Author Topic: BigMike's Big Japanese Vacation (Read 79829 times)

BigMike · « **on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:07:12 AM »

BigMike's Japanese Trip Threads

		Pages	Date
First	BigMike's Big Japanese Vacation (currently viewing)	12+ (incomplete)	December 2005
Second	BigMike's Big Japanese Vacation II	3 (haven't even uploaded a single picture)	June-July 2006
Third	BigMike's Big Mini Japanese Vacation	4+ (incomplete)	June 2010
Fourth	It's Another BigMike's Japanese Vacation!	4+ (incomplete)	September 2011
Fifth	BigMike's 2013 Japanese Vacation	Just started	December 2013

Well guys, I'm nearly outta this country!!

We got to Loma Linda last night around 10pm, Marlin, my mother, and myself. We are staying at my sister's house here, and we are about to head out for breakfast, after which, Marlin and his wife will head back to Fresburg, and my sister and her husband will escort me to L.A.X.

I'll be at L.A.X. around 11am and my flight departs at 1:05p. It'll be about a 12 hour flight, and I will get there at 12:45am Sunday (PST time), which is 5:45pm Sunday (JAPN time). I will be there until January 16th!!!!! SWEET!

I think it might be a couple of days until I can get setup with the internet over there, but I am gonna be updating this thread often, so check back for some really cool photos and random things found only in Japan!

Cya,
BigMike

Geno · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:12:27 AM »

Sound's like it will be a blast. Have fun and post lots of pics

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:16:25 AM »

Quote from: BigMike on Dec 17, 2005, 08:07:12 AM

Well guys, I'm nearly outta this country!!

We got to Loma Linda last night around 10pm, Marlin, my mother, and myself. We are staying at my sister's house here, and we are about to head out for breakfast, after which, Marlin and his wife will head back to Fresburg, and my sister and her husband will escort me to L.A.X.

I'll be at L.A.X. around 11am and my flight departs at 1:05p. It'll be about a 12 hour flight, and I will get there at 12:45am Sunday (PST time), which is 5:45pm Sunday (JAPN time). I will be there until January 16th!!!!! SWEET!

I think it might be a couple of days until I can get setup with the internet over there, but I am gonna be updating this thread often, so check back for some really cool photos and random things found only in Japan!

Cya,
BigMike

I can't wait for the updates!!!

RokCrawlinToy · « **Reply #3 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:25:42 AM »

What parts of Japan are you going to see? Have fun Mike $Beer Chug\'n$

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #4 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:52:27 AM »

Quote from: RokCrawlinToy on Dec 17, 2005, 08:25:42 AM

What parts of Japan are you going to see?

His girlfriend.............

RokCrawlinToy · « **Reply #5 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:54:23 AM »

Quote from: Rocksurfer on Dec 17, 2005, 08:52:27 AM

His girlfriend.............

Pancho · « **Reply #6 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 12:26:11 PM »

Mike have a wanderfull time and give your best smile to the in laws, like the one you gave us at Coco's.

BigMike · « **Reply #7 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 06:19:59 PM »

Hey guys............. $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$ $I\'m Down$

Well, I am in Long Beach right now. SINGAPORE AIRLINES SUCKS BUNG HOLES!!

When I got to the airport, they were so busy that we had to form a line outside the airport terminal. I was there 2.5 hours early even. Then when we finally moved inside, the group split up and I was directed over to a baggage screening line, which I waited like an hour in, and then I was directed over to the ticket/passenger check in, and when there were only four people left, I was 2nd next in line, they changed the sign and put up the "Bording Closed" sign

WTF?

So the 4 of us were so pissed off, and they said that they had over booked the flight, and then they asked why we didnt come to the airport on time, and we were all so mad because we had already been there more than 2 hrs early and we had moved through 3 different lines IT WAS TOTAL :bull crap:

So, while in line, I met this super cool Japanese guy named Masa, and I am now at his place and we are going to stay here for one night and then we are supposed to catch the plane tomorrow with "Priority Waiting List" status.

