After hopping off from the bus at the north wing, Narita Terminal 1, I scurried to a hand-over counter of Yamato Logistics in order to pick up my suitcase and complete checking in…
I love Narita Airport, especially their departure lobby, because it’s airy and orderly…
A vast expanse of the lobby definitely has a calming influence when one is stressed or anxious before boarding.
Colourful vertical tail fins against a cloudless sky of Chiba…
Another brownie points Narita earns is a selection of shops which portrays the scene of contemporary Japan.
While Heathrow only offers bog standards fast food chains and high street stores before passport control, Narita provides yet more ample opportunities to indulge last-minute craving for retail therapy Japanese style.
How about treating yourself to a bag by Porter aka Yoshida Kaban (吉田カバン)…
Or how about ogling at Akihabara shop if you couldn’t get enough of AKB48 or anime figures at the Mecca of Otaku…
This souvenir shop stocked more conventional gifts…
This shop was dedicated for Japanese style beauty products…
A Japanese beauty trend of the past two decades is “whitening”. Japanese women are doe-hard crazy about protecting their skins from ultraviolet rays and they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid sunshine. Some years ago, I encountered a woman with a gigantic sun visor. The visor was shielding her face completely and the appearance reminded me Darth Vader! Unfortunately (or fortunately) I moved to the UK before this whitening craze captivated Japan and never experienced a skin brightening beauty regime and therefore my face is covered with freckles which has started to resemble constellations nowadays. Oh well, what should I do?
Anyone for green tea?…
Ito-en is a well-known Japanese green tea brand. The shop was stocked up with not only their tea in various forms (loose leaf tea, tea bags and powdered tea) but also boxes of beautifully wrapped up cakes, paper fans and dainty knick-knacks.
This shop wasn’t typically Japanese…
They collect products from less developed parts of the world and introduce them to a Japanese audience. I found the shop location very fitting because their colourful offerings would be sure to inspire the Japanese to travel more.
How about getting a pre-flight massage while you watch planes taking off at the observation deck?…
A row of massage chairs were found on Level 2. 100 yen for 10 minutes of massage. Are you tempted?
A gigantic column clad with coloured glass tiles stands in the middle of the lobby…
The decoration was elaborately executed and beautiful. It could have been even better if the column wasn’t surrounded by all those gadgets such as automated check-in terminals or fire-extinguishers…
A view from the departure gate…
Feeling a sense of relief as well as sadness, I slumped in one of the chairs overlooking the gate…
I felt those three weeks with my mum in Japan flew past too quickly but also knew that I would never find it long enough no matter how lengthy my stay maybe.
A flurry of activities were going on around the boarding gate. Ground staffs were busy trying to allocate passengers who were not yet accounted for.
Eventually, all the passengers seemed to have turned up and so had our captain…
A view from my window…
We flew over frozen plains of Russia but the ground was covered with low hovering clouds.
A familiar scene greeted me when the plane touched down at Heathrow…
A lead-grey sky tinged with pale blue spread above the wet runways.
Hello, my home. I am back.
With a sigh of relief, I grabbed my bag and joined a queue towards the exit…
Kaori by Kaori Okumura
