Landing in Tokyo

We arrived earlier than scheduled at the Haneda airport in Tokyo. And upon landing, there was a PAL million miler passenger who was seated at the back and the steward tried to give him the privilege of getting down first and trying to clear his path. Hinarang ko nga ang hand carried bags namin at nahirapan siyang dumaan. Eventually he gave up and said too tight to pass. Aba, parehas lang ang binayad namin at wala namang ticket category na “priority unboarding”. Besides, if he wanted to get out first, he should have reserved the front seat. As before, we requested for wheelchair assistance so Becky was wheeled all the way to the pick up area. Although, nothing to declare, our luggages were inspected in customs. We had 4 big ones averaging 65 pounds each and 3 carryons. This was a red flag especially since we requested to stay in Japan for 3 days only. The bags were really heavy to place on the platform by myself kaya sumakit iyong kamay ko. We have arranged earlier for airport to hotel transfer but the driver was not there yet as he expected us to be delayed in view of the Taal volcano eruption. We waited for a few minutes and were driven direct to Hilton hotel in Shinjuku. We could not help notice that some Japanese were wearing face masks. We learned later that it was more a precaution for allergies and not some kind of contagious disease or ash fall. It took us about 45 minutes to reach the hotel. Immediately upon check in, we took a taxi to survey the meeting place for our panoramic tour tomorrow. It was not far so Becky probably can handle the walking. We jumped into the hotel shuttle as soon as we got back at the hotel. The shuttle stop was the Shinjuku Train Station and downtown area. We had dinner at the Keio Department store/duty free stores and had a taste of authentic Japanese cuisine. I would have thought that Becky will be too tired after but she learned there is a shopping area at the basement of Hilton called “Hiltopia”. She seemed re-energized and was able to buy shot glasses to add to her collection. Too tired...time to rest.