W T F

So I made sure that they made copies of our tickets and made sure that they knew we were here today and that we all got SCREWED, so they will remember us tomorrow. We are going to wake up and go there like around 9a tomorrow... the flight leaves at 1:05p AGAIN, so they better not screw up tomorrow! I already gave them hell, but theres nothing we could do..

And Misato even took a day off from work so that she could spend my first day in Japan together, and now she'll just be using that time waiting for me to come the next day

This sucks

Still in America,
Mike

RokCrawlinToy · « **Reply #8 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 06:21:59 PM »

I was wondering how you were posting, when you should still be on your way over there. That sucks that you got screwed over like that.

79coyotefrg · « **Reply #9 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 07:21:27 PM »

Quote from: RokCrawlinToy on Dec 17, 2005, 08:25:42 AM

What parts of Japan are you going to see? Have fun Mike $Beer Chug\'n$

i was going to say His girlfriend but some body beat me to it

jimbo74 · « **Reply #10 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 08:41:59 PM »

mike, thats sucks dude! get a good nigth sleep so ya arent late.....

FIREBALL · « **Reply #11 on:** Dec 17, 2005, 09:45:19 PM »

Mike, i'm totaly jelious!! Sorry it's not starting as planned, but don't sweat it, you'll be there soon.
Yuki Arashi says to say hi to his relatives.
Think of me while you're havin some sushi and a bottle of sake.

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #12 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 12:02:31 AM »

......anticipation!!! It's making you nutz..

Ferg · « **Reply #13 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 07:11:36 AM »

Quote from: BigMike on Dec 17, 2005, 06:19:59 PM

SINGAPORE AIRLINES SUCKS BUNG HOLES!!

Going to the orient? ONLY Cathay Pacific Airlines! On time AND friendly!

Pancho · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 08:48:52 AM »

dude that sucks well the LBC is not so bad for a night.

mudguts · « **Reply #15 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 09:39:59 AM »

Eat some fugu and drink some biiruo for me Mikey.

Angelo · « **Reply #16 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 04:55:19 PM »

Big Mike

Have a great trip and hurry back we've got a 3RZ to install $Beer Chug\'n$

Now for the good stuff, I talkd to Bevin and I know about your dentures

and we
want to see PICS

thats all i'm gunna say.......

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

ps say hi to Mistao

Ang & Candy

79coyotefrg · « **Reply #17 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 05:28:15 PM »

yea so has anybody heard from our boy, did he make it , is he

hey angelo

wa4x4 · « **Reply #18 on:** Dec 18, 2005, 07:43:02 PM »

Take pictures of your whole trip and the pics of you with massive jet lag when you get back stateside. Hope the GF is as happy to see you as you obviously are to see her.

BigMike · « **Reply #19 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 05:54:31 AM »

Hey guys, I FINALLY made it here!!

I am beat, so Im off to dream land, I'll post some pics and some stories tomorrow!

Cya
BigMike from Tokyo

brainlessfool · « **Reply #20 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 07:10:54 AM »

Quote from: BigMike on Dec 19, 2005, 05:54:31 AM

I am beat, so Im off to dream land, I'll post some pics and some stories tomorrow!

Cya
BigMike from Tokyo

HUH? it is tomorrow here now! so make with the pics!

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #21 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 08:31:56 AM »

Quote from: brainlessfool on Dec 19, 2005, 07:10:54 AM

HUH? it is tomorrow here now! so make with the pics!

Yeah what's up with that, in fact it is already the 20th there. 1:30am to be exact. You are offically 2 days without an update here. You are getting behind.

wa4x4 · « **Reply #22 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 08:34:23 AM »

Wait...BigMike went 2 days without posting anything? BigMike as in Marlins son....someone call the authorities.

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #23 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 08:45:36 AM »

Quote from: wa4x4 on Dec 19, 2005, 08:34:23 AM

Wait...BigMike went 2 days without posting anything? BigMike as in Marlins son....someone call the authorities.

Not offically, just by his clock in Japan.

I think he went to Japan to get his Xmas presents almost a day early.

FIREBALL · « **Reply #24 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 08:50:28 AM »

Right on Mike. Say hi to your girl for us.
I'll do an oyster shooter in your honor tonight at sushi.

