No Regrets!

Our last morning in Japan was met with a sadness that the trip was over but a sincere appreciation for what Dave and I have done together on this trip. We did everything we wanted to do at our own pace, never felt rushed. Our schedule was packed but efficient. We feel confident saying we made the most of the time we had, and we agree that we wouldn’t have changed anything about our itinerary. We were also comforted by the optimism that we will be taking another big trip together next year.

With a suitcase packed with goodies and hotel slippers, and a backpack overloaded with gifts and Kit Kats, we climbed into a taxi and headed to the airport. Ravi-san aka Trunny the transgender rabbit gave us the perfect send-off on the seatback screen. After a final “arigato gozaimasu” to the taxi driver, we headed into the airport.

My flight wasn’t until later, but I headed to the airport early with Dave to accompany him to the Korean Airlines desk as his emotional support animal. Wanted to make sure he was checked in and safely on his way. Some goodbye hugs to Dave just before security, and he was off.

Dave was a wonderful travel companion, always up for fancy food, a brisk walk, and a good laugh. He’s always exceedingly generous and accommodating, we share the same perspective on most things, and he happily owns many of his idiosyncrasies. All in all, he was a good match for me on this trip through Japan, we had a wonderful time together, and I look forward to traveling with him again.

Now on my own, I visited a gift shop in the airport and somehow found room in my backpack for more Kit Kats. New additions include sake, blueberry cheesecake, sugar butter tree, and melon.

Then it was my turn to get checked in. I was way early, and the agent offered to put me on an earlier flight, so I took her up on it. But after getting to my gate, I was paged and told by the gate agent in broken English and with Google Translate that my flight was now delayed and that I would need to be rebooked on a later flight. Apparently, in Japan, everything runs on time except the planes. To her credit, the agent happily volunteered to walk with me to the airline ticket counter on the other side the airport, where she gathered new tickets and boarding passes for me with a cheerful smile. So nice! I thanked her with Google Translate.

Feeling a bit peckish while waiting for my flight, I got myself some “onigiri”, triangular rice balls in seaweed, one filled with steak and another with salmon. Delightful!

At Tokyo’s Haneda airport, I had some time between flights to walk around a bit. First stop was an outdoor observation deck overlooking the runways and the Tokyo skyline. Pretty cool to have in an airport. The airport features so many charming little shops and restaurants, adorned with lanterns and even a wooden bridge. I ducked into one of the gift shops and found three more Kit Kat flavors: matcha latte, sakura and roasted soybean powder, and peach. My poor backpack was busting at the seams.

While in line for security, I found myself right behind an unforgettably giant-boobed woman that Dave and I spotted a few days ago on Miyajima. Some things, you don’t forget.

As if it was meant to be, I found a 7-Eleven right by my gate. I got some goodbye sandwiches, salmon jerky, and my final Kit Kat flavor: wasabi. I wish they had eel Kit Kats, but maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough.

Night had fallen by the time my plane lifted off in Tokyo. The blanket of city lights came to an abrupt end, giving way to Pacific blackness for the next several hours. Some excitement over the ocean with some pretty rough turbulence a few times and a flight attendant request for a physician on board.

Eventually, I spotted the rising sun shining in hot magenta through my polarized tinted window. The map indicated that we were approaching Vancouver Island, well south of Alaska. Interesting how the route was so different coming home. The sun turned cyan as it rose higher in the sky. I spent the entirety of my 10.5 hour overseas flight blogging, remembering, reflecting.

After arriving in Chicago, it didn’t take long to be reminded that Americans are fat, rude, lazy, obnoxious, stupid, inconsiderate, and inefficient. From pushy airline staff to obnoxious travelers to people pushing to get on the escalator, it all hit me hard, as it often does whenever I’m out of the country for extended periods of time. This Japan trip was the longest I’ve been away in eight years.

Waiting at the gate for my connecting flight back to DC, a roach crawled on my pants. I think I saw one ant in Japan. Then the girl sitting next to me started playing music from her phone speaker. Because why not.

Finally on the plane and in my window seat, I hoped that the middle seat would remain vacant. It did not, as a rather large and loud woman squeezed in just long enough to toss her backpack into my arm and announce to everyone in the immediate area that she had to go to the bathroom. Upon returning to her seat, she took a phone call from a man on speaker. They discussed some questions he had about their property and said that “some white men were around and asking questions” before this woman abruptly ended the call. She turned to me and said, “Sorry about that, that was my son,” as if it was some sort of explanation that would satisfy me.

After the plane landed, this same woman took her sweet-ass time getting up, telling me, “I just buried my brother. Lost him in car accident. I’m going to need to some time to get myself together.” Again, as if it was some sort of explanation that would satisfy me, and in this case, also TMI. I said nothing.

Everything is annoying. But I’m finally home.

The yogurt did not explode.