Return to Japan

 After a hiatus of 2.5 years I was looking forward to a return to Japan.  On my last trip there I was still being confined to my hotel room and unable to socialise but this time would be different and for the first time I was actually in Narita during the flowering of the Cherry Blossoms - something I had previously been too junior to make happen!  

Sign on in Brisbane involved meeting an old mate, and a new one, followed by mandatory caffeine intake and flight planning.  The weather was looking benign across most of southern and mid Japan with no great cause for concern, nonetheless some fuel was added for contingencies and we departed. 

Arrival into Narita was prolonged and uneconomical as we were descended very early, even by Narita standards, and thus ate into our contingency fuel. Check in to the hotel, across the town square for gyoza and ramen and some other mystery dishes for dinner (passed on the horse meat) washed down by a cleansing ale and we were fed and watered.  It was early so we went down a couple of doors to a stylish bar where I discovered a new favorite beer - Yebisu Black - definitely a cool/cold weather beer.  A couple of those and good conversation later and I called it a night. 

The next day was overcast but only a brief shower in the afternoon so I took the opportunity to photograph the trees and a few random thing, some ramen and gyoza for lunch and back to my room for a nap. 

Something tells me they don't have many high speed police chases in Narita.