It was around 10 a.m. when we arrived at Haneda Airport. The couple who were with us last night had their next flight from another airport in Tokyo, so we bid farewell on Shinkansen. Communicating with the staff here was much smoother. All of us were able to change our air tickets without any extra fees. Fortunately, we all had flights at the same time, even though I was flying to San Francisco (there was no direct flight to Seattle that day), and they were flying to New York.
During the process, I inquired about the possibility of upgrading my class. The staff gave me a puzzled look and asked if I knew that the ticket I bought was an economy ticket. I acknowledged that I knew, but considering the extended period of inconvenience in Japan and the troubles we faced, I believed the company should be responsible for providing some compensation. However, she shook her head and explained that the company was not responsible for this incident; it was the aircraft that was at fault and should take responsibility. I didn’t press for further clarification because she seemed to genuinely believe in what she had said, even though it differed from my understanding. In China, regardless of the reason causing inconvenience for customers, it is always the company that should take responsibility. Customers don’t need to worry about the reasoning or what happened; as long as something has occurred beyond their personal mistake, from that moment on, customers are morally higher than the company and can request any form of compensation. Companies will typically make efforts to address the situation.
It was somewhere over 11 a.m. that we finished all the communication work with the airline. The three of them got their suitcase dropped off, and because something hIt was around 11 a.m. when we completed all the communication with the airline. The three of them successfully dropped off their suitcases, but due to an issue with the airplane I was taking and the subsequent switch, I couldn’t drop off my suitcase right away. It took us another thirty minutes to find an available locker in the terminal to store my luggage and their carry-on items. With the burden lifted, both physically and mentally, we finally decided to head to Akihabara, a famous district in Tokyo that is a heaven for anime and game lovers.
We have about eleven hours left in Japan, and we decided that we will enjoy these eleven hours as if we are taking a trip to Japan.
Our first stop was a ramen restaurant.
Though the store is very small, the ramen was incredibly delicious. I never had any ramen like that, which was mixed with a lot of vegetables, and I never was able to imagine how refreshing it is to have cabbage paired together with noodles.
Akihabara was a ten-minute walk away from the ramen store, and I was stunned the moment I saw the buildings. As someone who’s not highly interested in anime and games, I wouldn’t be able to imagine anywhere like this in the world. However, I could envision how happy someone who likes anime would be in such a place.gine how happy someone who likes anime will be in such a place.
Streets are smaller and more crowded, there are too many people which made it very hard for cars to drive in.
As we tried to find a café, we walked into a six or seven-story high mall, but there wasn’t a single shop in that building. Instead, all they had were game machines. Each floor had a different theme, with various types of game machines filling the space. It was a haven for gaming enthusiasts, with floors dedicated to different kinds of games.
Book stores are open from door to door, all selling countless anime and game models. There are even published fun arts on sell.
Akihabara looks even more stunning as the night arrives and all the lights illuminate the area. However, we were too tired to continue our “city walk.” The person who rested the most among us had only slept for 6 hours in the past 24 hours, and the one who rested the least hadn’t even closed her eyes.
We were backed to the airport at around 6 p.m. and got everything set at around 7 p.m. There is a Japanese dish restaurant that smells great which we decided it to be our dinner.
The flight was delayed again while we were waiting, but fortunately nothing happened again.
It might sound like a challenging start to the year, dealing with all these issues on the second and third days of the year. However, despite how unreal it may seem, we had actually enjoyed the process, and it left us with a long-lasting memory.
We said goodbye to Japan and Tokyo at 11:15 p.m., January 3rd, 2024.
towards wellness 
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