Round The World and other travels

A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries

This is: Japan 2014

Homeward bound

ABOVE: Wet roads and clear blue skies in Otaru

We woke up with the alarm at 0645 and wasted no time in getting on with showering, dressing and packing any remaining possessions in our hand luggage. It was our last morning on board and all staterooms had to be vacated by 0800. Our suitcases had already been collected. We closed the door on our lovely junior suite for the last time at 0745 and were able to have our usual coffee / yoghurt / egg muffin breakfast in the International Café. This was followed by a short wait in the Wheelhouse Bar, which this morning was serving as a departure lounge for premium passengers. We were soon advised that all luggage had already been off-loaded, so that there was no need to wait. The good news didn't last long, however: there was a huge line in the Vista Lounge, which had been pressed into service as a Japanese immigration hall, following the ship's visit to Russia.

It was a tedious wait, but we finally found ourselves on board a shuttle bus for the short ride to Otaru Chikko railway station. It wasn't possible to book seats in the 'reserved' car at such short notice, so we ended up standing in a crowded train all the way to Sapporo. Seats then became available for the remaining part of the journey, but it was a far from comfortable experience. Oh dear - how are the mighty fallen! On riding the escalators upwards from the railway platforms at New Chitose Airport, we found that we had already reached the parting of the ways: the domestic and international terminals were completely separate. We said our temporary farewells, conscious of the somewhat weird and random-sounding fact that our next meeting would be in just fourteen days' time, at another railway station in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Such is the nature of the globetrotter's life!

My own first flight on the way home was a short hop to Tokyo Narita and the domestic terminal was horrendously busy. I eventually managed to get through Security at 1215. Although the first leg was in Economy, I had a go at accessing the lounge on the basis that I was connecting to a long-haul Business Class flight at Narita. The agent had to consult the rule book, but the outcome was all too predictable: "First Class connection only. Not Business Class. So sorry, Sir." I bought a sandwich and soft drink for lunch and waited for boarding time.

(Link to flight log in side panel)

ABOVE: Business Class lounge at Tokyo Narita

On arrival at Narita, and with my suitcase already checked all the way through to Edinburgh, I simply followed the signs to reach the part of the airport from which my long-haul flight on Turkish Airlines would depart. With seven hours to kill, I was encouraged when I discovered that they had one of those basic airside hotels, where you could rent a room for a few hours and have a shower and a nap. I had successfully used a similar facility at Singapore's Changi Airport in the past. This one served its purpose, although I was a little taken aback to find that the rooms did not have en-suite toilets. (The shared facilities were perfectly clean, however.)

In due course, I decided to factor in a little lounge time prior to making my way to the gate. This turned out to be a sound move, as the departure time of my flight had been brought forward by half an hour!  

(Link to flight log in side panel)