The Five Yen of Happiness! Time to head homeward

The Five Yen of Happiness! Time to head homeward

• I give in – I need a break (Introduction)
• To Heathrow and The BA Galleries North Lounge
• BA902 London Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport in Club Europe
• Bumbling around Frankfurt Airport with random #AVGeek spotting
• Meeting the A350 and the Air Canada Lounge
• Qatar Airways QR068 Frankfurt to Doha
• The joy of Hamad International Airport, and The Oryx Rotana Hotel
• Qatar Airways Flight QR812 Doha to Tokyo Haneda
• The Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo
• Shikansen Adventures to Hiroshima!
• Time in Hiroshima (featuring the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima)
• Hirosihima – 70 years on
• A day trip to Itsukushima
• More Shinkansen fun to Kyoto (Featuring Kyoto Tower Hotel)
• A trip up to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
• Dinner with The real_jetsetr!
• The JR Central SC Maglev and Rail Museum
• Shinkansen to Tokyo
• The Strings by InterContinental
• Cheap evening – From the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
• The JR East Railway Museum, Saitama
• Shibuya nights
• Akihabara Days
• Gotta Catch them All! A few Pokemon Centres.
• Off to Narita
• Nartia Airport, The JAL Lounge
• Qatar Airways Flight QR807 Tokyo Narita to Doha
• Four and Half Hours in Doha Airport
• Qatar Airways Flight QR067 Doha to Frankfurt
• More time in Frankfurt
• BA8735 Frankfurt to London City Airport
• Time to head homeward
• Memories
• And about that Five Yen Coin

After getting off the Embraer at City Airport, it was time for a short walk to the UK Border.

It seems there have been more changes at the UK Border at London City Airport – this time with lots of e-passport gates. Considering the fun I’ve had with the at Heathrow, I nervously tried one… and was let through on the first attempt.

No complaints there.

The next task was the luggage belt. The belt was pretty busy tonight as other arrivals had luggage coming through.

Thankfully, in under a minute, my rucksack came through.

That done, it was time to clear UK Customs – and into the United Kingdom. This was done with the minimal of fuss, and within 7 minutes of getting off the plane, I was on a Docklands Light Rail service for Canning Town.

See you again soon London City Airport!

For me, the best route to Marylebone is to take the DLR to Canning Town, Jubilee Line to Baker Street, and a one stop ride on the Bakerloo line to Marylebone Station.

Going underground…

All done in under 55 minutes flat.

Sherlock being Sherlock on the Bakerloo Lines

With an arrival at London Marylebone, it was time to get a train ticket Birmingham. Part of the reason why I arrived when I did at Marylebone was that the “peak hours” had passed for this train operator – meaning I could use a cheap train ticket to Birmingham.

At £29, it’s cheap still.

As I was getting on the train just after peak time, the train was full with commuters heading up the Chilterns.

The last of the commuter rush home

The waiting Chiltern Railways Class 168 Clubman. A long way away from the Shinkansens I had been riding…

The train did its thing, rushing through London and out to the Chilterns and beyond.

Passing West Ruislip… and out of London Underground territory.

By the time the train had left Banbury – the train was empty.

Empty seats…

As evening fell, the train continued to speed homeward – Birmingham Moor Street

In an hour and forty – I was outside Moor Street Station.

Birmingham Moor Street station… Near home.

With me home, I hailed a Uber, to take me homeward –  and it delivered me the final leg to the block of flats I call home – and finally to the front door where this adventure began… a mere 9 days earlier.

There is no place like it.

NEXT: Memories. Sweet Memories.

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to European readers!