The sun setting in Osaka as seen from the Airport Express TrainAfter Jillian and I left Rokko island, the mood was fairly somber. It has been a fun trip, but I wasn't sure when I'd be seeing Jillian next, and we were both pretty mopey and weepy. To lighten the mood, we joked that maybe I should just change my ticket so that I could stay for another three weeks. We both knew, of course, that this was next to impossible, since the money required was probably out of our range, and on such short notice, well... it was fun to dream about, anyway.
A quick snapshot of Jill and me at the Kansai airport
A quick snapshot of Jill and me at the Kansai airport
My flight was to depart at 6:55, so we arrived at about a quarter to five, since it's recommended that you get to the airport at least two hours before your flight leaves if it's an international one. We rushed about with all of our luggage, me groping about in my pockets in an effort to make sure that I had my flight reservation number and passport in easy-to-access places. When we finally got to the check-in desk, we saw this:
The longest and slowest-moving line I think I've ever had to wait in
Holy Texts, Hurrah!
The longest and slowest-moving line I think I've ever had to wait in
To my surprise, and in a small way, horror, I realized that the line not only went down nearly half of the terminal, but also wrapped around into a monstrous queue once it turned the corner towards the desk. I asked a man with a badge if this was the United / ANA line, just to make sure, and he nodded sadly before handing me a piece of paper.
The explanation was something along the lines of:
"Dear customer,
Unfortunately, due to a very vague reason, (something along the lines of "operational issues") your flight has been canceled. This is not because you suck, or have terrible luck, although it probably feels that way. Because you're going to be waiting here for a very, very long time, it's probably best that you try to make light of the situation. At least you're able to stay in wonderful Japan a bit longer! Hopefully, you've brought a book or something to keep you occupied.
Because we don't want your day to be completely horrible, we'll definitely put you up and feed you for the night, so don't worry about that. Granted, we're not going to feed you until you're done with this line, although the restaurant does take it's last orders at 11:00. With any luck, you should be out of here by then.
Again, we're very sorry for the inconvenience. Because this is Japan, we seriously cannot apologize enough. For us to deliver you this news shames us more than is even expressible on paper. It makes us want to crawl under this desk and die as we're writing this. Regardless, you're still going to be waiting here for a while, so as we said before, we hope you've got a book or something.
The explanation was something along the lines of:
"Dear customer,
Unfortunately, due to a very vague reason, (something along the lines of "operational issues") your flight has been canceled. This is not because you suck, or have terrible luck, although it probably feels that way. Because you're going to be waiting here for a very, very long time, it's probably best that you try to make light of the situation. At least you're able to stay in wonderful Japan a bit longer! Hopefully, you've brought a book or something to keep you occupied.
Because we don't want your day to be completely horrible, we'll definitely put you up and feed you for the night, so don't worry about that. Granted, we're not going to feed you until you're done with this line, although the restaurant does take it's last orders at 11:00. With any luck, you should be out of here by then.
Again, we're very sorry for the inconvenience. Because this is Japan, we seriously cannot apologize enough. For us to deliver you this news shames us more than is even expressible on paper. It makes us want to crawl under this desk and die as we're writing this. Regardless, you're still going to be waiting here for a while, so as we said before, we hope you've got a book or something.
Hugs and kisses,
United ANA Airlines"
Luckily for me, I did happen to have a book, and Jillian brought along her Nintendo DS, although she was sad to say that she'd only brought her kanji practice game. (At least it was educational!) The line was moving very slowly, and was very, very long, so after about an hour or so of eavesdropping, we go to know our neighbors.
Ahead of us in line were Liam, Ann and Lena. (sp?) Lena, the one waiting for her flight, was headed back to Brooklyn, where she lives and works. She's part of a publishing company that's a branch of Fox News, but Lena assured us that her company is much more hip and liberal than its parent. She had been visiting Ann and Liam for a couple of weeks, and slowly became more and more stressed out as time went on.
Liam, a sardonic, boisterous guy from New Jersey, is part of the JET program. He was teaching in some remote area near the inland sea, and caught the shinkansen to come visit with Ann and Lena. He has a major in Asian studies, (or something like that) and is really excited about the new Super Smash Brothers game.
Ann, a cheerful young lady with a sharp wit from New York, is also part of the JET program. She is often mistaken for one of her students by her peers at the elementary school she teaches at near Himeji. (Since she is small, and Chinese, it wasn't terribly hard to believe) She created her own Asian Art and Theature (or something like that) major, and really liked Jillian's Tako-Chan, who you'll see later.
