And suddenly, we're back in Asakusa!

The title says it all! The summer has been a whirlwind of work and gigs and before I knew it, I was driving back from our gig in Cleveland on Saturday night with less than two days to get everything ready for the trip. Luckily we've done this a few times so we quickly had everything packed and ready by Monday night.

Unlike previous years, we didn't drive to Chicago and fly direct because, somewhat incomprehensibly, a flight from Milwaukee with a transfer through Chicago was significantly cheaper. That being the case, the trip to the airport was trivial, the transfer was as easy as walking to the next terminal, and the flight was mostly uneventful. I say mostly because when we got there our names were on a "Please come to the check-in counter" list. We went to the counter, like students who just got a "See me" on their last test, and were told we were assigned seats in the exit row, so they have to verify that we can be in the exit row before boarding.

On balance, since the plane didn't crash, being in the exit row was mostly positive, as I had leg room for the first time ever. The only downside is that there is nowhere to stow things like tablets and phones if you aren't actively using them, so we were basically sitting with a lap full of electronics the entire flight. One added bonus is that small children are not allowed in the exit row, so it was a pretty quiet flight as well.

ANA has partnered with Pokémon to get people to watch their safety videos. This was the first time I think I've seen Sumi actually watch the pre-flight safety video to the end. It's a smart way to keep people engaged, I think.

Arrival and customs went very smoothly, partially because it was a Wednesday afternoon and there weren't many people there, and partially because Japan has a new online declaration form that gives you a QR code. Scan the code, they scan your face and fingerprints, and you are through in a matter of minutes. In fact, most everything went that way. Getting the SIM card for our pocket WiFi was fast, it worked immediately with good speeds, getting tickets for the Skyliner into Ueno was fast. The only hiccup we had was something happened with the Suica app (the train payment app). Mine disappeared and Sumi's didn't scan properly. But we managed to get it working for the short subway ride to Tawaramachi station, which is about 800m from our hostel, the Taito Ryoukan.

Taito Ryoukan is a true hostel, not like Toukaisou, with only shared bath and showers and the building feels about 100 years old. The doorways are all about as tall as my chin, the bathrooms are so small I can barely turn around, But it's clean, it's right in the middle of Asakusa, and most importantly the room has good AC. 

We stayed awake long enough to trudge down the block to the FamilyMart and grab a konbini shokuji, a convenience store meal, and feast on yogurt, white bread, ham, and a small Chip Star. No pictures because....I was so tired I forgot. Finally the days of no sleep caught up to us and we crashed hard.