Having been privileged to cover three Olympics before this one, doing so is a marathon, not a sprint, as a quick glance at the schedule of events that start on Friday tells you.
But the first - and hopefully greatest - hurdle was getting into Tokyo, a feat of mind-boggling form filling confusion that began about two months ago and that reached a stressful but successful climax on Sunday, my day of travel.
After a surprisingly emotional farewell from the two kids (they like me after all, it seems!) Dublin Airport resembled a ghost town, even though foreign travel had opened up the previous day.
It was flying to Tokyo via London and, in both Dublin and Heathrow airports, PCR test documents were scrutinised. All Japan-bound travellers had to take two PCR tests before flying, within 96 and 72 hours.
God help you if you were missing any paperwork. I was clutching bundles of the stuff by the time I reached the departure gate in Heathrow, where a Japan Airways employee gave one last look over the test results, remarking, 'You were just about inside the time for testing'.
Life on the edge, eh?
But all the paper grabbing and manoeuvring was nothing compared to the gymnastics required on arrival at Haneda Airport, where you had to stop at multiple staging posts to show this document or the other and spit into a cup for one final test before admittance.
Bleary eyed and jet-lagged, it took two and a half hours to clear immigration, but I got off lightly - earlier, some Team Ireland members took eight hours to do so.
It must be said that all the volunteers and staff doing the checking were nothing but polite, friendly and charming.
And anyway, I've made it! I'm into day two of three of self-testing and quarantining now. Restricted freedom awaits!
Penguin dreams
Quarantine for foreign travellers to Japan isn't quite the same as for those arriving into Ireland.
Here in Tokyo it is possible to leave the hotel for 15 minutes at a time to go to the shop or pick up takeaway, so it is not a case solitary confinement.
You have to quarantine for three days, although your day of arrival is day zero, meaning you have to spend four nights in the system.
With no bars or restaurants open for foreigners anyway, we're not missing out right now...although this place nearby looks intriguing!
At the 2019 Rugby World Cup, a colleague documented his visit to a hedgehog cafe, where you can grab a coffee and, yes, pet a hedgehog.
But the Penguin Bar....next level stuff entirely!
They've ad enough
The Japanese public's unhappiness over Tokyo 2020 taking place due to the country's continued Covid problems remains a big shadow over these Games.
One of the major sponsors, Toyota, has pulled Olympic-related TV commercials in Japan, supposedly to prevent damage to the brand.
In fact, Tokyo's CEO Akio Toyoda and other company bosses are not even attending the Opening Ceremony.
With 60 Japanese corporations paying more than €2.5 billion for sponsorship rights, Games organisers are hoping that Toyota's decision does not cause others to follow suit.
