ko-knee-chee-wa.

Hello from Japan.
...A little tired and weary, but excited to be here.
The trip over was pretty flawless.
LAX was a breeze thanks to the United executive premier benefits.
There was literally no line at check-in and through security.
This is the part I normally dread and I hate waiting in long lines.
Not having to wait at all was a dream come true.
We ended up spending 2 hours in the Red Carpet Club which was nice because you can spread out and read or talk on the phone or enjoy complimentary breakfast and juices.
The flight took off a little late but we made up for it with a swift tailwind.
Or maybe the pilot was just hauling ass. But saying swift tailwind sounds cooler.
(By the way, I can't find the quotation marks on this Japanese keyboard).
I hardly slept on the plane though I managed to close my eyes for an hour or so.
Ever seen She's the Man? Didn't think so. It's one of those movies you only watch if you have to. I have to say, it wasn't half bad. Maybe I was delirious, but I actually found myself entertained. Go figure.
Anyway, when we landed, it took only 15 minutes to get through immigration.
Then, our bags were already pretty much waiting for us when we got to baggage claim.
Customs was a breeze and we basically jumped on a bus right as we got out (this usually doesn't happen, you often have to wait 20 or 30 minutes for one).
Narita airport is so far removed from Tokyo that you have to catch a bus or train and
it usually takes about 2 hours (sometimes longer) to get into the city.
For some magical reason, we made it in 1 hour 15 minutes.
Crazy.
So my mom and my uncle met us at the dropoff (the Shinjuku Hilton) and we went home from there.
All in all it was a long day of traveling, up at 7am, asleep by 5:30am.
But it could've been a lot worse...
Quick weather report: hot and humid with bits of rain (remnants from a nearby typhoon). Hopefully the humidity will drop over the weekend...
Lots of shopping and eating to come...
More reports from the far East shortly...