Behind us were an American guy and his Japanese wife, and his wife's parents. I only really spoke with the guy, but didn't learn his name. We spoke for a while about the Golden Compass series as a response to the Chronicles of Narnia, since I was reading The Amber Spyglass at the time. (Thanks, Charlie, for the info about the controversy!) He and his wife were trying to get back to California. Unfortunately, he was admittedly not very good at Japanese, but fortunately was in the process of trying to quit smoking. (He said, "If I can make it through this line without a cigarette, I'm pretty sure I'm set)
Jill and I chatted with the JET folks most, and about a huge variety of things, from fish in Lake Biwa and the Great Lakes, Evergreen Contracts, sex, vomit, ATM machines, line-drying clothes, Snakes on a Plane, and video games. (Much, much more, I assure you)
Around seven o'clock, it became pretty clear that there was no way Jill was going to make it back to Kobe to have dinner with Charlie and Moritani-sensei as planned, so she texted them an apology explaining the situation. At one point, we started taking shifts watching the luggage and walking around to Starbucks or other food stops, at least until they closed at 10:00. After about four hours of waiting we started to get really antsy. Liam had begun to speculate that they probably saved the best travel plans for the people in the back of the line, since likely to be the angriest. While it kind of made sense, I think he was just trying to give Lena a little hope, since she was getting pretty agitated by now. (She hadn't eaten anything at all in the six hours we had been waiting, despite the snacks the rest of us has been sharing - Jill and I were really thankful for the omiyage snacks people had been giving us upon our departure!) Finally, around 10:50, after nearly six hours of waiting around we finally made it to the counter.
Jillian and I had agreed that as we've worked customer service and had dealt with lots of angry people before, we were going to be really nice to whoever had to deal with us. The man who helped us looked really tired, as if hundred of people who had been standing around in line had been yelling at him practically all day. (Naturally, that was probably the case) The people we'd seen leaving the line all looked even more unhappy than the people waiting in line, and on more occasions than I can count we head very angry and very loud shouting coming from the direction of the counter.
This poor guy explained to us that the flight had indeed been canceled, and that the options he could give us were limited. (So much for the best plans for the last people) The soonest option would be Monday, (It was Saturday at the time) and would involve me taking a plane to Shanghai, and then transferring from there to a plane that would take me to LAX, then flying back to Seatac. Wary of having to go to yet another country, I asked what my other options were. He looked at his screen and said that the next best would probably be Tuesday, and would involve me flying to a local airport near Tokyo, taking a bus to Narita International Aiport, and then flying to Sanfrancisco from there. (Or was it Tokyo Monday, Shanghai Tuesday? Either way, it doesn't matter too much...)
I wasn't pleased, but did my best to assure the man that I knew this wasn't his fault, and that waiting around hadn't been that bad - we'd made some new friends. Jill and I took a moment to chat, and Jill jokingly said that maybe I really should stay for another three weeks after all, as we'd talked about earlier. The man overheard and said that if I wanted to change my flight for something like, three weeks later, it was definitely possible. I said something along the lines of, "Huh, really?" and he was like, "Yes, if you're able to be that flexible, it would really help us out..."
Jill and I went over the pros and cons of this plan for all of about thirty seconds. I considered the classes I'd be missing, but hastily assumed that since I'd be studying Japanese language and culture in Olympia if I went back on Monday anyway, why not learn about it in Japan? (More on this later) We'd have to buy another ferry ticket, oh, and what about all our stuff? We'd be lugging it back to Miyazaki... and what if I couldn't stay for three weeks without losing credit after all?? At least I'd already written Linda a check for January rent...
The man, still listening, said that he could give me a flexible ticket, with which I would be able to change my departure date at will with a quick phone call at no extra charge. He also said that since "Sison-san" was so gracious as to help the airline out by giving them an extra seat at such a dire time, he could definitely upgrade me to a business class seat as well.
Well, that was about all the convincing I needed, so we set the departure date tentatively for January 28th, three weeks later than originally planned. He thanked us heartily, both on the airline's behalf as well as his own - he said that he was thrilled and relieved to have spoken with such a nice couple after such a long day. He even went so far as to make sure that accommodations could be made for Jillian as well, and called ahead to the hotel to ensure that they knew Jill was coming too, despite not having a boarding pass. He also gave us extra meal tickets, then told us to rush to the restaurant as soon as possible, since the last order would be happening in less than five minutes.
