That's All Folks!

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Well my long circuitous trip has ended. I finally made it home. The flight to Seattle was just as expected, or better. Same amenities as on the way over, but this time there was no one sitting next to me so I could lay down while I watched my movies. And the flight back was only 8 hours, so I got to Seattle around 7:30am local time (after leaving at 3:30pm the same day!). Before I left Japan, there was a flight listed as leaving from McChord to McGuire on Friday. I thought it would be perfect! I could spend the day in Seattle doing what I didn't get to do on the way out, then make it back in time for my birthday on Friday. However, when I got to Seattle and called McChord, that flight had gotten canceled. Not only was that flight canceled, but there was nothing else until at least Monday at the earliest. After being away for so long, and having so much stuff to do at home, I just wanted to get home. After the moment of panic passed, I started shopping for flights. Turns out you can get some great last minute deals on flights if you just look around (I recommend www.kayak.com). I found a pretty decent flight leaving at 1pm that afternoon to DC. And US Air! Not bad. So by midnight, I was on the metro in DC riding back to my house. It's funny that after the trip to Japan, my whole outlook on public transportation has changed. They use it so much in other countries, and it's so normal, that it's become second nature to hop on the train. A fitting way to end the trip. I also look at walking in a different light. It would have shocked me (and I think most people in this country) to have to walk 5 minutes, let alone 20. Suddenly, the 2mile walk from the metro to my house seemed like no big deal. However, my parents picked me up from the metro, so I'll experiment with the 2mi walk another day.

So it was a great trip with a lot of new experiences. I had amazing Japanese sushi, but only once. Turns out, the Japanese don't really eat sushi that often. Even though I would have been very happy to have it every day, I think I was the only one. Instead I learned that there are a whole lot of other foods that are very Japanese that I never knew existed. Plus, I ate more mochi than I ever have in my whole life. I also realized that traveling around Japan without someone who knows Japanese would have been extremely difficult. It would be manageable if I knew how to read Japanese. A library book on kanji and a month would probably have been plenty. At least if you can read the words in Japanese you can look them up (or not look blindly at maps in the subway). Besides, most of the menus in restaurants say English words but written in Japanese (like all the drink menus). If you could pronounce the Japanese characters, you could read the menus and maps. Anyway, I'll have to leave that for my next trip.

Thanks to everyone who traveled with me and left me warm wishes. It was a fun trip to Japan. My next will have to include either Hiroshima or Nagasaki. And if you go to the very northern tip of Hokkaido, you can see Russia, and probably even go there -- how cool would that be? 2-for-1. Now I'm settling back in, reading my mail, paying my bills, packing for my move, and I'm gonna get a manicure. 😊 Hugs and kisses to everyone! Until next time...

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Comments

[Kim]

Hokkaido?
You can see Russia from Hokkaido? Does that mean if I move there I can run for VP too?... "...so when Putin rear's his head...."...