Japan - Day 10: Farewell Tokyo!

Our flight wasn't until 9:30pm, so even though it was technically a "travel day," we figured we still had time to enjoy. Starting off with another lovely breakfast buffet. This time with berry smoothies!

I think Baba was really hoping for a curry lunch today. In fact he went out searching for a spot even ... but...he underestimated the endurance levels of tween girls for shopping. By the time we returned, it was already 2pm. Luckily margarita pizzas at the lounge were quite good. I think we probably ate two whole pieces between the four of us. 

I then spent a good hour or more strategically packing all of our items to stay within the 7 kg per person weight limit. The twins chose to spend that time on the hotel scavenger hunt instead. Here's their victory shot with the prizes. 

We had to check out by 4, but luckily we could stay at the pool/spa even longer, so off we went for some pool/relaxation time before the flight. 

Baba wasn't so keen on the traditional onsen portion of the spa, so he took the girls over to the bar while I enjoyed the steam rooms and saunas. Last drink of the trip!

And just like that, we were on the plane and in the air. Thoughts on zipair: very satisfied customers. Definitely would fly with them again. I actually appreciated the fact that no food or drink was included because it meant there weren't "services" happening all flight and disrupting those of us trying to sleep. It also meant the bathrooms never had a line (and maybe this is true of all Japanese airlines, but they actually had heated seats, smelled not bad and were pretty clean the whole flight!). Once again the inflatable cushion was a BIG thumbs up from me. I managed to sleep about 4-5 hours, I do NOT think that would have happened without the foot rest! I tried watching a drama with the twins but fell asleep less than one episode in. This cool nighttime sky photo was taken by the twins while I was asleep. 

 

I woke up about an hour before we were supposed to land. This time it was the twins' turn to sleep. 

Timing wise I think we really lucked out on both flights. We got back to SFO at 3:30, basically first in line at customs (tried to do the twins global entry upon arrival, somehow R's application was cancelled, so we only succeeded in getting L's done. Slow and steady I guess? At least there was no line!).  It's 11pm now and I'm still feeling fairly alert, but Baba has been asleep for a few hours now. Crossed fingers for the jetlag transition back to go not too painfully!

Japan was a LOT of fun for us, if you haven't been able to tell from the blog posts. I suspect it makes the twins new top trip spot or a close second to China. They said they liked the food better in China (hilariously, they said not only the duck restaurants but because there are so many "lao laos" around so the homemade food is always good) but the shopping better in Japan -- not because it was cheaper per se, but China has gone so far into online shopping that you really don't have that in store try on things experience anymore. It's just not the same! We didn't get a ton of "cultural educational learning" in this time...but hoping a return trip to Kyoto/Hiroshima would have more of that. The biggest surprise was how easy the jet lag and plane travel seemed to go. Maybe I just have had bad luck in China lately, but these flights felt SO much easier, even though it was only a few hours shorter. 

Back to school and work for us now...but already counting down the days until the next vacation! (Alaska cruise time!)