After a few days in Tokyo I am back to Sydney for the rest of the week for another trip. I am glad I will be back in Tokyo for a few weeks after this. It has been a really long 5 weeks of travel...but I already have additional trips scheduled to Singapore, Sydney and San Francisco. I need to put in for some vacation after this. I met up with some people for a business lunch at Tokyo American Club today. I love going there for lunch. It is a great getaway for an hour or two. When I travel slows down I need to get back into my routine of going to the gym there a few times a week.

Today's configuration: Leica M Monochrom with a Summilux 21mm f/1.4

The Winter Garden...

I am really learning to love this camera/lens combo. One thing I do when I get a new lens, especially a wide angle is I force myself to shoot with it for a week straight. When you first get a wide angle you are looking for these great scenes to capture and you can end up disappointed. Overtime if you shoot with it exclusively you can teach yourself to 'see' at 21mm or any focal length.

A week with my 21mm prime lens:

Now I am happy to just shoot with it for a day and I can come back with shots I am really happy with.

It is amazing that you can get used to walking by a 30 foot high spider so much that you do not notice it...

After lunch it is time to head to the airport...

Via the 'Friendly Bus'. Whenever I tell people the name they think I am describing the bus atmosphere to them.

Tokyo as seen from across Tokyo Bay!

Narita...

In my last job I didn't need to fly to Sydney much. My airline status is on United so I try to fly Star Alliance. Sadly Tokyo to Sydney is dominated by Japan Airlines and OneWorld. People who don't travel much for business don't really understand why business travelers obsess over milage and airline status.

I have 1,275,135 miles flown on United. Making status on an airline gets you a massive amount of benefits that you really miss as a business traveler if you don't have it. For example: if I make my Gold status I get to use the Gold check-in which can save me a ton of time at the Airport. I can also arrive a little later when I have to get up early for a flight. I also get to use the lounge. At the lounge I get to charge my Mac, iPhone and iPad so I can stay productive and work on the plane. I get priority seating on the plan. If I book an economy ticket I am automatically upgraded to economy plus as is everyone traveling with me. I get 100% bonus miles on each flight which I can use to make sure my family flys in comfort. I get international upgrades to Business Class that I can use on any flight. I get priority baggage handling and priority screening at some airports in the US. The list goes on...

Not having these things can make trips really painful. Remember my last trip from Tampa? I was flying without 'status'. 3 legs all in a middle seat for more than 24 hours. 6 hours of layovers. I couldn't get into the lounge to access WiFi or charge my devices which resulted in lots of 'downtime' on the plane and a backlog of work when I arrived tired and out of it.

Needless to say I am not wild about 'starting over' on JAL but I need to. Thankfully I get to fly Premium Economy so I get the quick check-in, slightly better seats, and lounge access. The trials and troubles of the business traveler.