Welcome to TOKYO!
Welcome to TOKYO!!
Today's journey started in Melbourne - actually it started at the RIDICULOUS and INHUMANE hour of 3am. Yep - that's it, you heard it here we were up and at the airport before the birds! The day before after a complete panic and last minute preparations we arrived at the Ciloms Airport Hotel just a hop, skip and a jump away from Tullamarine Airport. This morning we were forced to comply with the somewhat crazy hour of the morning wake up call for our scheduled flight departure time of 6AM. Thanks JETSTAR... ;o)
I don't know if any of you have ever attempted to get up at such an hour? Frankly, its a bit of a rude shock to your brain when that alarm goes off - you sort of think to yourself "Hang on, didn't I just get to sleep?" At this point you realise you've actually been asleep for maybe 3 hours max but it really feels like its only been about 20 mins because your brain has not had its scheduled number of REM cycles. So here we were facing a 10 hour flight on very little sleep. BRILLIANT IDEA... truly. I'm a genius.
The lovely people at Ciloms Airport Hotel politely shuttled us back to the airport at 4am. I've decided that although my brain was complaining incessantly about the hour at which I made it function, I realised that being at the airport at that time of the morning is actually fairly efficient due to the lack of human traffic at that time and possibly that we were the only two crazy enough to arrive that early! We were through the luggage check in point and security in absolutely no time and out the other end searching for MY first caffeine burst. Turns out that Melbourne Airport was just waking up as well. We did not have to wait too long for someone to open up to make us our favourite caffeinated beverage.
After purchasing our coffee, Steve and I sat down as you do in anticipation of being called to your gate for boarding and realised that what we had been planning for was about to become a reality. We couldn't quite believe it - we were finally here. We sat, sipped our coffee and firstly reminisced about previous trips and adventures followed by some discussion about what we were possibly going to do at our first destination! Japan - as I mentioned in my previous blog it was a destination that had been on my mind for at least two decades and we were finally going to get there.
We took off from Melbourne before Sunrise and were really very fortunate to watch the sun break over the horizon from the air. Sunrises are spectacular from any point on the ground, but from the air - high up above the clouds, there are truly no words. Although not a brilliant shot, I've included below a photograph above as evidence. The aeroplane windows are usually a little opaque unless you have a professional camera and know exactly what you are doing your chances of getting a picture perfect moment here are quite low!
The flight from Melbourne to Cairns was quick and seamless - before I knew it we were landing. The flight from Melbourne to Cairns is roughly of 3 hours duration and surprisingly the time passed fairly quickly. Neither of us had ever been to Cairns before but on the approach for landing we noticed the terrain was very lush, pretty and tropical and almost thought to ourselves we should have stopped for a few days to have a look around! Unfortunately, there was no time to waste and before we knew it we were back on a flight headed towards Tokyo.
Normally, Steve and I would fly economy like everyone else, but for some reason for this particular flight and leg Jetstar offered their Business Class tickets at a ridiculously reasonable price that would make the snooty and rich huff in disgust, but in this special instance we grabbed the chance to travel in more comfort and style. Honestly, after being spoilt on board during this flight neither of us are looking forward to our next flight leg from Osaka to Warsaw in normal standard economy! The flight for me at least between Cairns and Tokyo just seemed to take forever. During the last 3 hours I struggled to stay sane (and quiet) trying to not drive myself crazy as well as those around me. For those of you who know me KNOW I am not a good flyer at the best of times, but after really only getting 4 hours sleep suffering through 10 hours of flight time felt like an eternity.
Steve somehow managed to snooze on the flight, me on the other hand was not successful in doing so. The Business class ticket was still well worth a few extra dollars for the peace and comfort that came with it. We had unlimited beverages and snacks really a bonus when trying to stay hydrated in the air. Economy class doesn't seem to cater for that too well so we've learnt over the years to stock up on plenty of water after passing through security that way on top of what you get in economy we have a nice reserve stock under the seat for topping up on. Lunch on board was lovely - I normally steer clear of any meat in a aeroplane meal due to an horrendous experience in 2007 after consumption of a meat containing dish, but was pleasantly surprised at the quality and taste factor of my teriyaki chicken with rice. Steve mentions in the next post some vegetables and an item which resembled the consistency of chalk. ;/
Anyway, some 8 hours later we finally landed at Narita Airport (which is about 50km north of Tokyo) at around 7:45pm local time. I'm not great at dealing with the politics of customs and the arrival cards and so forth - come to think I hardly think anyone is after getting off a long haul flight. You just want to get of the plane as quickly as possible and get through the bureaucracy and head straight to your hotel for a decent shower and a good nights sleep. Still, they insist on normally putting you through a rigorous line of questioning as if you were some criminal. Surprisingly however, Narita airport was unseasonably quiet and the Japanese customs officers and so forth were rather disinterested in us. We were very promptly ushered through the relevant processes and suddenly Steve and I found ourselves out the other side.
