Has anybody been to Japan?

Thanks again for those posts chaps,much appreciated;)

I flew to Osaka back in …1993. I flew BA non stop from LHR on board of a 744.
It was a very pleasant experience and both legs were very pleasant flights

MMM, fine for a short break. But what about the prices? You cannot be serious for a holiday. I have lived and worked in Japan.Impossible to travel by road from Yokohama to Tokyo for example.Traffic, horrendous.Ten years ago I was in the Yokohama Grand Hotel. It even had an Italian restaurant.And, live Italian musicians. Spaghetti bolognese, 70 quid. Jap places similar….
Big plus,micro breweries.Fantastic beers.
…
Good luck mate.

Have you been to Japan more recently than 10 years ago? If not, look at the exchange rate. When I was there last year, yen prices were the same as or lower than the last time I was there, but the yen had dropped against the pound. I’ve been every year since 2001, & it’s been the same every time.

A lot of stuff (e.g. electronic goods & cars) is noticeably cheaper than here. You can rent a flat in Tokyo now for less than the equivalent in Reading, let alone London. Local public transport is mostly cheaper. Hotels cheaper than here for the same standard. And so on, and so on. Venture away from the metropoli & prices drop further. Some things cost more, & you can’t say it’s cheap overall, but nor is it the scarily expensive place it used to be. BTW, why drive from Tokyo to Yokohama? There’s an excellent train service.

Right about the micro-breweries, though. That surprised me first time I went there. There’s a shop near the station in Narita (town) which has a good range – out the back, over the pedestrian overpass, opposite the Comfort Hotel. Looks like a large convenience store. Unfortunately, there was some security alert just before we flew back last summer: no liquids! So we donated our samples of the Champion Beer of Japan to the missus’ sister & brother-in-law (we knew they’d enjoy them – he likes a good pint of London Pride), & contented ourselves with a few local brews from around Narita the night before flying home.

If you’re stuck in Narita overnight, better to stay in the town than an airport hotel. It’s a very short train ride, & the town’s gaijin-friendly. All those crews. Has a superb temple, as well. Huge, with magnificent grounds, & close to the station. Most airport hotels don’t offer any views of take-offs & landings, & you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere. Only worth it for early flights.

And for beer – well, if you’re ever in Ise (I expect to be down there in December – grandparent visit) – try the Shinto Bakushu. Also available in Tokyo
http://www.bento.com/brews60.html

Gary,

internal flights are a bloody rip-off, & long-distance trains aren’t cheap – but they’re fast, of course. Inter-city buses are cheaper, but a pain for long distances, & less gaijin-friendly. Menus in most places (even some with pretensions to quality) have pictures, which makes life much easier for foreigners. Noodle bars offer tasty, cheap lunches, & affordable beer (supermarkets are cheap, the ubiquitous convenience stores moderately priced, but bars expensive for drink). Osaka castle is a modern reconstruction – go to Himeji if you want to see an authentic (largely rebuilt, but re-using the old materials) castle. Enjoy the talking toilets. 😀

Not flown in or out of Kansai, so can’t help there. I can recommend the Imperial Hotel in Osaka, if you feel like pushing the boat out. Rooms start at £150 (luckily someone else was paying) but it’s not horribly expensive to eat. £40-45 plus drinks for set dinners in the kaiseki (Japanese) & Chinese restaurants, & the food’s good. If your standards are less exalted it’s easy to find dinner for a tenner or lunch for a fiver in Osaka – or Tokyo, or anywhere else, & there are plenty of modestly priced hotels. Bento (packed lunches) are sold at every railway station of significance.

If you like seafood, Japan is heaven.

Paul

MMM, fine for a short break. But what about the prices? You cannot be serious for a holiday. I have lived and worked in Japan.Impossible to travel by road from Yokohama to Tokyo for example.Traffic, horrendous.Ten years ago I was in the Yokohama Grand Hotel. It even had an Italian restaurant.And, live Italian musicians. Spaghetti bolognese, 70 quid. Jap places similar.
Narita has to be the most boring airport on the planet. The only entertainment is the all glass smokers fish tank.Maybe 100 people in a tiny room all smoking like chimneys. You can hardly see them for the smoke fog.
Big plus,micro breweries.Fantastic beers.
Enjoy the chickens feet and wash them down with a glass of raw rotting squid.
Good luck mate.

Cheers Tartan pics,looking foward even more now;)

Kansai is a must do!!
I done a tour of Japan a few years back and the spotting deck at KIX is just outstanding.However,only good for shooting in the late afternoon. also, well worth the visit is Tokyo Haneda just insane to visit an airport with 1 international route (Air China) or it was at the time, and see unbelievable amounts of 777 and 747 being used like buses 😀 and a great rooftop deck there also.
Itami is ok, but mostly small domestic stuff, like almost all Japan has a great observation deck on the terminal roof overlooking the 2 central piers and runway, not a terribly busy airport tho.. if i remember correctly it was good for getting YS-11’s
The following link is a great spotters site about Japan:
http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~ito-nori/index.html
HTH

I was wondering about a DXB stopover too,i was in DUS two weeks ago so whilst waiting to check in i went up to the EK ticket desk,and the very nice chap behind the desk said that EK offer a two day stop over on each leg for free,so i have a bit of flexibility,so i plan on having one or two nites in dubai,i’m a bit concerned about the 50 degree day time temperatures though! ouch!!

I went to Tokyo for the weekend back at the start of the year – £300 on BA 😎

Although not Osaka, Tokyo gave me the impression of Japan being a really incredible country. Lots and lots to see and do, great friendly people (all those you are likely to have any dealings with will speak perfect English) and best of all such a clean and efficient place compared with the UK and Ireland!

That fare is a bargain, and Emirates are a very good airline. Their service standards are slipping at the moment, but in terms of the product you get in Economy, and a simple DXB connection, you should have one of the best series of flights in your life I imagine.

See if you can work a free stopover in Dubai at the same time too, although with that fare its going to be pretty restrictive I guess?