Tokyo

Well that was fast... The gate to my connecting flight was just outside of the door after going through the security checkpoint. It's strangely chilly and hot at the same time. It's pretty humid, but every once in a while a breeze from the AC would hit ya and I'd shiver. It's annoyingly inconsistent. And everything's muggy and eww outside.

On the descent, I had a pretty in-depth discussion with the guy next to me about different flight plans to Beijing. I was talking about how excited I would be when the FAA finally approves of a nonstop flight from Boston to Beijing, but it also depends on which airline snaps it up. Then there's the introduction of the new Boeing Dreamliner, but he only mentioned it in passing. I'm not entirely sure how bigger airplanes affect flights, since the 747 can already fly nonstop from Boston to Beijing (right?), and that's about as close to halfway around the world (among major cities with international airports) as you can get. We were so engrossed, however, that I didn't notice us landing. Compared to the touchdown at Minneapolis, this was literally butter. Maybe it was because we were distracted, but I didn't even hear the engines roar or the air brakes come on, nor did I feel a bump along the way. Now that was good flying. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna look around and explore the goodies my quick stay in Tokyo is going to provide me. Then again, maybe I should stay here and let my computer charge while watching sumo wrestling on an HDTV. Decisions, decisions...

Nevermind. Not only are the shops only food (no trinkets or "service"), but the area is generally uninteresting, too.