Narita Airport And Almost Missing My Flight

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Hello and happy #MarketFriday! I'll be sharing some details about Narita Airport today! And my memorable flight πŸ˜…

Arriving at the departure floor

So where should I go

Should I exchange money now?

After taking the Narita Express to Narita Airport Terminal 2 and taking the elevator going to the departure area, I waited for probably almost an hour for checking in. I was early and so were the rest of these early birds, and we were all waiting for the check-in counter to open and accommodate us. I didn't check in online, even when I could because I thought there might be some more things that needed to be done. When I saw the other line which was for the online check in baggage drop, I thought to myself I should probably check in online next time. Lessons.

Online checkin line

Line for checkin

Few people in front of me in this queue

I was going home for the first time since COVID struck and made us stay in Japan for 3 years. During these years, there were new policies regulated for overseas Filipino workers like me which made going home a hassle. Fortunately, by the time I decided to process my papers, the policies were already stable and clear, and less hassle on the employer side, so even when it was a hassle preparing my documents, I was still able to get the approval from the government office a week before my flight home. It may be different per country, but in Japan, it was kinda a struggle but in an orderly manner.

My luggages

I checked my boarding time and oh, great, I probably still have an hour to roam around and saw the signs indicating that there were restaurants and shops upstairs so I gave it a go.

View from the checkin floor

No, this is not the shopping area when you pass the Immigration. This is before Immigration. This shopping and restaurant area is located on the 4th floor of Narita Airport. The escalator I took led me to the observation area, I mean the door to the observation deck was just on the way to the shopping area so the curious me went inside.

From the observation area

No planes taking offWaiting a bit

The observation area

Too hot to sit

Photos

All the airlines in Narita Airport Terminal 1

All the airlines in Narita Airport Terminal 2&3

It was fun to watch the airplanes but I didn't want to stay longer in that place. Besides, some planes weren't taking off yet. I didn't want to wait.

People busy checking in

Narita Airport

Gashapon

Moving on to the shopping area, I first saw the Pokemon store. As expected, it's flocked with kids and their families but I didn't care if I was the only adult there without any kid. πŸ˜† One kid was looking at me while I was taking a photo of a pokemon, probably judging me or probably wondering what I was doing in this kids-only store. Sorry kid, when you become an adult you will still be a pokemon fan. πŸ˜‚

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I didn't stay long because I was keen on not buying anything.

I was a bit surprised to see Muji in this area. There was apparel but more importantly, there were travel bags and supplies. I didn't see any kitchen utensils here. πŸ˜„

Muji To Go

There was ABC-Mart too. Back when I was still new in Japan, I would shop in ABC Mart for shoes because sometimes they have massive discounts. For now, window shopping only because I already brought enough shoes in my baggage.

ABC Mart

Of course, I saw some souvenir shops. It was kinda expensive but there were some that were affordable and reasonable. I bought some souvenirs here, ref magnets particularly because I liked their design and thought it's a good addition to my collection at home.

Snacks

Accessories

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I thought of buying more souvenirs so I could give them to people I would be meeting but decided not to buy more. Can you believe that in my 2 medium-sized checked-in luggage, there were more souvenirs than my clothes? πŸ˜‚

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Back in the day, this dancing head figure was pretty popular. I wonder how it is now. These were cute designs so I couldn't help but take a video of them. So Japan!

https://youtube.com/shorts/Id9s2iwIuQk?feature=share

There were some restaurants here too. Some offer a nice view like the observation area but I wasn't that hungry yet and there's food on the plane so no food for me for now.

No time for starbucks

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Takoyaki

Tonkatsu

A cafe placeIMG_4355.jpeg

Soba restaurant

Sushi shop

View outside the restaurantsView

I found the lounge area where I could stay for free because of my credit card. Thank you credit card LOL. They offer drinks for free too! It's pretty quiet and not all seats were occupied so I chose a working area seat where I could charge my phones and use my laptop. Their wifi was fast so I didn't have any connection problems.

Lounge

Seats in the lounge

More seats

I was so engrossed in writing a blog that I stayed there longer than I planned. I was supposed to leave the lounge at 13:35 but I left at around 13:45. My boarding time is at 13:55 and I didn't know where to go after checking in. I was running around and found people lining up for immigration. The people in front of me were so slow, arggggh I would miss my flight because of me of how slow they were. πŸ˜…

Going back to the 3F

When it was my turn, I didn't know I should remove my laptops from my backpack so I had to wait for a bit again because they would scan my laptops and backpack again. Argggh!! I went to the airport early so I would not be having problems like these but in the end, I still ended up with this problem.

