Back in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo we met up with two ski instructors we worked with in Club Med, Yuko and Charlie. It was great to catch up and very easy having a Japanese guide to translate the menu. Yuko took us to a great place where you pay a set fee (£15) for a two hour slot and then you can eat and drink as much as you want in the time !! I’m not sure it would work in the UK at the rate we were getting through the highball drinks but the Japanese don’t drink as fast or as much (apart from Yuko that is).
Yuko had really kindly helped us out by letting us send our two suitcases and our huge snowboard bag to her parents place and then she sent it onto the airport for us. All for just £90 and considering the size of our bags and needing to store them for 1 month, that’s really good value. The Takyubin service in Japan is amazing. Loads of tourists just send their stuff to the hotel and then have it sent home again. Why struggle with it yourself?
As we arrived at Haneda airport counter the guy said we needed to come back after midday for our luggage. A sense of dread filled me and I explained that wasn’t possible as our flight was at 13.15!!! After a bit of muttering with his colleague they decided to go and look and thankfully, there was all our luggage – phew!!!!
So we checked in and promptly bumped into Ethan and Emma, also ski instructors at Club Med, who were on our flight to London. Bizarre, as they worked for 2 weeks longer than us and were sitting just two rows behind us on the flight. A bit of a drinking competition broke out and then we gathered at the back of the plane to take in the amazing views as we flew over Greenland. Suddenly, it had turned into a real around the world 🌎 trip.
And before we knew it the 14 hour flight was done, it was time to say goodbye at Heathrow and make our way to our hotel.
And just like that, the Japan holiday /adventure was over…….. four months teaching skiing and snowboarding followed by four weeks travelling the length of Japan – and it is a very long country!
The following day we met up with my cousin, Emma, and later her whole family for a fab curry in Covent Garden. So nice to catch up and make lovely memories. The boys are growing up so fast and keen to tell us all about their recent ski trip to France 🇫🇷 💙
Finally the time has come for our flight back to the Isle of Man. We were relieved to pass the Easy Jet bag drop weight limits and got to the gate only to find our flight cancelled due to fog on the island. So near and yet so far…..
After a race against all the other passengers, we managed to get booked on the afternoon flight tomorrow so hopefully we will be home in the afternoon. Back to the Premier Inn once more. So much for getting back out kayaking on Sunday morning – doh!
