Day 1 - Part 1: Escape from Chicago

     It began in December and yesterday, the epic Tokyo Trip became reality. Contained in the hand-bound itinerary above is 32 pages of hardcore research and planning. All areas of Tokyo are covered. Every day is replete with  activity options and rainy-day contingencies. To get to half of it, we'll have to average about 45 minutes of sleep a night. Sounds easy. Let's hit the road.

     Packed and ready to move. This is around 9 AM Wednesday, Chicago time, which, by my calculations, was 3 PM next Friday in Japan. Pretty sure my math is right there.

     Here's Carisa, enjoying the comfort of car service travel.

     And here's our driver, who showed up 15 minutes late because the dispatcher gave him the wrong address, then drove 20 miles an hour along backstreets from our apartment to O'Hare. Good thing we weren't trying to catch a plane or anything. 

     High speeds terrify me.

      First sign at the American Airlines counter: Called it. Airports hate fun. 

     That guy's bags? All snow globes. 

    Yes indeed. Those will get you on the plane. Every time. 

     We've got our papers...

     And we've got our supplies. Let's do this thing.

     Next: Part 2, Where Our Heroes Engage in High-Speed Aerospace Travel To a Faraway Land of the Future.