Hello, this is Kubo. Golden Week has begun.
It feels like the COVID-19 pandemic is finally calming down worldwide. It's starting to feel like it's safe to travel across borders from Japan. So, I'll be spending Golden Week abroad for the first time in a while. My destination is Phoenix, Arizona, in the southern United States. It's a half-work, half-personal trip. Why Phoenix for work? I'll explain that in another post, but I'll probably be in the States by the time this article is published, on the first day of Golden Week.
Starting from today, I will be writing about how to spend time on an airplane in two parts. The first part will be about old times, and the second part will be about more recent times. Let's start with the old days.
Considering my age, in my late 40s, I think I started flying quite early. To help my grandmother save on taxes, the Kubo family enjoyed traveling abroad from a young age, starting with Hawaii when I was in the first year of junior high school, and continuing to Thailand and Singapore, flying abroad every year. I remember my friends often teasing me, saying, "Do they call you beef or chicken?"
When I was 15, I traveled around Europe as a backpacker for about 40 days, and from the age of 19, I went to school in the US, so I went back and forth between Japan and the US twice a year. After I started working, I didn't go back for about two and a half years, but when I was a student, I always went back for New Year's and summer holidays.
So, I had experience flying from an early age, but thinking back, the way we spend our time on board has changed. The biggest thing is the monitor. When I first started flying, there was only one TV monitor in the aisle for each block of seats (since I was in economy class, of course), and of course you had no right to choose the channel; you just watched what was playing. It was like the old-fashioned "street TV."
I don't know when they started having a monitor attached to each seat, and it's become commonplace now, but when I think back, I remember thinking, "Yes, there was one monitor above the aisle."
I'm reminded again that every time I fly, there are constant updates, from monitors to IC chips in passports. It's been almost two years since my last flight, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things have been updated this time.
When I reserve a seat, I choose a window seat. I spend all my time awake looking at the sky. And if it's an exit seat, that's even better. There's plenty of legroom and I can get in and out without any hassle. These days, the seats are often pretty full, but in the past, they were often empty, and once the door closed, I'd toss my luggage aside and grab the entire row of four or six seats in the middle.
What did you do on the plane? It's one thing if it's a short domestic flight, but if it's to America or Europe, it takes over 10 hours. I used to bring lots of CDs and a CD Walkman and listen to music. If you're listening to music, you won't get bored even if you just stare at the sky. I didn't read many books, but before I became a designer, I used to pretend to be a designer and draw pictures. It's embarrassing to remember, but...
When I go to America or Europe, I think they serve 3-4 meals, including snacks, and I used to look forward to it. It wasn't as good as it is now, but I didn't think it was bad. My wife still doesn't eat in-flight meals, and buys sushi that's sold on the plane, but I normally eat in-flight meals. Actually, I look forward to it quite a bit. ( Continued from "How to spend your time on the plane (Part 2)" )
It feels like the COVID-19 pandemic is finally calming down worldwide. It's starting to feel like it's safe to travel across borders from Japan. So, I'll be spending Golden Week abroad for the first time in a while. My destination is Phoenix, Arizona, in the southern United States. It's a half-work, half-personal trip. Why Phoenix for work? I'll explain that in another post, but I'll probably be in the States by the time this article is published, on the first day of Golden Week.
Starting from today, I will be writing about how to spend time on an airplane in two parts. The first part will be about old times, and the second part will be about more recent times. Let's start with the old days.
Considering my age, in my late 40s, I think I started flying quite early. To help my grandmother save on taxes, the Kubo family enjoyed traveling abroad from a young age, starting with Hawaii when I was in the first year of junior high school, and continuing to Thailand and Singapore, flying abroad every year. I remember my friends often teasing me, saying, "Do they call you beef or chicken?"
When I was 15, I traveled around Europe as a backpacker for about 40 days, and from the age of 19, I went to school in the US, so I went back and forth between Japan and the US twice a year. After I started working, I didn't go back for about two and a half years, but when I was a student, I always went back for New Year's and summer holidays.
So, I had experience flying from an early age, but thinking back, the way we spend our time on board has changed. The biggest thing is the monitor. When I first started flying, there was only one TV monitor in the aisle for each block of seats (since I was in economy class, of course), and of course you had no right to choose the channel; you just watched what was playing. It was like the old-fashioned "street TV."
I don't know when they started having a monitor attached to each seat, and it's become commonplace now, but when I think back, I remember thinking, "Yes, there was one monitor above the aisle."
I'm reminded again that every time I fly, there are constant updates, from monitors to IC chips in passports. It's been almost two years since my last flight, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things have been updated this time.
When I reserve a seat, I choose a window seat. I spend all my time awake looking at the sky. And if it's an exit seat, that's even better. There's plenty of legroom and I can get in and out without any hassle. These days, the seats are often pretty full, but in the past, they were often empty, and once the door closed, I'd toss my luggage aside and grab the entire row of four or six seats in the middle.What did you do on the plane? It's one thing if it's a short domestic flight, but if it's to America or Europe, it takes over 10 hours. I used to bring lots of CDs and a CD Walkman and listen to music. If you're listening to music, you won't get bored even if you just stare at the sky. I didn't read many books, but before I became a designer, I used to pretend to be a designer and draw pictures. It's embarrassing to remember, but...
When I go to America or Europe, I think they serve 3-4 meals, including snacks, and I used to look forward to it. It wasn't as good as it is now, but I didn't think it was bad. My wife still doesn't eat in-flight meals, and buys sushi that's sold on the plane, but I normally eat in-flight meals. Actually, I look forward to it quite a bit. ( Continued from "How to spend your time on the plane (Part 2)" )