Saturday January 21st 2023 - Buffalo NY to Tokyo Japan trip for work, day 1 - 6520 miles as the crow flies - A lot of elevation gained and lost

Finally, my long talked about, much prepared for trip to Japan is here.  Brian and I drove to Buffalo last night (Friday).  On the way we had a really good dinner at 99 Brick Oven in nearby Lancaster.  Despite being in Lancaster by 5:30, my first choice restaraunt, Frank's Grille was packed and didn't even have any available parking spots.  99 Brick Oven was packed also but we were able to street park and get on the waiting list. I had a lovely beer while we waited.  I had a seafood platter which is not something I would normally order but the woman next to me at the bar where we waited for a table had it and it looked great.  Grilled Haddock, scallops, jumbo shrimp, macaroni salad (a common side dish in Western NY), vegetables and coleslaw.  It sounds huge but I was hungry and no individual component was overwhelming.  This was the first time I had Haddock that tasted like anything.  I've tried Haddock about 3 times before and it always seems tasteless.  This was well seasoned and enjoyable.

The hotel was actually great despite our utilitarian short visit.  I don't know how they made the rooms so vault quiet with a busy road and airport just outside the window. We shared a delicious piece of caramel apple pie with lots of ice cream and caramel sauce.  These probably weren't the best choices for an early to bed night but I wanted to enjoy our last evening together before my trip.

Now that I'm actually at the airport at 4:30 am I mainly just feel weird.  The flight to Chicago should be ordinary enough but I can't really wrap my head around the long flight to Tokyo.  I'm very excited to be able to do it in business class on Japan Airlines.  It looks very luxurious but it's still a very long time to be in the air and the time zone changes and date line change seem sure to totally scramble my body clock.

Five minutes after Brian drove off I realized I didn't grab my jacket out of the car.  I always forget something, it's a tradition.  I'm pretty sure O'Hare will have jackets I can at least consider buying.  Otherwise I have a flannel shirt and a sweatshirt in my carry on bag.

It's now 9 am in Chicago and I've walked through 4 terminals at O'Hare and the only 2 obvious men's clothing stores don't have the kind of casual 'normal' jackets I'd be looking at.  I would have bought a tie also (another thing I forgot to pack) but at 98 dollars plus tax, I'll make do some other way.  On the upside, during all that walking I did get a good Ham Egg and Cheese bagel sandwich and finally ended up at one of the American Airlines Flagship Lounges. I've never had access to one of these lounges before and it's a huge contrast to the crowded loud concourses.  This view is pretty cool too:

Two more hours to kill before boarding my Japan Airlines 777-300 aircraft.

Playing a game on my laptop made those 2 hours fly.  I boarded within a few minutes of arriving at the gate, just enough time to capture some pictures of the enormous aircraft I boarding.

As soon as I got into my 'Sky Suite' it was really obvious to me that this otherwise very well thought out incredibly private feeling little nook is COMPLETELY lacking in any stowage places.  Even before you bring a single item with you, your seat has a blanket, pillow, pair of slippers, amenity bag, menu, sanitizing wipes and headphones all piled up on your seat along with a bottle of water perched on an armrest.  I have plenty of room for my backpack to nestle under the footrest thing under the TV but getting in or out of it requires taking off the seat belt and, unless you are very petite and agile, stowing the tray table.

Lunch is being served shortly.  A glass of wine and hopefully a lovely tenderloin might help me settle in for my trip.

I finished lunch.  The appetizer plate had an impressive array or things including a chicken terrine, some sliced seared tuna, pickled carrots and a square of a cold meatloaf type thing that I really enjoyed.  There were some lovely fresh red peppercorns on the plate that were amazing.  I went with the beef entree.  It was a tenderloin served with a green peppercorn sauce, warm potato salad and kale.  While it looked lovely, the tenderloin was, to my taste buds, kind of gamey tasting and I ate very little of it.  The menu didn't specify but I wonder if it might have been grass fed which is a type of beef I don't have much experience with.  The Japanese red wine 'Coco Farm & Winery Noumin Rousso 2020' is lovely.  It doesn't seem dramatically different than a typical Pinot Noir but maybe a little earthier than usual.

I'm going to change into my pajamas and try to get some rest.  I'll wrap up this entry now and start again with a new one when I get to the hotel etc.