(Lena, unfortunately, did not have as easy a time as we did. Although I wasn't paying too much attention, she did start to cry at one point, although Lian and Ann were doing their best to comfort her... I really hoped that they would make it to the restaurant in time, too)
Lucky for us, we made it nearly just in time, as did our friend and his wife from behind us in line. (He had argued his way into a two tickets for Narita the next morning - he was pretty proud!) The free food was great after six hours of waiting in line, although we were worried about Lena and our JET friends. They did eventually show up, though, and after some pleading with the host, were allowed to come in late and order as well. Jill exchanged cell phone info with superior Japanese technology, (it's this wireless thing where you put the phones next to each other...) and we went up to the room.
The view from our hotel room
United ANA Airlines"
Luckily for me, I did happen to have a book, and Jillian brought along her Nintendo DS, although she was sad to say that she'd only brought her kanji practice game. (At least it was educational!) The line was moving very slowly, and was very, very long, so after about an hour or so of eavesdropping, we go to know our neighbors.
Ahead of us in line were Liam, Ann and Lena. (sp?) Lena, the one waiting for her flight, was headed back to Brooklyn, where she lives and works. She's part of a publishing company that's a branch of Fox News, but Lena assured us that her company is much more hip and liberal than its parent. She had been visiting Ann and Liam for a couple of weeks, and slowly became more and more stressed out as time went on.
Liam, a sardonic, boisterous guy from New Jersey, is part of the JET program. He was teaching in some remote area near the inland sea, and caught the shinkansen to come visit with Ann and Lena. He has a major in Asian studies, (or something like that) and is really excited about the new Super Smash Brothers game.
Ann, a cheerful young lady with a sharp wit from New York, is also part of the JET program. She is often mistaken for one of her students by her peers at the elementary school she teaches at near Himeji. (Since she is small, and Chinese, it wasn't terribly hard to believe) She created her own Asian Art and Theature (or something like that) major, and really liked Jillian's Tako-Chan, who you'll see later.
Behind us were an American guy and his Japanese wife, and his wife's parents. I only really spoke with the guy, but didn't learn his name. We spoke for a while about the Golden Compass series as a response to the Chronicles of Narnia, since I was reading The Amber Spyglass at the time. (Thanks, Charlie, for the info about the controversy!) He and his wife were trying to get back to California. Unfortunately, he was admittedly not very good at Japanese, but fortunately was in the process of trying to quit smoking. (He said, "If I can make it through this line without a cigarette, I'm pretty sure I'm set)
Jill and I chatted with the JET folks most, and about a huge variety of things, from fish in Lake Biwa and the Great Lakes, Evergreen Contracts, sex, vomit, ATM machines, line-drying clothes, Snakes on a Plane, and video games. (Much, much more, I assure you)
Around seven o'clock, it became pretty clear that there was no way Jill was going to make it back to Kobe to have dinner with Charlie and Moritani-sensei as planned, so she texted them an apology explaining the situation. At one point, we started taking shifts watching the luggage and walking around to Starbucks or other food stops, at least until they closed at 10:00. After about four hours of waiting we started to get really antsy. Liam had begun to speculate that they probably saved the best travel plans for the people in the back of the line, since likely to be the angriest. While it kind of made sense, I think he was just trying to give Lena a little hope, since she was getting pretty agitated by now. (She hadn't eaten anything at all in the six hours we had been waiting, despite the snacks the rest of us has been sharing - Jill and I were really thankful for the omiyage snacks people had been giving us upon our departure!) Finally, around 10:50, after nearly six hours of waiting around we finally made it to the counter.
Jillian and I had agreed that as we've worked customer service and had dealt with lots of angry people before, we were going to be really nice to whoever had to deal with us. The man who helped us looked really tired, as if hundred of people who had been standing around in line had been yelling at him practically all day. (Naturally, that was probably the case) The people we'd seen leaving the line all looked even more unhappy than the people waiting in line, and on more occasions than I can count we head very angry and very loud shouting coming from the direction of the counter.
This poor guy explained to us that the flight had indeed been canceled, and that the options he could give us were limited. (So much for the best plans for the last people) The soonest option would be Monday, (It was Saturday at the time) and would involve me taking a plane to Shanghai, and then transferring from there to a plane that would take me to LAX, then flying back to Seatac. Wary of having to go to yet another country, I asked what my other options were. He looked at his screen and said that the next best would probably be Tuesday, and would involve me flying to a local airport near Tokyo, taking a bus to Narita International Aiport, and then flying to Sanfrancisco from there. (Or was it Tokyo Monday, Shanghai Tuesday? Either way, it doesn't matter too much...)
I wasn't pleased, but did my best to assure the man that I knew this wasn't his fault, and that waiting around hadn't been that bad - we'd made some new friends. Jill and I took a moment to chat, and Jill jokingly said that maybe I really should stay for another three weeks after all, as we'd talked about earlier. The man overheard and said that if I wanted to change my flight for something like, three weeks later, it was definitely possible. I said something along the lines of, "Huh, really?" and he was like, "Yes, if you're able to be that flexible, it would really help us out..."
