Tokyo Narita Village - Prologue

Went to this quaint village three times this year. The pictures posted are an amalgamation of the three seasons during which I was there: Winter, Spring and Summer. Didn't go during Autumn. Narita Village, to quote WikiAir, is 'the host city of Narita International Airport'. It is akin to Subang Village as to Subang Airport.

While the map of Greater Narita above may not be entirely legible, suffice to say that the area covered by Narita International Airport is represented in orange. The history of the airport is an interesting read, for its conception and eventual construction attracted much resistance.

Today, with further expansion of the airport all but cancelled, the peaceful village serves as a transit point for international air travellers in and out of Tokyo. It may not have the glitter of Shibuya nor sounds of Harajuku in downtown Tokyo, but it is subtly charming in its simplicity.

Stay tuned. Chottomatte kudasai.

Distraction: Smoke Rings at 36 000 feet

Nope. No tobacco was involved in the formation of these. Only plenty of jet fuel. The streaks of jet contrails we see trailing jetliners look like this up close. The spinning vortices are always present in the wake of an airplane due to the sheer velocity of airflow over, and under, the wing surface. These turbulent eddies can be so strong, they can rock a jumbo jet violently. It is a well documented fact that the Boeing 757 'wake turbulence' - as it is termed in the aerodynamic and aviation world- had contributed to a considerable number of aviation incidents and accidents, some fatal.
Anybody who has been close to a passing train, bus or truck would know the rush, or gust, of air in its wake. A jetliner zooms around at speeds 10 times faster. What makes the disturbance potentially deadly for a following aircraft is that it is not always visible like in the picture. Only when there is visible medium, like smoke, through which the wings penetrate can the extent of the vortices be seen. But don't cancel your flight bookings just yet. Years of research and studies have improved the understanding, and hence, the avoidance of wake turbulence related incidents. Around ground level, where the loss of aircraft-control is deadliest, such vortices do not pose substantial danger after 2 minutes. And in the air, standard practices regarding distances between aircrafts pre-empts any potential hazard.

The smoke rings in the photo were visible as moisture in the jet engines' exhaust condensates in the sub-zero temperatures of high altitudes. Even so, the combination of the ambient temperature, exhaust temperature and humidity of the (already dry) surrounding air determine whether or not the visible smoke rings will form. And when they do materialize, they can be such a sight to behold:

Just don't get too close. For the buzz is beyond any tobacco-infused smoke ring could ever muster.