Friday, 23 January 2009 - As Northwest Airlines flight 69 continued to climb skyward, I turned my attention to the television monitor several rows forward of where I was seated. I noticed the planned flight route drawn out on the monitor. We were heading north-northwest toward Hudson Bay. I looked out the window and watched the high clouds streak by. The sky was clear but showed evidence of a sunset only a few hours away.
We continued northwestward, gliding through the skies over the western shore of Hudson Bay. Three hours down, eleven to go. The cabin was quiet as most passengers seized the opportunity to take a long nap. While most window shades were drawn, the shade attached to the window at my right remained open, affording me the chance to watch the sky transition from brilliant blue to yellow and orange. As the sun continued to set, a thin line of orange, red, and pink appeared on the horizon. Stars became visible as we continued our northwestward trajectory toward the northern Canadian provinces. My tired eyes could not stay open any longer, and as one of the flight attendants paced up and down the aisle next to me, I drifted to sleep.
I awoke to a jolt as the aircraft encountered some turbulence. A movie played on the forward monitor, and passengers on either side of me were sound asleep. A flight attendant wearing a dark blue uniform offered me some 緑茶 (ryoku-cha; green tea). I willingly accepted her offer and turned my gaze back to the window as she moved by. There was but a hint of daylight on the horizon as Northwest Airlines flight 69 traversed the skies of northern Alaska.
I decided to stand up and peer out the aft starboard exit on the right side of the aircraft. I noticed rugged, snow-covered mountains below. There was not a hint of life. What a beautiful planet. At what other time could I appreciate such beauty? I quietly returned to seat 54G and fastened my seatbelt. I looked at my watch. Eight hours down, six to go. I drifted back to sleep.
Saturday, 24 January 2009 - I awoke to brilliant sunshine peaking through the window to my right. Three hours had already passed, and it was an entirely different day as the aircraft had crossed the International Date Line. I stood up and made my way back to the window at the aft starboard exit. A thick overcast obscured the water below. I turned my attention to the forward monitor to note the position of the aircraft. We were over the Northwest Pacific, not far from the coast of Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula. I returned to my seat and watched as the aircraft drew closer to 北海道 (Hokkaido). With a little over an hour left to go, I felt great excitement well up in my core. I'm almost there!
The aircraft began to descend through the broken clouds over the main island of 本州(Honshu). For the first time in hours, I caught site of land. I CAN SEE JAPAN! I could not wrap my mind around the thought of reaching the Sun Origin Country. The aircraft banked left as the flight attendants requested the return of all passengers to their assigned seats. I observed the rolling hills and mountains below, the tall power lines that stretched to seemingly nowhere, and the occasional small city that appeared in the middle of vast, open fields.
As Northwest Airlines flight 69 continued to descend, I noticed a large body of water lined with high-rise structures. I looked at the monitor and realized that I was seeing Osaka Bay and the cities of Kobe and Osaka. The sun reflected off the bay as the aircraft banked right and lined up with Kansai International Airport's runway 24L. I paid attention to the breaking waves in Osaka Bay as the engines roared and the aircraft briefly ascended. The Osaka Sun sat low on the horizon, shining its rays through the cabin windows and illuminating the interior of the aircraft. It appeared that all passengers had shifted their attention to the nearest windows as the aircraft gradually descended.
After a few bumps and jolts, the airport was visible. I held my breath as we glided over the runway 24L threshold. THUD - the aircraft touched down around 5:30pm local time, and with its spoilers deployed and engine thrust in reverse, slowed to a crawl. I looked out the window as my eyes filled with tears. I've made it.
Eight months ago, I had a dream that I would one day travel to this island nation. My dream drew closer to reality with each passing day as I fought hard to convince my family, friends, and professors that I could handle this journey. My dream is NOW a reality. What is the point of dreaming if one is not willing to take risks to transform his or her dreams into realities?
As I conclude this post, I am reliving the raw emotions that accompanied my arrival in Japan. I feel as if I am sitting on the aircraft as it is pulling into the gate. I feel as if my life in Japan is about to begin.
The next few posts will not go day-by-day, but rather will detail the many great experiences I had while studying at 関西外国語大学 and traveling in 日本国. To the audience, both domestic and international, thank you for your support. I would undoubtedly write this for myself regardless of viewership, but your commitment to reading my posts has made this experience incredibly fulfilling. I hope that my memories have inspired or will inspire you to dare to dream and strive to achieve.
夢 - Yume - Dream - Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions.
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