Reid Main

I know it's corny but one of the things I am going to miss most about Japan is Blue Bottle. Don't get me wrong we have great coffee back in Canada but there is just something about a Blue Bottle latte I have yet to replicate.

After ensuring everything was packed we checked out of the hotel and caught the Tokyo Monorail back to Haneda airport. We were able to quickly check our bags and breeze through security before parking ourselves in the ANA Lounge for three hours until boarding began. If the absolute clusterfuck of boarding a plane at Pearson is Hell, then boarding in Japan is like you've gone to Heaven. Everyone actually splits up into well organized lines instead of just forming one blob that slowly shuffles towards the gates even though your zone is not yet boarding.

The flight itself was uneventful but like usual I had trouble sleeping so I just watched movies. Rogue One is still the best Star Wars film of the past 20 years and The Meg had hysterically bad acting, especially the female lead.

Upon landing in Toronto we breezed through customs, grabbed our luggage, and returned home. It is honestly amazing how easy it is with NEXUS nowadays. Even getting off at the same time as nearly 400 other people there is basically never a line because you can just blow through the kiosks. I probably say this every time but if you can get NEXUS you owe it to yourself.

The last time we went to Japan I ended my retrospectives saying that I think I could live there for 3-6 months and that feeling has only grown stronger. I enjoy the suburb where I live and the peace and quiet it brings. But having a few months where literally everything I need / want is within a 20 minute public transit ride (or even just walk) would be an amazing change of pace.