BigMike · « **Reply #25 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 05:32:53 PM »

Quote from: FIREBALL on Dec 19, 2005, 08:50:28 AM

I'll do an oyster shooter in your honor tonight at sushi.

Hahahaha no problem Jason, and muddybuddy, I'll eat some fugu that has been prepared incorrectly just for you

Well, it is almost 10am here Tuesday morning. We woke up at about 7:30, and I walked with Misato for about 1.5 or 2 miles to her work. Actually, and this impressed the hell outta me, she works for an Austrian company who designs engine and chassis dynos and I believe drivetrain components for the F1 SECTOR!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!? So her job is to translate English Documents to and from Japanese, so that the Germans, who of course can speak English, can communicate to the Japanese workers and Engineers here.

GEEZ When I found out about this, which was back in Sept or so, I was SO SHOCKED! Man, that is like my dream job! To be an Engineer for an F1 company, and here my gf is a secretary for one!!!

So anyways, on with what has happened!

After we waited about 2 hrs for the manager to show up to the counter on Saturday, and after we learned that there was nothing we could do but return the following day (Sunday) and *try* to get the next plane by standby, they gave me a 1-800 phn# to call and see if that could help.

But their customer support closed at 3pm on Sat. and it was already past that by the time we left the airport, so it was like, ok? What the heck can I do with that? So I had to wait until 7am Sun morning for them to open up, so I called them the next morning while we were driving back to LAX, and after waiting on hold for 12 min, a super cool lady came on and was shocked at what happened and said that even though they had over booked, we still should had gotten on that plane. She said that there was no excuse for what happened and she was determined to get us on the Sunday plane. So she put me on hold while she spoke to her supervisor, and then the next thing I know, my cell phone drops the call.

I didnt even get her name... So I call them back up. On hold for 11 mins, now we are near Torrance.. I get a hold of a guy, and I tell him the whole story again, and then he puts me on hold for about 3 mins, then he comes back and says "Ah, you spoke to Dianna, let me transfer to her desk" and I'm like SWEET and then,,,,,,,,,,,, my phone drops the call. It wasn't really dropping the calls, but I would be on hold for like 5mins, and then I look at the phone, and its on the main screen with the clock and wallpaper. It's like they just hung up on me...

So I then call them up the third time, Im on hold for another 15 mins, now I am on the Airport Bus leaving Parking lot B, and I somehow get ahold of the same guy, who said he didnt know what happened, and I give him my cell # in case we loose the call again, and then he transfers me to Dianna, and she tells me that she took care of everything, that she sent a msg to the airport about us, and told us what to do..

Wow, this could turn in to a really long story, so I'll keep it short.

So we need to check in our bags, well Mexicana air has a flight around 9am when we got there, and so there is a MASSIVE line to check in bags. Remember that the Singapore counter does not even open until 9:30, so we got there 30mins early to get our bags checked in. Our flight is not even until 1pm, a good 4 hours to go still. So we get in line, and then some guy asks Masa which airline we are with, and the guy is like, "oh, well just go over there and they are checking bags already"

So we are the first in line to get our bags checked, and they dont even scan them!! They just put some liquid on a towel and cleaned all of our zippers.. What? to remove oils to check if anyone opens them?

And then they just put them back behind the counter and we get in the "stand-by" line.

There are about 4 other ppl there who are ahead of us, and who dont even have tickets. So we wait about 15 mins, and then the same Japanese lady who Masa had spoke to the previous day was there, and she immediately calls both our names! AWESOME!

So we cut ahead of the line and become the first standbys to get our "on standby" assurance. Now we have to wait until about 12:30 to see if there were any no-shows and then maybe we could get on the plane.

So I still didnt feel good, but I thought we had about an 80% chance of getting on the plane.

And to make things even worse, when she goes to process my tickets, there was yet another problem.. See, I used Travelocity to get my tickets like back in Sept. and the lady was saying that they were supposed to mail my tickets to my house. WWWHHHAAAAATTTTTTT?

I DID NOT GET THEM!!!!

