I cannot even believe I'm saying this,
but I'm on my way to the Tokyo Olympics.
And this trip will be unlike any trip I've ever done before.
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I just spent the last month in Japan for the Olympics
and the experience was totally amazing,
despite the challenges.
This is the story of how it all began.
Hello. - Hi. Good morning.
- Good morning.
- Ok, here to Atlanta, and then Tokyo Haneda?
- Yeah. - Perfect.
- Are we going in for the Olympics? - Yeah.
I've been seeing in the news that the airports are extremely busy
here in the U.S.,
so I got here three hours in advance,
and so far, so good.
This is the airport in Orlando.
And look at this, here's a hotel inside near the terminal
right above security.
If you missed the previous video, and you're wondering where is Gordon,
yes, I'm alone.
Japan is not open for tourism yet, so he cannot go.
The only reason I'm going is because I'm going to work at the Olympics.
I'm not going there to vlog.
I'm a journalist.
And I've been working at the organization of major sporting events
like this since 2004.
And for me, it's such an honor and a pleasure to be ready
when I'm called in, no matter the country,
and no matter the circumstances.
And this one is going to be challenging, but I'm ready.
And there's one detail I haven't mentioned yet,
I'm flying business class with Delta,
so I have access to the lounge.
In the lounge, business as usual.
Everything working normally, and you can even serve yourself.
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But you can also see some improvements here.
You can see the bar menu directly from your phone.
There's a QR code,
and all you do is scan it.
Also you can choose your meal, even before boarding the plane.
At least with Delta is like this. You can go to their app,
the menu appears, and you choose right there.
Now, I'm ready to go.
First flight to Atlanta,
totally full, look at this.
Airports here in the U.S. seem to be just like before the pandemic already.
Thank you.
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The snack here is not very different from the main cabin.
Very short flight between Orlando and Atlanta,
just an hour.
Look at this.
Thank you.
- Please hold on. This train is departing.
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Things are much quieter here ahead of the flight to Tokyo.
I've never seen an international flight so empty.
It doesn't look like, but they're boarding already.
I just had a few minutes in between flights,
so I couldn't check out the lounge.
- Hi, good morning. - Good morning. Thank you.
I filled in everything online already.
- No, you still have to do that on paper.
- Okay. - They want your paper.
Wow, look at this, everyone has individual cabins here
on this flight in business class, even the middle seats.
Look at this, they actually call this a suite.
Before I didn't fly like this, like cabin closed.
- Yeah, I know, this is our newest. - Oh, okay.
Okay. Yeah, first time that I got one like this.
Really nice. Yeah.
-After takeoff, you'll be able to close your door.
However, we may not serve you over your door.
So if you'd like service, it has to be open. - All right.
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A much bigger area to cover here.
This plane is an A350-900.
First time that I see a safety belt like this in an airplane.
So let's see what we got here.
Headphones,
water,
two different pillows.
Here is the blanket.
Still get some slippers,
and there's a nice storage place over here.
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No bag is complete these days without these, huh?
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Now I'm ready for a 13.5 hour flight.
- Ms. Pereira? - Yeah.
- I'm Sheryl - Hi.
- Here we go. - Thank you so much.
- You're welcome. Bon appetit, enjoy.
- Thank you.
What a beautiful plate.
I ordered my lunch via the app such a long time ago
that I never forgot what's inside the pasta.
If I'm not mistaken it was cheese.
It looks like lasagna. Look at this.
A ricotta lasagna.
Mmm.
Cheese with tomato sauce, and it is really good.
Good choice, Renata.
And this is a corn and potato soup.
Very, very tasty, too.
It looks like there's corn, potatoes.
It's something else I can't figure out.
Yummy! So tasty.
And for dessert, cookies and cream ice cream.
Let me quickly show you the bathroom.
Nothing special, just a typical airplane bathroom.
But there's one interesting feature here, there's a full-size mirror.
Now it's just us.
Look at this map, how cool.
Here it shows the time in each location.
This an Airbus A350,
and it travels at 560 miles per hour,
901 kilometers an hour.
And it's a flight that fits 306 people.
Although you fill in all the information online,
they still give you a Customs Declaration form.
and Disembarkation Card.
I thought paper was gone, but no.
Here they also give you some detailed information
about everything that is going to happen as soon as you land in Japan.
