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2009.07.02 - San Francisco (part 1)

June 24, 2009 Wed (Japan)

Didn't sleep much the night before, being too excited. Woke up early and prepared some food to eat at the airport. Onigiris, and tsukemono of cucumber and radish, and some lettuce leaves. Pack them in Ziplock nylon bags. Made green tea and coffee, and had them in pet bottles.

Took an airport bus from Shinyurigaoka station, leaving at 11:50 and arriving at Narita at 14:05. The flight is 16:10, so I could have left home later and taken the next bus. I'd already checked in for the Northwest flight online, and I had lots of idle time after checking my baggage and scanning the passport.

Security check was also smooth and easy. I went to San Francisco at exactly the same time last year, and it seemed less people were traveling this year. Probably due to the still-bad economy and the H1N1 scare especially among the Japanese.

Forgot to bring the disposable tooth brush. It would have been very useful on the airplane.

Boarding at 15:30. The departure time was indicated as 20 minutes earlier at the gate, but that's not because there was a change in the schedule, but because they just do so at the gate, I guess so they can hasten the passengers. The plane took off at 16:10. It's nine hours and forty minutes to San Francisco. The estimated arrival time was 25:50 in Japan time, and 9:50 in Pacific Daylight Time.

June 24, 2009 Wed (U.S.)

Arrived at SFO at 9:07. There were a bit of nervous question-and-answers at the inspection, but basically smooth entrance. The inspector frowned when I said I was only staying in America for three days, but when I explained that I had to work on the following days, it went alright. Got through the inspection and the custom at about 9:30.

Took a shower at Freshen Up!, which is located in the Main Hall of the international terminal. The fee was $15. I checked some websites the night before and assumed it's $11, buy they raised it to $15 after including shampoo, soup, etc in the service. I liked the facility a lot. If it hadn't been for that, I would have had to stay sweaty and greasy until the hotel check-in time which was more than five hours away. Got a shave, changed underwear and brushed my teeth. Having freshened, I moved on and bought a 3-day Muni-pass at the desk for $18. This pass proved to be a must-have item during the stay. It lets travelers hop on buses and cable cars spontaneously. (Next)

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