Escape From Japan

After surviving my really long flight all the way to Japan, I still had to get back a week later. Since I had to work, I was coming back a week before my parents. This would be the first time I ever had to navigate my way through air ports in my life and I was already fairly nervous. To make it worse, there was something wrong with my plane and it was delayed till the next day. The new flight was slightly later than the original time of my flight, turning my three hour layover in San Francisco into one hour. Here's what happened....

VroomM!

I was all the way in the back of the plane which meant I was last to deplane. This also meant being last in line at customs.

He hates his job

I was in the international terminal and needed to get to the domestic terminal. I was smart enough to carry-on my suitcase so I didn't have to wait for the luggage get to the luggage carousel thingy and I just ran past it. 

I sucessfully navigated my way to the domestic terminal and had the extra fun task of figuring out which ticket counter to go to because they couldn't print the boarding pass for this part of the trip in Japan. I then had to figure out which security area I was allowed to go through. 

There's a first class one that's a shorter walk but I didn't see the signage and was super embarrassed when the turned me away and pointed me down the hallway about 100 yards away to the "economy" check point. I was thinking, "Come ON! I already had to run here, gimme a break since I'm so lost looking right now." Instead I said, "Oh" and ran to security. 

 I made it through security easily enough and proceeded to run to my gate.

Once I found the right one, I got on the super long line and had to determine if I could wait till I boarded to make some important calls to the east coast or if I would have to do it there.

Ho hum.

I determined that I would probably run out of time if I waited so I called my friend who was picking me up in Newark and my supervisor at work since I wouldn't be making it in that night. 

OMG I'm so inconvenienced!

I don't know why I didn't think to email him. Probably cause I'm dumb. But I couldn't call from Japan so I had to call between flights to work telling him I got stuck in Japan for an extra day.

Then I got to sit in the middle of two people after jamming my suitcase into the packed overhead and got to try not to sweat on them.