice thing was I could see some illuminations from the train. Including one that isn't mentioned by most websites, but was extremely pretty and I knew I would want to see it. This was the view from my hotel room. Not the most exciting but better than having an office building directly opposite.

Returning from Trip Number Ten

So time for that last blog post, of traveling from Japan to the US. Starting with Ikebukuro Station. 

I took the N'EX train again and they gave me the same seat that I had when I came to Tokyo. Interesting coincidence. 

Obligatory Sky Tree photo. 

Extra nice Sky Tree photo. 

I think this was the Arakawa River. I keep trying to get a photo of it, and finally one that isn't blurry. 

An amazing thing happened as we were rolling towards Narita Airport. 

The sky began to clear a bit. 

And became beautiful with white fluffy clouds and sun. 

Since I wanted to show what it's like on the way to Narita, I took a number of photos of the farms along the way. 

There is also a bit of woods and grassy areas. 

Out at Narita waiting for the plane on the left and feeling envious that I couldn't stay and enjoy the better weather. 

One bonus was being able to see below as we took off. Something I had not seen before as we left the gate was the ground crew waving and then bowing to us as we moved to the runway. 

And goodbye Japan. I hope I will be seeing you again soon. 

The eletronic window shades in the plane gave me a chance to take a few above the cloud photos with less glare. A bit of shine from the sun on the ocean below.

And just before descending through the clouds to land in Canada. 

Checking out a display of a spirit mask at Vancouver International Airport. 

It is a transformation mask by Kwakwaa'wakw artist Stan Wamiss, of the trickster hero Raven when the beak is closed and of Bakwas, a wild man of the forest, when the beak is open. These are spirits of the Pacific Northwest tribes.

 Not a lot of choices for food in the US part of the terminal. After having a long delay due to some odd new baggage screening process by US Customs, which was poorly handled, I finally was able to get something to eat. So it was back to Canucks and a Canadian brewed lager.

I chose fish tacos but forgot to ask if they used corn tortillas. I'm not terribly picky about my food but flour tortillas do not cut it with fish tacos. They fall apart and do not have that nice flavor that compliments the fish, crema, salsa and cabbage. I also prefer non-breaded fish but at this point, I was not going to complain. They were good, just miss having tortillas that don't fall apart from the moisture. I need to plan better if I fly through Vancouver again.

Finally back to Portland, Oregon. I'm sad I didn't get a better photo of the Lego Multnomah Falls. I was told it is going to be removed for a large statue of Sasquatch. It would be nice if they could find a good place for the Falls, it's a favorite of a lot of people who travel through the airport.

And over the Steel Bridge across the Willamette River. That's the Fremont Bridge in the distance. On the right is the TEMCO grain elevator and terminal. It was built in 1960 and still handles tons of grain, like corn, wheat and soybeans. 

And that is the end of my tenth trip to Japan.