We arrived at the airport by monorail, which was a great way to see a different part of the city. Near the airport, tucked between lots of warehouses, there are several bodies of water (rivers and the bay). The area is surprisingly clean and nice to look at. Usually warehouse districts are dusty and worn down, but this one looks shiny and new. The monorail has seats facing different directions to give passengers a nice view as they ride. It reminded me of taking light rail in Seattle, which is a great way to get to and from the airport!
Upon arrival, we ventured up to the fourth floor where we found several shops selling beautiful Japanese gifts and tons of edible gifts. The whole area was decorated in a traditional Japanese theme.
After wandering through a couple shops, we found the stairs to the fifth floor which revealed a gorgeous wooden bridge called Nihonbashi (Japan bridge). This replica of a famous bridge is exactly half the size of the original, which spans the Nihonbashi River. The wall adjacent to the bridge has replicas of famous paintings of the historical journey from Tokyo to Kyoto. It is really impressive.
There is also a shrine in the airport where you can wish for safe travels. There is a vending machine where you can buy the small prayer plaque to write your wish on. The wall was covered in these plaques.
After the bridge and shrine, the "scenery" gets a lot more modern. There is a planetarium and less traditional shops with anime characters and non-traditional snacks. This is where I found more interesting Kit Kat flavors! The airport is often one of the best places to find unique Kit Kat flavors. Although they are never on sale, there is a wide variety! Any volunteers to try the melon flavor? I had to buy a big box of the hojiicha (roasted green tea) flavor, as it is one of my two favorite Kit Kat flavors of all time.
There is also a great outdoor observation deck. My husband and son enjoyed watching a couple planes come in. I was too cold and waited inside.
When we had about an hour left before my parent's arrival, we found a restaurant to have dinner at. We decided the gratin restaurant was the most appealing. The restaurants in Japanese airports tend to be high quality. There are some fast food places, but they offer fancy onigiri (rice balls) and other appetizing food. I have never seen a classic fast food joint in an airport here. Dinner was delicious. I ordered a sampler of 3 seafood gratins, while my husband went with spaghetti gratin. Spaghetti gratin is a tomato spaghetti sauce with a béchamel sauce. It is too sweet to me, as is most Japanese spaghetti. My son ordered ratatouille, which he gobbled right up. I had a small bite, and it was quite good.
Once we finished dinner, it was time to go wait at the arrival area. Those last 15 minutes were agony! I kept vacillating between excitement and nervousness about them going through immigration. There really is nothing to be nervous about, but it is always a stressful process nonetheless. I think my son started to doubt if they were really coming. As soon as they came around the corner, he raced into their arms. It was a glorious welcoming.
So, they have arrived. And tomorrow, we will start exploring and sharing our Japan with them. The waiting was hard, but made much easier by a nice airport that I don't mind spending a couple hours in.
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