The day changed while we were somewhere over Alaska. I was able to get some uneasy sleep thanks to me inflatable pillow, which I only inflated a little bit to create an amorphous blob that could be shaped to fit against the wall.
Also, the plane had cool polarized windows that made it look like it was nighttime. Neat.
We arrived in Narita aiport about half way through the day. Several of us were coming in on different flights, so after getting through customs, we waited in the airport lobby while we waited for the rest to arrive. I spend some time trying to figure out how to get the data plan to work.
The solution was to read the setup instructions, idiot.
While Jackson had not yet arrived, we decided to go ahead and make our way to the hotel since it was getting late. we got tickets for the Narita Skyliner; an extra fast train that cut the trip to Aoto station from 1 hour to 30 minutes.
At least it would if we got on the right train. Seats were reserved, and after getting on what we realized was the wrong train, at the next station we had to get off and wait for the next one.
Once we were on the right train, the trip was pretty smooth, and the train was pretty fast.
We arrived at Aoto station, and walked for 10 minutes through a quite neighborhood. Well, quite except for us, with our loud luggage sounding like a freight train.
Anyway, we arrived at the 1970s style dorm house, and distributed beds. I opted to sleep upstairs with Phil, despite the spooky ass stairs. We also decided to leave the tatami room for Jackson once he arrived, since he is so tall.
While waiting for Jackson, we set fourth on our first outing; the traditional pilgrimage to 7-11. There was a really nice river walk that connected us to the main street of Tateishi, which we would use whenever going to the Tateishi station. There was also a view of Tokyo Skytree, which we would be going to on another day.
Jackson arrived somewhat later, and after catching up we settled in to sleep.
