2025 American Travels No.02

Well then, here I go. To America.

I worked until the day before my departure. You smart people out there should not plan a trip like this, ignoring your fatigue. Take the day before off, too. I had been blabbing to everyone around me, saying things like, 'Heh heh, I'm going to America this weekend,' so I assumed everyone already knew. The schedule was shared, too. But I hadn't submitted the crucial paid leave request. It's paperwork that can be handled after the fact, but unless it's due to a sudden illness, the rule is to submit it in advance.For paid leave between July and mid-September, including the Obon holiday, everyone at work knows roughly when each other will be taking their summer vacation by mid-June. Communication. Since it's a long vacation for travel, they could have just let me submit it early, but there's this thing where 'paid leave requests are only accepted from one week before the vacation.' So I was waiting to submit it. Why is it like this? They said things like, 'If you submit it too early, I'll forget about it.' Why do I have to deal with the consequences of your forgetfulness?Well, I submitted it four days before departure, so that should be fine.

I finished work right at closing time and sped home. My junior colleague sent me off with a 'Have a safe trip.' It made me happy. I sped off in Sura-ko (my beloved car) and headed to my parents' house.Why my parents' house? Because I asked my mother to drive me to the nearest JR station. It's a pain to lug around a huge suitcase before and after getting on trains or the Shinkansen. I could have taken a taxi, but I asked my mother. Thank you.Around the time I crossed the river in Sura-ko, I got a LINE message from my mother: 'We're having dinner at home, so please buy some convenience store sweets.' Since it's the eve of my glorious summer vacation, let's go all out. I bought a pack of 10 mini cream puffs and some zenzai (sweet red bean soup) and headed to my parents' house. When I arrived, the house was empty. They were probably out walking the Shiba Inu, so I contacted them and joined them on their walk.The Shiba Inu didn't notice my sister's return. Our Shiba Inu loves people, so he usually gives us a passionate welcome when we come home, but that didn't happen this time. Perhaps he was thinking about his dinner after the walk and didn't have the energy to spare for me.We enjoyed dinner while talking about work, the itinerary from tomorrow onwards, and what immigration is like. I remember immigration being quite strict when I went to America last year. Since it was my first trip abroad outside of a school trip and I was inexperienced, I had prepared answers for questions I thought I might be asked this time. Now, I just have to trust that my ears will be able to catch what they say.By the way, I have an arrangement to meet up with my younger brother at Haneda Airport. Since Rope currently lives in the Kanto region.

I need to show that I have no intention of living in America and that I didn't come to earn money. In fact, it's just for sightseeing, and I've already booked my return flight. I'm fully intending to return to Japan. I explained that that's what immigration is for, but he still seems anxious.

That's what we were saying on the call.My brother and I both had an early morning, so we ended the call early and went to sleep. By the way, the Shiba Inu was terrified of the fireworks and wanted to come into the living room. I wonder if he slept well.

Day 1 of the trip. I woke up early to catch the first train. I ended up waking my mother up early too, even though it was her day off. I'm really sorry.When I went to say 'I'm off' to the Shiba Inu, guess what. He was a 'dere-Shiba' (affectionate Shiba).

Usually, no matter how much I pet him, he won't let me touch his belly, but on this day, he rolled over immediately. Why only on a day like this!! I rubbed his belly vigorously and left.

I parted ways with my mother at the nearest station and got on the train. As I wrote in the previous article, my suitcase on the way there is very light, so it's not too much of a hassle to handle. It's just bulky.I transferred from the train to the Shinkansen to Shinagawa. Since I had some time, I used my Pomera on the Shinkansen. I also updated my story. I had decided to upload everything about my trip to Instagram.

Arrived at Shinagawa. I took the Keikyu Main Line to Haneda Terminal 3. Even though travelers with large suitcases are noticeable on the airport line, it seems there are many commuters and students on the weekday morning train. It was quite crowded, and having two suitcases made me feel a bit cramped. Actually, not at all; I was looking sharp with my sunglasses and earphones. I stopped caring about other people's gazes. Now, I arrived at Terminal 3. I called my brother. He had arrived at the airport before me.

