On the bus to New Chitose Airport, I found Antonio... Also on his way to Tokyo. At least I'd have a buddy on this part of the adventure! Both in need of sleeping arrangements and without any plans other than flights the following day, we did not know what exactly to do.
Deciding to just get to the airport and see, we aimed to just spend the night catnapping in front of the check-in counters. Unfortunately, as soon as we walked into the terminal, I noticed the signs everywhere stating that the terminal would be closed from 12:30am to 6am and that sleeping in the terminal was prohibited. Fuck.
Okay, so after getting some Yoshinoya, we decided to just wait around until the airport closed and just spend the night on the street outside since we both had camping material.
Around 10pm, an older security guard with a very youthful and lively demeanor, who clearly took pride in his job and performed it well, approached us and informed us again, in very broken English, that the terminal would close. Giving us a once over, he correctly judged us as the vagrants we were and told me to go to the fourth floor... As though it were some secret place we could sleep. (Ironically Antonio had been jokingly "translating" Japanese saying this such as "Spencer Koo, please come to the check-in counter. We have your down bed and beer ready for the night. Spencer Koo." I always seem to meet Spanish-speaking jokesters).
Leaning over to Antonio, I told him what the security guard said to me in English... "I swear to God... He told us to go to the spa." Laughing, Antonio thought I was continuing the joke he started earlier.
Just to double check, I asked the guard again... Again I swear, he said spa!? Seeing that we were clearly unaccustomed to such things, or complete idiots, he asked us to follow him. Like a military sergeant rushing to take a shit, I have never seen a man walk so quickly with such a mixture of grace, urgency, and bravado. Poor old me limping behind him could barely keep up.
Upon entering the spa, it felt familiar... Sort of like Wi Spa in K-town except... They serve ramen! For ¥3,000 (a bit under $30), you can spent the night in relative comfort and relaxation as well as take a shower and use the Japanese bath and sauna.
While we were stripping down to our birthday suits and changing into the provided pajamas or robes (two different styles), I could not help but think about the killing the airport and the spa made on a nightly basis... Every night, they shuffle everyone with flights the next day or morning to the spa, collect your $30 plus whatever you buy (including charging you to charge your phone!), and subsequently kick you out of the spa at 8am. At which point they open it again at 9am and charge you for admission should you wish to return.
Antonio was in heaven... He took complete advantage of the shower and the bath house while I ate ramen and chocolate and read my book. Around midnight, we went up to the "relaxation room" to, well, relax. There was one mixed gender room and one for only women. Now, imagine if the matrix took place in a dark room about the size of a tennis court. Instead of cocoons filled with viscous goop, there were recliner chairs with little light shades over the headrests, small televisions connected to each seat, and little reading lights... Oh and one of the walls (the longer one) is filled top to bottom and across with manga (Japanese comics). So, really nothing at all like the matrix, but you get the idea.
That room, I dubbed the snoring farm. No matter where you went, you could not find a quiet place to settle down as there were fat businessmen sawing wood everywhere you pointed your ears. But the two of us were tired, and my foot was still bothering me, and I quickly fell asleep hoping to God I would wake up for my flight.
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