No one is quite prepared for our crazy amount of luggage and people keep offering to check an extra piece for free. It does look like a lot lumped together, but it's three carry on pieces for three people, plus two laptops! It's perfectly reasonable! But add to that a stroller and a car seat and it looks pretty bad.
The stroller became an issue for us with Singapore Airlines. In American flights, you leave the stroller at the door of the plane, and it's waiting outside the door when you arrive which is really important when you connecting flights to make with a baby. I think SA forget the point of checking it at the door, and you have to either pick it up at baggage claim (as we did in Japan) or wait for ages as they go dig it out from cargo all plastic wrapped while you have about 5 minutes to make it to the other side of the airport and through any kind of customs (as we experienced in Singapore).
Singapore Airlines flights are nice! Roomy seats, all seats have on demand movie/TV choices of around 98 channels (yikes), and they have an unbelievable amount of meal options (if you order in advance) including a no carb meal which is great for me. Only thing is, now I'm spending my twelve-hour flight watching three movies (a feat when you have a crying baby to manage) instead of reading my Tokyo and Japan travel books that I absolutely had to make us late to the airport for so that I could buy them & read them on the plane. Also, not sure where they got their idea of what is a carb, but my meal includes cooked carrots, pineapples & melon, and melba toast!
Arriving in Tokyo
There is a noticeable difference in our treatment by Singapore Airline reps and Japanese airport employees. Ok, SA reps were nice. They rebooked our flights, no questions asked, even though it was George's fault that I didn't have my passport, and they were generally very polite, but there were several times when I asked a question and the rep would say "just one second" and would walk away and never come back! Also, I got skipped twice by the drink/snack cart! The Japanese people as a whole were the absolute most delightfully kind, helpful, and polite people I think I have ever met! And boy do they love Regin! Everyone, men and women, especially men, flirted with Regin at every opportunity. Subways, elevators, sidewalks, waiting in line, everybody stopped and said hello to our boy.
We have all sorts of hopes for all that we will expeience in our short time in Tokyo, but for now, all we have time for is the bus from the airport to our hotel (which is surprisingly long) and to go to sleep. It's been a loooooooong day. On the way to the hotel, we passed this street. Are we staying in the world of Blade Runner or what?
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