Trip to LA, initial post

So before I get into all the good stuff that happened in LA, I'm going to bitch and moan about how annoying it was getting back to Japan.

I have to preface this with how I got from Japan to the US in the first place. I flew from Kansai airport to Haneda in Tokyo, then transferred via train to Narita in Chiba, from which I flew to LA. In order to get to Kansai, I drove 90 minutes to Kobe airport, parked at the ferry station, and took the ferry from Kobe to Kansai. Parking is free if you take the ferry, and since my return flight was set to land in Kansai at about 9 pm, I knew I'd need my own means to get home. The ferry stops running at about 10:30 pm, which would have given me plenty of time to grab my luggage from a domestic flight, take the bus to the ferry station, and get to my car around 10. I'd be home by midnight, with time to rest for work the next day.

Much like Hannibal from A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together. It's equally as irritating when it doesn't.

I almost missed my flight boarding. I was at the airport a good 2 and a half hours early, but didn't realize boarding for my flight FINISHED half an hour before departure. I had my headphones on at the gate, but noticed someone running so I took them off in time to hear the phrases "final boarding" and "fly standby tomorrow." I grabbed my bag and got on the plane.

My flight out of LAX was delayed 90 minutes. I was sort of sleeping during that hour and a half sitting in the airplane, but the official reason was "unscheduled maintenance." Obviously we'd rather be late than deal with something the mechanic didn't think should wait, but it was still a bad omen. I also missed ice cream sandwich time while a lady next to me had 2...made me wonder if she jacked me.

We landed about 80 minutes after the scheduled time, and I hustled to the baggage claim. I had originally given myself about 3 hours and 15 minutes to get from Narita to Haneda for my flight from Tokyo to Kansai, a trip which takes about 2 hours by train. Since I had lost 80 minutes of that buffer, it was basically I grab my bags immediately and hop on an express train leaving as I get there and run to my terminal if I was going to make it. It took 20 minutes for my bags to emerge, so I knew it was impossible.

Asked at the desk and Northwest rescheduled me for a flight out of Tokyo at 9 (originally 7:50), but it didn't end there. Since I had parked my car at Kobe airport and taken a ferry to Kansai and since the ferry stops at 10:30 and my flight landed at 10:15, I couldn't make the boat (which would have been 10 bucks). I asked around and had to hustle to get a train (16 bucks). As I was changing trains, I literally walked through the doors of the last train on my route as they were closing. At another transfer point, I misread my instructions and walked off the train, only to luckily look at a map on the platform and realize my mistake. I got to Sannomiya in Kobe around 12:45 and took a taxi the rest of the way (30 bucks). I drove exhausted for 90 minutes and got home at 3:15-3:30.

On a side note, along the way, I noticed a sign listing the temperature: 0. After 4 days in 90 degree weather, it was quite a change.