Japan 2016 - Arrival in Urayasu, Japan

our flight out of klia was at 8am. i like the fact that we'll get to narita (and to the accommodation) at a decent hour but i'm not too fond of the waking up early with the boys and hubby's head. we settled everything the day before so that everything would be smooth that morning. everyone's outfit settled on the beds, shoes by the door, bags packed and locked next to the stairs, electrical items switched off, laundry folded, last load in the machine for that last bit of spin, travel documents sorted and in our hand luggage, the boys hand luggage packed with their toys and books.

the morning of the travel, the boys woke up all excited. they bathed and got ready quietly and quickly. i told them once they were ready to stay in the tv room, not to disturb us and to check and double check their hand luggage (more to keep them occupied and not to disturb us). hubby settled amira and went through our travel documents while i cleaned the room and checked the luggage one last time.

the taxi came on schedule at 5.00am that morning. traffic was a breeze and we got to klia in 40minutes. we settled the online check-in except for amira. the counter was empty and we were the first in line. we settled amira's check-in process, gave the staff our luggage and got our boarding passes. we had a couple of hours before boarding and had breakfast at mcdonald's followed by a leisurely walk to the gate.

the flight was delayed for 40 minutes, so we were there in good time. the boys were all excited to board but the parents were already tired. once we boarded, the boys concentrated on their tv and games.

hubby & i took turns with a very hyper-and-refused-to-sleep amira. six hours felt like ages, even more so since we got up before the crack of dawn that morning. i think i went through 30 barney and 30 thomas and 30 mickey mouse episodes. eating was especially difficult because we had nowhere to put amira. so we took turns eating and we ate with one hand. i had to quickly eat, once i finished eating i took amira and stood at the back, near the galley and fed her soft rolls. that kept her occupied for 10 minutes. when she finally slept, it was short and she woke up before we managed to get a quick shut eye.

we arrived in narita after 4pm. immigration was quick and we were at the exit waiting for our pickup by 5pm. it was an hour's car ride from narita to urayasu and with the help of the driver we easily found our first airbnb apartment.

the place was nice, with a small kitchen, 2 bedroom with 5 tatamis, a small dining with a tv and a bathroom with a washer. the toilet was separate from the bath area and had drying racks and a big vanity. the place lacked storage but had a big shoe cabinet. kind of irritating having to leave the jackets and sweaters and pajamas everywhere we could hook them up. well, its only for a couple of days, we'll make do.

after an hour or so putting our luggage aside, taking out the packed food and putting amira's food in the freezer, we bundled up in our winter jackets and mufflers and walked around the neighbourhood. there was 2 family marts, a lawson and a 7-11 in the area where we grabbed bread, eggs, a packed salad, crisps and other munchies. the boys loved walking around in the cold winter. our earlier travel wasn't too taxing and we didn't suffer from jet lag and no one was moody.

we got back to the apartment, eating whatever we could stomach for dinner, took a long shower each and got ready for bed. the tatami was comfortable but the neighbour was extremely noisy post 10pm but we were too tired to be disturbed by the noise.