The flight from Melbourne wasn't scheduled until nearly midnight so I had a normal day beforehand, including a morning parkrun, then the last bit of packing. My final week of planning wasn't too stressful and I had most stuff packed by Friday or even earlier. I've spent bits of time over the last two months planning out the trip, at the expense of taking a Java exam.
I only had one last minute panic when I realised I had a three prong AU to three prong JP adapters, but a lot of Japanese power points only use two prongs. After some quick Google searches I found most physical stores didn't have much else for sale.
It's quite strange they don't sell more three prong AU to two prong JP adapter, as everyone else must have the same problem for their larger devices like computers. Finally I remembered I had gone through a similar problem 15 years ago and had bought a Japanese cable to plug directly into the laptop charger instead. By luck I found that I still had held on to it, and the cable fit my new laptop charger.
My luggage came in at a bit under 11 kilograms, mostly due to two pairs of running shoes (one I will probably throw away at the end) and lots of running clothes. My small Nike backpack was a little bit worn out so I bought a slightly bigger Under Armour backpack from Rebel Sport this morning, and found another pair of shorts with zips, which are always useful for travel to not have anything fall out of your pockets.
Late in the afternoon I got a notification that the flight was delayed by 30 minutes, so it wouldn't be leaving until 00:15 on Sunday now. Besides being slightly more tired while boarding I didn't expect it would be a problem as I had over three hours to wait in Hong Kong anyway.
During the day I was also contemplating the choice of day or overnight flight. I'd have to go back over my past travel, but I think I'd probably prefer to do a full day of flying then stay at an airport hotel if necessary, as long as the eventual hotel has luggage storage for the next morning.
The obvious problems with the overnight flight are:
- Don't get to enjoy the flight at all, such as entertainment and meals
- Can be exhausted when arriving the next day, in particular remaining awake to get through the airport and deal with local transport
I finally left home at about 8pm in the dark to take my medium size suitcase and backpack to the train station, arriving with a few minutes to spare. After changing at Flinders Street for a faster loop train I got to Southern Cross once again to see no bus and no passengers waiting in line either. For the second time in a row it seems like I missed the bus by under a minute.
The bus trip was quick after it arrived, since there's not much traffic on a Saturday night, so I was at the airport by 9:45pm as planned. When I got up to the departure bag drop area I saw a huge line for one flight, and hoped mine wouldn't be like that. I had to go all the way to the other end of the check-in counters, but the place was completely empty when I got there, so it didn't matter that I had slightly better premium economy privileges.
The security and passport check was done in about 15 minutes, so I was through to the departure area before 10:30pm. The departure gate wasn't opening until 11:15pm time so I still had a bit of time to waste.
I picked up $100 worth of Japanese Yen for emergency, despite the obvious bad exchange rate, just in case I had any problems at the Osaka airport ATMs. I also packed $100 worth of US currency left over from my previous Hawaii trip to exchange if needed.
Since I had already paid for an express train from Osaka airport I wouldn't need to buy an ICOCA card immediately, but figured I'd try get it sorted at the airport. Incredibly at Osaka airport you can only use cash to purchase a train card. Some of these Japanese technology limitations are quite surprising, the train ticket I had already purchased also required going to a machine to collect a physical ticket, rather than scanning a QR code or similar.
Once again I had a variety of emotions and feelings ahead of the flight which I don't understand, but once I get the flight and arrival completed I'm always pleased with my choice. Writing up my first day of notes prior to the flight on my laptop was a good way to spend the hour waiting for boarding. Yet again I'm bringing along a very heavy HP Omen gaming laptop.
Steps = 18,531 with 13.25 kilometres running
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