Scaredy Cat Travels

LA to Tokyo or I hate babies

Flight: Delta Airlines Non-Stop LAX to Tokyo Haneda airport in Comfort Plus 

Hotel: the plane 

Plans: Despite plans for random panic attacks, I didn’t have any. The same cannot be said for the kids.

Before the flight. Ignorance is bliss.

Fellow parents of teens or college-aged kids, imagine if your child downloaded a Spotify playlist and several hours of Netflix to watch/listen to on the plane. Now imagine, if a little over an hour into that 12 hour flight, they realize all of the downloads have disappeared and there is nothing, absolutely nothing to do for over ten hours. Now imagine if wifi is also not available.

It went about as well as you’re picturing.

Then add in a family of four seated immediately in front of you who are all clearly sick with something along the lines of the black plague. You might think on a flight to Japan, where masks were never mandated, merely suggested, and everyone wore them, that people hacking up a lung might – a., decide to postpone their trip in consideration of the other passengers locked in a metal tube with them for hours or b., wear a freaking mask. But alas, we were too close to US airspace for consideration of others to kick in. Cue flashbacks to being the wife of a cancer patient during COVID in the South.

Once I gave up hope of making it through the trip without one or all of us getting sick (which, in our family, is sort of a vacation tradition anyway), I was able to fully appreciate the agony the youngest child was in. Perhaps appreciate is not the word I’m looking for.

Spoiler Alert: We didn’t get sick.

Spoiler to the Spoiler: I did get sick. Immediately after getting home. While I would love to blame it on that family, I think it was one of the zillion other people I came in contact with on the trip.

I am not one of those people who thinks children shouldn’t be on a plane or should be banished to a seat in the very, very back or perhaps in the cargo hold like a dog. In fact, I often sit near families with kids because I feel for them. When Jackson was born, Ry was still on tour 200+ days every year. Then Rowan came along. When he was young, Ro had two terrible flights where he screamed the entire descent. Not a little fussing or crying but full-on screaming at the top of his lungs. One of the times he was old enough to repeatedly push me away and scream “I want Daddy” who was conveniently seated across the aisle, out of reach.

In Rowan’s defense, we later discovered he had a small tumor in his inner ear. I know from my own experience that if your ears do not adjust well to the changes in pressure, it can be very, very painful even without a tiny grape growing on your incus.

But this toddler screamed off and on the entire flight. The entire 12 hours. And its timing was impeccable – just as you would nod off, it would bellow. At first, I was sympathetic. Then less so. Then, when I realized there was no pacifier, I lost all empathy. If you’re traveling with a baby, at the very least bring some way to plug up that noise hole. 제발.

But other than the crying by the baby and the crying by Jackson, the flight was on time, really smooth and relatively easy. Unless I deliberately thought about hurtling across the sky in a tin can, I wasn’t very nervous at all.

Helpful tip to plane designers everywhere. There are lots of people afraid of flying. The last thing a scaredy cat needs is images plastered all over the plane bringing attention (and graphics!) to things like “You’re going 542 mph” or “You’re flying over the deep, dark scary ocean” or “There’s an Aleutian Trench in that deep, dark, scary ocean. I bet it’s really, really deep!” or “There’s also a Kuril Trench! I bet it’s deeper!” or “You’re 3000 km from help!” or “Russia is the closest land mass!” or “It’s -72 Celsius outside. If someone opens a window, will the lack of oxygen kill you before the cold does??”. I repeat, ignorance is bliss.

To stave off my true biggest fear – boredom – I brought plenty of things to do including, but not limited to, a new book, my own curated “Niki in Tokyo” playlist, six hours of k-drama episodes and a mini cross-stitch. I even brought our slightly large, slightly heavy Switch. In the end, I watched just one k-drama episode and read just one chapter in the book.

Spoiler Alert: None of us used the Switch on the trip. Not once.

When I’m busy with work or the house or the kids or the dog, I dream of free time to do all of these things. I hoard my favorites, thinking later, given enough time without distraction, I can savor them. But then, when presented with the same options while trapped on a plane, they lose all appeal. I didn’t want to read or study Korean or play one of the 500 game apps on my phone. Instead, I found myself staring into nowhere a good portion of the flight. The rest of it I stared at the scary screens. And for a few moments, I slept. Just long enough for my kids to get an unflattering photo of me. I haven’t seen it, but I recognized the giggling.

Scaredy Cat rating: Four paws. Even though I wasn’t scared often, I will keep it at four paws. I should have been.

The most stressful moment ended up being me trying to dispose of a prescription pill that is legal in the US but illegal in Japan before we landed. Before you get excited, it was a beta blocker. I brought a couple in case any of us felt we needed it for the flight. We didn’t, so I force fed one to Jackson (Best Mom Of The Year award nominee for sure) and then flushed the other two down the plane toilet like an episode of Breaking Bad. Or a flashback to middle school. Sorry, Mom. And the Betas in my fish tank.

