We had quite a delay in getting back home. Apparently a volcano erupted in the Aleutian Islands, causing the plane, that we were waiting for to arrive to take us back to Newark, to be delayed. There was also a medical emergency on that plane, that required the pilot to turn back to San Francisco. So all these things combined, delayed our plane about 6 hours. But, because the crew can only work 13 hours according to FAA rules, when we finally boarded our plane in Tokyo, we had to make an unexpected stop to refuel in San Francisco and to change crew members, which delayed our arrival home another hour. We wound up getting home at 4 am, instead of around 9 pm.

We will miss Japan. It is a beautiful country, with humble and gentle people, streets, subways, trains, buses, and hotels that are sparkling clean, and delicious food that tempted our taste buds at every meal. We met some wonderful people on the tour, and of course our guide Hiro was second to none. We saw so many wonderful sites, and participated in so many amazing adventures, that the days flew by too quickly. And of course…the cherry blossoms. Words can’t capture how truly magnificent they were.

一期一会, which is pronounced as Ichigo ichie. Translated, it means “once in a lifetime encounter.” In other words, you must enjoy and live every exceptional encounter to its fullest, as long as it lasts.

Well…we certainly did.