Death Flight 2001

A bit past it's time

After 10 and a half hours on Korean Air Flight #001, we finally arrived at Narita Airport and ventured into a hot, sticky realm reeking with adventure and anticipation. This was Japan. Nothing at all like the time I arrived in Okinawa over 9 years ago; this time around I was venturing here on my own with no help at all from all the nice assistance from the US military. As my foot taouched the ground, I attained a goal I had been working toward for more than 4 years.

As it is with all airports, I was still insulated with other foriegners and English speaking airport personnell from the 'real' Japan at this point. We hopped the Skyliner express train at the airport and headed for Saitama-ken. As the train speeded through the far outskirts of Tokyo in Chiba-ken, I began to notice my surroundings and the reality of being in Japan began to sink in. From the train, my eyes darted from the houses to stores to people to cars; my brain was engourged with all the stimuli. What an incredible experience!

About 45 minutes later, we met up with the Yamanote-sen, changed trains, and endeavored into the heart of Tokyo.