Arriving in Narita around 15:30 with quite a bit of time to kill until my new flight which departs 21:55, I decided to store my luggage in a locker and take the train to Narita town, a 10 minute journey.

In Narita, I walked in the drizzle 20 minutes to Naritasan Shinsho-ji, which turned out to be an excellent temple for reasons I will explain…




So far, pretty standard. But then I discovered a garden nearby, which had the following benefits:
- NO people
- Early Sakura blossoming
- Cats!








After a walk through the gardens, in absolute silence apart from the patter of rain and the rustle of an occasion cat (I hope they bring me luck), I walked back to the station. I loved this unexpected experience.

My feet were absolutely battered from 3 weeks of putting in 20-30k steps a day, so I stopped by a massage place for a foot rub.



Then it was back to Narita airport, a 10 min journey. At the airport, I collected my luggage and headed to QR check in. I was delighted to find out we have Qsuites on this flight to Doha, and I’m in 1A. Result!

After fast track security which contained exactly zero people, I went on a hunt for the airport’s eki stamp. Unfortunately I came back empty handed and headed for the JAL business lounge.

The lounge was quiet; maybe 20% capacity. In the dining room I requested a small curry and miso soup, and it was pretty nice, although a lack of meat. Of course I had to get one last beer machine Asahi.




After a shower in the lounge, I headed for the gate. Now I’m on board QR807, bound for Doha. Flight time is 12 hours and apparently there is starlink internet on board. So far, very impressed.