So I am COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT now. Man, I never got anything in the mail, PLUS I had called last week to Travelocity to confirm that everything was good, and all I was supposed to bring was a printed copy of the email letter they sent me, and my passport.

So I called Travelocity, and they told me, "No, The Airport has my tickets." So I told the lady, "No, you have them" and she is like "No, I do not have them" ksdjhf kujsedhf iusedhf kjsdhf kjs :maddest !!!!!! And then she is typing away and then she goes, "Oh, actually I see now, these are e-tickets" WELL NO DUH LADY

So she prints out some paper and then I am placed on the official "Standby list"

So we eat some food (got ripped off) and we return at 12:30p, and they immediately call our names, again, ahead of everyone else who was on standby, and they give us our boarding passes, and we are off!
Wow, finally. 24 hours from our original time, we are on the plane.
We got some killer seats too! Window seats right next to the Emergency Exit Door! SWEET! Leg room for days!!!

BigMike · « **Reply #26 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 06:05:51 PM »

Well despite our lousy experience, Singapore's Airplane ROCKS!!

As I am told, only 3 companies have planes with On Demand Video, Audio, and Computer Games, all right in front of you on your own personal LCD screen: JAL, Asiana, and Singapore Air.

So I got to select my own movie, and pause it, rewind, fast forward, play some music, or play some games, even networked board games that I could play, like head-to-head chess against someone else on the plane! It was SWEET! There was a program guide, and there were like 40 movies, all big hits and some International films, and like over 100 full length Audio Albums, and then a bunch of music mixes, like a Rock Station, or Classical Station, etc, and then there were many TV Shows like the Family Guy, Everybody HATES Raymond, LOST, etc..

It was pretty cool. I even made it to level 6 on the original Mario Bros, but of course I warped twice hehehehe

Here are some pictures from the plane trip..

The first one is Masa and I from Sunday morning, waiting for 12:30p to come. We were not sure if we would get on the plane at that time, but we had a good feeling that we would..
The next one is us on the plane. Sorry its so dark, I didnt want to use the flash on the plane, and I dont have Adobe here, so I cant clean up any of my images...
The 3rd is my sweet personal lcd monitor
And 4th is a delicious Zaru-soba meal. They even gave us little Haagen Dazs icecream for dessert. I was really impressed with the service on the plane.

If you can ever get on the plane, then Singapore is excellent!

BigMike · « **Reply #27 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 06:15:18 PM »

I watched The Wedding Crashers, which was a steller flick, then I watched the Transporter 2, which I thought was a bit too fake, and hence I liked the first one better, then I took a nap for a couple of hours, and then I watched an episode of the Family Guy, the Simpsons, and about 70% of The 40 Year Old Virgin, and then we landed. So far I think that movie is just "OK". I was expecting more from it, so I am not really giving it much of a chance.

A picture of a wing hahah
Heres a cool picture of Mount Fuji!

BigMike · « **Reply #28 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 06:16:39 PM »

And then, finally we landed in Japan. We were a good 40 mins ahead of schedule, and when I had gone through all the motions and got out the last gate, there she was.................... Wow, she looked SOOO GREAT. I remembered how beautiful she was, but she really took my breath away again! Her style had changed a bit since I last saw her, beings that she has moved back to the Japanese style, but she looked AMAZINGLY GOOD.

I didnt take anypictures of her then, and I wished I had. She was crying so much, and me, I was just so frustrated with all of this garbage, that I had too many mixed emotions. I thought I would cry for sure though... I had ran that day through my mind and my dreams over and over again.. I imagined it so many times, walking out of the terminal, and looking for Misato, and then finding here standing there... waiting for me. I was sooooooooo happy to see her, words cant express it. She was wearing a miniskirt, some really sexy boots, and an elegant white trench coat. Her hair has grown longer then I last remembered. Man she looks great

BigMike · « **Reply #29 on:** Dec 19, 2005, 06:31:32 PM »

Here are some random pictures.

The first two are from the Subway that we rode for about an hour.

And then we went to an AM PM minimart. No Joke!

BigMike [OP]

BigMike [OP]

BigMike [OP]

BigMike [OP]

BigMike [OP]

BigMike [OP]

BigMike [OP]

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