We left the hotel at the civilized hour of 815am. It took us about 25 minutes to get to the airport, where we dropped off the car and checked in our bags. We have been checking our bags much more than we normally would since the majority of our flights have been on 737s and their bins tend to be a bit on the narrow side. Nicole’s bag was heavily scrutinized by the likely bored Saipan TSA. They had “Pre-Check,” but all that got us was the privilege to keep our shoes on. The Saipan airport did not have much to offer as far as shops were concerned. It looked a bit tired and concrete-y.
We were tracked down by an airport worker and told that we had to get our boarding passes stamped at immigration before we would be allowed to board. We were about to get on a flight from Saipan (U.S. territory) to Guam (U.S. territory), and yet we had to go through immigration. Nicole and I were extremely confused. And again, I think Guam and Saipan are just as confused about their own identity. It was a short flight from Saipan back to Guam, where we could have simply entered the terminal if we were normal people, and had booked our connecting flight together with the first. We, however, listed ourselves on two separate bookings and therefore had to collect our bags at baggage claim, show a QR code for “customs and immigration” at Guam, check-in again, re-check our bag, then go through TSA and back into the terminal. We did all that fairly quickly. This wasn’t our first rodeo with the Guam airport.
We had a couple hours to kill in Guam, and soon found ourselves onboard another 737 headed to Tokyo Narita airport. After getting a substandard United meal, we watched a couple of shows on our devices and began our descent into Narita. It seemed that we were the only people on our plane who weren’t just transferring to another flight. We had to generate multiple QR codes for customs/immigration/quarantine release etc, but the processing of this was surprisingly inefficient. The website that generates these codes suggested downloading screenshots, yet in person, they insisted on showing the live webpage (something nearly everyone was struggling with). Then, the country that had been so concerned about the spread of viruses asked us to press our fingers on a touch pad that thousands of people had touched before us.
Once finally through all the barriers, we emptied into the main lobby where we went to catch a train. The machine I attempted to use to buy tickets rejected my credit card, so I stood in line to do the transaction with a real person, who then told me it was cash only. We then went back up into the arrivals area to find an ATM. It was very reminiscent of trying to get into Beijing, a comparison that the Japanese would probably not like. But for a country that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of technology and efficiency, it was neither of those things. Narita had never really impressed me in the past, but this experience was next level.
More than two hours after arriving, we pulled up to Ginza station. It was a short walk from there to our Tokyustay Hotel in the Ginza district. Tokyustays are minimalist hotels that cater to business travelers who just need a bed and a small amount of space. We have stayed at them in the past, so we knew what to expect, but our room this time around seemed even smaller — and was window-less. It was not a great introduction back to Japan if I must be honest.
After getting settled, we went out to look for food. Rather than try to find a specific restaurant, I guided us to a Mitsukoshi department store. Most Japanese department stores have a variety of restaurant choices at the top of their buildings. We took the escalators up to the 11th floor to find the various restaurants. Nicole chose a noodle shop. And let us all take a moment to realize what this means. There was an Italian restaurant option around the corner, and she chose the soba noodles instead.
Nicole had cold zaru soba noodles and I had a curry soba soup. We both finished our meals to completion. We finished dinner around 8pm. It was strange to have just arrived in Japan and not be severely jet lagged. Tokyo is only one hour different from Guam. Nevertheless, a day of travel did wear down on us a bit. After making a quick stop at Family Mart (convenience store) for some breakfast items, we returned to the Tokyustay to settle in for the night.
passports & pepto bismol 