Day two in Japan. (You can read about my 1st day in Part I). After a decent night at a very nice hotel I was shuttled back to the AMC Passenger Terminal and the airline provided breakfast at the eatery in the terminal. Not very good on a normal day, but preparing food for all the passengers of a delayed airplane put “mass production” to the test. In a “carryout” styrofoam container I was given two pieces of toast (cold), a square scrambled egg (not very warm), a piece of sausage (not very warm) and tater tots (their version of hash browns). The taste was OK, but as mentioned, it wasn’t fresh or hot and just barely hit the spot. At least I wasn’t sitting and waiting on an empty stomach!
The theme of the day was “wait”! Since I was stuck in the Passenger Terminal anyway, I took the time to take pictures of displays around the terminal:
After several hours in the main terminal with occasional announcements about our pending departure, they ran us through security into the “secure” waiting area where he had even less freedom or access to conveniences. Since I was through security I was able to get a Japanese Coke can from the vending machine, to add to my collection but that’s the highlight of the day.
Following two or three announcements of further delays with minimal explanation, the eatery from the passenger terminal bought “lunch” for the stuck passengers. Some got chicken sandwiches, some deli-style sandwiches, some chicken “nuggets” and all with french fries. I’m in the habit of being at the end of the line (I think it’s a chaplain/pastor thing, waiting until everyone else is fed to be sure there’s enough). By the time I was there my choice was chicken nuggets (which at least were fresh and hot) and cold french fries. Yum.
About that time, the pilot of the plane made an appearance with an explanation about what had happened and what the plan was. He admitted that the toilets could not be fixed here and had to be sent back (without passengers) to the U.S. for repair. There were psrts ordered from another airline they were expecting but that airline decided they needed them for one of their aircraft. He announced that they were trying to get another plane here to get us home but wasn’t sure how long that would take.
When he was through, I took the opportunity to talk to him privately. I told him I understand the repair issues and the necessary wait but told him about the meals not being adequate and asked if he had any contact with his company. I told him again, I’m not complaining about the delay, it happens, but with the delay they need to take care of their customers. He did thank me and said he’d see what he could do and later said he talked to the lady on the ground who was in charge and thanked me again for letting him know. I wasn’t complaining for myself, I could just buy better food on my own (when not in the secure area) but a lot of those traveling were families and junior enlisted who would have more difficulty bearing the cost on their own.
Not long after “lunch” they released us from the secure area to the main terminal and announced that they were off-loading our checked baggage for us to retrieve, and working on arrangements for the night. The airline gave us another meal voucher, though it was only good at AAFES (on post) dining facilities. As they were making the room assignments, they said we would get breakfast at the hotel and they would give us meal vouchers (again, for on post) the next day.
I tried my wait-until-the-end-of-the-line plan again, hoping for the nice hotel but it didn’t work this time. I guess they had enough rooms in the cheaper hotels they didn’t use the better ones.
The hotel I was given wasn’t awful. I was just spoiled after the night before. I would equate it to a clean Motel 6 (from how I remember them from about 20 years ago). Here are some pictures of it:
I needed an adapter to plug in my laptop and wanted to see what there was to see anyway, so decided to go for a walk. I found another 7-11, which wasn’t hard and got what I needed plus a couple other goodies. Night time pictures aren’t the easiest but I got a couple then went back to my room.
I set my alarm for 0700, which was like sleeping in, and began to prepare myself for another day of waiting or travel or both. The bed was hard and the pillows were weird but I finally got to sleep though didn’t sleep well on a new bed (again).
I was up and ready to go for a walk in the light before heading back to the passenger terminal. More on that and the events of my third day of a one day trip at To Japan and Back Again (Part III).
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