36 Hours...and Counting!

Thursday, January 26, 2012
Posted by Tootsie & TwoLively

Leg One: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Narita, Japan (7 hours -- left Vietnam night of 01/26)
Leg Two: Narita, Japan to Seattle (12 hours -- left Japan night of 01/26)
Leg Three: Seattle to Phoenix (4 hours -- arrived in USA late afternoon of 01/26)
We chased the moon all the way home, and had TWO solid days of January 26th! It started to feel like Groundhog Day!

When you are planning a trip and have never done 24 hours of flight/travel, a 9 hour layover sounds like an excellent idea! When you're exhausted from traveling, walking a lot of the time, being on the move, and having to constantly think about what the next move will be, a 9 hour layover sounds like it could be 9 hours of needless time between you and home. However, we happily (yet sleepily) found that the 9 hour layover gave us just enough time to do a teeny bit of sightseeing in Japan.

Luckily, since our last few days were spent leisurely visiting with The Travel Agent's family, we had time to research what we could fit into our 9 hour layover in Japan. Most of the group (most being everyone but Oz and TwoLively, clearly our daring travel Evel Knievels) were conservative and did not think that venturing into downtown Tokyo would fit into our schedule (about 1 1/2 hours by train OR 41 minutes by Skyliner bullet train)...or budget (¥250 [approx $3.26] one-way train ride vs. ¥2,400 [approx $31.30] one-way Skyliner bullet train.) We visited a few travel forums and found that we could easily get to Naritasan Shinsyoji Temple via the Keisei train. 

The train attendant told us to buy our tickets directly from the kiosk -- using the Pink machine.

(FYI: some people in the forums say travelers do not have time to leave the airport--but if you have a US passport, and you have a layover of 4 hours or more, you have PLENTY of time to leave the airport and venture into the city of Narita. Just head straight to Immigration--instead of the line for Connecting Flights--and tell Immigration you want to visit Narita. They'll issue a free day-pass, attached to your Visa. Then follow the signs for the baggage storage service, money exchange, and the train.)

It is fairly easy to navigate inside the Narita airport. All the signs are in Japanese and English, plus a fair amount of airport employees speak English, and are very hospitable. The airport offers a baggage storage service (¥200 [approx. $3.00] per small bag...i.e. laptop, duffel bag, etc.), so we were able to rid ourselves of our carry-on bags. We were able to change some of our US Dollars to Japanese Yen (the ¥1000 featured Noguchi Hideyo and the other bills have other people on them--NOT Ho Chi Minh as did EVERY Vietnamese bill of EVERY denomination!). We were saddened to realize that we didn't get as much Yen per US Dollar as we did Dong per US Dollar. We were quite literally millionaires in Vietnamese Dong, but only "thousandaires" in Japanese Yen--and those thousands slip between your fingers really, really quickly.

After finding out we were no longer as rich as we had felt the previous two weeks, we found our way to the Keisei Train. The train is located underneath the airport. As previously mentioned, it cost ¥250 (approx $3.26) per person, each way, and was well worth it! It looked similar to an NYC subway train, except it was CLEAN! No gum on the ground, no graffiti, no weird stains or mysterious smells. The velvety seats had heaters under them to keep your feet, legs, and bootay's nice and toasty.

MarcoPolo actually read the map...Look at the clean velvet seats!

After about a 15 minute train ride (two-stops), we got off and ventured forth. The first thing we found out was that it was COLD! in Japan! Since Monte and The Travel Agent had recently spent the night in Narita (Remember their flight fiasco? They had a 19 hour layover in Narita, on their way to Vietnam), we figured they would be good judges of the weather there. We're not totally inept and do recognize that just because it was tropical in Vietnam, it was still winter in many other parts of the world, including Japan. Well, Monte said that it was so mild in Japan that "all you need is a light jacket"--so we took him for his word. After we packed our belongings and had decided on what to carry on the planes (Jacket or no jacket? Long pants or comfy capris?) The Travel Agent did say (to her credit) that it was cold enough to see your breath when they took a taxi from the hotel back to the airport. We considered this--but it was more effort to unpack and repack everything--so we went with Monte's previous judgement of Japanese weather being "mild."

Well, as we got off the train, we felt the frigidness envelope around us, and immediately Tootsie (wearing lightweight cotton capris and flip-flops) cursed Monte: "I'm going to kick his butt for his lies!" At least Tootsie, TwoLively, Oz, and Glinda had sort-of-considered the "just in case," and had jackets to wear. MarcoPolo, on the other hand, decided to pack his jacket--and the poor thing just about froze to death walking the streets of Narita!

MarcoPolo: obviously chilled, and pictured BEFORE hypothermia truly started setting in...

The golden arches of McDonald's were a sight for sore eyes, and since the group was hungry, we stopped in for a quick bite. Aside from the "Big America" menu including burgers named after the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills, and Broadway, the menu was surprisingly similar to the ones found here in the good ole USA. (Just for fun, look at this spoof of Japan's "Big America" menu.)

The Golden Arches...Tootsie is thrilled with her meal!

After a quick bite to eat, we continued walking down the street to the Temple. There were plenty of shops that caught our eye along the way.

