The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[Anpanman]

Well said saif, I've done Air China too, Heathrow to Beijing. Service was fine though the flight was only half full as I flew winter time so could spread out a bit.

As for AVOD etc, I flew in 2000 when the operated B744's with no entertainment, they now use A330's which does have it;

http://www.airchina.co.uk/en/a330.html

[teddymeow]

Just booked my holiday for next year. 2 weeks in May through Expedia. Flying with Virgin and staying here:

Chisun Grand Akasaka

We have stayed at one of their other hotels the last two years and this one is supposed to be a more "upmarket" version of that so, fingers crossed!

Ooh, the excitement has already started!!

[neoboy259]

Just booked my holiday for next year. 2 weeks in May through Expedia. Flying with Virgin and staying here:

Chisun Grand Akasaka

We have stayed at one of their other hotels the last two years and this one is supposed to be a more "upmarket" version of that so, fingers crossed!

Ooh, the excitement has already started!!

Jammy bugger! How much you paying and how long you staying for? If you dont mind me asking.

[teddymeow]

Jammy bugger! How much you paying and how long you staying for? If you dont mind me asking.

12 nights in total.

I planned it so we arrive in Tokyo early in the day (like 9.30AM) so we get more time in the city. Even if we can't check in I'm guesing we can leave our bags with reception in order to grab food / have a scout of the local area - Akasaka isn't an area I'm massively familiar with. The hotel we stayed in on our Honeymoon is around there but we headed straight to the where the guide books said the cool stuff was.

What's even better is we have 2 complete weekends in Tokyo so plenty of time to trawl Akiba on a Sunday (great fun) and wander through Yoyogi Park watching the world go by and seeing the 50s rockers.

It cost ?1950 for the pair of us which is, in my eyes, a pretty good deal given the exchange rate at the moment. A quick xe.com check reveals that the hotel rate of Y19,000 per night is roughly ?130!! If worked out literally the flights have cost us ?400ish!!

[neoboy259]

12 nights in total.

I planned it so we arrive in Tokyo early in the day (like 9.30AM) so we get more time in the city. Even if we can't check in I'm guesing we can leave our bags with reception in order to grab food / have a scout of the local area - Akasaka isn't an area I'm massively familiar with. The hotel we stayed in on our Honeymoon is around there but we headed straight to the where the guide books said the cool stuff was.

What's even better is we have 2 complete weekends in Tokyo so plenty of time to trawl Akiba on a Sunday (great fun) and wander through Yoyogi Park watching the world go by and seeing the 50s rockers.

It cost ?1950 for the pair of us which is, in my eyes, a pretty good deal given the exchange rate at the moment. A quick xe.com check reveals that the hotel rate of Y19,000 per night is roughly ?130!! If worked out literally the flights have cost us ?400ish!!

Thats a pretty decent price, who are you flying with?

Cant find any decently priced flights for March 2010 at the mo. Has anyone flown Asiana? We dont mind the stopover in Seoul, its just that the missus absolutely has to have decent IFE!

[teddymeow]

Thats a pretty decent price, who are you flying with?

Cant find any decently priced flights for March 2010 at the mo. Has anyone flown Asiana? We dont mind the stopover in Seoul, its just that the missus absolutely has to have decent IFE!

Flying with Virgin. Last time they were excellent!! Almost went ANA but for the extra ?30 each we'd rather go with what we know!

[r3z]

I've flown Asiana to Tokyo before, they were OK. Can't remember the IFE but the only downside was the flight departing Tokyo was very early and going from Saitama I had to leave about 4:30am to catch the first train into Tokyo before heading onto NRT. Not so bad if your in Tokyo tho.

[neoboy259]

Cheers guys. Virgin are excellent, been with them twice 3 times, twice to HK, once to Tokyo. They'd be my preferred choice tbh. Thought ANA were pretty average, though a damn sight better than BA!

[Anpanman]

I've done Asiana too, thought they were top. They didn't have AVOD on their B744's when I flew with them but they now have triples on the Heathrow service.
Good meals, service and nice touches like free disposable toothbrushes in the loos. The airport at Incheon gives an example of just how transit airports should be (or in fact airports in general).

Asiana aircraft info here;

http://eu.flyasiana.com/Global/EU/en/homepage?fid=INFO13130

Info on seatguru;

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Asiana/information.php

You can then scroll down and click on the aircraft type (B777) for more info or just click here;

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Asiana/Asiana_Boeing_777-200.php

[saif]

I used Asiana when they didn't have personal video and had a very good flight. As mentioned, as a gamer, that didn't bother me, but the overall service was very good. Friendly and helpful staff, great transit (with nice airport food!) and comfortable flight.

[briareos_kerensky]

Holidays confirmed, from 9th to 23th of April, flying with British Airways (Malpensa-Heathrow-Narita)
I'm planning to stay in Kyoto from the 10th to the 14th and then Tokyo until the day of departure. I haven't a real sightseeing plan, I'll chose daily (or the day before) what to visit; I'll keep Akihabara for last or I'll spend my whole vacation there.

So I'm down to the real interesting questions...good arcades to visit in both cities?
As a general guideline, will I be able to take photos (with a reflex camera) inside them or it's a big no-no, even without the arcade being a test location for an upcoming game?

For someone who never slept on a futon, are ryokan a good place to rest? I'm tempted to book one when in Kyoto, but I'm still not sure on the paper-thin bed in there.

[wakka]

I don't think you get futons in a ryokan...a futon is like a Japanese fold out sofa bed. I thought you basically slept on the floor in ryokans?

[r3z]

The word has been adopted to mean sofa-bed, a futon is Japanese-style bedding (mattress/covers) which is placed on the floor.

The ones I've used in ryokans have usually been pretty comfortable (on tatami floor which also have a bit of give) but others at people's homes have not been so thick/on solid wooden floor so preferable to pile up 2 or 3 mattresses.

[kryss]

An IKEA futon is a sofa bed, but like r3z said a real Japanese futon is a cushion-like mattress which goes on the floor. They are still pretty damn comfortable and nothing like the "paper-thin" that people imagine. My problem is I could never find the right pillow.

Arashiyama is a nice place to go and stay in a Ryokan in Kyoto. It's a train ride out from the centre of the city.

[Len]

We had a few nights in a lovely ryokan in Kyoto, pretty central and no worries with the bed. It is 'thin' but you'll be fine.

Defo worth giving it a whirl, when in Rome and all that...