new tokyo international airport

tokyo is a great place to have an adventure! but sometimes, i like to escape the city and go elsewhere. tuesday was a holiday, and i spent it in an unusual way. i went to the airport! nope...not to go anywhere.... just to "be" at the airport. actually, narita airport is pretty cool. they have outside observation decks where you can take pictures of the planes as they take off, land, and taxi. the deck is surrounded by wire fencing, but they've made holes big enough to stick a camera through. it was neat being there and not being rushed to catch a flight. it was kinda peaceful just watching the planes take flight as if by magic.























and if you ever find yourself there for a few hours, here are some things for you to do.

first...if you are in terminal one, go out and find the observation deck (it's on the fourth floor). it's outdoors, and you can watch the planes takeoff and land (as i did in the above photo). for authentic, real-life japanese culture, head to lawson's (convenience store) for some of what the locals REALLY eat (and green tea kit kat!). there is kaiten sushi in the restaurant area as well, and though i didn't have any, it looked pretty tasty to me. one of the best thing about the airport is that the shops don't seem to have inflated prices (the stuff in the convenience store costs exactly the same as it does at any other convenience store in japan), and even the gift shops seem to all have the same price for comparable items outside the airport.

if you have your own tips about narita airport, please leave them in the comments.

TYO