Haneda Airport has the 3rd floor for departures and the 2nd floor for arrivals.After waiting a while, I met up with my brother. We both checked in and dropped off our luggage. We had a bit of trouble with this check-in, so I'm going to write about it!

For some reason, facial recognition, which I don't remember doing last year, was incorporated into the process. The staff said, 'Once your facial recognition is registered, you can skip showing your passport from here on out.' I didn't really feel the convenience.However, it was built into the process like a conveyor belt, and I couldn't refuse it.Checked in at the terminal. Scanned my passport, entered my name and address of stay, and then my boarding pass and baggage tag were issued...That's where the problem occurred. Only my brother's boarding pass, who I checked in with as a companion, wasn't printed. Even though the long receipt-like tag for baggage drop-off was issued. Why?You can't drop off your luggage without a boarding pass. Obviously. It seems the baggage drop-off procedure at Haneda Airport has recently been automated, allowing travelers to operate the terminal themselves from check-in to drop-off without staff. But that's only if you have a boarding pass. We had a lot of trouble. Damn it, I want to rely on people for everything from the start. Automation? I didn't feel any convenience, so I sincerely wish they would stop it.In the end, I explained the situation to the staff member who was in the check-in line.

The staff member took the passport and typed away on the computer. I don't know what happened, but they issued the boarding pass. I didn't get an explanation as to whether we made a mistake during the initial check-in. They must have been busy, but honestly, I wanted to hear what the situation was.Anyway, we managed to drop off our suitcases for both of us. I also contacted my father in America here. Since we still had time, we decided to enjoy one last Japanese meal. We ended up at Yoshinoya. The pork miso soup was delicious.

I regretted only buying souvenirs in America during last year's trip, so this time I'm buying some at Haneda Airport as well. I'm packing Haneda-exclusive snacks and the like into a cardboard box and shipping it to my parents' house via Kuroneko.

With that done and the time being right, I headed to the departure gate with Rope.

I had already told Rope about items not allowed in carry-on luggage and about the security check, but it seemed like it finally hit home now that it was right in front of us.I feel like this varies depending on the airport. Some airports instruct you to take your laptop and smartphone out of your bag, while others are fine with you just plopping the whole bag into a tray. In my personal impression, I feel like JFK was the strictest. At Haneda, I wasn't told to take out my computer.After finishing the security check and tightening my belt, I proceeded to the departure procedures. At Haneda, I just had to hold my passport over a machine similar to the check-in terminals. I feel like I was made to line up at a counter with staff last year, so this part of the process might have become smoother thanks to facial recognition registration.

Once you pass through departure, you're in the duty-free shop area. Brand-name stores that I usually have no connection with are lined up.

I found the boarding gate right away. There aren't that many, so it's easy to find. Last year, we didn't board the plane directly from the gate but had to take a bus within the airport, so this was a gate I was using for the first time too.Many passengers were already sitting on the benches waiting for boarding to begin. I secured some remaining empty seats at the end and prepared for the long flight. It was time to put last year's lessons to use.I had been extremely cold up in the air, so this year I brought one long-sleeved T-shirt and one jacket. Plus, I decided on fluffy socks that I could layer. I prepared these so I could take them out immediately.I downloaded a few movies on Prime Video. I wanted entertainment that I could watch happily with a blank mind. Ocean's 8 is perfect for that. I put my USB and Type-C cables and earphones in my pocket, and I was done. Since I still had a little more room, I even stood by a paperback book. It's Kotaro Isaka's 'The Merry Gang Turns the Earth.' I love it.

Sure enough, boarding began. Rope and I were quite late in the boarding order. As you know, passengers in first class board the plane first. I thought about buying some tea at a vending machine, but I ran out of time. My boarding group number was called, so I went over quietly.Where is the romance?