It is the beginning of a brand new Tokyo trip and therefore (hopefully) a brand new trip report! I will be travelling for 2 1/2 weeks from the 5th to the 23rd of October. The trip will also be a bit different this time around as a) I am accompanying my brother and his partner for the first half of the trip, and b) since booking I have developed a foot condition that makes it hard to stand and walk for long periods of time! Not the best for Tokyo, but I guess it'll force me to make time to 'Stop and smell the roses' for once. Perhaps I'll even discover I like going slower, who knows?
Preparing for this trip was hard, as although I'd prepared time off, several urgent work related issues and forms suddenly needed dealing with on the afternoon before I flew out! Lucky I'd planned a strict packing list! This put me in an odd mood for the start of the trip, but I pushed through and focused on the positive.
The first day of this trip was, inevitably, a boring one - 14 hours of flying. Luckily this time I got a short flight to another local city and then only one long haul leg, which made things a bit easier to deal with. I checked in early and got a window seat, then my roommate hauled me to the airport at 3:30am (good friends = priceless!). When we got there the bag drop desks weren't open yet, so we sat in line with just one middle aged couple waiting in front of us. Next thing you know, the entire touring company of one of my favourite dance productions came barrelling in to line up for the same flight! I had just seen them perform three days beforehand! There were a lot of them though so I was very thankful I got in line when I did.
The rest of the flight was a bit of a haze of stretching my feet, trying to sleep and watching movies. The gentleman next to me was awfully fond of taking up both arm rests, but otherwise it was about as good as long haul flights tend to be.
After arriving and going through the loooooong walk and line that is immigration and customs, it was 8pm, so we had a quick dinner and headed for capsule hotel 9hours at the airport.
I must say: I adore this hotel. Although the bedding is lumpy and thin like most capsules, I have never seen a cleaner capsule hotel. Oh and it looks like it stepped straight out of a 90s sci fi! Everything is plain black and white, with simple symbols and numbers telling you where to go to put on your provided pod pyjamas, take your pod shower, and find your hibernation pod...*erm*...capsule. The rules about quiet were very strict and there was no lounge area, so it really is just a shower and a bed for the night, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
That's all for the first day, tune in next time for Day 2: Actual Tokyo.
Preparing for this trip was hard, as although I'd prepared time off, several urgent work related issues and forms suddenly needed dealing with on the afternoon before I flew out! Lucky I'd planned a strict packing list! This put me in an odd mood for the start of the trip, but I pushed through and focused on the positive.
The first day of this trip was, inevitably, a boring one - 14 hours of flying. Luckily this time I got a short flight to another local city and then only one long haul leg, which made things a bit easier to deal with. I checked in early and got a window seat, then my roommate hauled me to the airport at 3:30am (good friends = priceless!). When we got there the bag drop desks weren't open yet, so we sat in line with just one middle aged couple waiting in front of us. Next thing you know, the entire touring company of one of my favourite dance productions came barrelling in to line up for the same flight! I had just seen them perform three days beforehand! There were a lot of them though so I was very thankful I got in line when I did.
The rest of the flight was a bit of a haze of stretching my feet, trying to sleep and watching movies. The gentleman next to me was awfully fond of taking up both arm rests, but otherwise it was about as good as long haul flights tend to be.
After arriving and going through the loooooong walk and line that is immigration and customs, it was 8pm, so we had a quick dinner and headed for capsule hotel 9hours at the airport.
I must say: I adore this hotel. Although the bedding is lumpy and thin like most capsules, I have never seen a cleaner capsule hotel. Oh and it looks like it stepped straight out of a 90s sci fi! Everything is plain black and white, with simple symbols and numbers telling you where to go to put on your provided pod pyjamas, take your pod shower, and find your hibernation pod...*erm*...capsule. The rules about quiet were very strict and there was no lounge area, so it really is just a shower and a bed for the night, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
That's all for the first day, tune in next time for Day 2: Actual Tokyo.
