We woke up at 5 am in Tokyo so that we could check out by 5:45, giving Scott time to go get his car and get us on the road to Zama by 6 am. Woke to steady rain which we were glad wasn't happening the prior two days. Got on the road by 6 am as planned, and arrived at Camp Zama by about 7:30. Filled up the car with gas on base, use the bathroom, then picked up Marty at the kennel. He was really excited to see Scott, less excited to go back into his box for the trip to Narita.
Got to Narita in good time, didn't have to go back into the concrete underground jungle. Our first stop was the animal quarantine office. More paperwork, another exam, and then Marty was cleared to leave the country. Then on to the Asiana check in desk where there was more paperwork, and Scott paying 300 yen with the taxes for Marty to be added to my ticket as excess baggage. Scott was ok with that because he'd been quoted 2000 yen to ship him unaccompanied. Judging by the friendly reception he got from all the female gate agents oohing and aahing over him, he was treated well on his trip.
Then on to security for us and a farewell to Scott. We won't see him again until he comes back to Michigan for Eric's wedding next June...I'm very thankful we got this chance to visit with him here in Japan. Scott made it back to Misawa after a 7 hour drive and two five hour energy drinks.... I'm sure it's very quiet around his house now without all his house guests and especially without Marty.
We shopped a bit in the duty free shops after security. Got to try lots of expensive samples but only ended up buying some hokkaido melon flavored kit-kats. Had to keep them under the duty-free seal until we were home which was probably a good thing. They tasted good...
Once on the plane, we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes. Unsure of the delay, but we finally took off and had a pleasant flight to Incheon. We were served a meal in a box along the way, not remembering exactly what it was.
Got to Incheon. I had been debating whether or not to leave the terminal to go caching while we were on layover. I think if I'd been by myself I would have. But leaving Steve with all the luggage, and having him fall asleep...no. Spent an uneventful layover there. Had a nice conversation with a young Korean-American man and got to talk about Gilda's Club with him for a while, among other topics. Bought a pretzel from the Auntie Anne's store, paid in US dollars and got change in Korean won...so have a bit of a souvenir. Will probably pass them on to Scott when he gets back to Korea.
On to our 13 hour flight back to Chicago. Long, uneventful, didn't get a whole lot of sleep but what I did get was thanks to the pillow, footrest, and eye mask. Served a meal not too long after take off, chose the Korean option again which was Sisimbop this time. This was beef bulgogi and rice, wrapped in lettuce leaves. There was some sort of a bean paste that I was supposed to add as well but opted out of that.
After that it was pretty much lights out for the majority of the flight - literally - as the flight attendants made sure that all the shades were closed and the lights were dimmed, left enough so you could see to get to the bathroom, etc. Slippers on the plane as well as toothbrushes and tiny tubes of toothpaste, little tubes of mouthwash, combs, were all available in the bathrooms (except for the slippers that were at our seats.) I have a few new travel toothbrushes now...
Lights were turned back on over the Dakotas and we were served another meal. Not sure whether you want to call it breakfast (if you based it on when we left) or dinner (by US standards) but it tasted good. I chose the chicken and pasta this time as the second meal coming over had been fish and rice. It was that again so glad I chose the chicken and pasta. Not too long after that, we were landing in Chicago.
I had downloaded an app before leaving that was from customs and promised to cut the time in line. Well, it didn't work out so we waited in a very long line to get through customs. We sure wouldn't have made the connection to the flight to Grand Rapids! This line literally went down three different hallways, took us about 45 minutes to get to the front then there were a few other lines before we actually saw a customs agent. No questions for me but Steve was asked why he had been in Japan.
Finally we were allowed to enter the US officially, then on to baggage claim and Marty. He survived the trip amazingly well, had not even messed in his box in almost 24 hours. Once we had him, we had to go through one more stop to get him cleared. The officer asked if he was in good health and up to date on shots. We answered yes and he was cleared to enter. Didn't even look at his papers. So much easier than leaving Japan with him.
Finally - out into the waiting area. Didn't see Eric and Trina right away, but saw the signs for the animal relief area so I was going to head that way while Steve looked for them and then joined us. We caught up to Eric and Trina soon after so we all headed for the relief area together. Got there and realized that the box was zip tied shut in about 4 places (had been done after we'd dropped him off, we didn't do it...) and a few minutes of confusion before I remembered that I had a small clippers in my luggage. Soon had him out and he peed like a racehorse, imagine that! Then off to where Eric had parked my car and we were headed home.
Stopped at an oasis along the tollway for a pit stop then back on the road. With all the delays at the airport, it was 2:20 am Monday when we arrived home, 7 hours after we'd landed in Chicago. Made for a very long day!
This has been a wonderful trip for me. Got to see a new part of the world that has been a part of our oldest son's world for the last two years. New culture, new experiences.
Steve was less than thrilled overall - seeing Scott was good for him, but he says he'll never leave the US again. His choice. We'll see. Passports expire next year.
Now that I've rediscovered my blog, hope to be writing in it more often. It was great to go back and read posts from years past.
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