Reply #16: I chose United Airlines because it's the OTHER airline that has

[Lydia Leftcoast]

non-stops from the Midwest, and it's NOT Northwest, which is currently in a labor dispute.

I could have flown a Japanese airline from the West Coast, but getting to the West Coast without Northwest requires hopscotching across the country or spending an extra day in transit, and for an 8-day trip, it wasn't worth it.

But you're right--it is good to get out of the country. There's almost no American news right now, so it's a mental as well as a physical vacation.

Today, I went out to a suburb of Kyoto to visit a translation company that has sent me a lot of work. It was pleasant walking back to the station with mountains in the background.