We stayed at a hotel near the airport the night before our flight so we could use Papa P's truck to bring our luggage and so we could take the hotel shuttle to the airport. I made a reservation on the shuttle for 7:35am. I told him we had a lot of luggage (we each were allowed three checked bags up to 70lbs, plus carry ons). When I told him that, he brushed me off and I let it drop.
When the shuttle got there, there were so many other people who were there with us. There was going to be no way we could fit on with so many people and their luggage. The shuttle driver called for back up and we had to wait a few minutes.
We got on the shuttle, filling up the entire back of the van. He asked what airline we were flying out of. We told him and he promised to drop us off right there. He then told us we had to stop at another hotel to pick up more people! Say what?!
We got to the next hotel and they were all trying to take their luggage to the back. He told them it was all full. He then had them all pile in (there were five more people) and then he stacked the luggage just on the inside of the door. It was sooooooo squishy! I apologized and told them we were moving to Japan. They were very kind about it and I thanked them for being understanding when they were dropped off at the main terminal. The driver then drove us right to our airline as promised.
Papa P gave him a big tip and we went to rent carts for our luggage. We then checked in all our bags (what a relief!) We were told we had to transfer our own bags for our next flight. Interesting...
We had business class seats, which included access to their lounge. It was soooooooo nice!
Lots of food and drink options.
Yummy! 😋
View from the lounge.
There was even a shower in the lounge! That would be very convenient for business people.
We finally got onboard.
We each had our own cubicle and the seat could lie flat to sleep. G is super tall, so I'm sure he really appreciated that!
😘
We each had our own TV with entertainment.
Appetizers at dinner.
Dinner.
A pear dessert. It was very good and not too sweet.
The remote for the entertainment. You could also view the map of the route and order food.
We made it to Narita (Tokyo) after more than 12 hours on the plane. I slept a bit, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.
We had to download the MySos app to expedite the processing for Covid-19 vaccinations and fill out their questionnaire about exposure the past two weeks and how we had been feeling. We had to show the comfirmatiom screen that showed we had completed it and it had been reviewed.
C had started to feel a bit sick on the plane, like nauseous/air sick. We made it through the health check and found our bags-- then had to take them through customs, but before we could do that, C got sick in a nearby trash can. He felt better afterward and we continued on. Thankfully carts were available at no cost, so we each got a cart full of bags and only had to make one trip.
We had to go out of the secure area to check our bags with the airline. We were told the flight was full, so they checked our carry on sized suitcases for free. G's laptop almost got checked in his small suitcase, but Papa P ran back and was able to get it back, just in time.
We had to go through security again! We had to do a temperature check before entering the area where you take out all your electronics. Thank goodness it wasn't busy because we have a million electronics to take out!
We found the Sakura lounge. It wasn't like the one in Texas. No food available at all, just a few drinks, but you could see where there was once food available. In the lounge, we met up with the other family that was also moving to Japan. We had met them once in Texas at a local park. They have four kids, a couple of them not too far off in age from our two.
We were in the area for domestic flights in Japan and there was NO FOOD. So, Papa P and the other dad decided to go out of the airport to buy McDonald's. He picked up a large pack of chicken nuggets to share. The BBQ sauce was the same as home, the middle sauce was a spicy curry (G doesn't like sauce, but he liked this one!), and the bottom one was a mustard sauce, just as it said.
In order to board the flight, we had to take an "airport limousine" aka a bus, to the actual plane.
Our flight was at sunset. It was only 40 minutes once we got off the ground.
Do you see the mountain above the clouds? Papa P thought it was probably Mount Fuji.
We are at a hotel for our first three nights in Japan. Papa P had to make two trips to get all our luggage upstairs with the cart and us carrying our carry on bags.
With just about 24 hours of travel in total, including our transit to the airport, WE FINALLY MADE IT TO NAGOYA, JAPAN, our new home for the next two to three years!!!!
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