I had received this before, so I was aware of most of this.
The only different thing here is that there's a third app to be installed.
It's a video calling app.
Before the trip, I only installed two, which are for contact tracing
and for you to monitor your health.
Now there's this video calling app, too.
And if for some reason, you don't have a smartphone,
or you cannot install anything on it,
you certify that you're going to rent one right at the airport.
There's also a written pledge here
where you agree that you're gonna comply with everything here,
all determinations by the government.
You agree that you're gonna follow everything.
And if you don't, you're subject to a fine up to ¥500,000,
or six months in jail.
And remember, foreigners could only go to Japan
during the Olympics or the Paralympics.
This accreditation worked like a visa,
even for countries that normally don't require a visa.
If Gordon was here,
this is where he would be.
[laughs]
He loves playing games.
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It is still 2:30 in the afternoon, but I should better try to sleep now,
because the plane lands in Tokyo at 2 p.m. their time the next day
which means 1:00 in the morning,
my time here on the East Coast.
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The next day
Good morning, good afternoon good evening.
It's 10:20 p.m. right now in Florida.
It's morning in East Asia.
I set my alarm to get up at about two hours and a half to go
before we land in Tokyo
because I want to eat something, you know,
and have my next meal as soon as possible.
You're not supposed to eat 30 minutes before you land,
because otherwise you cannot do the saliva test.
You'd have to go for the nasopharyngeal.
And I want to go for the saliva this time.
We're already in Asia now.
I heard some people eating when I was trying to sleep,
but there was just an extra meal that you could have at any time, a burger.
So now let's wait for the next one.
And in the meantime, let me do some work,
some editing.
I've got a lot of editing to do.
So here you go.
I went for the oatmeal with coconut milk and fruits.
It looks delicious.
The other options were eggs and sausage,
and a Japanese meal that I don't recognize the name.
And you also get a croissant and yogurt.
Mmm!
This is totally delicious.
This is oatmeal with coconut milk and burnt coconut on top.
There are also some pieces of mango and blueberry here.
Oh!
Finished right on time.
Well, if you're like me who needs some gum
to help with your ears,
this time you can't.
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Konnichiwa, Tokyo!
I'm back.
Look at the Brazil team over here.
A huge coincidence, coming from the U.S.,
and I arrived together with the Brazilian delegation.
If you don't know, I am Brazilian.
Hello again.
I'm at Haneda Airport right now.
Now there's this huge space here, this waiting area,
just went through multiple checkpoints.
It's very impressive, the organization here.
There are so many people checking your papers
from one station to the next,
and you just keep moving forward.
The last one is the saliva test where we just wait for the results.
There are, I'd say, 300,
400 people here waiting.
Let's see how long it's going to take.
Yes!
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Nice.
This is the Royal Park Hotel in Minato City.
First things first.
They leave the drawer slightly open
for you to see that the pajamas are here.
That's lovely.
Okay. So here I am finally without a mask.
So let me tell you how I got here.
I left the airport two and a half hours after landing
which is considered really good, you know, given the situation.
Let me just start by saying that this was the most organized process I've ever seen.
And the reason I say it is organized
is because they have so many people there to help.
They are all very friendly,
They know what they're doing.
They are fluent in English.
It took me 40 minutes to get the test result.
Negative. [laughs]
And only then you can go to immigration and customs.
And I left with a feeling that, wow, you know,
if there's one country that could pull through a massive operation like this,
this country is Japan.
Look at this.
Toothbrush, a lot of things you might need.
Anyways, when you're done, you need private transport
to go from the airport to the hotel.
You cannot use public transport, not even taxis,
because taxis are considered public transport in Japan.
I'd have loved to show you transport options
and what's at Haneda Airport, like I did with Narita,
but this time, unfortunately, it was not possible,
given the circumstances.
You know that.
But I'll say this, Haneda is much closer to most areas in Tokyo
and much more convenient compared to Narita.
As I mentioned before,
this time I'm here to work directly at the Olympics
and no sightseeing is allowed in Japan.
So I won't create my traditional vlogs.
But if you want to learn more about Tokyo and other cities in Japan,
take a look at this playlist linked up here and in the description.
I have so many nice videos that will show you exactly
how to enjoy Japan when things get back to normal.