okey dokey. i'm bored again waiting for my fukuoka flight..
well, the Narita airport was certainly not what i was expected. when i think of the term international airport, i think of the scale of Minneapolis or Chicago, where there are tons of shops within. Minneapolis is like a Mall. Narita, on the other hand, basically treats itself as a conduit. Connecting flights from across the globe and internally within its country as well. That's it..
There are little food stands here and there, but they are all privately owned. There's no 'mcdonalds', and there's no convience store chain. I mean, overall, i know that Japan specializes far more in 'mom and pop' type organizations as we would see it, but i figured that some of the bigger chains would sink their roots into the airport.
Unfortunately because of the small scale airport business ventures, i have been unable to find my DS dictionary game thingy. Oh well.. i'm sure i'll be able to pick it up tomorrow somewhere.
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Let's see here.. for those of you coming over here next week and flying through Narita airport, i thought i'd let you in on two big things that i wasn't expecting at all, but really weren't a big deal.
1) The airport is divided between international flights and domestic flights. All internation flights arrive and depart from Terminal 1, whereas domestic flights use Terminal 2. Both terminals are not connected at all, and you will need to take the shutter bus from one Terminal to the other. This really isn't a big deal, since the shuttle bus drives back and forth between the terminals every 8 minutes.
2) All checked baggage must pass through customs. At the beginning of the day, the bording pass guy said that my baggage was checked and would arrive at Fukuoka automatically. Well, this was not what happened because the Japanese government wants to check everything that comes through the airport. Therefore, most likely, you'll need to actually pick up your luggage from the Narita airport, go through customs, and then re-check your baggage in on your flight over to Fukuoka.
Unfortunately for me, i took the first advice i was given and left my baggage back at Terminal 1 after i had already gone to Terminal 2. So.. I had to go back to the first terminal, get my stuff, and then come back to Terminal 2. Luckily, the girl who was checking me in for my Fukuoka flight was incredibly nice ^_^.
3) I suppose one more thing that i didn't know was coming, is a customs form they give you on your long flight to Japan. You must fill this thing out to give to Immigration in order to receive your passport stamp for your stay in japan.. It takes a minute to fill out. super easy
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Anyways, nothing can really prepare you for how annoying your 12-13 hour flight will be. It's horrible. Well, at least with American Airlines' cheapest seat. I suppose First Class would definately be a step up. But it's still so damn long, and that's only half of your travel time for that day. Get yourself a GOOD DS game you can waste countless hours on, and then while you are in airports, find some way to recharge it.
I don't know what i'm going to do on my way back, but i'm sure as hell going to find that USB DS charger.
Man... i really can't think of anything that would've made that flight better. You can't get comfortable at all. Maybe i should stop buying airfair for as cheap as possible.
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Ok... the Fukuoka airport is MUCH more what i was expected from an international airport. Huge spaces and plenty of shops ^_^
My good SPAMM pal, #five (or Nathan), was there waiting for me by the baggage claim, so i was in good hands.
Check out the baggage claim sticker they put on the luggage:
