Chasing the sun...

We just arrived in Tokyo. It was a very strange flight because it was daylight the entire time (flying toward the west). It was also weird because we lost Monday. When we took off from Detroit, it was 1:45pm on Sunday. When we landed in Tokyo 14 hours later, it was 5:00pm Monday. We've been up about 22 straight hours, and will probably stay up another 4 or 5 to try to get acclimated to the local time.

The flight was probably as good as a 14 hour flight gets. The plane (a 747) was about 60%-70% full. Most of the ride was smooth, and we actually arrived a little early. We passed the time by watching some videos (The Jerk and some competitive balloon videos from the '90's) and wondering when the taco bar would be setup. It never was. Beef tips/rice for dinner, ham and cheese sandwich for a snack, and terikayi pork w/ fried rice for breakfast.

We'll be at the Holiday Inn Tobu Narita for the next few days. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we pick up the balloon and vans. On Wednesday we'll hit Tokyo. Then on Thursday we head up to Motegi.
Right now Paul and Erica just returned to the room bearing gifts:

That's cold Suntory Beer brought out of a vending machine. It's not Coors Light, but after a long day, it still tastes good.