Live to fly, fly to live, the latter is me. I fly international more than I would like to, but sometimes the views make it a bit easier.
I'm having to make my bimonthly flight back to Japan in 2 days. I passed my covid test today, so I am green lit to fly. It's always extremely stressful to have to take a freaking test 72hrs before you leave. If you fail it, then you either have to try again or re-schedule. Knock on wood, but I haven't failed one after taking almost 20!
One of the nice things about flying during the pandemic was the empty planes.
It was something I hadn't seen since the early 2000's. You get your row or you can pick another row to lay down in and sleep. It was so nice. Now that Japan has opened the planes are totally packed.
A cool new feature I've noticed are the forward facing cameras on the plane. You can tune into it when taking off and landing. This was the view from the camera when landing in Haneda, Tokyo.
The flight from LA to Tokyo is 11-12hrs. Sometimes it goes by fast, often times it doesn't especially when turbulence hits. That's when a window seat and these views come in handy.
I used to drink a few beers or glasses of wine to cope, but I can't do that anymore as it destroys me when I arrive at my destination. So now the views or a good movie get me through the bumps.
This is the view flying into Narita over Japan's west coast.
I usually fly into Haneda because you land almost right into the middle of the city. Getting home or into Tokyo is much easier and faster than going through Narita. However, tickets into Narita can sometimes be several hundred dollars cheaper so if that is the case I will fly to Narita.
I'll leave you with a view from a terminal in Haneda. It faces Mt. Fuji and in the evening, during sunsets, it's pretty amazing.
Safe travels where ever you are going these holidays. Thanks for reading!