Aika Kanda’s Haneda-Naha Status Journey – Part 1

Even during training, I enjoy both the plane and the airport.

My neighbor was just like me. As soon as they sat down, they started watching the front wheel camera feed. I decided to try switching my monitor to a different screen. Immediately, my neighbor switched to the tail camera view I had been watching earlier.

The fact that they chose the tail camera when they could only view one feed was exactly the same as my behavior! This meant I could definitively conclude that my neighbor was a training monk as well.

While thinking about this, I accidentally fell asleep, and when I woke up, I was above Amami Oshima. As the altitude dropped, I saw the vivid emerald green sea filling the window. (I made it to Okinawa!) I felt a thrill.

It was 9:00 AM. After landing safely, the first leg of my training was complete. Next was the flight to Haneda in 50 minutes. I might have felt rushed, but I had checked in for all the flights earlier in the morning, so I didn’t need to go outside. The strong sunlight streaming through the window of the boarding stairs hit my cheek, and I thought, (Okinawa is definitely hot!) as I enjoyed being in Okinawa.

Then, I went to the duty-free shop at Naha Airport, which only has a domestic duty-free store. There were things I wanted, but I thought, (I can always come back for this later), so I put them back on the shelf and decided to think it over. I also found my favorite mint chocolate at Blue Seal Ice Cream. (I’ll eat this later!) I decided to save that treat for a few hours later.

Before I knew it, it was time to board the second flight. My round-trip training between Haneda and Naha had just begun. Faced with all the events that could happen in the sky, will I, for the first time, lose sight of why I’m so focused on my status? Stay tuned!

★The author’s first book, compiling this series, “Where Does the Path Called the Royal Road Lead?” is now available and receiving great acclaim!

Ai Kanda, born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture, graduated from the Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics at Gakushuin University. She joined NHK as an announcer in 2003 and retired from NHK in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active primarily in variety shows, and currently, she regularly appears as the main MC on the daytime program Poka Poka (Fuji TV network).

From the FRIDAY issue of December 6, 2024.