Hester's Head

I'm home. It's over. I got to fly home from Tokyo. I fly out the day we arrived so I didn't get to see any of Japan, 'cept for what I could view on the way to the airport. I didn't see very much though. I got a ride to the main gate and then a ride to the bus station. The guy who was to give me a ride to immigration to get my passport stamped was getting a cheeseburger at the greasiest smelling place ever. He drove me from Yokosuka to Yokohama to go through immigration. They checked their in-baskets, a pile of ships coming and going. There was no "Ottawa" in the "O" basket and no "HMCS Ottawa" in the "H" basket. Figures. But they got it figured out, I filled out the forms, got the stamp in my passport as well as something stapled in it. Then we were off to the bus station. I didn't ask my driver his name, but he liked talking to me. We talked about Canada and the US and he compared it to Japan and Korea. He said when he goes to Korea it feels like he is at home it is so similar to Japan. It's hard to tell Canadians from Americans just by appearance, Japanese and Koreans are the same way. His English was very good, he told me that when he was learning to play guitar in high school he would sing American songs. He had no idea what he was singing, but it helped him to learn to speak the language.
He was doing a very good job of looking after me, I didn't have to do a thing - he got my bus ticket, even paid for it and loaded me on the bus. I had looked at a map - the airport in Narita was on the other side of Tokyo, so I figured the bus would either have to go through Tokyo or around. I'm not sure how it happened, but the bus scampered up the east side and stayed out of the city. It was only a 90 minute ride and I expected it to closer to 3 hours. I saw more farmland than I did of the city.
The line-up for the flight was incredibly long. Then I realized I was flying business class. There was nobody in that line-up. There seemed to be some confusion with my passport and immigration stamp. I did like it when she dropped a "priority" tag on my baggage. Another girl came along and escorted me down to immigration. They had no problem with it at all and asked for my boarding pass. I said I didn't have that as they wanted to figure out my passport first. The girl who escorted me told me to wait and she ran back upstairs to get my boarding passes. I like this business class gig. After getting my passport stamped I was able to go through the same security all the pilots and flight attendants go through. I got to go sit in the ANA lounge. That's another sweet gig. I had some sushi and a beer. The Japanese think of everything. The beer was poured from a machine that tilted the glass as it was filled. I also had some Campari as I had only ever seen the ads and posters and had no idea what it was. It tasted like dusty port. I didn't like it at all and won't be trying that again. Anyone know what it is? I looked at the bottle again before I left but it told me nothing. Is it a really cheap red wine or port?
I boarded the plane and sat in seat 1C. Front row. This is very nice. The seat was wide enough to be comfortable and I had my own arm rests. The seats are wider - only two seats here where there would be 3 in economy. They are also further from the seats in front and back. I waved my legs but I couldn't reach the wall in front of me. The table trays are in the arm rests are too far away. There are electronic buttons for reclining the seats, raising the foot rest, and a lumbar support thing. The footrest had another piece that flipped out so that you could stretch out for sleeping. I wondered how obvious it was that I had never flown first class before as I would discover something new each time I went to the bathroom. I didn't know where the TV was until I saw someone using one, the same for the extra-flip out footrest. There was no one sitting beside me, but the guy across the aisle seemed to have his extra footrest extended - I couldn't figure out how to do that with mine. The treatment you get in first class is incredible. I had a class of champagne even before the plane left the terminal. When I was asked if I wanted a drink before dinner, they said, "Are you sure?" when I said, "No thanks." I sprawled and used up all the space I could. Between the two seat trays I had my laptop out, my organizer, the TV, dinner, a cofffee and a glass of red wine. Dinner was an event as well - I kept the menu. Before the meal I was given a hot cloth to wash up with. We got another one before breakfast. I had the Japanese meal - it consists of several small dishes. Zensai - Simmered Squid, minced Shrimp, Gingko Nuts and simmered Pond Smelt Topping with Red Hot Pepper; Kobachi - Marinated deep-fried Conger Eel; Takiwase - Large Radish, sliced Duck and Shrimp; Men (yes, I wrote that correctly. I had Men for dinner) - Whitewheat Noodles; Torisuki, Shirataki, Yakidofu, Naganegi, Shiitake - Chicken with Shirataki Noodles, grilled Bean Curd, Long Leek and Shiitake Mushrooms; and Pickled Vegetables, Miso Soup and Steamed Rice. It was still a lot of food and was served in two courses. It was followed by a gourmet cheese and cracker tray and then dessert. I had the white chocolate mousse. They offered me port, but I still had some red wine. Not just any red wine - I had two glasses of Chateau Souverain Merlot - Air Canada was wise enough to purchase the entire remainder of the 2002 production. I could tell you all about the wine, but it will come from the card I took from the plane. "It's a predominantly Merlot blend from the famed Alexander Valley in Sonoma... Bittersweet chocolate and plum aromas... Spicy black pepper tones from the small contribution of the Petit Syrah... A combination of new and used French and American oak barrels were used to add complexity... sweet tones of vanilla and coffee." I wasn't really paying much attention because I missed all that. It tasted a lot like red wine to me. Actually, come to think of it, the red wine in it is all I could taste. I had a couple cups of green tea and a coffee or two with dinner. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I was up all by myself all night long. I worked on my blog for four hours until my battery ran low. I bet there was someplace to plug it in, but I didn't want to be the first class noob and ask. I watched some TV - there are 20 channels to watch. Some of them are repeats though - I could watch "The Guardian" in English, French or Japanese. I could also listen to a few music stations or play some video games. The buttons in your arm rest for changing channels were detachable. If you turned it sideways it would become the control pad for the video games. I sucked at Super Mario Bros 20 years ago - I'm even worse now. The back side of the controller was a phone. There was also another phone in the arm rest too. Who would need two phones in the air? There was a light in the arm rest to indicate an incoming call. Mine never lit up, I didn't give anyone my number. It was probably unlisted too.
Breakfast was cool as well. Those of us in first class have breakfast MADE for us. I had some grapefruit juice and some fruit. My main course was French toast with maple syrup (from somewhere in California, not Canadian maple syrup.) I could have had an omelette with friend New Potatoes and grilled Pork Sausages or the Japanese Breakfast Okayu - Rice Gruel with Omelette, grilled Salmon, simmered Sardine and pickled Plums. I figured the Rice Gruel was probably Congee or something very similar and I didn't want that. The two pieces of French toast I had were probably made from a baguette - they were SMALL - but they were good. The flight attendants also came around and offered buns, croissants, cereals and different yoghurts. I think I won't truly appreciate flying first class until I have to fly economy again.
Arriving in Vancouver wasn't too bad. Immigration and customs was a zoo, but I got to go in a new line as my next flight was soon. I had to get my baggage too. I wasn't paying attention to the carousel as I was only watching where the luggage came up and out. Someone mentioned that his came from the other end. I looked, saw the luggage was being spit out of both ends, looked down and saw my bag going by. I wonder if it had done a few laps.
It was a long walk to domestic flights, security was a longer line-up and took longer, but it was a short wait and a shorter flight. It was 14 minutes in the air from Vancouver to Victoria. I finally made it home. Roxy was barking, but when I opened the door it took her less than a second to remember who I was.
It's good to be home.