Sorry for the delay in posting this first blog in my rebooted series, "Road To Retirement Detour: Let's Go To Tokyo." The logistics of moving to a foreign land albeit temporarily, with a very foreign language and all that goes with that, kind of got in the way...
It all started about 10 months ago on the heels of our last adventure, shortly after Paul and I moved into our new home in Bluffton, SC. Paul's CEO approached him about leading a business acquisition and after finalizing the sale, being "boots on the ground" for the first six months while he manages the integration. The interesting part was those "boots" would be on Tokyo soil. When Paul approached me about the opportunity, I was immediately in. When else would we have such a fantastic chance to explore Tokyo, greater Japan, and other parts of Asia? We immediately started compiling our list of potential trips: Kyoto, Osaka, and Okinawa in Japan, Bangkok/Phuket, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Singapore, Vietnam, and maybe - just maybe - we'll end it all with a vacation in Australia and New Zealand. It's good to have a dream, right? :)
The deal closed at the end of November. We were told to enjoy the holidays at home and arrange to depart right after the first of the year. So right after Christmas, the packing process began - something we had many months to plan for and a great deal of experience in, having lived the better part of 2022 out of suitcases as we looked for our pre-retirement home.
We decided that a six month stay, in weather that would include winter, spring and summer temps, required no more than one extra large suitcase, one travel suitcase, one backpack and one computer/electronics bag, each. We are used to seeing one another in the same clothes day in and day out thanks to our prior journey, and strangers, after all, will have no clue how limited our abilities are when it comes to fashion. (I can hear Paul's friends laughing out loud right now...)
Serious prep then commenced. We began amassing the things we would prefer not to live without - you know, our favorite toiletries, over-the-counter meds and supplements, a six month supply of prescriptions, and various gadgets - electronic, digital, etc. We resisted the temptation to pack some of our favorite food items, like Paul's beloved Skippy Super Crunch Peanut Butter and Cheez-Its - and my mortal weakness: Albanese gummy bears. This is an opportunity to rid ourselves of those delicious, but not necessarily healthy, dietary provisions - for six months anyway. However, we did make sure to take care of medical visits and procedures before we hopped on the plane - including a trip to Charleston to get the required immunizations for the places we hope to visit.
By the time January 5th rolled around, we were ready to go. The only hiccup we experienced with regard to our flights was in Savannah, when the Delta agent could not process our tickets because we had a return date scheduled for 6/30 - something we were advised to do by the travel consulting firm Paul's company contracted with. Immigration requirements for a travel visa only allow for a 90-day stay. Fortunately, the agent was able to change our return date to 4/4 and could then process our tickets. I guess that consulting firm will now have to figure out how to extend our stay when the time comes.
Anyway, the 15 hour non-stop flight from Atlanta to Haneda airport in Tokyo wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. We paid for an upgrade to comfort class which made all the difference. More room. More food and drink. More creature comforts. A two hour nap, a half a book, and three movies later, we arrived in Japan! Our adventure has begun.
In my next blog, I'll let you in on what we have encountered during our first week - getting adjusted to our apartment, navigating the grocery store, figuring out the metro system and how to pay for it, getting our iPhones to work, taking our chances on menu items in restaurants having no idea what we are ordering, etc. Stay tuned.
Until next time, sayonara!
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