Seriously though, if you are planning a trip to Japan, be sure to double check your prescriptions with the list of allowable drugs. Many common prescriptions in the US like Adderall and yes, beta blockers are illegal there. Even some over the counter pain relievers and allergy drugs are illegal. The information available online was a bit confusing, so we didn’t take anything with us except a bottle of baby aspirin with plans to buy things like Tylenol or Advil once in Japan if needed.

You are also limited to a month’s supply of legal drugs so be sure to bring whatever you need in its original bottle as well as a copy of the prescription. There is a form you can fill out online requesting approval for larger amounts prior to your trip and perhaps a waiver on certain banned drugs (I would not expect a lot of leniency though). It is available through the Japanese Embassy website.

We were concerned about Jackson’s insulin, because it isn’t prescribed in simple “month’s supply” terms and each diabetic requires a different amount. For instance, Jackson needs four times the insulin one of their diabetic friends does and even that varies depending on a million factors.

Spoiler Alert: We had zero problems with Jackson’s insulin or equipment on any of our multiple flights. We were flagged most times for an additional inspection but it was for things like the wireless Switch controller Rowan brought. Every airport also happened to be using metal detectors instead of body scanners, so we didn’t have to try and explain why Jackson’s blood glucose meter can’t go through the scanner and why we can’t just take it off and put it back on. This is often a huge time issue and a big stressor for Jackson in the States (we usually get pulled to the side and have to wait for a pat down), so I was especially worried about trying to explain it in another country.

The $$$: Nothing really new to note here. I bought that Topo Chico myself.

If you were wondering if plane food has improved since COVID, here’s a pic to help you decide. The white blob at the top is cheese by the way. We were surprised too when we bit into it. The red stuff at the bottom is probably chicken.

Hotel Review: Let’s just call the plane our hotel for the sake of simplicity. After all, it had more amenities and was more comfortable than the Fairfield Inn in Norman, Oklahoma. That’s not to say that it was comfortable. Just more comfortable in comparison.

As a reminder, we flew Comfort Plus on Delta. On international flights, Delta offers several classes – Main Economy better known as Purgatory; Comfort Plus somewhere around the second circle of Hell; Premium Select bearable discomfort and Delta One which is First Class with a fancy name to confuse American Airlines regulars. I have never seen international First Class and am suspicious that it really exists.

I was hoping Comfort Plus would be closer to Premium Economy on American, but the reality was somewhere between Regular and Premium. There were the same number of seats across as Regular Economy (two on the sides and four in the middle) but there was a little more legroom in between the rows. In comparison, American’s Premium Economy has two on the sides and three across the middle with more width and depth than Regular Economy. This will vary I am sure depending on the plane you’re on but at least you have an idea.

Comfort Plus ticket holders were allowed to board early and have their own separated space, so there was plenty of room overhead for luggage. Our area was small compared to both Economy and Premium Select – I’d estimate less than 50 people. I would think these seats could sell out quickly.

The seats came with some amenities – a blanket, slippers (which tore the minute I put them on) and a small toiletry kit. Two meals were provided, but there wasn’t drink service before the flight took off like there was in Premium Select. I stared longingly through the curtain of shame at my fellow passengers with their pre-flight cocktail like Milo at someone with a French fry.

Milo’s French fry death stare. This look was actually for string cheese but they carry the same weight in his world.

In addition to the screens announcing our certain doom all over the cabin, there were dedicated screens in the back of each seat with some movies, games and music available if you happen to lose all of your downloads too. The choices were best if you have zero knowledge of actual desirable content though. I played one of the seek and find games and finished all levels in five minutes. The trivia game did not link to other people on the same flight unlike other overseas trips I’ve been on. Initially I was disappointed. But then I played a couple of levels on my own and was relieved no one could witness my stupidity.

I was not able to watch or listen to any other content because I wasn’t paying attention when the flight attendants were handing out the tiny ear buds compatible with the screen and didn’t feel like requesting them later. In American’s Premium Economy, full headphones were already placed at each seat.

As mentioned before there was no wifi available on this flight but I believe it is offered on others. There is also a slight chance it was available and we just couldn’t figure it out.

There were multiple charging/outlet options – a standard US plug as well as a USB outlet for each seat.

I used American Express points to pay for the trip but I think it was the equivalent of about $600 per person, one way to Tokyo. For our return in Premium Economy on American from Seoul, it was $1000 per person. This isn’t really apples to apples – different departure and arrival cities. But I think Premium Select is an upgraded experience and therefore more expensive. However, if you can swing it, Premium Economy was much more comfortable. The seats were larger and more plush, and the slippers weren’t made of paper.

I believe Delta’s Premium Select is an even more upgraded experience, similar to domestic First Class and would be a good option as well if the price isn’t exorbitant.