One last early morning and trip to the konbini, where we picked up some breakfast and lunch items:
Then we were on our way to the airport that we
thought would put us on our flight back home. However, as one of our students put it, "We were done with Japan, but Japan was not done with us!"
When we reached the Nagoya airport and tried to check into our flight from Nagoya to Tokyo, we were told that it was six hours delayed, and we would never make the Tokyo to San Francisco connection. Thinking fast, Hurley Sensei calculated that we could make the Tokyo flight, just maybe, if we quickly caught a series of trains taking us from Nagoya to Tokyo instead.
Thus at 10:00 AM we began our long series of train connections, sometimes making it with only a few minutes to spare. The highlight was a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji on the Nagoya Station to Tokyo JR train:
At 2:45 PM, we arrived at the Tokyo airport, ran up the stairs and asked to check into our flight, which was scheduled to leave at 3:30 PM. The airport staff was so kind and efficient that we were able to check in our bags in just a few minutes; and good luck must have been with us, because there were no lines at security or at immigration. When we ran onto the plane, everyone was already seated and ready go to; as soon as we sat down, the door closed.
Hurray! Hurley Sensei was very proud of the group for focusing and making that fast, difficult 5-hour train ride with the multiple tight connections. We were so happy to be on our original flight and not waiting in the Tokyo airport.
So, happy and tired, we made it home.