Luckily the line to the immigration officer wasn't long because I wasn't a tourist. I was accommodated next after I filled up the papers. I wrote so fast I couldn't even recognize my penmanship. πŸ˜† The immigration officer just confirmed my flight details and when I would be coming back to Japan and I was done!

I remembered the attendant from the plane when I was in the check in counter mentioning the boarding gate was so far so I needed to be there early. When I finished immigration, I saw the boarding gate just a minute's walk and wondered, how come she told me it was far? I was walking so fast to that boarding gate when I decided to confirm again the details of my flight. Arrgggghhh I was walking to the wrong gate! It's in the other direction!

My boarding pass

I turned around and walked so fast that I realized the shopping area where nice brands were just here. I was looking for them on the wrong floor! This was my 2nd time in Narita Airport and the first time I was just following my friends so I couldn't remember where to find this duty-free shopping area. My mom asked for a perfume from a certain brand for her birthday but sorry Mom, I would miss my flight if I would still be shopping. πŸ˜–

Actually, I would miss my flight now! It's past 13:55!

I was almost sprinting (mind you, I couldn't run fast) and at the same time, praying that I would reach the boarding gate immediately. It was indeed so far! It probably took me 5-10 minutes from the immigration control area. I heard my flight number on the speakers and waaaah last call for boarding, they say.

Luckily I saw a staff from the airline holding the placard with my flight number on it and immediately like a student eager to answer the teacher's question in class, I raised my hand and told her I was on this flight. She said something on the headphone to the other staff on the gate, probably saying I found a lady for that flight, she's heading over your way. At this time, I stopped running and now catching my breath. Everytime I run, I would always faint but at that time, I was inhaling a lot of white flower to prevent myself from fainting and missing the flight. I didn't want to cause a scene. πŸ˜‚

Rushing to the plane now

Still managed to take shots of the plane in the next gate

Red carpet to the plane

There were fewer people standing and settling down when I arrived on the plane, looking for my seat. When I was arranging my things, I saw 4 Japanese guys who were in front of me in the line at the check-in counter, they just made it to the flight. They were late than I was. πŸ˜… Whew! I wasn't the last~

In the plane now

View from my seat in the plane

I messaged my mom saying I couldn't buy the thing she wanted so I told her to buy anything she want in the mall when we see each other. She was a bit disappointed at first but what's important was I made it to the flight.

A few moments later, I was in the sky and saw the clouds. Whew, I'm finally going home.

Taking off

Leaving Japan

Somewhere up there


Happy #MarketFriday by @dswigle! Make sure to check out the community!


Thanks for reading!
See you around! γ˜γ‚ƒγ‚γ€γΎγŸγ­οΌ



With love,
wittyzell--rc.gif


All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.



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41 comments
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Oh my, what an experience… going early and then all that happens. 😳
Luckily you made it in the end.
Good you could see family finally after so long in Japan. It must have been great 😊

Nice airport, and so much to see there. Thanks for sharing your captures and experience.
Have a wonderful weekend πŸ‘‹πŸ»πŸŒΊ

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Thank you @littlebee4!
It was fun being able to spend time with my family after many years but after my mission back at home, I wanted to go back to Japan right away πŸ˜‚

The airport is nice, right?! That's what I also think. Too bad I wasn't able to take photos of the duty free shops inside!

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You are welcome @wittyzell πŸ‘‹πŸ»πŸ˜Š
Oh I can imagine. I am living abroad and still haven’t seen some of my family since covid started.
It’s nice you did wanted to go back right away. Mean you like it a lot in Japan.

It is nice indeed. Maybe next time… πŸ€“
Enjoy your weekend!

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My first comfortable toilet experience in Japan happened first at Narita airport. I stayed for 10 minutes sa toilet seat just to relax. hahaha!

