The New Adventure Begins


Our long travel day didn’t start as we’d planned.  In fact, it started prematurely at 3 AM when the airline called to say the flight had been canceled due to weather. The original flight consisted of a stop-over in Chicago. 
Don’t worry, they had rebooked us.  However, they had split us up - one group on a direct flight arriving around the same time as the original, but leaving from a different airport; and the second group arriving 24 hours later than scheduled, with a stop-over in London, England.  Needless to say, we immediately got on the phone to try to put everyone back on a flight together.  Fortunately, we were able to get everyone on the direct flight. The problem now was that our seats were not confirmed and we were departing from a different airport, an hour further away (without traffic, construction and poor weather…).  Worrisome.
We had arranged for a car service to take us to the airport and he was thankfully able to accommodate our change of plans on the very short notice.  Amazingly, everything was too our advantage – the weather had abated, the traffic was light, and because of the rain, the construction was on hold.  Our driver was shocked at how quickly and effortlessly we made it to the airport - the likes he’d not seen in at least 6 years of shuttling people to this airport!  
We were able to get to the airport with plenty of time to secure our seats. Phew!

This sudden change had thwarted our arrangements to fly out together with Henry and his family. They too had been booked on separate flights.   Yuriko and kids managed to get out on a direct flight earlier this morning and Henry was on stand-by for ours. In the end, he made it on to our flight. 

Once we were all settled on the plane, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. And the bonus was that we now had a direct flight instead of a stop-over!


After a 14 hour flight and a 13 hour time change we arrived in Tokyo.




Henry helped us sort out the rest of our route to our apartment in Asakusa by train. And we were off again. 

The train from the airport into Tokyo was an hour, but uneventful.  Everyone, including the locals, took naps, lulled by the sway of the train.
We wheeled our luggage through the streets and narrow alleys of Asakusa to find our apartment. Our host was waiting to welcome us and show us how to work all the gadgets that make our tiny apartment convenient and practical.

Our apartment is right next to the Sansoji Temple. The oldest temple in Tokyo said to have originally been built in 628 (yes, just 3 digits), but rebuilt due to fire as a result of World War II.  It is famous for its giant lantern hanging at the main gate.



We wandered through temple grounds on our way to find a restaurant for dinner.

Our first meal was ordered by pointing to photos, since nothing was in English. It sounds daunting and we were a little uncertain about the quantity we had ordered, but it was delicious and the perfect amount.


Afterwards, we headed back to  apartment to get some sleep for the weary travelers.

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