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.
