Final Blog: The Return Trip (11-27-2023)
Our last day in Japan started with packing up our last remaining things and getting ourselves checked out of our hotel by 10:00 a.m. Both of the hotels we stayed at during this trip were APA hotels, which were very small rooms, but had everything we needed for the right price, all in convenient locations near train lines. If I need to come back and I'm not desperate for a ryokan like I've gotten on previous trips, I would certainly choose an APA hotel again. I'm really grateful for the time spent there.
Josh and I carted our luggage to Asakusa Station and proceeded on normal commuter trains for about another hour and a half all the way over to Narita. In earlier versions of our trip, our plans were to fly out of Haneda instead, which I have been very interested to experience, because every single trip I've made in and out of Japan thus far has been through Narita. It's nice to be familiar with Narita, but I'd also love the experience of seeing another airport sometime.
Everything inside of Narita is marked, labeled, and sign posted so well. It's easy to find your way around to get to where you're going. Narita also still has shops and restaurants even outside the security gates, so people can travel with you and eat a meal with you and catch a drink before you head off to your terminal past security. Check-in was easy, especially after already doing pre-check and baggage through United's app. Going through Narita's security and customs was just as easy. It's like scanning at ticket at Disneyland, only what you're scanning are your passport and boarding passes. Either way, they scan very quickly and chime at you when you've done it successfully. Such a painless procedure. I'm quite jealous that America doesn't have anything nearly as fast and convenient.
More shops and restaurants await you inside the terminals past Narita's security gates. Pictures of Pokémon on the windows wave to you and wish you farewell. See you again sometime, Snorelax. We arrived at the airport ridiculously early, so we spent time wandering around through the stores and restaurants just to kill time. I spent time in my seat at our gate writing out the entire last blog entry you now see previously posted on this web site. Stacy and Nando also came through Narita on a similar train route. Both Josh and I spoke with them for a while individually, while the other one of us watched our belongings seated at our own separate gate. While our flight was taking us back to LAX, theirs was taking them to Houston to go back to Texas. I am again grateful for the time we got to spend with them, after having not physically seen them in person in a few years. This was certainly a great way to do it, too. Their kindness in having us along for their own adventures is one I'll always remember and be thankful for.
When it finally came time for Josh and I to board our plane, we worried that we would be stuck with another stranger in our row at the window seat who would bother us to try to get in and out of their chair all flight. But that's when we learned the good news--we were in the very last row of the plane, and the very last row only sat two people instead of three! It would just be the two of us, and I had extra space to myself by the window! I know some people might not like the idea of being the last people both on and off the plane, or being seated right next to the bathroom, but if you ask me, the convenience of more space on an economy ticket and to have easy access to the restroom without having to get up and disturb anybody could be nothing but a boon to me. We felt like we really lucked out. We also finally figured out how to get free Wi-Fi working on our flight, so we had access to most things we could possibly want or need. We saw it as nothing but a win. I wish there was a way to more conveniently ensure that we get those seats every time, but the only way I know to do that is to pay about another $250 extra per seat, which just isn't worth it. We were just lucky, I guess.
We were in the air for a little over nine hours, much shorter than our trip in the other direction (thanks, rotating Earth). I spent that time watching four and a half "Indiana Jones" films, barely nodding off during "The Last Crusade" and "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (it's cool, I've seen all the first four films before). There unfortunately wasn't enough time to get through this most recent "Indiana Jones" film, which remains the only one I haven't seen all the way through now. But I guess I'd like to see it on a screen other than the back of an airplane headrest and with better sound, anyway.
We landed back at LAX, and man, you never really understand how much you enjoy Japan until you have to push your way through American immigration and customs. Everybody seems grouchier, there's a lot more terrorism propaganda, the signage is worse and fewer and farther between, the restrooms are less well maintenanced, and I could just go on. It took quite a while, but we got our bags from baggage claim, then lost a chunk of time figuring out where to go to get picked up by our shuttle to take us back to our car. But finally, we did it. We were back in our own country with our own things in our own car, finally headed home.
The only loose end left to tie up is meeting with the cat sitter to get the house key back. She really was great, did a wonderful job, always kept me aware of how well the cats were doing the entire time we were away. If we ever do this again, I will absolutely use this cat sitting service again and request her again specifically. When we got home, the cats were a little nervous at first, then finally realized it was just us and became especially happy we were home. They've been around our feet chirping at us and asking us to play with them for hours. They also may have gotten a little big on their ever-present dry food and snacks from the cat sitter. But that's okay. They'll go back to their normal diet as soon as the food they have right now runs out. They seem happy and healthy, and that's all that matters.
I return to America from Japan both fulfilled and absolutely wiped out. I know the others were there two weeks longer than us, but for Josh and I, I'd estimate the entire trip had us walk give or take about 80 miles in a little over a week. That's impressive, but it's definitely not everybody's pace. My feet and ankles are wrecked and absolutely need rest and recovery time, and when I soaked my feet in the bathtub last night, the bruise from underneath my toe started bleeding out from under it onto the skin itself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the toenail was strongly considering falling off entirely and just starting all over again and regrowing. But thankfully, that hasn't happened yet.
This is where I end my writings in this blog that Stacy very graciously invited me to contribute to. I'm glad for the time spent and the activities I never would have thought to do if left to my own devices. And as always, I'm left thinking of what I would do when next I return to Japan. There is always a next time, and I will be thinking of that next time often until we make it happen again.
Thank you all for taking the time to read about the activities I got up to while with friends in Japan. Until next we meet, I hope you find yourself on some amazing adventures of your own, too.
