Base camp one - Tokyo Okura

Sure enough, we were less than 15 minutes late into Narita after an uneventful flight. I managed to see a bit of the Western Siberian Plain before dosing off at Surgut and waking again over Khabarovsk. At 600Mph that means I must have got around four hours sleep, not bad at all.

Immigration was swift, the fingerprints and photo done by a quite amusing NEC gizmo and my bag appeared amongst the first few. A customs officer with no English didn't waste any of his time on me, neither did the Friendly Airport Limousine lady who made me wait four(!) minutes before I was being whisked into Tokyo centre.

Quite a lot has gone on in two and a half years since my last visit with lots of changed buildings and new roadways. Some things I'd forgotten about remain the same; every employee of the coach company bowing to every departing coach, crash barriers painted white and spotlessly clean on both sides, spotlessly clean high polish chrome effluent tankers and the ever popular announcement on the coach "please do not use portable phones as these annoy the neighbours".

The Okura is exactly as it was, and perhaps has been since 1962. It's nothing short of embarrassing having to say "good afternoon" individually to the thirty or so bell staff littering the "robby". I suppose this is the price of being treated like royalty.

Now I've got an hour to compose myself before I head out to meet my Suzuka 2006 GP buddy and a number of his chums. It seems I make a good excuse to go out for too much beer and "old-school Yakitori", whatever that may involve.