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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
The domestic hall entrance of New Chitose Airport looked kind of old and dreary with just an escalator and
an elevator to greet you but it's a different ambience once you get to the
second floor where the check-in area was. It was so well-lit like an image in
full sharp mode.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
As All
Nippon Airways (ANA) dominated the check-in
area, it was a bit overwhelming to figure out the process. Do we have a
designated counter or will all counters accommodate any ANA passenger? I was
still trying to figure it out when my friend was able to determine that it was
the latter. It was kind of difficult to find your right way because most of the
signs and assisting staff spoke in Japanese.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
We were asked to present our ticket and passports and
were easily checked in but I noticed the absence of a conveyor belt to deposit
our luggage. Turns out that there was a designated baggage check-in at another
counter where we had to present our boarding pass to be allowed to go through
security check and check in our baggage. It was interesting that they only
screened our check-in baggage, not our hand-carry and purses at this stage.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Then we headed off to our gate for another security
check, this time for our hand-carry and all that remains. Once again, we were
asked to present our boarding pass. All computers were to be placed on a
separate tray, cellphones out, and water bottles be opened so the officers
could sniff them.
The second screening took
longer and incurred a busy queue which prompted a remark of admiration from one
of my friends on how thorough the officers were.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
We then checked out our lunch possibilities but we didn't
find any restaurant as there were only convenience shops with standing tables
at a designated area. At first, I thought we will go hungry as the menu was in
Japanese.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
"Chicken, please."
"Chicken?"
"Yes, chicken."
"No chicken."
"Do you have rice meals?"
We were met with a stare
then the cashier pulled out an English menu with four varieties of fried rice.
Thank you, Lord!
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
It took a bit before I was able to use the toilet so a flight attendant
offered me a bag of candies and asked where I was from. She then began to show
off her Filipino skills with "salamat po," "maganda," and
"magandang hapon po." After laughing together, she revealed that she has
a Filipino friend who taught her. I’m just glad the friend taught her the right
words. I remember one friend mischievously taught her hapless Japanese friend
to say, “Salamat, bakla” (“Thanks, gay man.”) when she wants to thank Pinoys
which generated a lot of chuckles each time.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Thirty minutes before landing, we were experiencing some
erratic turbulence which was followed by a seat belt notice and an assurance
that the safety of the aircraft was not at risk. But we eventually had a smooth
landing at Haneda
Airport and as soon as the seat belt sign was
turned off, we all got up from our seats to retrieve our hand-carry from the
overhead bin.
The lady who shared my
storage space kept pulling her shopping bag unsuccessfully as my hand-carry was
blocking it. I patted and tapped her several times to ask her to let me get my
hand-carry first but she just ignored me, fully concentrating like a chess
master on tugging her shopping bag. A man appreciated the same futility as he
just pulled my hand-carry and handed it to me. The woman never looked at
our way once, not even to thank the man.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
We deplaned a few moments later and made one of the
longest walk I have ever had to the baggage claim.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
By the time you get to the carousel, you would be hunched
over like the image on the sign.
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Copyright photo:The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
The advantage of the long walk
though is that it lessened the waiting time
at the carousel as my luggage came out soon enough.
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