Math is Hard. Also Getting to the Airport. (Day 01)

Spur of the Moment Deficits...

As I've mentioned, this was a spur-of-the-moment trip. I'd spent a good portion of 2014 seriously thinking about visiting Japan, then eventually shelved it. Then, late July, decided to up and do it anyway with two days notice. This resulted in me not getting the JR Rail pass, missing out on the Ghibli museum (unless I want to pay 7,000 yen for 1,000 yen tickets), missing out on touring the imperial passes in either Tokyo or Kyoto, etc.

None of this was really unexpected, but in addition to this, some more basic planning was also skipped out on. For starters, with the JR Rail Pass up in the air until I got to Japan (last hope was to buy the pass from an airline ticket counter--didn't pan out, ANA's ticket counter in SFO was closed), I wasn't even really sure what kind of itinerary I would be shooting for.

If I'd gotten the pass, it would mean unlimited travel throughout major areas of Japan for the duration of the pass. I could go down to Osaka, do some day trips to Kyoto, visit Hiroshima, Fuji, head north, visit the Fox Village, check out the real-life Hinamizawa, Nikko National Park, and so on. I would have been extremely mobile, and was considering a week in Tokyo, two weeks of travel around Japan on a 14 day pass, then one last week in Tokyo.

On the other hand, if I hadn't gotten the pass, it would make more sense to stick around Tokyo and limit my travel, as the rail fees would add up. A round-trip ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto is about the same price as the 7 day JR Rail Pass.

Which is why I said...

Screw Lodging!

That's right, I booked all of one hotel before boarding my plane: The First Cabin Capsule Hotel in Haneda Airport. Without knowing even what parts of Japan I'd be visiting, it didn't make sense to book much in advance, so I decided to do it once I got to Japan and did or didn't have the rail pass. My flight got in at 10:30pm, and between customs, getting my bags and figuring out how to get around, well, I didn't even want to try getting into the city. The last train was around 11:30, so the hotel in the airport seemed like a good choice for the very first night.

I almost booked something for that first week, as I could pretty much guarantee that I'd spend that first week in Tokyo, but between being generally indecisive and thinking I'd prefer different options if I were to book for a month vs a week, I decided to hold that decision off as well.

So, ultimately, I only had one hotel booked for my month stay when I got on the plane: First Cabin Haneda.

Flight

My flight was on United, starting with a United commuter flight from PDX to SFO, then another United flight from SFO to Haneda. The return trip is on Air Nippon to Vancouver, BC, then a Horizon Airlines flight home.

The whole trip ended up being a bit stressful. I started taking the MAX (Portland's light rail system) from Hillsboro, OR to PDX. This requires taking the Blue Line in Hillsboro to downtown, then switching to the Red Line to get to the airport. I've done it before, and it takes something around an hour and a half. No biggie.

I took that Blue Line train to Pioneer Courthouse Square, where I planned to switch to the Red Line. I was craving coffee, and there's a Starbucks on that very block, but I held out. It could wait until the airport.

A few minutes later, the next train came, only... it was another Blue Line?

That was weird.

Speaking of "Weird"...

While I was waiting, I noticed a nifty free newspaper, "The Asian Reporter", with a report on a Japanese hotel that uses weird robots instead of staff.

The Henn na Hotel ("Weird Hotel") is located in Nagasaki on Kyuushuu as part of Huis Ten Bosch, a theme park recreation of The Netherlands. If I'd gotten a JR Rail Pass, I might have visited here, as it would have been trippy--the only other International vacation I've had was one to The Netherlands and France in 2007.

The hotel is expensive, though, around 35,000-40,000 yen a night, so I would have only booked it for one night for the novelty (if I could actually pull the trigger on that price at all). Incidentally, you'd think with robots instead of staff, costs could go down.

Regardless, seeing that randomly before I even got to the airport seemed like a great omen.

The Next Train Comes...

...and it was another Blue Line!

WTF!

An older man with luggage was waiting by the curb, looking damned ready to get onto that next train, but backing way the hell off once it showed up with a distinct lack of red lineage.

Clearly heading for the airport too.

He started a chat with another man, and then the two off them walked off into the sunset down the street together.

That was also strange.

Meanwhile, I checked my email on my phone, and a customer from work had a concern.

I hadn't gotten around to setting my "Out of Office Reply" yet, so I decided to deal with it when I got to the airport, but anxieties were starting to pile up.

What the hell was up with the trains?

And when could I get coffee?

I looked around the MAX stop for some sort of signage, indicating delays or something about the Red Line and found nothing. Finally, I started searching the 'net on my phone and finally figured it out: There was construction on a part of the Red Line between there and the airport.

Apparently, if you magically knew where to go, there were shuttles to a later Red Line stop so you could continue.

SURE WOULD BE GREAT IF THERE WAS SOME INDICATION OF THAT!!!

Anyhow, after waiting 45 minutes, it turned out I was about 15 minutes away from when the Red Line started up again, while I still wasn't certain about the shuttle business, so I decided to wait it out (and if the line didn't start again on time, I'd just call a god damned taxi).

Luckily, it did show up, though it did make a nerve-wracking 10 minute stop at the next MAX station. It's like Tri-Met (transit authority) was torturing me on purpose.

Finally Made It (to the airport)

I'd left early with time to spare, but thanks to Tri-Met, ended up getting to the airport at the last possible minute. On a lark, I asked the United Counter if they could sell the JR Rail Pass. Supposedly the Japanese airlines (ANA, JAL) sell them, and since United was the group shuttling me to Japan, I thought I'd give them a shot, but that was a bust. No surprise there.

I got through the security checkpoint, and had a critical decision:

Coffee or work?!?

There was a Coffee People within view of my gate!

I got some iced coffee, hurriedly emailed my work customer and set my Out-of-Office Reply while the first two groups boarded the plane, and made it just in time to board with my group.

Cramped-Ass Flight

FULL DISCLOSURE: I've gained some wait in the past decade.

Commuter flights have always been cramped. They're also the only flights I've ever taken, the only exception being my flight to/from Ireland for my Netherlands/France trip, which was spacious and lush despite not booking a first class flight or anything.

Other than the tiny prop job planes (this was a 737), they've always been the same, but I swear the sets got rearranged to pack even more of them into this plane. It was more cramped than I ever remember a 737 being.

Ugh.

After the connecting flight, I went to SFO, failed at acquiring a JR Rail Pass, then took my international flight...

...which had the same sorts of seats as a commuter flight from a decade ago. Not the nice, roomy Aer Lingus seats.

I'd planned on using my PSP and my laptop for significant portions of my flight, but it was just too cramped. I felt like my elbows were invading my neighbor's space. Luckily, the movies on the flight were free, and I watched all the Taken films. My first pick would have been Violent Shit, but United didn't seem to have those available...