And so it begins. I was able to negotiate and maneuver my way into getting over a week of vacation without using any vacation days. Nicole's job at a failed daytime talk show went belly-up a month ago, so it was the perfect time to get away. Off to Japan we went! We listed on standby and for the modest sum of $160 for the two of us, we rode in business class all the way to Tokyo's Haneda. Since we cross the international dateline on the way there, we essentially lost an entire day due to flying, so it seemed appropriate to document the meals I ate during this flight for lack of anything else going on.
For starters, we had some kind of bruschetta and salmon concoction. It was interesting to observe the folks around me eat. The Japanese man across the aisle from Nicole ate only the salmon and didn't touch the bread while Nicole powered through the bread and didn't once consider the salmon. I asked to try Delta's "Signature cocktail," which contained gin, cranberry juice, and ginger-ale. The flight attendant was convinced the first one she made wasn't good enough, so she brought another one to me. Oh well . . .
We had sweet pea edamame soup and ultimately pasta for the main course.
After all, Japan has enough crazy food to be dabbling with anything crazier than pasta on a flight. It was as if Nicole and I both saw the octopus balls and raw prawns staring at us from across the ocean and felt the importance of eating "normal" for as long as possible. I myself had In N' Out Burger for lunch. After an ice cream sundae, a lemon tart, and later on a frittata for "breakfast," we landed at Tokyo Haneda airport around 10:00pm. We went through customs and used the restrooms -- quickly being reminded that we were now in Japan (see below).
After the airport, we took the monorail across Tokyo Bay and then transferred to the Yamanote subway line, which is a circular route that goes around the entire city. The problem with the circular design is that it is nearly impossible for an outsider to figure out which direction to take it. After all, they all hit the same stops so labeling the train direction as "Tokyo" was not terribly helpful. As it turned out, we took the long way, which added an additional 6 or 7 stops.
This was not terribly exciting news to Nicole who was sandwiched between three Japanese businessmen, two large bags, and a smelly boy in olive drab pants . . . shoot that might have been me. Passengers kept cramming on as we went along. I had not anticipated this kind of traffic at 11pm, but it would appear that Japanese businessmen simply do not want to go home. As the time crept past midnight, we finally arrived at our hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku district -- most comparable to a neighborhood in New York or San Francisco's financial district. Alas, finally we had arrived.
After the airport, we took the monorail across Tokyo Bay and then transferred to the Yamanote subway line, which is a circular route that goes around the entire city. The problem with the circular design is that it is nearly impossible for an outsider to figure out which direction to take it. After all, they all hit the same stops so labeling the train direction as "Tokyo" was not terribly helpful. As it turned out, we took the long way, which added an additional 6 or 7 stops. 
This was not terribly exciting news to Nicole who was sandwiched between three Japanese businessmen, two large bags, and a smelly boy in olive drab pants . . . shoot that might have been me. Passengers kept cramming on as we went along. I had not anticipated this kind of traffic at 11pm, but it would appear that Japanese businessmen simply do not want to go home. As the time crept past midnight, we finally arrived at our hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku district -- most comparable to a neighborhood in New York or San Francisco's financial district. Alas, finally we had arrived.
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