Day 13: Going Home
Today I said goodbye to Japan.
Got up and grabbed a quick breakfast in Tokyo Station, then back to the hotel to finish packing and check out. Caught the Narita Express from Tokyo to the airport and got through customs, immigration, and airport security quickly and smoothly. Didn’t even have to take off my shoes!
The flight home was on an A330-300, which has different “seat pods” than the B767 I flew out to Japan. They felt a little bit roomier and had that extra inch or two that let me stretch out without hitting the end with my feet.
The flight home—while still long—was two hours shorter than the flight to Japan and definitely felt shorter. Arrived in Seattle at 7:30 a.m.
I’ll wrap up the series on my trip with some more random notes.
Random Notes
All hotels provide slippers, a comb or hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, and pajamas.
Public restrooms (at least based on my limited experience in train stations) tend not to have toilet paper in the stalls. There’s a vending machine at which you can buy some.
I’m guessing most apartments in Japan don’t have clothes driers, as there were clothes hanging out to dry on most back patios I could see from the trains. Makes sense given that space is at a premium.
If you visit Japan and plan on taking the train, grab the English timetable when you’re at the airport. The Japan Rail office in the airport where I exchanged my rail pass order for the pass is the only place I saw the English timetables out for the taking. It’s possible other major stations have them if you ask but I’ve heard they’re hard to come by.
