Episode № 114 Seattle to Honolulu to Tokyo
Welcome back!
Lady Jupiter Podcast is the audio accompaniment to LadyJupiter.com a lifestyle blog that I update when I can.
It’s my little corner of the internet where I write about my family’s military life, our home life, and other domestic details that I just like to share.
I’m happy that you’re here with me.
In this episode I’ll share an update on our life as affected by the U.S. military, then continue with a blog update, and wrap up with something domestic.
Today in our military-affected lives Kid Jupiter and I are traveling to Tokyo to join his dad -big day!
Before we get going I wanted to remind you that I’m speaking to you from the future, and catching you up on the past. This is relevant because recent wildfires have impacted Washington state and Hawai’i. My brief time in both states was weeks before the fires, so I was traveling with regular travelers, not emergency crews, and aid supplies.
Onward!
Last week we parted when Kid Jupiter and I were finally seated on our plane. Our long day began at 4am in Seattle, with plans to have lunch in Honolulu, then dinner in Tokyo.
After waiting so long for Kid Jupiter’s passport, we were so ready to go.
The flight to Honolulu was a little shorter than planned so that was nice that they tried to catch us up a little bit.
** updated flight time to Honolulu **
Once we were in flight, Kid Jupiter was ready to eat again. His applesauce pouches were NOT confiscated so I had something to give him besides crackers. He fell asleep for two hours and I got to watch a movie and eat a croissant sandwich…with a glass of wine. We eventually landed in Honolulu, but the delay in Seattle already cost us our original connection.
After a nice six-hour flight, we were sent to the wrong gate for our connection…but one of the gate agents realized that I was already re-ticketed for a different flight - she found Kid Jupiter and me while we were on the way to customer service. We ran half way through the airport, and got seated on our last flight. You know those gate announcements when the tardy passengers are being called out by name? That was us. But finally, we were seated, sweaty, and both on the verge of tears. Nothing like sleep deprived running in Hawai’i to get the cortisol flowing. Oof. I felt like crap, but the boy and I were sitting together on our last plane, so that was rewarding. But we didn’t have any downtime in Hawaii to eat. Hell, I didn’t even get to use a restroom. I was looking forward to sharing some Loco Moco with Kid Jupiter. Oh well, we’ll find an L&L in Tokyo later.
We settled in and got ready for our eight-hour flight to Tokyo.
Listening to the in-flight announcements was fun. First in english, then Japanese, and both including many mahalos.
** ASKING KID JUPITER QUESTIONS AS WE DEPART DANIEL K **
Kid Jupiter was only interested in the grapes available with his meal, so I had a very short fast and enjoyed both of our dinners, then later, both of our breakfasts. I typically have longer fasts when traveling, but not this time. I’m all about healthy stresses, but I just knew that long fasts on top of sleep-deprived international travel with a pre-schooler would be too much stress on the body and mind. But it’s fine. I’ll be ready for my regular fasts later - so I’ll continue ignoring clocks, ignoring the international date line, and drinking my coffee black.
The available-for-purchase snack boxes had just enough things that my son would eat, so we managed. He only slept about one hour on that flight, and I maybe napped. Our Japanese neighbors were very impressed with Kid Jupiter. They have a granddaughter his age, and noticed that he was definitely reading the emergency instructions, and knew his way around the in-flight entertainment. Truly I think they were impressed that the little American had decent manners overall. He definitely gained many “awwww” comments when he curled up in my lap for a nap.
And finally we landed in Tokyo, at Haneda…about six hours later than our original tickets, but on the same day, so that was nice. After we got though immigration, I unpacked Kid Jupiter’s seat. I bought him a little folding seat that I can buckle onto my carryon, so I can wheel his little tired legs anywhere I need to go. And that evening, I needed to pace around the baggage claim because our checked bags that I last saw in Seattle? The ones that were so thoughtfully packed and nested with the essentials? They didn’t follow us to Japan.
So Kid Jupiter got to sit and kind of relax while I looked high and low for our luggage, then started communicating with the Japanese airport employees about the missing bags. Did you know that I don’t speak Japanese? Well, now you do.
It took a little while to get my issue understood, but once that communication landed I was quickly filling a baggage irregularity form with Hawaiian Airlines. Luckily I take photos of a lot of things, so I was able to provide the details needed despite language barriers (like the colors and sizes of our missing luggage, plus obvious identifiers like the sticker-paper luggage tags that I made when we were in Little Rock’s TLF). And since Mister Jupiter got a head start, I was also able to provide a Japanese phone number in the same irregularity form.
So what was in those missing cases? Oh, only our remaining essentials because at this point we had been living out of suitcases for two months. So the clothes that I struggled to downsize before the house was packed up? Well, it’s a non-issue now because I only have the clothes on my back (and the dresses that I shipped over the past few weeks when I was finished wearing them for their specific events). Same with Kid Jupiter, he was also the proud owner of one outfit.
I’ll have more for you next week - I’m just so happy that we Jupiters are in the same place at the same time. Yay!
Now we just need to get home so we can hug our tiny 60lb puppy together.
For today’s LadyJupiter.com update…the site is still up and running.
And lastly something domestic.
If you’re a military traveler, especially if you’ve PCSed overseas, you’re probably wondering why Kid Jupiter and I flew commercial.
Well, we *had* tickets for the rotator out of Seattle, but we kept changing them because we couldn’t fly without Kid Jupiter’s passport; any passport. In hindsight I should have gotten him a regular civilian passport, but I didn’t because both parents need to be present for a minor’s application, Mister Jupiter really did work out of town a lot (especially on non-holiday weekdays) and I didn’t even think about getting a power of attorney for the passport until it was way too late.
Then the passport was sent to the wrong base, so we were further delayed as you know. So when we finally received his passport, the next rotator was already full. At this point we were were Space Required passengers, and in the absence of space? We were tentatively approved reimbursement for commercial flights. I think that we did get reimbursed, but by now we were just tired of waiting on everything else and were simply willing to just bid farewell to the four or five thousand dollar bucks that got Kid Jupiter and I to Japan. Truthfully I don’t snoop on Mister Jupiter’s GTC account, and I still wouldn’t if I could. We were finally in the same place, and that’s what matters.
I was really excited to fly on the rotator though. It would take us directly to our new base, no missed connections in Hawaii, no queuing up at immigration at the airport, no lost luggage. Mister Jupiter and Mike Dog did take the rotator of course - international travels with pets are a whole different ball of wax, especially with very time-specific canine tests and immunizations; Mike couldn’t afford any delays. Further justification for us adults to divide and conquer when we parted ways in Seattle.
One day I’ll fly somewhere fun SpaceA. Until then? I’m new to Japan and have a lot of little things to learn and get familiar with.
Luckily I can talk to you about it regularly.
And that’s it for today.
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Before we go, I want to share my appreciation for my listeners in the United States, Japan, Germany, Israel, Brazil, and that one lonely listener in Tanzania. I don't know if you're there or if it's just a VPN setting either way happy to have you! I appreciate you all.
I will talk to you when I can record next.
—Bye for now!
