Today the students met at Takasago City Hall, to see an “art performance”. The performance was a show of Aesop’s Fables, in Japanese. Mr. Hayashi knew that I was getting antsy to get out of the country, so he let me sneak out early.
I went home and did some final packing, and then decided to hit the road. I dragged my suitcase down to the train station, and paid one last bill at the convenience store, and then I was off to Kobe.
There are a number of ways to get to Kansai airport, but Mr. Hayashi had suggested catching a bus from Sannomiya station – it was 1800 yen for a 1-way ticket from Kobe to the airport. I figured it was worth it, since I could skip a whole bunch of transfers through Osaka, especially lugging around my suitcase.
The bus ride from Sannomiya was about 70 minutes, and then went into the very impressive Kansai International Airport. The airport was definitely the biggest airport I’ve ever been in. It was designed beautifully, and I was easily able to find my check-in counter. At the counter there was a line of unhappy people, and I found out there that my flight was delayed three and a half hours. Luckily, they arranged some changes for me and gave me 2000 yen to spend at the airport. I spent the evening there eating Chinese food, drinking beer, and listening to music on my laptop with headphones.
I had just about run out of juice for my laptop when I found a chair next to a power socket on the floor that they must use to vacuum the area. I plugged in, and watched the end of Survivor that I had downloaded. It was very entertaining, and helped the time pass quickly.
At last, at a half past midnight, we were allowed to board the plane and I got a choice seat at the front of the plane with extra legroom. I had a big meal, and then went to sleep in my chair, drifting in and out as they projected “Finding Nemo” on the screen in front of me.
When I woke up Nemo was over, the cabin was dark and everyone seemed to be asleep. There was light showing around the cracks in the window blinds, and so I got up and walked around. Turns out that it was about six a.m., and I had just an hour until landing. Very nice.
