After a day at the office, I got a cab to Sentral Station, but JAL was not one of the airlines that could check you in there, so I took my case on the train. The train, was quiet and quick, and had the added benefit of free wifi - great service. However, the JAL counter did not open until 20:00 for a 22:50 flight so I had about 90 minutes to kill, and grabbed a coffee.
When it did open, I got my boarding card and whizzed through immigration, and followed the somewhat complex (to me at least) directions to the Cathay lounge that JAL used. Now I wished I had had something to eat while killing time before. The food was woeful, and the drinks selection not much better - not what I expect from Cathay at all.
However, it did set the tone for the flight - which turned out to be a 767 with reclining seats - not what I expected for a 7 hour overnight flight. There was no food served after takeoff, and I skipped breakfast, trying to maximise sleep. Therefore all that mattered on this leg was the seat - oops! I reclined and got as comfortable as I could. Now, I can sleep anywhere, so I did drop off, but I woke up with a sore back, and crippled when I tried to pick my bag up. As I walked the marathon to immigration at Narita it eased up a bit, but still....lets hope the JAL flight to LAX is better.
On the last bit of the flight I to NRT there was a view of Mout Fuji in the distance, and I know e guys on the BA forum like some cloud pictures now and agin - these ones looked good.
My bag was already at the carousel and after a quick change and repackage into my small rucksack I use for hand luggage with my laptop it, I found the left luggage lockers and left my case there for 30 hours.
Actually, negotiating Narita was not too bad, and I soon found and deciphered how to use the Narita Express, although the Tokyo underground remains somewhat of a mystery!
A happy 30 hours was spent in Tokyo, but without the language and a local guide, I am sure I did not make the most of it. In fact I am sure the 2 hours I spent listening to the street jazz festival bands (I play the tuba and trombone back home) while drinking supplies from the Museum of World Beers from their stall was not the most local thing I could have done!
In some ways Tokyo was everything I expected, modern, busy, eclectic, but I think I missed some of the history - apart from some of the shrines it felt like a big and busy version a shopping city. I would be very tempted to come back to Japan but maybe not Tokyo next time. Having said that the food was fantastic - one of the issues of living on a small island is that there is not a great choice of restaurants of different cuisines - and I love Japanese food.
One recommendation is the Dormy Inn hotel near Shibuya. It was less than GBP100 per night, and although the room was a little small it was modern and very good