Backed into a Corner with No Escape! - This is what I get for taking on the hole-in-one hospitality

“Where am I? This bed feels different from my bed... What time is it? Hmmm...” I slowly got up and looked at the clock to find that it was already past ten. I overslept. I always wake up early without an alarm, so I didn’t set it, but I must have been so tired that I slept for seven hours for the first time this year. As a result, I missed my appointment at 10:30 a.m., and the staff at our Tokushima office was worried that they couldn’t reach me. Oh right, I was in Tokushima.

There is no excuse for this. However, I must have been mentally exhausted after miraculously making my flight at the last minute the day before. It was Saturday, but I was busy with work in Tokyo, emailing and writing articles nonstop, and suddenly I realized that it was almost 5:00 p.m., late enough to catch the flight from Haneda to Tokushima leaving at 6:25 p.m. Unless I caught that flight, I wouldn’t be able to make it to the meeting for the 30th anniversary party at 9:00 p.m. in Akita-machi, Tokushima. I quickly threw my computer into my bag and rushed to JR Mejiro Station. From this moment on, every minute was a battle. Despite this, I had to somehow catch the 5:01 p.m. Yamanote Line train to get to the airport by 6:00 p.m. However, I missed this train by a hair. The four minutes I lost then became a twist of fate.

I waited four minutes for the next train, which departed at 5:05 p.m. I looked up on the train navigation app to see the earliest arrival time at Haneda Airport, which was 6:06 p.m. The flight from Haneda was to leave at 6:25 p.m., so I only had 19 minutes. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make it because I had to go through a total of three long escalators to get up to the departure floor, which normally takes at least 10 minutes. In addition, it is a rule of the airline industry that check-ins are closed 20 minutes prior to the scheduled time of departure. So, I only had 19 minutes to begin with. I started to become depressed.

Meanwhile, inspiration ran through my mind as it always does. I told myself, “Don’t give up now and just run as fast as possible until the door closes!” I decided to do everything I could anyway. Japan Airlines (JAL) uses Terminal 1 at Haneda Airport, and I decided to stand near the door of the last car of the train to get ready to run up the escalator, holding my baggage in my arms as soon as I got off the train. Then, I figured that I should be able to keep running and after going up three flights of escalators on the way, I could make it to the check-in counter in just 3 minutes with 15 minutes until departure. “This is going to be tough, but I won’t give up this battle. Never.”

However, there was another serious problem. I hadn’t bought my plane ticket yet. I’m still acting as if I were a younger 45-year-old, but at my age, I’m now eligible to purchase a half-priced ticket for the same day. There was no way that I was going to pass up this privilege, so I had to buy and issue the ticket at the airline counter first, and then go through boarding procedures. I knew that it was a gamble, but I never wanted to give up. I had decided to do everything I could.

Just as planned, I made a mad dash as soon as the train arrived at Terminal 1 Station. People must have been looking at me, thinking, “What is wrong with that guy...” If I were in the States, I would have been stopped by police on the suspicion of carrying explosives, but this was Japan. All I could do was rush as fast as I could without caring what people would think of me. However, it was hard for me to run up the escalator with my baggage in my arms, and I was out of breath in the middle. This was where my legs I had trained for marathons came in handy. I just ran and ran as hard as I could anyway. Finally, I arrived at the JAL counter completely out of breath at 6:10 p.m.

If people were lined up at the counter, I would have a very different story right now. My Mission Impossible would have been over then, but fortunately, no one was there. Moreover, there was a staff member who looked like she knew what she was doing standing at the central counter. I said to her, “Excuse me, please let me board the 6:25 flight to Tokushima” and she hurriedly started to look at the computer. Then, my words froze over all the airline staff members around me: “I haven’t even bought the ticket, so I would like to purchase one, please.” The staff member immediately tried to get me a ticket like I had asked, but as soon as her supervisor figured out the situation, she came over and said, “You have less than 20 minutes until departure and you don’t have a ticket. Unfortunately, we can’t let you on the flight.” Oh, I knew that I wouldn’t make it. I knew it.

However, I couldn’t give up. I pleaded with them, “Please, there must be something that you can do! I’ll rush to the gate after the security point!” At this point, there was only a little more than 10 minutes until the scheduled time of departure. Then I saw the supervisor’s facial expression change a little as she checked on the computer. She noticed that the gate for the flight was no. 10. It’s right in front of the security point for JAL in the huge Haneda Airport where it usually takes at least 5 minutes to reach your gate. She immediately asked the staff member to try to proceed with ticketing. She even contacted the gate to let them know that there was a passenger who was boarding at the last minute. Yes! I did it! The younger staff member quickly issued my ticket, and everything was done immediately.

I was then warned in a gentle voice, “Please kindly understand that this will be the last time we do this.” I said “Thank you!” and quickly left the airline counter for the security point. It went smoothly and I ran again to the gate. I arrived at the gate at 6:18 p.m. I noticed that I had accomplished something that should be in the Guinness Book of World Records: I got off the train, purchased an air ticket, and boarded the plane in just 12 minutes. Of course, this wouldn’t have been done without the excellent handling skills and cooperation of the JAL staff. It might have also been because I was an elite customer with the highest status who flies with JAL nearly 100 times a year. I’m truly grateful to the JAL staff for helping me out.

After arriving in Tokushima, I immediately checked into the hotel, grabbed a quick dinner, and then headed to the meeting place. My body was exhausted, but I was the only one who could attend this meeting, so I had no choice. I pushed myself to run this meeting until after midnight. I guess it’s probably because my body was getting a bit too tired from this eventful day, I don’t remember anything after 2:00 a.m. In addition, I didn’t even know where I was when I woke up. Then, I overslept for the first time in recent years. The only good thing about it was that I slept well.

Originally, the 30th anniversary party is supposed to be planned by the employees and the founder should be the one who is invited. However, not many employees in the company would know about this situation and come to volunteer to organize the party. Maybe they are so used to having the company do something for them, so as the founder, I myself had to plan the party from the beginning. This was another tough job and the result was the trouble I encountered when I tried to fly with JAL to make it in time for the party planning meeting. It was a good lesson for me, but I know that repeating this will shorten my life. Stress is not good for anyone!

In golf tournaments, there is a tradition that when a golfer strikes a hole in one, he hosts a party and invites his friends over to treat them to a feast. Today’s Sound House is celebrating just like this tradition. As a result of the founder’s achievement of a hole-in-one, everyone is invited to come join the feast and enjoy this big treat. This is a more difficult task than a hole-in-one, but I just keep thinking positively, “You can do anything you put your mind to” because this is my life.