Loved the Trip, But It's Good to be Home

Yes, we are home; we actually got home on Monday, June 28, but between jet lag, catching up with stuff, doing laundry, etc., this is the first time I've had to visit the blog.

Our last morning in Japan (Monday, June 28) we went with Jeff to take the boys to school. And we were able to get packing tape at the 7-11 where we parked (the school's parking lot is not available as there is construction going on). The tape is for the box of books we're checking as luggage (guide books, books we read on the trip); my suitcase was borderline overweight on the trip over, don't want that to happen again. Once we got the box taped up, we walked to the grocery store and picked up food for lunch (that we would eat on the train). There are some photos of the fish and octopus we didn't buy.

Jeff got us to the train station, our train showed up (trains are never late in Japan), and we were on our way from Mishima to Shinagawa. Once there, we found the correct platform for the Narita Express and a few minutes later our train showed up. A smooth hour later we were at Terminal 1, Narita Airport. Even the airports in Japan are quieter, cleaner, and easier to navigate. Checking in was easy (ahh, the joy of being silver elite!) which left us plenty of time to buy last minute omiyage (Japanese for gifts). Mostly we bought food (some more green tea Kit Kat bars, another box of wasabi Kit Kat bars) and water and tea for the flight.

Flight wasn't bad, a few bouncy spots. As expected, the food wasn't quite as good as on the way over. This time I watched "Lost in Translation" (not a great movie, but great scenes from Japan and very true depiction of what it's like); the first half of "Gone With the Wind" (decided it was fine to end with Scarlett declaring that she'd never go hungry again), and two more episodes of "The Big Bang Theory".

We were near the front of economy, so we were off the plane pretty quickly, which meant almost no line at immigration. Our luggage came out fairly early (Kate's suitcase was the second one out), which meant we got through Customs quickly as well. Nancy's husband Mike was waiting and helped get everything out to the car. Amazingly, we were on the NJ Turnpike heading home within 40 minutes of landing.

We wound up going to Nancy's parents' house for a welcome home BBQ. Tuesday morning was breakfast with Mike's mom, followed by lots of laundry. Kate and her cat headed home to Virginia Wednesday morning.

Here are photos from our last morning in Mishima and a few photos of stuff I brought home from Japan. The glass items came from Kurashiki, as did the mobile and the little cat pitcher.

It was a great trip -- Japan is a beautiful place. Kate and I agreed there are still many parts of it we need to explore, but not for a while. Next trip we do together will be someplace else (we're thinking about Vancouver). But for now, we're tired of airplanes, hotels, and crowds. It's good to be home.