Author: jmodule

After we got through immigration and customs at the Kentai airport we had to find a train to take us to Iwakuni. We needed to take taking the Haruka train from the Kansai airport to the Shin-Osaka station, board a Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka to Hiroshima, then transfer to a Kodoma Shin train to get to Iwakuni.

We found the platform for the Haruka okay. It was already there and waiting for the crew to finish their clean up before everyone boarded. Once on we found our seats and the train left soon after (all the trains are kept on schedule). MDF wandered up to the next row and made three friends. She spent most of the time on this train sitting with a Japanese lady and playing with the lady’s cell phone.

At Osaka we had ten minutes to find our next train. We found out that the Shin lines run above ground and we’d need to go several floors up to board… unfortunately the elevator only went up half way and we had to take the stairs the rest of the way. It wasn’t easy. Three Japanese ladies help CDF carry MDF and the stroller to the top while I lugged the luggage, one step at a time. We made it to the platform about 30 seconds before the train rolled in!

Hiroshima was easier, we had time to wait and rest before the Kodoma arrived. CDF talked to a conductor, trying to make sure we had the right platform again — it wasn’t clear on the tickets. After that CDF called her sister to let them know we were on our way.

For the first time navigating the Japan Rail system, we did pretty well. Still it was a relief to arrive at the Iwakuni station without having gotten lost or having missed our stop.

Going to Japan, we flew on a 747. It is the biggest plane in the Northwest Fleet, holding over 400 passengers. Our seats were in the rear-most section of the plane, and we could see the back of the wing out our window.

The 747’s wing

Twelve or so hours is a long flight. MDF slept some, but we spent a lot of time walking up and down the two isles. She made some friends on this flight. There were two ladies that knew each other, one in front of us and one behind, who were from Raleigh, NC, and were going to Taiwan. MDF took a fancy to the lady behind us, after smiling and waving for a while, she wanted the lady to pick her up and then went to sit with the lady for a long time. For a while she didn’t want to come back to us. Which was fine, we were happy to have a break.

MDF sleeping over Canada.

This flight was more bumpy than the last. We ran into turbulence a number of times. It may have been because of how far north we went. The plane’s path took us over Canada and Alaska, out over the North Pacific, and then back down across far eastern Russian and over North Japan. We mostly only saw clouds, but one time the cloud cover thinned out and all I could see below was something that looked like a frozen wasteland… possibly mountains, but I couldn’t tell for sure.

Our meals were served backward, we started out with chicken or beef for dinner at 3:00 PM (EST), then had ham sandwiches for lunch around midnight, and then breakfast was served at close to 2:00 in the morning (though by that time we were told local time for Japan was 4:00 PM).

As we crossed Japan, heading south, we passed Mount Fuji. I took some good pictures from the window. At first we thought the lower mountain ranges were what the Captain was talking about, but when we saw Fuji, we realized our mistake: it towered over the other mountains.

Mt. Fuji

Our approach to Kensai airport took us over the bay. We circled a number of times, getting lower and lower, and closer to the water. One one the last turns I was almost sure that the wing tip was going to brush the waves, until I saw a cargo ship and realized we were still pretty high up.

Once we were in Detroit, we had to switch to another flight. After being delayed at lost and found (we forgot one of MDF’s books on the plane), we headed down the terminal to the next gate. We decided to walk since CDF was still woozy.

We stopped at some phones so CDF could make a call. MDF found a play picnic table and play-house. There was also a kids computer that she tried, but it wasn’t working.

Calling home.

We passed our gate, thinking we had plenty of time to get something to eat. But on the way back realized they were doing the last boarding call. So we barely made it on to our flight. But we did make it, and ended sitting all the way at the back of the plane.

We got to Raleigh at 7 AM, Sunday morning. It was a good thing we left at 4:30, there was lots of fog on I-40, and we went between 50 and 60 mph for most of the way, at least until I-95. We stopped briefly at Bojangles to get sausage biscuits, etc., and ate on the way.

We had no problem checking in. Once our luggage was checked, we said good-bye, and headed up to the second floor to find our gate. Of course, Gate A5 was all the way at the end. Still, we were early and could take our time getting there.

While we were waiting (and pointing out the planes and tractors for MDF) a man walked up and curled up in a ball near the wall, apparently having a lot of back pain. Eventually we overheard that he was having problems with kidney stones. He had been in the hospital twice, and had finally gotten well enough to play a round of golf the day before. But on the day they were leaving, his kidney stones came back with a vengeance.

The flight to Detroit was on an A319, one of the medium-sized jets in the Northwestern fleet. We boarded on the first call, and used all the extra time figuring out how to get MDF’s car seat secured. Finally we were settled and had time to get nervous about the flight. It was somewhat unsettling when, after we had taxied out to the runway, the captain said there had been a delay at Detroit and we would be waiting until 10:30 to take off.

Finally we took off. Of course, it was not as bad as we had been worried it would be, and actually CDF discovered she did best during the take off, it was the turning and ascending that started making her motion-sick. MDF on the other hand, after saying “whee” for a while, fell asleep.

MDF asleep on the way to Detroit.

During the flight, we were served complementary granola bars and sodas. A group of three men across the isle from us ordered Bloody Marys to drink while they played cards. They even had time for a second round.

The landing was rougher than the take off, but one of the other passengers commented that it was one of the smoother landing she had experienced. Not that CDF’s stomach agreed.

We have arrived. We landed in Japan at 2 am in the morning (4 pm local Japan time). The flight wasn’t bad, just long (more on that later). It took us another few hours to navigate immigration and customs, and then we took the Shinkansen to Iwakuni and arrived at about 10:30 pm.

We’re getting excited. The prospect of getting up at 4:00 in the morning is not exciting, but I’m looking forward to going anyway.

We went by Wilmington’s airport this past weekend to let MDF look at the airplanes landing and hopefully get her accustomed to the noise, and just introduce her to the airport before we go to Raleigh. Then also, she likes airplanes and has been talking about the airport for at least a month or two. We only got to see one plane land (and it wasn’t very loud either) and then when the sun went behind the trees it started getting cold and we had to leave before we could see another land.

We have a week to go until we leave for Japan. Among other things, I’m getting this journal ready for me to write in while we’re gone. I had thought about using the main web site to post entries, but then decided it would be easier to use this blog set up on my other server.

So this will be the main focus for pictures and journal entries while we’re gone.