Flying To Japan

Sunday, January 11.
Well, I am on my way flying on All Nippon Airways. Virtually everyone on the plane is a Japanese tourist returning from vacation. What a different feeling. The service is remarkable and everyone has been very friendly - if not communicative. I've never had an in flight meal on any of my trips on US carriers.

Each seat has it's own entertainment center (see attached picture) with seven different movies, about 10 TV video channels (mostly in Japanese), multiple music and radio channels and several video games that you play in your seat. Everything is available in English, French, German, Mandarin, Korean and of course Japanese.

The flight itself is about 8 hours or so - about the same time as it is to Dallas except this direction I lose a day. So I leave Sunday morning and arrive Monday afternoon! When I return, I leave Sunday night and arrive on in the morning on the same day... Interesting, huh?

I am nervous about arriving in Narita, but hey, it is an adventure! After I arrive, I'll wait two hours and board a bus to the base which will take another two hours before I arrive at the base hotel. Then I can relax for a little while.

It's my first foreign trip since the mid '90's. I am looking forward to seeing a little bit of Japan and Tokyo (though I will mostly be in conference rooms during the day). Watch for another update soon.

On the road, writing with my Blackberry.