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Hahahaha! When I came back to Japan after my trip home, I also stayed in the toilet for like 5mins hahaha

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haha nakaka miss ang napakalinis na toilet ng Japan. Gusto ko yong may pa music. haha

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Hahahaha uu para d daw nakakahiya πŸ˜‚
Eto talaga ung pinaka namimiss ko when I was in PH. πŸ˜… Di ako maka enjoy sa cr kasi walang bidet hahaha kung meron man, ung ibang klase naman

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hahaha walang bidet dito sa france. ka inis! kaya i always go the shower after using the toilet.

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Ay talaga?! Wala?! I didn’t know.. ahhh magpa taud namo haha

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separate ilang bathroom and toilet. the toilet room is always dry. no water faucet. tissue2 lang gyud but kalas kog tubig kay di ko ganahan tissue2 ra. hahaha

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hahahahaha I can fully understand πŸ˜…
There are also houses here that have separate bath and toilet but at least there's bidet to save the day πŸ˜‚

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haha ambot ngano wala mauso ang bidet dinhi. pero maypa sa Spain kay naa gyud bidet.

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Hasta ako gihangak! πŸ˜† Sayang ang red carpet wala ka ka rampa ug tarong hehe. Glad you still manage to catch up with the flight.

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hahahahahahah ang red carpet bitaw sa πŸ˜‚ gihangak jd ko after! maygani naay white flower or else wala na lipong nako ddto hahahaha tas grabe uhaw kaau! wa pa jd koy tubig

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Japan is Japan, not Pinoy time talaga. Lol. What if you missed your flight witty? Kakasad naman. What I love in this airport are the souvenir and the foodies. Japan is one of my fave places to visit. Manifesting. Hehe.

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hope you can visit someday pinkchic, and of course wag ka gumaya sakin hahaha

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Quite complete your trip to a country, the international airport is very clean and big enough, a pleasan trip. Thank you.

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Yung Pikachu bet .. ang cute😊😊..pero for sure mahal Yan hehe.. lalo na kung nsa airport haha

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the price was almost the same as in the normal shops, not so big of a difference. this is what i like about japan, they don’t really sell overpriced goods

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It was an amazing experience you shared here and it was giving me a feeling like I was also with you and enjoying those moments.

Just imagine, what if you missed the flight πŸ˜…?

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hahahaha missing this flight would cause a lot of problems in my schedule and my wallet for sure πŸ˜‚

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I wouldn't want to experience missing a flight so my paranoid self will first go straight and spot the boarding gate before I'd tour around haha. I haven't tried the airport lounges yet; is that a JP credit card you are holding or PH one? I heard perks of JP credit cards are awesome but hard to get one especially for a foreigner.

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JP credit card.. my PH credit cards are all expired and less perks esp international. it wasn’t that hard for me to get JP credit cards, but some friends i know have difficulties.
next time i would really go to the boarding gate first πŸ˜‚

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This totally gave me a panic vibe hahahaha parang napagod din ako kakatakbo while reading it!
Phew! I'm so relieved that everything turned out okay or else resched ang flight, aigoo!
As someone who's a bit of a paranoid traveller, I wouldn't even dare to get involved in any activity that demands my full attention like opening my laptop and blogging. I can't afford any last-minute surprises πŸ˜‚

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hahahahaha i was too lax, right? good thing it was fast and smooth in the immigration counter. or else patay my name would be called a lot of times in the airport for sure πŸ˜‚

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Thanks so much for sharing this airport. I use to do work making airline reservations at my current employer. I have made thousands of reservations which have passed through this airport. Again I found interest in what you shared :)

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wow!! that is so interesting to know! i would be proud of my work seeing people β€˜using’ it

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Grabe three years ka pala na lockdown sa Japan before nakuwi Dito sa Pinas pero breathtaking Yung muntik kana maiwan hehehe. Pero di pa Ako masyadong Maka relate sa mga happening sa airport kasi I haven't been there pa ever since hahaha, atsaka di pa Ako nakasakay Ng airplane hehehe.

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Yeah nasali ako sa lockdown pero ayos lang kasi before nag lockdown talaga dito, I was able to go home twice that year πŸ˜†
Medyo grabe din ung gastos kaya medj ayown hahaha tulong na rin na ng lockdown para d ako makauwi at makapag gastos na naman

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Ang cutie ng mga souvenirs, haha pwede bang iexcuse na nalate ka dahil ikaw ay pilipino? lol!

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BWAHAHAHA! Papagalitan tayo nyan 🀣

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