Hopefully the worst thing that will happen to us along the way...

SO, on the day of our departure we had a few hours before we needed to get to the airport, we went around Shibuya, a shopping district of Tokyo and saw some super cool stuff! Then we made our way back to Asakusa, where our hostel was, packed our bags and got on a tube to the airport, we were supposed to change at a station called Aoto and so we did! We crossed the platform, marked as the platform for the airport. Then we did a number of stupid things: we got on the next one that came, not checking it's terminus against a map, we stopped checking the station blissfully innocent that we were heading into the suburbs of Tokyo and we didn't realise until the train was almost at the end of the line. As soon as we realised where we were headed we leapt of the train and swapped sides, made it back to the Keisei Line for the airport and managed to run with our 16-17kg rucksacks onto an express train for the airport! We RAN to the Air New Zealand check-in desk to find no one there, and spoke to the business class attendents who phoned through to see whether we could get on (we'd made it there 30 minutes before the plane took off!) and they couldn't do it. We then asked the assistant what we could do, she half-heartedly said:"phone your travel agents?"

So, we then lugged our bags and our heavy heavy hearts to the payphones and poured out all our coins and started trying to make phonecalls to STA, it was afterall, 9.30 am in Britain! lol. The Payphones refused to work for us and the Air New Zealand Office in Tokyo airport weren't picking up the phone (they didn't have a desk, grrrr!) We eventually got through to Ben at Birmingham STA and had two options, get on a plane today (the following day) or wait until wednesday and only have to pay 35 GBP. However, we have so much accommodation and travel booked in New Zealand we would lose out alot as well having to spend so much staying in Japan, our most expensive destination! So, we've gone with the expensive option of getting to NZ only a day late! We for a minute thought this 'missed departure' would be covered on our insurance since we are supposed to be covered for such things for upto 5oo GBP (oh yea, I can't see a pound sign on this keyboard! lol.) Anyway, when we rang the insurance company we found out we were only covered for our departure from Great Britain, that WAS a low low moment!

In total we have spent about 10,000 yen (70 GBP) on phonecalls from pay phones.

And finally, the Airport closed at 11pm so we had no chance of just sleeping on sofas in the airport, instead we had to shell out for a one star stupidly expensive airport hotel.

So, now we're all sat at an internet station (they're playing michael buble! lol) at the airport, waiting to check in for our flight today. I hope to post something much more cheerful about the sunny weather of NZ and things going much more to plan! :)

Love Rachel xxxx

ps. Emma has just informed me that Stacey killed Archie and Bradley is dead, as if things couldn't get any worse! lol :)