An unexpected pilgrimage to a holy shrine

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

I travel a fair amount for work, and that means I'm accustomed to making rather meticulous travel plans, leaving very little up to chance, since no one wants to tell their boss they messed up an expensive work trip due to an avoidable mistake. Basic things include ordering a local SIM card and exchanging currency in advance, rather than running the risk of not finding reasonable options at the airport upon arriving. That might also mean looking up restaurants beforehand rather than just walking around randomly, and pre-planning public transportation options and routes.

Work habits are hard to shake even on vacation, and so on my recent trip to Japan to attend BABYMETAL's Legend MM concert was no exception, as I had everything planned out perfectly!

I decided on a red-eye flight with Jetstar Japan departing from Taiwan in the middle of the night, scheduled to land at Tokyo's Narita Airport at 6 in the morning, which would give me a full day for sightseeing in Tokyo.

Generally speaking, I haven't really had any issues with budget airlines, beyond their tendency to fly at ungodly hours. Sure, they split services like checked luggage or inflight meals into individual purchases that you can skip to save money and comfort in general is non-existent, but as far as safety is concerned, it's not like the pilots or ground crew are any more comfortable with crashing, compared to a "standard" airline. 

However, I do wonder if flying a budget airline had something to do with what happened next.

As we began our final approach to Narita, visibility was poor as the plane buffeted about in turbulence. All of a sudden, the engines whined loudly and we began to ascend rapidly, as the flight crew announced shortly afterwards that due to strong crosswinds, we had to give up on the first attempt at landing, and circle back to try again. Alright, no big deal. That's a fairly normal occurrence.

But the Fox God apparently had other plans for me - after about 15 minutes, the pilot announced that because the aircraft wasn't carrying enough extra fuel to circle around Narita indefinitely as we waited for an opening for our second attempt, we would have to divert to Chubu Airport, which was about 2.5-3 hours away from Tokyo even by Shinkansen bullet train!

Of all the flights that go off-course and off-schedule, it had to be mine!

That certainly threw a wrench in my plans. Because I would effectively only be in Japan for 2 days, my schedule was pretty tight and for Day 1, I had planned to visit the Asagaya "Megitsune" shrine, followed by a noon reservation for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, and then dinner with friends in Roppongi. There was no chance I was going to make the shrine visit but I *might* be able to barely make the Ghibli Museum if I hurried...

But of course, some of you have already guessed what happened next.

"Huh, look at that. Chubu Airport is actually only an hour away from Nagoya..."

And so after sorting through the mess of future reimbursement with the airline for increased travel costs caused by the delay and diversion, I found myself completely off-schedule, heading towards an assuming brewery nestled in the quiet streets of an otherwise unremarkable rural town via a small local train.

This band truly compels a person do strange things. Moa isn't even my favorite member (I don't have one, to be clear), and I don't even really drink alcohol! I follow Google Maps, and double-check to make sure I'm in the right place, as from the outside, the Yamada Brewery does not resemble a holy shrine for BABYMETAL fans. Yet when I walk into a small reception, I immediately know I'm in the right place, as the owner greets me warmly, "ah, are you a BABYMETAL fan?"

"Yes ma'am, I most certainly am."

I explained that I was a fan from Taiwan coming to Japan for the BABYMETAL concert, upon which they remarked that this certainly explained the sudden influx of foreign visitors over the past week or so. I had prepared a few drawings of mine as fan gifts, and made an "offering" with them at the Moa shrine. I ended up getting 2 bottles of Moa sake to enjoy with friends the next few days in Japan, and after getting a few photos, completed a wonderfully unexpected pilgrimage.

I successfully made my way to Tokyo from Nagoya afterwards, only half a day behind schedule. As the weather was apparently only terrible near Narita in the morning (such is life), I even got to enjoy views of Mount Fuji out the window of the Shinkansen, and still made it in time for my dinner date with friends and shared the Moa sake with them, which was one of the highlights of the trip!

So that's how it came to be that I enjoyed a completely unanticipated yet rather fun pilgrimage! As of this writing, the airline still hasn't reimbursed me yet so that's no fun, but all in all, expect the unexpected; you never know where life may take you!