Typhoon this Weekend?
 

It seems like Tokyo is going to get hit by Typhoon #4 this weekend, and I'm supposed to fly back to the states Sunday evening :(
http://weather.goo.ne.jp/typhoon/index.html

Since it's high winds and water, I can't imagine this not effecting flights, but anyone have any guesses as to how bad it will be? If you were me, would you try to change your ticket to Saturday's flight?

Thanks,

Alex

Assuming that your flight is back to the US, it probably leaves in the afternoon (unless you're on a morning ANA flight).

Predicting typhoon tracks is a crapshoot, but based on what I see now you may actually be better off with the Sunday flight.

---> N.B. I am not a meteorologist. Hell, I didn't even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

This makes it look like tomorrow evening's flights should be OK....
http://weather.goo.ne.jp/typhoon/p0019/index.html

Then again, I'd like to believe that as I'm flying home tomorrow night.

Calcifier, it looks like you'll be fine--are you on AA? We may end up being on the same flight :rolleyes:

I didn't stay in any kind of hotel last night, and am certainly not a meteorologist, but that graphic on Goo Net makes it look like the center will be right over Tokyo Sunday evening:td: My friends are all saying that typhoons usually slow down, and hang a hard right when they get near land here, but I would have thought the real meteorologists would have considered that when plotting the trajectory.

Alex

Yep, on the AA flight. There's still a few empty seats in business. :)

I was more excited to see 31H still open :p

Real meteorologists will also have considered that they may lose their jobs if they predict that the storm will be no big deal - and in fact it causes billions of yen in damages, shuts down the airport and sinks a bunch of fishing boats.

You have a point...

But, AA let me change without a change fee which I took as a sign that I should switch. Off to cancel my cell phone and finish packing :(

Just saw the news report from Okinawa. Looks pretty serious. More than just another rainstorm.

To track the path of a typhoon I use the highly accurate "Pitiful NHK reporter standing next to the road as pieces of rubbish the size of Belgium fly past, yelling a report about how bad the typhoon is" index. This index currently has the intrepid reporter in Amami Oshima somewhere. I'll keep the OP updated.

I cannot read Japanese,

I'm landing at 5pm on sunday, are any problems expected? (NRT)

Yes. Hot off tonights 7pm news, the typhoon is expected to cause problems over most of the country into Sunday.

Reminds me of the time when I was in Japan during that Typhoon that was over Tokyo in 2004. :) Such memories of rain going horizontal at the top of Tokyo Tower and staff grinning at me as the water leaks came through the ceiling up there. :eek:

Sanosuke!

Sunday night's Yokohama fireworks have already been cancelled...
(which probably means the typhoon will swerve away just out of spite)

Sunday night looks like a good time to head over to Krispy Kreme. The line should be down to 20 minutes.:):):)

Or Burger King. Or the new Yamada Denki in Ikebukuro. :)

At least as of right now, flights departing from NRT seem to be on schedule, but arrivals for the most part appear to be experiencing delays or a "new time."
http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/ais/...inter_arr.html

Will Tokyo Tower stay open during the storm tomorrow? If so, I might run over tomorrow afternoon to experience the storm. Any others interested?

Marc

Better to go after the storm. The views should be very clear. (Same goes for the top of Roppongi hills and the top of the metropolitan government tower).

Unless you're a daredevil like myself. ;)

Sanosuke!

Looking at the departures from the link DoubleJ posted (thanks!), it seems Sunday's AA168 has already been cancelled. Since AlexS and I are now safely back in NY, I think he made the right move! (Although he may not feel the same way after having to sit next to me for 12 hours. ;))

Yikes! Seems a bit preemptive, as the rain is now supposed to be slowing down in Shibuya by this afternoon. Although the map I just saw on BS news while watching the Red Sox shows it's a lot worse out by the costs as it's just skirting (yep, the forecast changed as suggested). Also, even the Tokaido Shinkansen has been delayed/cancelled due to the storm!

Glad y'all made it out last night though! (And was nice to meet you as well -- I'm sure AlexS survived the ordeal ;))

Looks like this may clear away what little we've had of rainy season though... 31 and sunny tomorrow now.

Whether you're a "daredevil" or not, I stand by my recommendation to visit the top of a tall building shortly after a storm has blown through. The skies are usually very clear and the views are spectacular.

That too. Its fun though when it blows through at night.. watch the chaos down below as traffic tries to make its way home!! :D :)

I'd gladly share some of the pics I took way back in 2004 when that Typhoon passed over Tokyo one night while at Tokyo Tower. Had to do some wading in the street however that night. Ugh! :P

Sanosuke!

Oh yeah. F**king hilarious. :confused:
What do you do when there's no storm to keep you amused?

Typhoon indeed. I went to Hakone this weekend, and trains, buses, and cablecars in and out of the Hakone Tozan area (between Hakone Yumoto and Gora and points beyond) were shut down until 1:00 PM or so. After that everything was running on schedule, although things were a bit more crowded than usual.

Only the hard-core were out in the Shibuya clubs last night. Made for great entertainment & it was easy to get a taxi at 4 am.

Taxis were running on schedule from Roppongi this morning at 4:30 as well. ;)

Wow! Good to hear typhoon didn't turn out to be a huge deal in Tokyo, but I'm really glad I came back Saturday. AA168 to JFK, and most of the other AA flights, were quite full according to EF for Sunday and Monday, so I imagine rebooking would have been loads of fun...

The person sitting next to me though was another story :D She was watching, of all things, "Blades of Glory!" And, laughing at it too :D

Seriously though, it was a lot of fun sitting next to Calcifier and more than made up for my boring neighbors on my last 5 transpacs this year ^

Really excited to be back in NY!

Alex

What do you do to keep yourself amused too when theres no storm? As for myself, I spend a lot of time on the pavement seeing quite a lot of things, exploring the new things I "hear" about a lot. :)

Sanosuke!

Just realised MrLapLap has mentioned his experiences of that same night in another thread: There was also a story about a drenched and traumatised rat wanting desperately to avoid him but which was powerless to avoid being blown towards where he stood. The feeling was extremely mutual. I still remember the phone call where he gave me an account of his experience and I offered my sympathy. It was a very long walk after a very long working day and no fun at all...