Here's the thing - in a completely new country without knowing a word of Japanese.... THIS was going to be interesting! I am of the humble opinion that asking for help/directions when required is a GOOD THING. Most men however might disagree with that statement, but you know after being up in the air that long I just wanted to make my process as efficient as possible. Steve and I booked one night at the airport hotel REST HOUSE, we just figured that we would be in no state to make decisions about our whereabouts and somewhere where there was a high chance of language problems.
The Narita rest house we found to be completely adequate, close to the airport - actually ridiculously close right next to Terminal 1 (thank goodness for seriously double gazed windows!) and comfortable. Our first hit of Japanese culture was the abundance of vending machines and their crazy toilets... you know the ones with a shower to clean your posterior and a seat warmer to make your stay all that more pleasant. After a cheerful snack from the vending machine, we retired for the night to get ready to face our first day in Tokyo!
The flight from Melbourne to Cairns was quick and seamless - before I knew it we were landing. The flight from Melbourne to Cairns is roughly of 3 hours duration and surprisingly the time passed fairly quickly. Neither of us had ever been to Cairns before but on the approach for landing we noticed the terrain was very lush, pretty and tropical and almost thought to ourselves we should have stopped for a few days to have a look around! Unfortunately, there was no time to waste and before we knew it we were back on a flight headed towards Tokyo.
Normally, Steve and I would fly economy like everyone else, but for some reason for this particular flight and leg Jetstar offered their Business Class tickets at a ridiculously reasonable price that would make the snooty and rich huff in disgust, but in this special instance we grabbed the chance to travel in more comfort and style. Honestly, after being spoilt on board during this flight neither of us are looking forward to our next flight leg from Osaka to Warsaw in normal standard economy! The flight for me at least between Cairns and Tokyo just seemed to take forever. During the last 3 hours I struggled to stay sane (and quiet) trying to not drive myself crazy as well as those around me. For those of you who know me KNOW I am not a good flyer at the best of times, but after really only getting 4 hours sleep suffering through 10 hours of flight time felt like an eternity.
Steve somehow managed to snooze on the flight, me on the other hand was not successful in doing so. The Business class ticket was still well worth a few extra dollars for the peace and comfort that came with it. We had unlimited beverages and snacks really a bonus when trying to stay hydrated in the air. Economy class doesn't seem to cater for that too well so we've learnt over the years to stock up on plenty of water after passing through security that way on top of what you get in economy we have a nice reserve stock under the seat for topping up on. Lunch on board was lovely - I normally steer clear of any meat in a aeroplane meal due to an horrendous experience in 2007 after consumption of a meat containing dish, but was pleasantly surprised at the quality and taste factor of my teriyaki chicken with rice. Steve mentions in the next post some vegetables and an item which resembled the consistency of chalk. ;/
Anyway, some 8 hours later we finally landed at Narita Airport (which is about 50km north of Tokyo) at around 7:45pm local time. I'm not great at dealing with the politics of customs and the arrival cards and so forth - come to think I hardly think anyone is after getting off a long haul flight. You just want to get of the plane as quickly as possible and get through the bureaucracy and head straight to your hotel for a decent shower and a good nights sleep. Still, they insist on normally putting you through a rigorous line of questioning as if you were some criminal. Surprisingly however, Narita airport was unseasonably quiet and the Japanese customs officers and so forth were rather disinterested in us. We were very promptly ushered through the relevant processes and suddenly Steve and I found ourselves out the other side.
Here's the thing - in a completely new country without knowing a word of Japanese.... THIS was going to be interesting! I am of the humble opinion that asking for help/directions when required is a GOOD THING. Most men however might disagree with that statement, but you know after being up in the air that long I just wanted to make my process as efficient as possible. Steve and I booked one night at the airport hotel REST HOUSE, we just figured that we would be in no state to make decisions about our whereabouts and somewhere where there was a high chance of language problems.
The Narita rest house we found to be completely adequate, close to the airport - actually ridiculously close right next to Terminal 1 (thank goodness for seriously double gazed windows!) and comfortable. Our first hit of Japanese culture was the abundance of vending machines and their crazy toilets... you know the ones with a shower to clean your posterior and a seat warmer to make your stay all that more pleasant. After a cheerful snack from the vending machine, we retired for the night to get ready to face our first day in Tokyo!
