Pit Stop in Tokyo

Many of you may have already heard of Sam's most prized accomplishment. Thanks to his persistence and a forgotten zero on Thai Airways' website, he booked us business class tickets from Bangkok > Tokyo > Chicago for our return to the USA. He also cleverly scheduled it so that we had 20 hours to run around Tokyo between flights.

We arrived at the Bangkok airport by 5am and felt an unbelievable sense of relief after successfully exiting Thai immigration. Everything was made immeasurably more wonderful when we got into the business class lounge and found that free massages came with the whole deal. We indulged perhaps a bit too long in the spa and ended up having to run to our gate to make the flight!

Cheers to making the flight!

On board, we were giddy over all the treats available to us and buckled into our Airbus A380 upper level seats and enjoyed the sensation of floating through the sky. You can hardly feel a thing in that huge plane; it was so smooth.

Getting cozy.

Almost to Tokyo!

I loved watching the tail camera during the flight.

We arrived in Tokyo around 4pm, left our large luggage at the airport and bought train tickets into the city. We walked around, found some delicious katsu curry at a diner-like fast food place in an alley. Then we met up with our friend Jesse who used to play hockey with Sam in Bangkok but moved to Tokyo last year. He took us to a bar where we played darts and then we did what all people must do when visiting Japan: went to karaoke. After a great night out with Jesse, he had to get home to rest before work the next day. Sam and I, however, had the whole night ahead of us as we had planned to stay up through the night in order to get the most out of our limited time in Tokyo.

Notice they are open until 29:00hrs aka 5am.

Luckily, Tokyo is known for its nightlife. Because the subway closes at midnight and opens at 5am, many people will go out after work and just stay out until the subway opens again in the morning. One way of keeping busy during those hours is to book a karaoke room where they have packages available for the 12-5am slot. Sam and I did just that and sang our hearts out in a tiny box of a room with probably 100 other people in the building doing the same and some who were simply sleeping amongst the noise of wannabe superstars.

Sam rockin' out

When 4:45am rolled around, we gathered our things (and mustered up some more energy) and made our way to the train. Amongst our companions were several zombies from the night before, older folks who seemed accustomed to the early morning routine and men in short-sleeved white button down shirts on their way to work.

We made our way to the Tsukiji Fish Market - where the famous blue fin tunas are auctioned off for thousands of dollars. Luckily for us, Sam asked for help from a man who apparently was very familiar with the market. This man guided us through the whole complex, telling the guards who stopped us that it was okay, we were with him and eventually led us to the room where the tuna are kept. It was quite an amazing scene in the fish market and despite the smells, it was exciting to be amid the buzz of this famous place.

Checking out the tunas.

After a quick peek at the fish, our friend showed us out of the market while telling us about the Paul McCartney concert he'd attended the night before. He also showed us one of the sushi places nearby where a 50-person queue had already formed (it was 6am). He suggested that the one next door was just as good and we wouldn't have to wait. So we said our goodbyes and sat down in the tiny restaurant which had just enough space for two chefs behind the counter and ten people to sit around it.

Our sweet guide at the market

Sushi isn't my favorite meal, but I couldn't pass up what will likely be the best sushi I'll ever have in my life, even if it was six in the morning. The whole experience of being in the restaurant with its fast-paced sushi chefs combined with the sleep-deprived, coffee-fueled state of mind I was in made for a whirlwind of a meal.

A few of the pieces from the chef's menu.

After finishing up our breakfast sushi, we walked back to the train station and had 5 minutes to spare before our train arrived. We boarded and recounted the crazy few hours we had just spent. By the time we arrived in the airport lounge, I was running on empty. Luckily, we were sitting in the lap of luxury and I made use of the napping room while Sam showered. We then boarded the plane for the final 14-hour leg of our journey back home with champagne and foie gras at hand.