Jill and I went over the pros and cons of this plan for all of about thirty seconds. I considered the classes I'd be missing, but hastily assumed that since I'd be studying Japanese language and culture in Olympia if I went back on Monday anyway, why not learn about it in Japan? (More on this later) We'd have to buy another ferry ticket, oh, and what about all our stuff? We'd be lugging it back to Miyazaki... and what if I couldn't stay for three weeks without losing credit after all?? At least I'd already written Linda a check for January rent...
The man, still listening, said that he could give me a flexible ticket, with which I would be able to change my departure date at will with a quick phone call at no extra charge. He also said that since "Sison-san" was so gracious as to help the airline out by giving them an extra seat at such a dire time, he could definitely upgrade me to a business class seat as well.
Well, that was about all the convincing I needed, so we set the departure date tentatively for January 28th, three weeks later than originally planned. He thanked us heartily, both on the airline's behalf as well as his own - he said that he was thrilled and relieved to have spoken with such a nice couple after such a long day. He even went so far as to make sure that accommodations could be made for Jillian as well, and called ahead to the hotel to ensure that they knew Jill was coming too, despite not having a boarding pass. He also gave us extra meal tickets, then told us to rush to the restaurant as soon as possible, since the last order would be happening in less than five minutes.
(Lena, unfortunately, did not have as easy a time as we did. Although I wasn't paying too much attention, she did start to cry at one point, although Lian and Ann were doing their best to comfort her... I really hoped that they would make it to the restaurant in time, too)
Lucky for us, we made it nearly just in time, as did our friend and his wife from behind us in line. (He had argued his way into a two tickets for Narita the next morning - he was pretty proud!) The free food was great after six hours of waiting in line, although we were worried about Lena and our JET friends. They did eventually show up, though, and after some pleading with the host, were allowed to come in late and order as well. Jill exchanged cell phone info with superior Japanese technology, (it's this wireless thing where you put the phones next to each other...) and we went up to the room.
The view from our hotel room
The hotel room itself, again, free, was spectacular. I'd gone to drop our stuff off at the front desk before rushing to the restaurant, and the check-in desk had had our bags brought up to the room. It was a big room, with two beds, and more space than we knew what to do with. That wasn't much of a problem, though, since we pretty much immediately went to sleep - it had been a really long day, despite having just waiting around for most of it.
Our stuffed friends Small Lily, Lilac, ChisaNeko to OkiNeko, Big Lily, and Tako-Chan
Our stuffed friends Small Lily, Lilac, ChisaNeko to OkiNeko, Big Lily, and Tako-Chan
Oh! One more cool thing about this hotel I wanted to add in before I finish this post - they had both The New Testament in Japanese and The Teachings of Buddha in English in the hotel room. Charlie had mentioned that he'd seen a Buddhist text in a hotel room in Japan before, but this was the first time I'd seen it in person! (The hotel we'd stayed at in Kobe, as well as the one in Rokko Island, had neither) A little random, sure, but still cool! Having learned a lot about the graduation assimilation and development of Buddhism in Japan during Fall Quarter, it was pretty neat to see the fruits of the centuries of sowing in such an unexpected place.
Holy Texts, Hurrah!
Well, that's about it for now. This one turned out way longer than I thought it would. Maybe it helps convey how really really long it felt like to wait in the airport, though! At the end of the day, I was so thrilled, shocked, and in such a state of disbelief that sleeping was difficult despite how tired I was. I was supposed to be somewhere over the Pacific ocean, and here I was, Jill snoozing beside me, about to stay in Japan double the time as originally planned. Somehow I knew that things were going to be so simple, though. I called home with the free phone call the airline had also provided me, and Jill e-mailed her parents with her phone explaining what had happened as best she could. The academic scramble would come later, I knew, although I wasn't sure yet how my faculty would take my missing three weeks of class. Also, I pretty much out of money, since I'd only budgeted for a three-week stay, and had almost not even made that...
Ah, well, it's all worked out for the most part. This concludes the prequel, I think. From here on out, it's just Miyazaki stuff and refections, I think. I don't know. I guess we'll just see!
Ah, well, it's all worked out for the most part. This concludes the prequel, I think. From here on out, it's just Miyazaki stuff and refections, I think. I don't know. I guess we'll just see!
1 comment:
haha dude! that Orange book on the teaching of Buddha was in the hotel I stayed at the base of Mt. Fuji! I got a huge laugh out of it and theres a picture to prove it.
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