I got up about eight o'clock, and was all checked out of the hotel and next door at the bus depot a little after nine. The bus came about nine-fifteen, and we started out for the airport. I made a movie on the way, and you can watch it with the player at left. The weather today was like it was when I arrived a week ago- overcast and threatening rain. But the ride to the airport was pleasant and swift.

I got checked in and through customs in short order, and was waiting at the gate well over an hour before the flight. I went to the gate agent to see if I could cadge an upgrade to Business Class, when I found out that for an extra $75 I could purchase an upgrade. I thought I would try that just for the heck of it, and when time came to board I felt all important with my Business Class boarding pass.

We taxiied out right on time at about 12:30 and were at our takeoff runway pretty quick. And then we were off.

I took a series of movies of our takeoff and climbout for my own interest, but you may want to watch them too. If you do, just use the players below in sequence:

Takeoff 1 Takeoff 2

Climbout 1 Climbout 2

The flight was extremely pleasant. There was a deadheading officer in the seat beside me, but he spent most of the time up front, presumably, since he would disappear for hours at a time. I passed the time working on the pictures I had taken and doing some follow-up from the class. I opted for the Japanese-style meal, and about three hours into the flight the appetizers arrived. They were quite good (and so were the Kahlua and milk drinks that I was having plenty of). Then the main meal was served, and again, everything was really delicious. I liked it because it wasn't a heavy meal, and everything had a good taste to it.

While I was eating, we crossed the International Date Line. You can see it out the window on top of the clouds. I thought I would record our passage across the date line in a movie, and you can watch that movie with the player at left. So let's see...I started eating dinner on Saturday evening, and I finished eating the same meal on Saturday morning the same day. How odd.

The flight was a little under 13 hours, but it passed pretty quickly because I was so busy working on my laptop, reading and eating and drinking. By the time we were nearing Dallas it was about 3PM on Saturday afternoon- only a couple of hours after I left Tokyo. I took two final movies as we descended through the clouds, and you can watch those movies with the players below:

Descent 1 Descent 2

It was really a great trip, and I am glad that I got the chance to visit Tokyo again. I would like to take Fred there sometime, but I worry that he wouldn't like it much, since it's all city all the time. But if we were able to duplicate some of the side trips I took in 1970, well, I think he would like that a lot.

	September 3, 2004: Japan Trip Day 7
	Return to Main Index for Japan Trip Pictures