Flying Away
December 1st
Flight up from Auckland to Tokyo (Air NZ) was brilliant. Just great service. Our perception was not in any way influenced by the fact that we were given two bottles of wine to take with us when they found out it was our wedding anniversary.
We arrived in Tokyo where there was a misunderstanding over bus tickets so by the time that was sorted it was dark. You can see us in the photo waiting at platform 16 for the airport bus. 
It’s the first day of winter here, only 3 weeks off the shortest day. A 2-hour bus trip from the airport to Tokyo – kind of like having Auckland airport in Hamilton, but a chance to see parts of Tokyo lit up – you could say like a Christmas tree because the Christmas decorations were lit up and the Tokyo Tower was a blaze of gold.
We were travelling on a highway about 10 stories up in the air with a mishmash of other highways beneath us, and possibly over us I really couldn’t see that. Gives a whole new meaning the term “Spaghetti Junction” – our Auckland motorway system is more like a couple of sheets of lasagne in comparison. Found the first restaurant we could find that seemed to offer both food and a beer, it turned out to be a Spanish restaurant. I had paella, Ernie had chorizo sausage, and we each sampled both. Ernie got the better end of the deal on this occasion.