Today before work I went with The Penpal to a travel agency near Numazu station. She helped me to buy my plane ticket home for Christmas!
I am sure that someone at the Travel Agent could speak English, but it was very helpful to have a Japanese speaker with me. I was not surprised when the travel agent did not know where Winnipeg was. Knowing that the airport code was YWG saved me explaining the spelling in English or katakana.
When I left Canada for Japan, Air Canada had the best deal. This time, Northwest had the cheapest ticket. I will be flying from Tokyo to Winnipeg through Minneapolis, leaving December 20 and returning on January 5. I am very excited to be home for the holidays!