Letter 59
Wednesday 09.10.13 64,86 km
It's time for goobyes. Today I'll go to Narita to be as close to the airport
as possible, before I
fly back tomorrow.
There has been a new typhoon coming up, and it threatened to stop me from
leaving. But yesterday it
had moved quicker as expected, but no doubt with rain and wind in its tail. But
the latest is, that
it takes a route west of Japan and therefore only gives rain on the western
coasts. So the wheather
should be fine today.
But back to the goodbyes. It seems a little like a paradox, but it's THEM that
thanks ME for having
been a guest in their home, and that is some way typical japanese. But where all
the thanks seems
exaggerated in shops and at road constructions, it doesn't seem unnatural here.
I on my side thank
them for having given me a home while I've been in Japan, for that's how I've
felt it.
But duty calls and first Nori and then his mother leaves to go working, while I
stay with father.
I upload some letters and pack and 11.30 I wave goodbye for the last time and
head for Narita.
I don't get the rain from the typhoon, but the wind... It almost blows me off
the road several times
on the first part. Mostly headwind. It's very unpleasant on the narrow road on
the other side of the
river. On some bridges I have to stop and wait for the line of cars to pass, but
later a sidewalk
starts, and I use it even it's very poor. For long straight parts there's
suddenly tail wind.
I get to Narita and find the station, T.I. and at last my hostel, which I booked
yesterday. Then I
go to check the road to the airport. It's 6 km on Route 295.
When I said I was on bicycle, the lady in the T.I. ment it would be best to take
the train. It
would certainly be easy, but then I'd have to carry both the bike and a big box.
I've bought two cardboard boxes which a smaller than the one I had when I came.
Actually 20 cm
shorter, but that was the biggest. I've left my matress, which I have given
up... But it will be too
small anyway, so I have to extend it in some way. I had to walk all the way from
the home center
because of the wind, it took ½ an hour.
You get to the airport by Route 295, but when you get there...
I ended by mistake at Terminal 2. To get to Terminal 1 from there was a
nightmare. After having
gone up on an esalator and passed through a parking house, I took a wrong road
and ended up in tunnel
after tunnel without sidewalk leading me nowhere. Had to wait a couple of
minutes to cross the road
and go back in the other lane.
Now I know that I should be able to check in from 8.10 in the South Wing on 4th floor at counter H. I have been test packing - the box is too small - and folded the cardboard so it should fit under the tent on the rear rack. I'm ready for the morning....