Asia - bicycle checked baggage to TOKYO

So im leaving for Tokyo in 2011 March, from Portland, Oregon. It is nonstop on Delta Airlines. I was wondering if anyone has had any problems with their bicycles being damaged. I saw that video of the dude who flew with American Airlines and his bike was completely smashed to crap. It got my panicked, haha!

i plan on using a cardboard box. but im doubling up on the cardboard to make it a little more stiff(ha, thats what she said) and completely covering the frame and parts with lots of foam material. maybe some kind of brace in the middle of the box to keep it from caving in on either of the sides. so yeah tell me your opinions and let me know if youve flown with delta on the route or a similar one. thank you. :thumb:

After having flown back and forth many time, the one thing I noticed is that the Japanese people are much more respectful with your stuff. This does not help when flying from the US. what I would do is wrap it like you said and paste "fragile" all over it, or if you have a friend you could mail it. good luck. where in Tokyo will you be? what kind of riding do you do?

awesome!. yeah ive been to there before, and i noticed Japanese are definitely more respectful overall. heh. i figured hopefully the PDX baggage doods would be fairly respectful about a bicycle too since Portland is well known for the bike scene here. ill take your idea about getting fragile written all over it. i dont know if i could mail, im staying at a hostel in Asakusa. i dont really want to expect them to watch for it. i dunno. but, i mostly ride fixed. i dont do the tricks or anything, i just like riding that type of drivetrain. more fun in my opinion. ive been wanting to get into touring, but havent been able to find a good bike yet.