4:30 I am at the small train station by my house waiting for the local train to take me to the airport. The train will take 1 hour and 40 minutes. Which is approximately the battery life on my PSP.

5:21 I am on the train sitting next to an odd smelling but fairly friendly old woman. I consider getting a picture of her playing brain training, but she doesn’t seem to be in the video gaming mood and has a sharp looking cane.

I spot an interesting sign, and wonder what type of emergency would require this device.


[door cock]

6:05 Now it’s time to change to the subway. This will take me from the train station to the airport. The subway is crowded but I am entertained by the T-shirt of a man sitting on the other side of the train. His purple T-Shirt reads “Chubby Stump” and I am very tempted to take a picture of it, but my politeness and urge to not ever get beat up by a man wearing a purple shirt get the best of me and I leave the train with nothing but a memory of the “Chubby Stump”.

7:12 Fukuoka airport is small but has a nice atmosphere. For the first time since 9/11 I was not made to take off my shoes. I guess I didn’t look much like a security threat or perhaps I looked like I had smelly feet, either way it was unexpected.

As I wait for my flight I give Jools a call to see where we will be meeting up. It is at that moment that we both realize that we really have no idea how to get to the hotel from the airport. No matter, there will be plenty of time to worry about that after I land. I usually have no idea where I am going until I get there anyway. That’s half of the fun.

7:21 Why do they sell luggage in airline terminals? This is already past the gate where you have to check in your bags so all you should have at this point is one bag. Since only one bag is allowed as carry on, what would you do with a bag you buy here? I suppose I could ask the lady working at the shop, but the answer is probably boring.

9:25 The plane ride was shorter than the train ride to get to the airport. I considered playing a bit of DS but there was a documentary about Czech Architecture that I watched instead. The logic behind this decision I still don’t understand.

10:00 I am now on a bus. I didn’t want to be on a bus, it just sort of happened. This is my first time at Haneda airport and I wanted to know how to get to Tokyo Station (where it was decided I would be meeting Jools). I asked a helpful looking information lady. Here is our conversation.

Vinnk: I need to go to Tokyo station.

Lady: Ok, you will take the bus.

Vinnk: Is that the fastest way.

Lady: No, the train is faster.

Vinnk: OK, I will take the train.

Lady: But I already reserved you a bus ticket. (looks hurt)

Vinnk: Ok, I guess I can go by bus.

Lady: 900 yen please!

So for almost the price of in N64 virtual console download, I am off to the station. I assume since this is a non-stop bus ride it won’t take too much longer.

10:40 I was wrong. It took a lot longer.

12:00 Jools was patiently waiting at the station. We hopped on a train for an hour and then took a taxi to the actual hotel. The lady at the counter was extremely nice. Up in the hotel room we discovered that there was in-room karaoke and Sega Genesis (or Mega-Drive) games. There was also “Mood music” and adjustable lights. Overall the room looked very, very much like a Japanese love hotel. Jools figures that’s why the lady at the counter seemed so happy. She thought we were a couple.

1:00 “I Love Lucy” is on the TV, in Japanese. It is very surreal. Ok, I need to sleep now. There is no wi-fi in the room so I am not really sure when I can send this back. I guess I’ll figure that out tomorrow.