For months, we have all been looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime. The thrill of traveling, the beauty of the clouds you soar through, and the new experiences shared with the ones you love most. Japan is undeniably a trip of a lifetime.
Waking up in the wee hours of 3 a.m. for most, we met at the airport at 4:45 a.m. to begin our journey. The flight to San Francisco was extremely short, enjoyable, and just a prelude for the greater flight to come. We all talked about how these sorts of trips enable us to grasp a better understanding of each other and grew anxious in our three-hour layover. Excitement for the unexpected sank in.
We all ate lunch together, bought funny animal shaped neck pillows, admired an "Oprah" plane, and shared interviews on the experience thus far and all we look forward to. The hours flew by and before we knew it we had boarded a double-decker plane. The seating arrangement was wonderful, the meals were delicious, and the eleven hours included everything from capturing funny moments of everyone sleeping, to an expedition to find a lost shoe, to learning Japanese from a fellow passenger, to movies, to feeling as though we were all on cloud 9!
And before we knew it, we had arrived in Narita, Japan! Needless to say, we were not in Kansas anymore. Checking in documents, admiring all of the symbols, and embracing the title as "tourist", we set foot into a whole new world.
We took a two-hour bus ride to Yokosuka to check in to the BOQ base hotel, much of which our jetlag set in and we slept through. It's amazing how quickly time flies on journeys like these.
Checking into the hotel, we received the keys to our individual rooms and we were astonished to see the apartment style layout completely to ourselves. The accommodations are unbelievable. We are so grateful to experience this.
All together, we grabbed a quick dinner (the most outstanding teriyaki chicken I have ever tasted), met our amazing contacts, received Yokosuka base hats, trekked back to the hotel to address our itinerary, set formations to go over routines, and closed out the day with an exit video to our first day of our Japan tour.
It was an unforgettable day. Traveling and being awake over 24 hours was exhausting to say the least. But to engage in such a wonderful opportunity makes my heart soar. Japan is the trip of a lifetime. Twenty-four hours of travel, and I still feel like I'm flying.
