ANA had issued me with a meal coupon worth $45 (alcohol and gratuity excluded) because of the delay, caused apparently by some maintenance issue.  I am not one to pass on free food, so I took the coupon to what looked like the most expensive restaurant in the B concourse, Max and Erma’s.  It was sit-down, which made me think it was expensive, and I did realize that tempting as it might be, $45 of Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting would make me sick.  Well, all my efforts were for naught.  If I hadn’t finished my salad, and instead ordered and eaten part of an extra large cheeseburger, I could have bumped the total up to $30.  As it was, I maxed out at $18.62.  That’s just over a third of those $45.  Can anyone eat for $45 when the most expensive entrée is around $13?  Oh, wait, this is America, home of the can-do attitude… but don’t offer that customer a mint! 

I’ve never seen as empty a flight.  Apparently the delay caused the emptiness, though I’m unsure how.  For the first time ever I got to stretch out across three seats and sleep like that, although three seats aren’t nearly enough for someone my height to really stretch out on.  I alternated between lying on my back, lying on my side, and sitting in the seat as intended, because every position made my back hurt differently.  But I slept for most of the 13-hour flight.  You could tell the flight was empty – if the empty seats weren’t enough of an indication – by the relaxed flight attendants.  One of them asked me about the book i was reading, another offered to get me dinner even though I had just slept through it. 

ANA uses coffee grounds in a cup with a flower blossom on them to deodorize the bathroom.  I didn’t know coffee grounds were a deodorant.  I also yet again wondered what the little tail outlets on aircraft are for. 

The plane made up about one hour of its delay in the air.  Delay at Narita airport was minimal, and I was particularly happy at the floor markings banning carts from about four feet of the baggage claim.  It had the nice effect of all the people waiting behind the markings as well.  Thumbs up!  (I suppose it helps that most passengers are rule-abiding Japanese.) 

The Carnet A.T.A. passed well, except that I had to go rooting through my other suitcase to find a business card to show I belonged to Nanosurf.  They were the first to ask what “gemäss Vollmacht” meant.  I also noticed when I had to open the suitcase that the TSA had again inspected my stuff and not even closed the elastic straps back up.  No damage, as far as I can see, and I wouldn’t expect any, even without the straps, but the TSA keep inspecting and keep leaving just enough of a mess to bother me.  I saw that they’d instituted a blog, so I went and commented. 

I caught a bus to Shinjuku station, then a taxi to the hotel.  I should technically have called before 18:00 to indicate my late arrival, but it seemed not to have caused any problems.  The store where I procured Innis and Gunn last time was all out, and the clerk clueless, so I suspect it was a one-off boon to tease me.  The trappist beer I bought instead is so strong a few sips at a time are enough to get me sleepy, of which I’ll now take advantage.