Nikko Hotel Narita Airport

... the language. There were absolutely no problems for me though passing through Japanese immigration and customs. As always, the personnel there were extremely friendly and professional. The greeting of these people coupled with all of the other familiar sights and smells made me realize that, despite the severe pain in the ass that I had developed on Air Canada flight 1 from Toronto, it was truly great to be on vacation and back in the land of the rising sun!

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The people here are just fantastic and we have met a number of foreigners now living and studying/working here in Japan. Some of their stories are absolutely fascinating as is this country. I love Japan.

Unable to connect via wireless internet so more difficult to upload photos but may try later.

Mate ne. (see you later)

... I stopped at a small traditional restaurant inside the gardens near the museum which was beautifully set out in a traditional style with tatami mats and low tables which looked over a pretty little tea garden. Through a mix of basic english, my trusty phrase book and sign language I was served an extremely tasty chicken terriyaki and then headed out once more to walk through the beautifully peaceful gardens before heading back to the Radisson to collect my stuff and ...

It's our last night in Japan and time for a bit of reflection on the week. Before we came out both of us were a bit anxious about the completly different culture of Japan. Dont be, it's a lovely country with really helpful people it's very easy to get about and being on a Shinkansen is like flying on rails. We spent today on and around Lake Ashni,ending up walking through wooded pathways ...

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I didn't get an upgrade. I was told that they have changed their policy again and aren't doing that. I wish I had known about the policy change when they offered to let me upgrade with miles. I don't know if I would have but I would have thought about it more. I had an aisle exit row seat, so it was pretty comfortable anyway. I got a few hours sleep on the way.

Flug von Amami-Ōshima zum Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Dann mit Metro, JR und Taxi nach Narita ins Hotel. Leider etwas weit weg, zumal ich am nächsten Tag wieder nach Tokyo zurück gehe. Hatten wir aber schon länger gebucht. Ich habe mir da mal wieder nicht wirklich Gedanken darüber gemacht. Wir sind etwa eine halbe Stunde nach Mitternacht dort angekommen und mussten dann erst mal noch was zum Essen auftreiben. Dann schlafen.

... of "jpeg," which normally wouldn't be a problem, but since I don't have a photoeditor at my disposal, the site won't read the pictures directly off my camera. No fear! I have changed my camera to .jpeg and will begin adding pictures to these entries as soon as possible.

Ben