Sometimes when we return from a trip, I put together a ‘bloopers’ blog (a series of funny mishaps). This year I started to write one but quickly realised we had one blooper that overshadowed all others. It needed its own blog.
Yes, we had the usual ski related bloopers – crashes, tree hugging, disintegrating ski boots, dropped gloves on chairlifts, slips and even pure exhaustion related sleep talking. It all happened, but nothing compares to this.
Before I tell you the story, let me remind you, we are seasoned travellers. I have been writing this blog for six years and our family has been travelling long before that. It’s our thing, it’s what we save for, it’s what we love.
As single people, Mr Travel Bee and I both individually travelled the world. When we got together and married, we never stopped, even when we had children. They just grew up travelling (and being dragged through airports). We’ve travelled with pushchairs, carseats, backpacks, suitcases, ride on suitcases, you name it.
And yet, despite all this, this holiday we made a big rookie mistake….
On Saturday, we needed to get from one side of Japan to the other to catch our plane home. It involved three trains with little time to spare in between. The night before, we planned it all out and made sure we had a couple of contingency plans. But, we both felt on edge. Neither of us slept well.
We had loads of luggage. Master 18 had purchased skis, boots, bindings and a helmet on the trip and we were all carrying ski boots and bulky ski wear (plus a bit of duty free shopping). Usually light travellers, we were as heavy as it gets, all bordering on suitcase weight limits.
Master 18 had a big ski bag and therefore couldn’t manage his suitcase as well. So we had an extra case. You can already hear what I’m going to say can’t you? When we got to Nagano station for our first change over, the station was bedlam. It was accomodation change over day and I swear half of Australia was in the station. There were ski bags, suitcase, backpacks, people, people and more people.
We finally got a ticket for the next Shinkansen (bullet train) and made our way awkwardly down stairs with all the luggage. We were cold. We were stressed and we were tired from an amazing fun 2.5 weeks. When the Shinkansen arrived, we bustled on and breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled out of the station. It was standing room only, but we were on.
No one noticed the blue suitcase (B127) still on the platform.
It wasn’t until an hour and a half later when we went to make another change, that we noticed something was missing.
Ensue panic.
Fortunately as a new addition to our travel equipment, we had invested in AirTags. A quick look at the app told us the case was still in Nagano! It was 12:30pm, our flight left Tokyo at 4:55pm. We had no choice but to press on without it.
On arrival at the airport and after checking in, Mr Travel Bee called JR East trains. What followed was a difficult conversation of misunderstanding, confusion and frustration. Finally after finding someone who could speak English, holding for some time and with explicit descriptions, we established that the suitcase had been found.
We were instructed to present at a JR (Japanese rail) office at the airport to arrange what would be done with the case. Time was ticking. The girls headed through security and to find the gate while the boys went to the office.
In the end, Mr Travel Bee signed an authority for what he thought was to courier the case back to our accomodation in Myoko. With our friends still staying at the lodge, we knew we could get it home.
Wrong.
The authority in fact stated that the case must be collected from Nagano station and only by the person on the authority. We had put the lodge owner’s name.
No no no. That is not what we wanted.
By this stage, we were boarding the plane. The boys were running for the gate. We were confused, tired and stressed.
We flew home.
Because this story is getting long winded, the rest I will summarise. After employing an interpreter, our friends in Myoko were after another 2 days of negotiations, able to locate our case. They then travelled to Nagano to collect it, not from the train station, but the police station!! It seems an unattended, locked suitcase, even with multiple people chasing it, raises alarms!
The long and short is, we got it back! 5 days after making our biggest travel blunder we have B127!
Now, I hear you ask….. B127??? What’s with the name?
Well….. did you know, Bumble Bee transformer’s original name was B127? Nope, I didn’t either, but my husband’s little joke to himself, may be the one thing that saved the day, making the suitcase identifiable and therefore retrievable. Well done Mr Travel Bee!
So there you have it, a blooper of the highest order and a few tips and lessons….
1. If you have extra luggage, be clear about who is responsible for it.
2. Use AirTags.
3. Name your luggage.
4. Make sure you still have a friend at your holiday destination when you leave!!! You never know when you might need them or what you might need them to do!
I don’t think we will live this one down for some time!
TTB
The Travel Bee 