The house is all organised – washing done, floors mopped, bins emptied, fridge cleared out – and our bags are packed. We have checked in for our flights, firstly to Sydney then an overnight flight to Haneda airport, Tokyo.
We occupied the morning doing last-minute chores around the house and talking (firstly to Sarah and Max in Chicago and then to our travel agent, Jason in Sydney) on Skype. Jason wanted to run us through the itinerary he had prepared for us and call out a few changes. Apparently a train line that had been closed due to damage caused by a typhoon has reopened and we no longer needed to take a bus around the damaged section of the line. He also suggested we get some antihistamine medication, as we would be travelling in peak pollen season.
The story is that in Japan they had a massive cedar planting program in the years after WWII and much of the mountainous country is now covered by very mature trees. With only a small timber industry the trees have been left untouched and are now very well established. In spring, the pollen count skyrockets to the extent that it is reported on as part of the weather forecast. It often reaches dangerous levels that can cause great discomfort and a pollen “fog” is referred to at its peak.
We will arrive in Tokyo just after 5am on Sunday morning after an overnight business class flight; hopefully we can get a decent sleep before an anticipated long day of sightseeing.
The initial leg of our trip is complete: the flight from Melbourne to Sydney. We departed Melbourne with the afternoon sun sitting low in the western sky. The late afternoon shadows lengthened as our flight progressed north-easterly, following the Hume Highway to the Murray River and crossing the border above the twin towns of Albury and Wodonga. Plumes of smoke were observed from numerous bush fires fanned by south west winds. Nothing seemed too threatening, but it was still a reminder that it remains very dry inland as the southern states wait for much needed autumn rains.
The transfer process from the domestic terminal across to the international terminal was uneventful. We both commented that it was unusually quiet at the airport and it was actually a good time to transit through Sydney. With time on our side, we made our way to the Qantas first class lounge (a privilege earned by Chris after way too many business flights) and enjoyed a leisurely evening meal and drinks before our flight was called for boarding. In just under 10 hours we will be disembarking in Tokyo.
We have just over two hours of our flight to Tokyo to go. The lighting in the upstairs section of the Boeing 747-400 has just simulated a rather accelerated dawning of the new day. A dim blueish light has given way to to yellow tones that have settled on a stark white light that has passengers up and about. A queue has formed outside the toilet for those needing to change out of their distinctive Qantas-branded pyjamas before breakfast.
We have both managed to get a good, although disturbed, sleep. The latter was due to a combination of unsettled children (aren’t there rules regarding children in business class?) and turbulence which warranted turning on the seatbelt sign, accompanied by a related PA message in both English and Japanese. The pilot has advised it will be 12C on arrival at Haneda airport, which is not all that different to the autumn mornings back in Melbourne.