Once again, here I am on Air Canada 001, headed to Tokyo from Toronto. (I wrote about my last time on this flight here.) The weird part of this flight was that moving map wasn’t working so it seemed much shorter than 13.5 hours. I usually watch the map (obsessively) throughout my entire flight but I guess it somehow makes the flight seem longer. (Which is okay for me because I could sit on a plane forever.) I know 13 hours does seem like a really long flight if you’ve never been on a looooooong flight before but really (really!) it’s not that bad. The pod seat probably helped the time to go faster too, but I didn’t sleep — I just curled up and watched a lot of movies. Staying awake on the Toronto-Tokyo flight is also good for jetlag: If you can stay up until around bedtime once you arrive, you’ll be on Japan time immediately, which will really, really help with jetlag.

So here’s my two pro tips:

1. Do not watch the moving map and do not think about the time. A long flight will pass in no time!
2. Do not sleep on your flight to Japan and get yourself on Japan time right away. (This also applies if you’re going anywhere in the world. If you’re going to Europe from Canada or the US, you’ll probably arrive in the morning so try to sleep on the plane and then do not sleep when you arrive until it’s bedtime local time.

And one additional pro tip for surviving a long flight:

1. As soon as you get on the plane (or after the meal, since the meal is usually served right away), wash off all of your makeup. I always bring makeup removing wipes for this. Slather your face liberally with moisturizer. Continue to put on moisturizer throughout the flight as needed. An hour before the flight lands, wash your face again and re-apply your makeup. Airplane air is incredibly dry, so your skin will thank you.

Here’s me in my pod! If you have to sit in the second cabin in executive class on the 777, I recommend this seat, 11A. It’s more private and has extra storage. However, I prefer sitting in the first cabin if I have a choice.

And here’s Mike. Mike’s pro tip is to bring eyedrops because the airplane will dry out your eyes and you will feel like this:

The lunch menu.

I wasn’t going to get the Japanese meal — it wasn’t really that great last time. But Mike made me so I ended up with anyway.

I like snacks.

Wine list. I didn’t have any wine but I did have some port with my cheese later. Drinking on planes makes me weird.

Air Canada amenity kit. This one was different and a little nicer than the one I got the last time.

There was the usual stuff: socks, eye mask, ear plugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mint, hand lotion, lip balm, etc. I like that the inside of the bag is Air Canada logo print.

Goodbye, Canada!

I guess it could be worse than this.

And here’s the Japanese meal. It was better this time.

Vegetables

Pickled octopus salad (probably my favourite part of the meal)

Mushrooms and soba noodles

The shrimp was stuffed with some kind of egg mayonnaise thing.

While I ate, I watched a movie I’d been wanting to see called Go, Masao!  It’s based on a Japanese tv show that I used to watch called Pochi Tama. It was cute (I love Shingo Katori and adorable dogs) but the dog dies at the end and it was SO SAD.

The main was black cod and rice with some vegetables and konnyaku.

Chiizu! Cheese plate and a glass of port. There was dessert too (some kind of apple toffee cake) but I was too full to have any.

Sometime during the flight I got hungry again, so I had some dim sum from the snack menu.

Breakfast and my Kindle.

I wanted the Japanese breakfast (okayu, Japanese rice porridge) but they were out of it so I got the Western breakfast (which I’ve had before). It’s funny because the flight attendant exclaimed, “We NEVER run out of the okayu!” so I guess I was just unlucky. I didn’t eat the scary looking sausage but the omelette was actually pretty tasty.

And finally, here’s a photo of Mike on the Narita Express after we left the airport.

Immigration was surprisingly easy — it took maybe three or four minutes and we were on our way with our shiny new residence cards. I thought our luggage might get checked since we’re staying so long but nope, they just waved us along. 日本ただいま！(Japan, I’m back!)

Here’s what our residence cards look like (the photos are SCARY and Mike said I couldn’t show you his):

In preparation for my upcoming six month trip to Japan, I’ve changed my blog around a little bit. First of all, I’ve changed the title — it’s now called MELISSA DREAMS OF SUSHI*. Because you know, I do. Delicious fluffy tamago and pieces of silky buttery toro haunt my dreams. Which is mostly why I’m going to Japan in the first place.

* I also shamelessly stole this from the Jiro movie.

I changed the URL to match the new name — no one can remember my name anyway so this will probably work better. But if you’re one of my relatives, or you’re just too lazy to update your bookmarks, melissakaita.com will still get you to this blog.

Mike helped me poke around at the layout a bit (thanks Mike!) but it’s mostly the same. The photos are larger, since even though I am no photographer, all I mostly seem to do is post photos. So if you have some kind of super old computer with a microscopic screen, I’m sorry. (Just a suggestion — now would be a good time to get a new computer.)

I only have ONE DAY LEFT before I leave for Tokyo, and I have so many things I want to write entries about, like how to pack for six months (something I am still trying to figure out), how to leave the country for six months (insurance woes, what to do with your mail, and other related things), how to find long-term accommodations (Airbnb is my friend), and how much deodorant you should bring to Japan (lots, apparently).

I’ve been so busy with moving (we moved out of our condo and are now technically homeless) and trip-related stuff that I haven’t had time to write about this stuff before I leave but I do have an upcoming 13-hour flight which gives me lots of time for writing.

Speaking of my 13-hour flight, special thanks to Air Canada for clearing some R space so that my upgrade would go through. I mean, I’m happy to be on any plane, in any class, going anywhere, but of course I’d prefer to be in a lie-flat pod rather than an economy seat. (Who wouldn’t?)

It seems so surreal that I’m actually leaving the country for six months. Six months isn’t that long, but right now it stretches way out before me and I’m excited. Tired (from moving), but excited! I probably should have worked harder on my Japanese and I probably should have put more effort into packing and I probably should have done a lot of things but JAPAN HERE I COME.