Saturday - I am in Tokyo

Well, I made it to Tokyo and so did all of my stuff.

It has been a long long long day/night. All of the following times are based on my body clock, starting in San Francisco on Friday morning.

My wake-up call this morning in San Franciso was for 7:00am. I had breakfast at the hotel and then took the shuttle to the airport, getting there around 9:00am even though my flight didn't leave until 1:20pm. I ultimately was able to get an exit row seat. I met several couples who are in our group and that helped to pass the time at the airport.

We loaded on time and pushed back from the gate on time at 1:20pm but weren't airborne until 1:40pm. The flight was about 75% full. The flight attendants couldn't have been nicer and we actually had two decent meals.

I spent the time alternating between doing crossword puzzles, playing solitaire on the iBook, and watching a movie - Bucket List with Jack Nicholson. I couldn't sleep even though I tried. It was a long and draining flight. I made sure that I got up every hour and walked up and down the aisle.

We touched down at 11:55pm, or 3:55pm local time. It was a 10 hour and 15 minute flight. It was raining when we landed.

By 1:00am I had picked up the duffle (thank you Higher Power) and cleared passport control and customs. Our Globus tour guide met us at the arrival area. We had about an hour wait in the arrival area as members of the tour group arrived on different flights.

The airport is huge and I mean HUGE.

At 2:00am we were on our bus headed into Tokyo and we got to the hotel, The Tokyo Hilton, at 3:15am. It was still lightly raining. I was in my room at 3:30am.

As I write this now it is 9:25pm local time (5:25am my body clock) and I am drinking a Coke Zero and eating a slice of carrot cake.

Our wake up call in the morning is for 6:15am. We have a group meeting at 8:00 and then a full day of sightseeing, ending with a welcome dinner at a trendy restaurant across the street from the hotel.

Oh, Tokyo is really awesome looking at night.

Man, I am tired but also very happy to finally be in the Orient,

Later.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com