Leaving and Arrival

Okay, I am here. It took a bit of doing. Basically no sleep from Monday morning until I was half-way over the Pacific on Tuesday afternoon. Airplane sleep, for me, is fitful. Fortunately, there was an empty seat between me and my row-mate. The flight was uneventful other than luggage check-in. Two bags with a 50# limit each. I had one 32 pounds, the other 54 pounds. No room in the lighter one to off-load 4# into. The result was a $200.00 overage charge. I expected this. I knew that bag was over 50#. The counter people couldn't believe that I was not going to try a repack or just throw some things out. I told them that since I packed it, I knew there was no repacking to be done and that I needed everything in each of them, so take the card and let me go on to security. Here is something to remember though, if you are going to go over the limit, you might as well go big, because it is $200.00 for 51# up to some much larger number, like 65# or something.

The arrival was smooth. I have a fear of  arriving in large airports I have not been in before, in countries that speak a language I don't. The International House of Japan folks had given me clear instructions, which I followed to the tee, so all was cool. The hip thing about Japan is that they have these luggage delivery services, so for a small fee you can have your bags sent to where you are staying (and the reverse) from the airport. You don't have to mess with them. This is very hip if you are going to be in the country 90 days, with two heavy suitcases, a tuba and an overloaded messenger bag. I'll probably be using these guys in each city that I am staying an appreciable amount of time.

These are the guys at the baggage delivery counter.

The guy on the right, looking down, is who helped me.

Not a lot of English spoken there, let me tell you. Much better than my Japanese though. Between us, we got it done.

This is the corridor from the arrivals lobby

to the trains. Somewhat frightening. A rampaging

robot might come around that blind curve. I took 

the Narita Express to Tokyo Station. Way to go.

 This is a lobby in Tokyo Station. You wouldn't know it is rush hour. That is because this is just one entrance and above ground. I had just come from the bowels of the station and it is a circus, a zoo, a malestorm. The was a pool of calmness.