Is it crazy to consider onward flight from Tokyo same day as arrival?
Discuss today's stories:
-
@Reney They are more expensive via Klook I think.
You can download Pasmo card before leaving and buy shinkasen tickets via Smart Ex.
Having seen the zoo of sakura season three weeks ago, I would advise people to pre-book shinkanesen tickets at peak periods. That is 20 March-15 April and all of November.
For anyone going to Kyoto, I would advise waking up early to see the sights, but not go to the sights right at the opening, but slightly after, maybe 15-20 minutes later after all instagrammers are done.
yes I think there is a service fee on klook. Honestly I didn’t have loads of time to compared the prices, so I would suggest comparing. I brought via completesavings which will get me 10% back plus they seem to accumulate some points which they let you use during purchase. They also had a $10 off code when I made the purchase.
We went to the bamboo forest around 10am and was actually shocked that you could get some photos without people. The first time I went must have been later in the day as I recall moving in a crowd and was basically pushed along 😂
This time we went at 6am to Arashiyama (it’s my partner’s first trip to Japan so doing all the usual) and it was packed with influencers who all left by 6:30am and we could walk around freely until about 8am when the first bus tours started to arrive. Then you have another wave around 11am. So 10 am is perhaps also good.
We conveniently stayed at the Surian which is to be avoided btw. Worst service I experienced ever anywhere in the world (and in Japan of all places!). I’ll do a longer write up.
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Kyoto, it got downgraded in this round of category changes so I actually got some points back. Also point stay qualified for bonus journey promo which meant I got some more points back too.
I liked the location, rooms were reasonable (not big). Having laundry facility was great (but only 3 machine so might need some queuing). I can hear the street noise thou, it seems their emergency vehicles sound their siren when no one else is on the street 😅 at night.
I also stayed one night recently at Hyatt Place. I actually think Hyatt and IHG properties are the only ones worth shelling out in Japan at peak periods, Hilton/Marriott are rubbish. Marriott in particular drops service level to 1-star levels including everyone’s favourite Ritz Carlton Kyoto. Hyatt Place is good for budget. We also stayed three nights at PH Kyoto and that’s on another level. It’s now my favourite luxury hotel in the world.
What a pity that there are no Japanese hotels, and one is forced to stay in international chains 😉
What do you guys think about the caption by Hyatt in Osaka at £130 per night? My other option is HIX midosuji 19k points pn. Liked the look of the Holiday Inn Namba but it’s 55k points pn… I’d rather have a basic hotel in a great location than a fancy hotel in a rubbish location and I can’t afford a great hotel in a great location 😂
We flew to Tokyo, then to Osaka 3hrs later after we landed with JAL.
I assume is the LHR flight landing in Haneda at 7am.
There is an online form to fill for Customs clearance, do it before leaving London and save the QR code. This will save you some time at the airport. Consider 30-40mins for passport control, QR code will be required to pick your bags and pass Customs Control.
Transfer to the domestic terminal will take 10-15 minutes, no queues at all.
We actually dropped our luggage at Terminal 3, we didn’t take it with us to the domestic terminal.
With 30 minutes to withdraw some cash and buy the Welcome Suica card, it’s about 1hr-1hr30min from landing to getting to boarding gate for Osaka flight
Look for flights for ITM airport, not KIX@giboning the BA5 arrives Haneda at 10.25am. Consensus seems to be 1.5hrs transit time plus some extra just in case lol. Think I could do the 3 hrs between landing and takeoff and hope for less than 1.5 hrs delay from Heathrow. I am just wary of BA delays after a nightmare trip to Maldives Xmas 2022 due to snow at LHR!! I’m even going down to London the night before the Tokyo trip as I don’t trust BA to get me there the morning of the Heathrow flight lol.
What a pity that there are no Japanese hotels, and one is forced to stay in international chains 😉
I know, but I had this trip planned with my partner just as covid started so had to use up the points. We’re going back later in the year and no more Western chains. I’m a repeat customer in many of the hotels we stayed, but that counts for nothing apparently.
What do you guys think about the caption by Hyatt in Osaka at £130 per night? My other option is HIX midosuji 19k points pn. Liked the look of the Holiday Inn Namba but it’s 55k points pn… I’d rather have a basic hotel in a great location than a fancy hotel in a rubbish location and I can’t afford a great hotel in a great location 😂
I can only vouch for HI&Suites Shin Osaka. If you are on your own and don’t need much space then you can get amazing deals with Japanese chains.
We flew to Tokyo, then to Osaka 3hrs later after we landed with JAL.
