8th/9th February 2008
After weeks of excitement and planning we finally left Melbourne on our holiday to Japan. Tom is taking things easy as he has done this a few times before but I am filled with excitement, nerves and joy.
Mum & Dad met us at the airport so they could say goodbye and wish us luck for the trip. It all hasn’t sunk in at this stage but as we get closer to Japan it’s becoming more real.
We boarded QF456 to Sydney after a short delay due to some seating that needed to be fixed and we were finally on our way to Japan!!!
Holding Tom’s hand tightly we took off into the blue yonder through the clouds and beyond. The country below looked harsh and dry from above but still beautiful. As we ascended through the clouds the landscape changed into a sea of white fluffy clouds that looked like you could jump right out into them and land ever so softly into them…but we know that wouldn’t happen. Even got to see some thunder storms from a different angel and ever so spectacular…glad we aren’t flying through them.
Once we had levelled out and got settled the flight crew served an evening snack of dried chickpeas and a muesli bar with our beverage of choice and I mean anything we wanted, I just had a diet coke and Tom had fruit juice. This was a nice comparison to when I flew Virgin Airlines a few years ago.
Before we knew it we were landing in Sydney at the Domestic Terminal, flying in low over houses and parkland. As we were taxing into the terminal we saw the band Iron Maidens tour plane sitting off to one side and numerous other planes scattered around. Once we got off the plane we had to catch a bus across to the International Airport this took all of 10 minutes. Once we arrived in the International Area we had a look around the shops and decided to find something to eat as we were unsure what we would get on the flight to Tokyo.
I bought a pin with Sydney on it for my collection and will try to get as many as I can whilst on this trip. We ended up having Kebabs for dinner and they were quite yummy and filling. After a few phone calls to mum, dad and toms kids we decided to make our way to the departure lounge and wait there for our flight.
Getting through customs took no time at all and the guys had a good giggle at the amount of medication I was carrying but no hassles about any of it so far, am expecting not such an easy pass through in Tokyo.
Walking through all the duty free shops with their bright lights was an experience, walls of alcohol anything you could possibly think of.
Whilst waiting for our flight Tom is very tired as he has been up since 5am! The poor guy and is now looking a little worse for wear and hanging out for a sleep on the long haul we have in front of us. I on the other hand had a little more sleep today and am too excited to sleep much.
Once the boarding call came through we were off into check-in and onto the plane, we have seats on the side of the plane so no one to really climb over if we need to get out.
Take off this time was a lot smoother as the plane was full of fuel (according to Tom), but I still held his hand nice and tight. As we took off the CBD was to the left of the plane so I didn’t get to see the harbour bridge but saw a bit of the harbour, but before we knew it we were up in the clouds again.
After everyone was settled for a while we were given dinner we both had the chicken and it was very delicious, the best bit was the choccy mousse. At this stage my back was starting to get quite sore and asked for a heat pack or something but they don’t have them on board so I settled for a cup of green tea on a empty coke can that Tom rubbed on the sore parts and it helped a little but not enough. So I had a Bundy & coke to help and it worked for a little bit. Once the dinner was cleared I settled in for the flight and watched Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Then it was time to try and sleep but having sore bits getting comfy was hard but I managed to get about an hours sleep in whilst Tom has slept most of the way.
There isn’t much to look out at as we are flying over the ocean but now and again a little island pops up in lights, the one that was the most spectacular was Guam a big group of brightly lit blobs down below. Lightening off in the distance gives the odd spectacular flash of scenery.
We are currently watching the flight map on the little TV screens on the backs of the seats it shows distance travelled, distance to destination, speed, outside temp and time.
We are coming up on Iwo Jima with about 2:20mins till landing. 1694kms to go and 6144 already travelled we are at 38000 feet or 11582m and flying at 531mph or 855km/hr and its -48deg outside.
We should arrive in Tokyo at 5:57am local time.
I can hear the cabin crew clanging about getting breakfast ready so it shouldn’t be too far off being served.
10:23am Haneda Airport
We arrived safely in Tokyo on time after a lovely breakfast of and after a quick brush of the teeth and a hot towel despite having only about an hours sleep I was feeling alive. Tom had a good sleep which he needed but we both will be falling into bed tonight in desperate need of a decent solid sleep.
After going through customs with no issues what so ever in regards to the Narcotic Import/Export Licence, we had a few minutes to get tickets for the bus to take us from Narrita to Haneda Airport, this left at 7.35am. The temperature outside was -1deg and it was definitely icey outside but the fresh air was lovely to breathe for a change.
On the way there wasn’t much to see just some open farm land which was broken up into smaller lots with a water source in the middle of some kind. There were several small snow drifts along the way and they were forecasting snow later in the afternoon Tokyo. We also went past Disneyworld and also 2 giant sky wheels. There are lots of toll gates and the cars fly straight through them and the gates fling up very very fast.
The countryside looks dry here even though it is winter I thought it may have been a little greener on the ground but I guess the lower temps make things die off a bit quicker or at least hibernate.
Once we got to Haneda airport we joined the long queue to check in and then a separate long queue for baggage check in and then another queue for security. We finally got through all that and are now sitting waiting for our flight at 12 midday for Sapporo.
As my back has been giving me trouble I jumped in the massage chairs that they have here for 10mins @ 200 yen and it feels a little better but I am dying for a hot shower when we get to Furano later on.
The flight to Sapporo was another short flight of 1hr 15mins but on the way we got our first glimpse of the snow covered mountains below and it’s started to really sink in where I was heading. The fields below were just like a white patchwork quilt sewn with black thread.
Once we arrived at Chitose Airport in Sapporo we had to find where the bus was leaving from to take us to Furano, we didn’t have to wait to long for this which was good and then it was a 2hr bus ride to Furano. Once we got to our Lodge it was nice to relax finally with a nice meal and hot bath. We had dinner at a Mongolian Lamb BBQ place which you cooked the meal yourself, it was delicious. Then it was bed time and we both crashed into comas until the morning.
