Layover II

So I had thought that the thirteen hour flight from JFK to Tokyo was going to be a new expression of my own personal hell, but to be perfectly honest, I've had far worse aviation experiences on far shorter flights. Even though I slept only two hours I managed to go the whole flight without ever becoming unbearably board or trying to claw my way out. The flight wasn't full, so I had an entire row of three seats to myself. Apparently the Japanese have NOT abandoned Tom Cruise as a worthy celebrity, because of my eight movie options, three were Tom Cruise flicks, including the utterly senseless Cocktail. All in all though, I got through the nasty leg of the trip without sleeping, losing my mind, or drinking heavily. No small feat. When we finally got over Japan, my first look out the window resulted in the following thought: "It wouldn't even have to be a very tall wave." I was not prepared for how flat Japan appears to be. No wonder they've spent so much money on Tsunami warnings; it isn't going to take much. One gets the impression from the air that the entire country is floating on the water by virtue of surface tension; like a giant green oil slick.
I have to unabashedly admit that the Tokyo airport (Ok, there are three Tokyo airports, I am connecting at Narita, which I believe to be the newest of the three, located in Tokyo's northwest suburbs) is exactly as I imagined it would be: immaculate, high tech, extremely well lit, and in every way vastly superior to our American versions. One thing I had imagined which is almost conspicuously lacking is any of the cartoon figurines and advertisements that Japanese culture has become somewhat famous for. This airport is sans-Pokemon and there's not even a hint of Anime in any of the many advertisements here. Perhaps I've been caught red-handed in a generalization here, but the decor, the shops, even a lot of the food in this particular terminal anyway, is decidedly European in appearance.
My flight to Bangkok is a little under seven hours long and appears to be on another jumbo 747. If I'm doing my math correctly, I've been awake for eighteen hours now, and I have at least another eight or nine ahead of me. I imagine I will get more sleep on the flight to Bangkok.