Glinda and Oz walk down the street of shops in Narita

The first shop we entered had a very friendly attendant who spoke English very well. We told her we were trying to find the Temple, and she confirmed that we were in fact on the correct route. She told us to continue down the road. She mentioned that it had snowed the previous day, and noticed our lack of warm-weather clothes. Feeling pity on the poor freezing Americans, she gave us free hand warmer-type things to put on our skin (TwoLively: Ok. They looked like extra-wide Kotex--white with an adhesive strip backing--so-much-so, that MarcoPolo risked hypothermia, rather than stick the femine protect-esque warmer to his body!) Tootsie put hers on her chest, and her warmer was the only one that actually got warm. Even though the others were kind of duds, we did appreciate the storekeeper's kindness. She also provided us with free English brochures about the Temple.

TwoLively displays her Kimberly-Clark feminine hand warmer...

As we walked, our capri-lovin', non-sneaker wearin' travelers, Glinda and Tootsie, couldn't take the cold on their exposed legs/feet. So, they broke down and bought some foot socks...which were more like mittens for feet (the big toe was separated from the other toes. Perfect for wearin' flip-flops!) They both said they didn't care how they looked--staying warm was more important!

Mitten socks!

If we had walked directly from the train station without stopping, the Temple would've been about a ten minute walk.

Insert info about temple.....
people drinking "foot water"
purifying with smoke from fire
heard gongs, monks led procession, saw the Goma (Sacred Fire Rite)Temple Pictures

Earlier, TwoLively had noted how friendly everyone was, and challenged us to find a rude Japanese person--on the belief that maybe rude Japanese did not even exist. Tootsie had to use the facilities and found the only "Western" toilet in the WC. She no sooner got in the stall than she heard--and felt--someone pushing against the door. This would have been fine if it had been once (you know, someone didn't realize it was occupied--but then stops and waits politely after realizing the stall is full), but this person kept on doing it! When Tootsie came out of the stall, she was greeted by three elderly Japanese ladies who scowled at her, and likely said something about the rude American using the only western-toilet. Tootsie wanted to tell them that it wasn't her fault all the other stalls were squat toilets; it was their country's idea of a good way to relieve one's self--not her's--but she kept her mouth shut, and got out of their way.

On our walk back to the train station, we stopped and gawked at an Eel Restaurant. On one side of the restaurant, the workers grabbed live eels from buckets, nailed their heads to the wooden table, and then in one quick motion, filleted them with a sharp knife. Our daring duo, MarcoPolo and Oz, decided to share an order of the tantalizing and expensive eel (¥2,000 approx. $26.00).
eel pics

We walked past a wooden fence, and Oz noticed the gate was cracked open a few inches. It was a cemetery. We weren't sure if we were allowed to go in--was it open to the public? While we debated, Oz boldly went in, and we followed after him for a quick looksie.
cemetery pics


We stopped at a drugstore, because Oz was searching for trading cards. TwoLively saw--she kids you not--Mickey Mouse Kotex. Wouldn't that have made a great White Elephant gift?

Back at the airport, TwoLively couldn't go thru the metal detectors, due to her ICD (pacemaker.) So, she had a pat-down...an extra special frisk. She had to stand on a wooden box about a foot high. It was a typical pat-down...until the worker pantomimed that she should unbutton her pants. To her shock, the worker proceeded to peek--then reach--down her pants! TwoLively desperately tried to make eye-contact with the group--but they were chatting away, completely oblivious to her molestation! “Candy bar, oooohhhhh candybar-candybar-CANDYBAR!"

Glinda and Oz were on a different flight, so we parted ways. The remaining trio--Tootsie, TwoLively and MarcoPolo--headed to their gate, and noticed a tucked back area, where people were painting. They walked over and were invited to participate. This was a new feature at the Airport; a goodwill gesture to make travelers feel relaxed and happy. We were given a wooden Ema (a prayer/lucky charm) that was pre-printed with an embossed design. The paint stayed within the grooved areas, and we had a cheat-sheet that showed us the sequence of colors to paint. It was so simple, but a lot of fun! 

Arts & Crafts at the Airport...

After relaxing, we realized it was dinner time, so we searched for something to eat. Airport prices are crazy--but $35.00 for a single-serving of rice OR noodles is beyond crazy! Tootsie settled for a $20 Subway sandwich, complete with pesto mayo, tempura french fries (of various flavors), and a weird neon green drink. TwoLively and MarcoPolo visited the Golden Arches: $8 per BigMac...2 BigMacs, 2 fries, 1 drink...$26.00.

Subway!...Neon drink?...McDonalds!

As we sat and waited for our flight to depart, we watched the sunset. MarcoPolo cleverly dubbed the moment, "Sunset in the Land of the Rising Sun."

January 26th finally draws to a close...or does it?

We agreed that we loved our 9-hour layover in Japan. We were very happy that we didn't pansy out and rent a day room (however tempting resting in a bed and taking a shower seemed...) We can now say we've been to Japan ;) We found Japan was extremely clean, and very beautiful...but due to expense, it's probably not a future travel destination.

picture of flight

picture of Seattle mountain