I assume is the LHR flight landing in Haneda at 7am.
There is an online form to fill for Customs clearance, do it before leaving London and save the QR code. This will save you some time at the airport. Consider 30-40mins for passport control, QR code will be required to pick your bags and pass Customs Control.
Transfer to the domestic terminal will take 10-15 minutes, no queues at all.
We actually dropped our luggage at Terminal 3, we didn’t take it with us to the domestic terminal.
With 30 minutes to withdraw some cash and buy the Welcome Suica card, it’s about 1hr-1hr30min from landing to getting to boarding gate for Osaka flight
Look for flights for ITM airport, not KIXYour info is outdated. It’s now combined QR code for Immigration and Customs as noted above and on a separate thread. Otherwise you’ll be at the back of a queue if arriving when it’s busy.
@tracy are you doing carry on only? That would help with transit times. Also most hotel rooms are small and if your suitcase is too large you need to book a space for them on the trains. And we do find we end up lugging them up and down stairs quite a bit. Basically I recommend carry on only for Japan and bring a foldable duffle bag for purchase to bring back.
@giboning the BA5 arrives Haneda at 10.25am. Consensus seems to be 1.5hrs transit time plus some extra just in case lol. Think I could do the 3 hrs between landing and takeoff and hope for less than 1.5 hrs delay from Heathrow. I am just wary of BA delays after a nightmare trip to Maldives Xmas 2022 due to snow at LHR!! I’m even going down to London the night before the Tokyo trip as I don’t trust BA to get me there the morning of the Heathrow flight lol.
I’ve done a connection on separate tickets several times HND to Sapporo. I usually leave about 3 hours between landing with BA and takeoff with JAL. Out of 8 times (I think), I’ve only been delayed once. The BA flight was delayed by more than 4 hours, so by the time I’d landed my connection had already departed. I went to a JAL ticketing/help desk in HND and they put me on the next plane to Sapporo with no charge and no questions asked. My JAL ticket had been booked using Avios, so it wasn’t an expensive flexible fare.
What do you guys think about the caption by Hyatt in Osaka at £130 per night? My other option is HIX midosuji 19k points pn. Liked the look of the Holiday Inn Namba but it’s 55k points pn… I’d rather have a basic hotel in a great location than a fancy hotel in a rubbish location and I can’t afford a great hotel in a great location 😂
I think the Caption by Hyatt in Osaka has only just started taking bookings. It starts at 3500 points for some nights so could be a bit of a bargain.
We are staying at the Hyatt Place in Kyoto on points and then the Intercontinental in Osaka on an Amex 3 for 2 deal.
@tracy are you doing carry on only? That would help with transit times. Also most hotel rooms are small and if your suitcase is too large you need to book a space for them on the trains. And we do find we end up lugging them up and down stairs quite a bit. Basically I recommend carry on only for Japan and bring a foldable duffle bag for purchase to bring back.
Just book takkyubin service between hotels and points. No need to carry heavy luggage around.
@tracy are you doing carry on only? That would help with transit times. Also most hotel rooms are small and if your suitcase is too large you need to book a space for them on the trains. And we do find we end up lugging them up and down stairs quite a bit. Basically I recommend carry on only for Japan and bring a foldable duffle bag for purchase to bring back.
Just book takkyubin service between hotels and points. No need to carry heavy luggage around.
indeed but it rather depends on how long you are staying in any one place. We did two weeks in Japan with hand luggage easily
Most hotels will store bags for you for up to a week and some longer. On the current trip we sent our luggage from Tokyo to Osaka and in the meantime spent a week in Kyoto and Nagoya.
If you buy stuff, it’s easy enough to arrange delivery anywhere in Japan from the store directly.
Another reason to look at Japanese hotels instead of western chains. Many Japanese hotels have laundry rooms. Helps if you are traveling light.
We are going hand luggage only and will buy a suitcase in Tokyo at the end of the trip to buy all the souvenirs. Don’t want to worry about carrying or sending suitcases as we will have 4 hotel moves…
Another reason to look at Japanese hotels instead of western chains. Many Japanese hotels have laundry rooms. Helps if you are traveling light.
Most budget western hotels have laundry rooms too. (HI, Hyatt Place, Courtyard, HGI). HI&Suites Shin Osaka also has in-room washer-dryer in their ‘suites’ which are around £130 a night even at peak periods.
Also coin laundries are everywhere in Japan just as coin lockers. I love using coin lockers when shopping so you don’t have to carry shopping bags around from one shop to the other. So convenient.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
