Part #1 - The Long Flight
We all started very optimistic and excited. We were up at 5am ready to pack ourselves up to get to the airport. At 6am we were in the car on our way for our long flight to Japan. We were starting to feel the anxiety of flying, but stayed in high spirits.
We arrived 3 hours before departure (as is suggested with our carrier) and were lucky to be the very first through baggage check for the flight, and there were no lines for customs and security so we ended up sitting in the lobby for just over 2 and a half hours (the flight was also delayed!)
RainbowBoy (7) and BubblesTheCat (8) did really well waiting, however they were restless. We were so relieved to finally be getting onto the plane. The flight was uneventful but the children didn't fly so well. They were hard to keep occupied, even with 3DS, iPads, Books, Games and the in flight entertainment. I felt the 9 hours went exceptionally slow. BubblesTheCat was so desperate for entertainment that she ended up watching a documentary on the animals in Chernobyl.
FINALLY we landed! It was SO FREAKING COLD! We expected cold, but you have to remember we came from a 28°C to 8°C. We landed at Narita International 3. We had a very convuluted plan to get to our hotel. Because we landed at 6:30pm the free bus shuttles from the Hilton (and all Disney hotels) stop! So to get there we had to catch a limosine bus from Narita to Oriental Hotel, then taxi from Oriental to Hilton. The bus we were catching was the very last one, so we had to make sure we made it on time. We had 1 hour to get through customs, security, baggage and get to the ticket station, then to the bus. In that time I foolishly thought I would be able to exchange our rail passes. I was very wrong. So we made the long walk to Terminal 2 (not realising there was a free shuttle bus between the 2!) Tried frantically to figure out where the rail pass exchange counter was, by the time I got there it was closed, and the line for the JR was huge. I waited with still 20 minutes until bus arrive. I managed to get to the counter at 15 minutes to go, when the clerk told me we would need more time, and we couldn't exchange at this time. We would have to travel to Tokyo station. I was so upset with myself for being so foolish, but there was nothing to be done. I had already sent the family to the bus stop so I ran back to them in time for the bus to arrive. It was a disappointing start to the holiday, and a bit of a stressful start to our holiday. Thankfully the trip to the Oriental was uneventful if not long, and obtaining a taxi was quite easy. I was actually quite proud of my Japanese skills getting me as far as I had already. I'm no where near fluent, but I did end up knowing enough basic syntax to get us all by.
Arriving at the Hilton was MAGIC! We've never been to a Hilton before and they were amazingly polite and helpful. I love having bell hops, a break from lugging the luggage! I signed up to Hilton Honours and so glad that we did. We had a priority line for check in, and they allowed us late check out at 3pm! Woo! Whilst I was checking in, this photo explains everything that we had gone through....
Our room was in the Happy Magic floor, unfortunately the children were so exhausted and tired that the awe of the room was lost on them. I ventured down to the convenience store (which by the way, was AWESOME!) We indulged in some onigiri, soboro bento and milk pudding. I couldn't wait to get Suntori peach alcohol. I lived off this stuff for the 3 weeks haha!
We slept quite soundly, even though the beds were much more hard than we are used to. Tomorrow was a big day!
