Day 20: Departure - Japan
Jan. 9th, 2005 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanithryudoSo my flight plan this time is: Pudong (Shanghai) --> Narita (Tokyo) --> LA --> SF
Interesting enough, I actually arrive at LA slightly "before" I leave Shanghai by crossing the international date line. If everything went on time, I should be home in CA by 3 p.m. the same as I left Shanghai at 10 a.m., despite the fact that I'd certainly have to spend way more than 7 hours in the air.
Anyways, the layouver at Narita was about 4 hours as planned, which means about 3 hours of idle time once all the paperwork/check-in stuff was done. I used this time to check out the gift shops and they let me buy stuff with US dollars at a rate of $1 = 102¥. Not sure if that's a fiar rate, but I bought a few souvenirs anyways - a compact mirror for ¥1000 and a swordset keychain that reminds me of a certain hitokiri for ¥350, for about $13.50 total.
Also, since the flight to LA was pretty full, the nice man who checked us in at Narita bumped Mom and me up to the Business class, with all its superior service and stuff.
The flight itself had an American pilot and mostly American crew. AA once again proved itself the sluggard by being late by about an hour or so. They blamed the weather, as it was foggy with small rain in LA at the time. But still, that was one of the worst plane landings I've sat through. Honestly, it felt like a roller coaster and I actually got *cramps* over it, and I almost never get cramps after the first day of my period.
Interesting enough, I actually arrive at LA slightly "before" I leave Shanghai by crossing the international date line. If everything went on time, I should be home in CA by 3 p.m. the same as I left Shanghai at 10 a.m., despite the fact that I'd certainly have to spend way more than 7 hours in the air.
Anyways, the layouver at Narita was about 4 hours as planned, which means about 3 hours of idle time once all the paperwork/check-in stuff was done. I used this time to check out the gift shops and they let me buy stuff with US dollars at a rate of $1 = 102¥. Not sure if that's a fiar rate, but I bought a few souvenirs anyways - a compact mirror for ¥1000 and a swordset keychain that reminds me of a certain hitokiri for ¥350, for about $13.50 total.
Also, since the flight to LA was pretty full, the nice man who checked us in at Narita bumped Mom and me up to the Business class, with all its superior service and stuff.
The flight itself had an American pilot and mostly American crew. AA once again proved itself the sluggard by being late by about an hour or so. They blamed the weather, as it was foggy with small rain in LA at the time. But still, that was one of the worst plane landings I've sat through. Honestly, it felt like a roller coaster and I actually got *cramps* over it, and I almost never get cramps after the first day of my period.
