GACKT Official blog update. Translation below:

Arrived at the airport.
I’m leaving from Narita today.

Because I lost my passport,
I had to head to the airport early and re-register for the automatic gates.
By the way,
I’ve always thought that this is odd but,
why doesn’t everyone just register for the automatic gates?
Normally, the queue to get through immigration has an exceptionally long waiting time.
If you register for the automatic gates, you’d be able to go through in as fast as a minute.
Even if it takes longer than that, you’ll be done within 5 minutes.

Given that this is the case,
registering for the automatic gates will allow you to get through immigration more smoothly,
and you’ll also be able to reduce the cause of congestion.
I think that if you register for the automatic gates when you leave the country,
you’ll be able to go through the gates much more smoothly,
and you’ll be able to reduce the stress that you get at the airport but…

This time, when I arrived at immigration, the queue was tremendous but
since I’m able to register at the at the right end of the immigration counters at Narita,
there, after they took the documents that were provided beforehand, I simply had to register my fingerprints.
In around a minute, all of the registration procedures were completed.
And I passed through the automatic gates next to it in around 30 seconds.
I got through the gates much faster than if I were to queue normally.

I recommend this to everyone who has yet to register for this.
Foreigners can register for Japan’s automatic gates too,
it’s an exceptionally kind gesture.
Most of the time, in other countries, foreigners basically cannot apply for these automatic gates.
Since you won’t have to queue up for that troublesome line,
you’ll be able to plan your schedule too.

This time, I saw an interesting sight.
I’ve mentioned that the registration for the automatic gates is right next to the gates themselves at Narita but,
the queue of people who were waiting for the normal immigration line was extremely long.
Then a man asked about the automatic gates.
It was around the time when I was registering my fingerprints though.

『Excuse me. Can I go out through here?』

『No, this is the place to register for the automatic gates』

『But it’s already close to the departure time for my flight and I’m in a rush though』

『Is there any other way?』

『Please explain your situation at the queue side and ask them to cut you to the front yourself』

Hearing this conversation from the side,
I thought, you’re kidding right?
I thought it wasn’t cool after all and
I wanted speak up and tell that person about registration for the automatic gates but
he rushed off running.

Then he went to each person in the queue, bowing his head and asking.
I watched him negotiation with people to let him go to the front from afar…

If he registered for the automatic gates earlier such a thing wouldn’t happen.
Perhaps it could be that he didn’t know about the convenience of the automatic gates at all,
or he thought that registering would take a lot of time,
or that he doesn’t know about the automatic gates.
Whichever it is, I suppose it’s because it’s not widely advertised.

It’ll definitely be better for those who are reading this blog to get it done.
If you get to the airport a little earlier and get your registration done, you’ll get through so quickly you won’t believe it.
You’ll be able to use the time that you’d spend queuing for other things too.

Incidentally, if you ask about it at the airport’s ticketing counter,
you’ll even be able to register nearby before 4 p.m..
I think you can register at the immigration counter’s side until 9 p.m..
I hope it’ll be helpful.

As it was almost time for boarding, I headed to the boarding gate.
I arrived at the gate but
I decided to board last so I sat on a chair and waited for it to empty out.
The sight of the passenger in front of me with sandals on is funny.
I think he’s probably become used to flying or
it’s a comfortable look for him.

I see a lot of interesting people at the airport.
There are serious people, at the same time there are also people who are dressed in pyjamas.
I suppose there’s no other place like the airport where the dress code is this free.

Upon boarding the plane, I started working.
Recently, the internet connection has improved too, and it’s now possible to carry out what you would on the ground in the sky too.
With that, it’s become possible to work in the plane so
I ended up staying awake the whole time and working.

Well, it’s good that I’m able to focus on work and make progress though.
I’ve lost the time when I can watch movies and read books.
In the end, I had an online meeting the entire time in the plane for the new business.
Without getting a wink of sleep, I arrived in Los Angeles.
I can see Los Angeles’ scenery from the window.

I get the feeling that I’ll be attacked by a hideous jet lag again.
This time, the customs at Los Angeles was terrible.
I thought that I’ll be able to get through smoothly but
I got picked at customs and I ended up with all my baggage opened up.

I’m almost always caught in customs at Los Angeles.
Of course,
I’ve never been caught for anything in the pat before, and I’ve never brought anything in either.
Despite that, if this is going to happen everything it’s really withering.

In the past, a girl that I knew
said that she was almost stripped down to nothing but her underwear.
When I heard that, I thought 『I’m still better off』 though.

After getting stopped at customs for around an hour, I finally got out of the airport,
got into the car that came to fetch me, and headed to the hotel.
I’m exhausted…

Midway, we went past the residential area and I saw the hotel and buildings that I used to see,
it brings back my memories of back then.

The memory of getting introduced to DIR EN GREY back then,
at a hotel at the front of this street when they happened to come to America
around the period when I was 26 and was in Los Angeles to record, came to mind.

Back then,
I had no idea who was who among the members but
now, I’ve become pretty close to drummer SHINYA.
I never thought that we’d become this close though.

I’ll take a little nap when I get to the hotel.
I no longer know how many hours I’ve been awake for.
Jet lag is scary…

Source: GACKT Blog

Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team

Translation © GACKT ITALIA