The plane dropped through a ceiling of bruised clouds and landed in Tokyo after a long journey of mixed insomnia on the plane from Chicago. Meal after meal at inopportune hours. Snow was nowhere to be found, which was bit disconcerting given the amount of snowboard gear I had overpacked for this adventure. It was 11:30pm by the time I retrieved my over-stuffed snowboard bag on wheels and time to locate my friend in a hotel somewhere amongst 22 million others. An hour train