Japan Said Goodbye to Me in Just the Right Way

Flying in Japan for me recently has not been incredibly exciting.  It was just the nature of the transition of our squadron that as my planes left there would be less flying period, and it would ultimately become a formality more than real fun.  I did get one outstanding trip to Nepal, which I shouldn’t sell short, but I have missed some good old low-level tactical flying.  While my commercial flight back to the States did not include that type of flying, it was still just about the most perfect departure out of a very special place that I could have asked for.

I will apologize up front for the lack of pictures as I know pictures are what so many avgeeks live for, but there were two reasons for that.  One, I no longer had a cell phone since I sold it before leaving Japan.  Two, I actually made a conscious decision to just enjoy the view and make my own memories rather than trying to document it.  It is something I have heard David Parker Brown talk about before when going to events that don’t allow cameras.  I hope that my descriptions will satisfy your avgeek needs.

It started at my favorite airport to visit, Haneda.  I have written about how awesome it is before, but it was so wonderful to get in one last visit before leaving Japan.  I even got to ride on the train there with one of my best friends which was an added bonus.  In short, Haneda has one of, if not the best observation deck at an airport in the world.  It is before security and sits on top of the International Terminal so you get amazing views of the big beauties, as well as views of multiple runways.  If you ever come through Tokyo you really should check it out.

I was a little concerned I would have a crappy flight because my original seat assignment was in the middle of the middle section on a 777-200ER.  That means there would be four seats between me and the real avgeek seat by the window.  Fortunately, I went to the counter to check in and asked for a window, which I was given with no effort other than asking.  To make it even better, my window seat was on the wing.  I just knew this was going to be a great flight once I saw that.  I know everyone has favorite and most hated airlines, but I was happy to be returning to America on American which has always been my favorite airline.

As we took the runway and they pushed up those beautiful engines, I was a bit sad about leaving this incredible place, but equally as excited to finally be reunited with my family after three months apart.  As I always do when seated on the wing I watched the entire departure and it was so cool to see small clouds form over the wing at the very moment the wing generated lift and we rotated off the ground.  What was even cooler was the funnel cloud that persisted for a good five minutes after takeoff shooting over the wing just inside of the engine.  I’m sure there is a name for that, but it is not something we get with props on the Herc so I am not sure what that is.

I got a great view of the city as we departed, but I was a little disappointed that I likely would not see Mt. Fuji because there was a lot of haze and a low cloud deck over much of the city.  As we cut through the haze, and what turned out to be a really thin layer of clouds that almost exploded as the wings came through, we popped above the clouds, and there she was.  Mt. Fuji stood out above the clouds below like I had seen so many times before.  We were taking off right at sunset so she was backdropped with a sky full of reds and oranges.  It was the perfect way for Japan to say goodbye to me.  It probably irritated the people around me that I let that light in for so long, but I just couldn’t stop watching.

I know most people leave the window closed the whole time overnight because it’s not like you can see anything anyway, but I just can’t help looking every hour or so.  There is something about watching that light out on the wingtip that just adds to the trip for me.  That may even be a little crazy for an Avgeek, but I like it.

We made landfall in the Bay Area, but surprise surprise, it was covered in clouds.  I did get a few glimpses of land and it made me smile to see America again.  I have been back multiple times over the last two years, but this time I was coming home for good.

As we came into the LA basin on approach to LAX I was a little disappointed to see so much city again as I was anxious to get into the mountains of my new home in Reno, but the avgeek gods had a little treat for me.  As we lined up on the runway I looked out over that lovely wing and saw a Southwest bird racing us to the runway.  I know most people couldn’t care less, but it is always a treat at airports with parallel runways to track into the runway together.  It didn’t hurt that we were quite a bit early either.

LAX was nothing stellar, but I can’t hate on it too much as I had been awake for almost 24 hours and had to kill six hours.  In hindsight I should have gotten an Uber or something and ran out to the famous In N Out for a little spotting fun.

The ride to Reno was not really eventful because it was mostly overcast, and was bumpy most of the way there.  Fortunately, the clouds opened up for the approach and I got to watch the arrival into my new city.  To cap off this wonderful trip we taxied north up the airport alongside the National Guard ramp and I got to see seven of their beautiful birds lined up on the ramp.  It was the perfect ending to a very very long day.

I drove off of Yokota AB saying goodbye to their last four C-130Hs about 24 hours earlier and had now made it to my new home with the view of the new C-130s I will be flying in a matter of weeks as a member of the 192nd Airlift Squadron in Reno.  I can’t wait to get this next incredible adventure started and continue my love affair with the Herc.