welcome to tokyo

it`s so peaceful at 40000 feet in a way. the sky is dark blue and you can see the moon in the middle of the day, and the huge wings and engines out my window just appear to be hanging in space, with some cloudscape gnely rolling by underneath. oh there`s papua new guinea. and more ocean...

a song by blackalicious comes into my mind for some reason　"i`m surrounded, I am open...I can think of nothing heavier than an aeroplane/ i can think of nothing less likely to fly..." scrap that one. anyone got any buddy holly?

japanese tv shows, japanese flight attendents, japanese announcements. holy shit i am actually going. can i do this? can i just shamelessly wander around by myself in other countries where i can`t even read the signs on the toilet door or order any food? hmm...food. i`d been dreaming of good airline food on my JAL flight - sushi, noodles, asahi. dreaming in vain. i`m afraid the chicken penne and the roast beef roll just didn`t cut it. ahh the nerves are back. where descending into to tokyo and i get a mild case of the fear which doesn`t really subside when the plane lands. we taxi around the place for an eternity and just when i think the pilot might be doing us a huge favour and driving us into town. clunk. time to get off. i check to see if the little knot is still in my belly and i`m a little dissapointed to see that it is. as we disembark the little knot keeps holding on for love or money and in to the terminal we go, a little shakey as i always am when i get off those big metal tubes not really meant to fly. i start to feel the knot taking hold when i see a big sign just down the hall.

"welcome to japan"

hey... the knot`s gone. so i walk under the sign and up the hall, grinning like an idiot.