Well, let me tell you, being that excited makes for a very long flight. We weren't as enthusiastic to be on the plane 4 hours later, realizing we were only halfway through the first of two flights. I think the photo is a good indicator of how we felt in those cramped little seats...
We did eventually make, and boy howdy was Japan amazing! We landed at Nartia International Airport which is in the American equivilant of a suburb of Tokyo, and then we had to transfer to Haneda International Airport which was just over an hour away located on the edge of the city right on the water. It was a super fun ride.
We had an 8 hour layover in Tokyo giving us approximately 3.5 hours to explore the city. We decided to make our way to Tokyo Tower, which is the tallest structure in Japan. Getting there was more fun the the tower itself, I think. We had to navigate the MTR (metro system) and then take a 20 minute walk to it. Along the way we saw unexpected, often hidden, always beautiful aspects of the city that we most definitely stopped to appreciate.
The view from the tower was crazy! From the observation room thingy you could see all the way to Mt. Fuji and Tokyo Disneyland (on good days). It was too smoggy/foggy to see that far though, so I paid attention to what I could see and took time to think about the expansiveness of the city and how it still supports aspects of traditional Japan even though it's one of the most modern places on earth.
After that it was back on the plane for a 4 hour flight to Hong Kong. How did we survive claustrophobic economy seating after such a long day? Well, we didn't. WE GOT BUMPED TO BUSINESS CLASS! Booyah!! It was TO DIE FOR! Huge seats with foot rests that reclined super far back, acres of leg room, even the blankets and pillows were nicer. AH! I just wanted to spend the night right there...
We eventually did make it to Hong Kong. Our taxi ride was an interesting one. The city was so captivating. It's massive and everywhere you look there are enormous sky scrapers. They were really very pretty, all lit up and hazy look in the rain (torrential down poor welcome us to the city). I was definitely happy to finally be in Hong Kong after months of working and waiting.
The happiness that filled my body as we pulled up to the hotel was indescribable. After 30 hours of travel, I don't think I could have kept going. Believe me when I say the first and only thing we did upon our arrival to the Stanford Hotel in Mong Kong was shower and go to bed (besides record the following video, of course).
SIDE NOTE: If you want to see the all of the photos from day one, click here or visit my Facebook page!





