Tokyo ’15, Day 15 – Silent Goodbyes and the Journey Home

On Saturday the 24th of October my mom and I got up really early. We got dressed, collected our last things and checked the room one more time. Then it was time to go. We said goodbye to room 1452 and went downstairs. We checked out at the desk and then walked up to the restaurant, which opened not long after. We asked whether we could leave our suitcases somewhere for a moment and the incredibly helpful staff kept our luggage to the side while we went to have breakfast one more time. I sure was going to miss that amazing breakfast. ;_;
After we were done, we picked up our suitcases again and waited for the bus to take us to the airport.

Ready to leave Japan. I can’t believe I managed to get all my stuff inside that one suitcase!
Despite all the incredibly slow and annoying people that had to get on the same bus, the hotel staff lady remained patient and managed to get everyone and every suitcase ready (she sure was patient, damn). The bus soon arrived and my mom and I found a seat right at the front.

Our airport limousine bus tickets.
The bus left and I said my silent goodbye to the hotel. I said a lot of silent goodbyes that day. We made one more stop at Shinjuku station. We passed the big orange clock one more time, a silent goodbye and then our ride to the airport began. Every trip to Japan ended with a bus ride back to the airport, so it wasn’t a novelty to us. However, I was still a bit surprised at how fast the driver drove. I do love leaving the city by bus. You see Tokyo from such a different side.
We left the city and passed Disneyland. Another silent goodbye.

Bye Disneyland!
After a long ride and somewhat annoying fellow passengers, we arrived at the airport. At every stop, staff members would bow for the bus and then start unloading the suitcases meant for that terminal. My mom and I were the last ones to get off. We collected our luggage and went inside the terminal. We quickly found the right desk, checked in and went to stand in line for luggage check in. It was our turn quite soon and I was immensely relieved to see my suitcase’s weight was just around the permitted weight. We let our suitcases go and decided to just go through customs immediately.

Our flight would leave at 10:30 am.
We got our hand luggage checked and walked into the airport. I just noticed I didn’t take any pictures, but it’s ok. There was not that much to do to take pictures of anyway. We did however spent our last yen in one of the souvenir shops we remembered from previous trips. It’s called ‘Asakusa’ or something. They sell lots of candy and souvenirs there and well… we love souvenirs. x) However, during our previous trips it wasn’t crowded there at all, but this time it was! My mom went to browse, while I walked on to another shop to buy the newest Kera (which I had completely forgotten during our entire trip). When I got back, my mom was still in line. Initially I thought this was bothersome, but it gave us the opportunity to check souvenirs along the way to the checkout, so it was fun after all. ^^ I got a really nice tote bag and a key chain.
During all of our trips, I have given kokeshi dolls to my mom (at least two of them from this exact shop). My mom had wanted to buy one during our trip, but ended up not doing so for whatever reason. Luckily, she fell in love with one in the this shop again! So what better way to end our trip than to honour the tradition of buying my mom a kokeshi doll? She was so happy! ♥
We ended up with a big pile of candy and souvenirs and just after we had paid, my mom said: ‘Argh, I don’t know what to do! I found something so pretty, but I\m not sure whether to buy it…’ Then, she showed me a beautiful little box that turned out to be a music box! I insisted she bought it, otherwise she would have regretted it anyway. x)
Finally, our airport shopping was over and we walked on to our gate.

Our plane, waiting to take us home.
Soon, it was time to board. We quickly found our seats and made ourselves comfortable (as far as that’s possible in an airplane, haha). Not long after, our plane started moving.

Our final moments on Japanese ground.
Our plane drove to the take-off strip and the engine started to roar. I held my mom’s hand and didn’t bother her too much, while I looked through the window while the plane took off and the wheels left the ground. A silent goodbye. I was sad to be leaving, but at the same time relieved. I was tired, in a good way, but very tired.
What can I say about the fight home? It was long. Writing about it so long after makes it seem like it wasn’t that long, but of course it was. I watched movies. We ate food. I walked around a couple of times to stretch. Nothing special. Some of the views were amazing though.

Our flight in a nutshell, haha!
After a looong time, we were finally almost there. The plane started to descend and soon we flew over the big, green and neat acres of the Netherlands. It looked cold and grey, but familiar (haha).

Ready to land in our own country.
Soon the wheels hit the ground and it took a while before the plane arrived at the terminal. Coming home is such a strange feeling… I was genuinely happy to be back, but leaving all the adventures behind is also saddening.
We collected our things and left the airplane. We went looking for a toilet first to get freshened up a bit and then followed the people to customs. It was crowded there though, damn! They had even turned off the escalator, otherwise people would just be pushed into each other!
We finally got through customs and proceeded to the luggage belts, hoping our suitcases would arrive safely. The last time we were there, I had to catch our suitcases before they hit a small pole that wrecked some other suitcases. ^^’
I was looking out for my dad, who would be picking us up, when suddenly I was struck with surprise. Because behind the window where relatives and friends could wave at the people they were waiting for stood not just my dad, but also my brother! Now this may seem like a very unsurprising thing to you, however not for us! My brother had left for Oxford, England in September to study there for a couple of months, so we were not expecting him to welcome us back at all! Turns out, my dad had kept this surprise a secret from us. How cool is that? When my mom saw him, she started crying. ♥
We found our suitcases, were reunited with my dad and brother and went home. Our amazing adventure was finally over.

Purchases of the day
And to end this post with, here is the first video I made about our adventures in Tokyo (there are two parts)! I filmed a lot and tried to make the best videos I could about our trip. I hope you will like it! ♥
You can find day 15 from 6:42 until the end. Please take a look if you want! ♥


Thank you for reading! ~☆~

This was my last Japan 2015 post! Thank you all so much for reading about our adventures! I hope you enjoyed them! ♥ Thank you for staying with me.
Onwards to a new adventure~!