Several years ago, Elaine, Mark & Kath (Elaine’s brother and sister-in-law) and I, started doing what we call, ‘Bucket List’ trips. We take it in turns picking the trip, a trip that each of us have always wanted to do, and then I do all the planning. The only criteria for the trips is that the main part of the trip is a destination most of us have never visited before. We have so far visited, Koh Samui in Thailand, Boracay in the Philippines, Singapore & cruising Malaysia and the islands of Malaysia, the west coast of America and Vegas, a road trip to the Black forest of Germany, France, Italy and the South of France. This year we visited, Tokyo & Japan 31st July 2024 to 21st August 2024
31st July/1st August 2024
Not much sleep last night (just four hours) and an exceedingly early start. Awoke at 12.30am quite excited or was it worry that our mega trip would all work as I had planned, and was going to give the four of us the trip that such cost demanded!
We were already packed with suitcases loaded into the car before we headed for a few hours’ sleep, so a bit of news and tv before Elaine rose at 2.30am.
At 3am we left home for Queensbury to pick up our brothers in arms, Mark and Kath, for our latest Bucket List trip. After loading their suitcases, we were off heading to Manchester Airport for the first of many flights to Narita airport in Tokyo.
We arrived at Manchester airport Meet & Greet with no issues. Checked in and straight through ‘Fast Track’ security (included in business class flights) & straight to the Aspire Lounge (again included in flights) for hearty breakfast and our first beer of the day! Three beers later, we boarded our Lufthansa flight from Manchester to Munich at 06.55am.
Business Class flights on the European legs just means you get priority boarding, you sit up front (in front of those flimsy curtains), the middle seat is left vacant, you get served a meal with real cutlery and crockery, free booze and that huge 60kg baggage allowance. Oh, and you also get let off the plane first. The flight to Munich was 100% full so the above seemed like real benefits.
Onto Munich’s Business lounge for more complimentary booze and food along with great banter and excitement about our trip.
Many beers and four hours later, we boarded our short flight from Munich to Rome. We were the only ones in front of the curtain so had the full attention of the superb Lufthansa flight attendants who plied us with yet more booze and food!
Rome airport was just as chaotic and busy as all the other times I have visited Rome over the years. I love Italy but it never ceases to amaze me how laid back they are with things that wind me off the clock and how animated they become about things I am relaxed about! Today was no exception to that rule.
We had to collect our baggage here in Rome as our flights with Lufthansa were now complete and here, we started our journey with LOT, Polish airlines.
Two changes to the baggage carousel number later, which the Romans thought this is about par for the course, we then had to negotiate our way through the masses of people to the departure lounge and our LOT check in.
The LOT check-in was in turmoil with nobody being checked in and dozens of people jockeying for pole position when they decided they could. The system was down, and LOT use a third-party company, who, did not appear to give a shit at the very rowdy Italians who were very animated at the hold up. Eventually the light above one of the desks flickered into action and it was for LOT Business customers first, which by now the several dozens of passengers now gathered in unison let out a very loud groan!
The stares of ‘evil’ as we excused ourselves past the baying throng to check in first was scary but quite gratifying on the inside!
Once checked in, we scarpered through fast-track security and up to the airport lounge. The queue outside was for paying customers eager to get away from the huge chaos of Rome’s busiest airport.
By now tiredness was setting in and the banter started! “Twelve hours in and we are only in Rome! Would have been quicker to walk!” “Now we know why we’ve booked three weeks for this trip – 2 weeks were for the flights!” – you get the gist! More food and more booze but now we had progressed onto the hard stuff.
Before we even taxied out from Rome on our Warsaw flight, we were all asleep. Our amazing LOT Steward woke us all just before landing with a nice cup of coffee.
We had just half hour from landing in Warsaw to taking off again for the twelve and ¾ hour flight to Tokyo’s Narita.
The seating arrangement in LOT’s Business section is just twenty-four seats in total in a 2-2-2 format. A huge space with fully reclining flat beds. The service was superb with menus of either Japanese or European food. Flowing champagne (It does not float my boat) and whatever booze you so desire.
We departed on time with food served within the first hour.
Meal over and 2 x gin and tonics later, I reclined my bed and changed into my sleeping clothes and didn't even recalling my head touching the pillow, I slept for a full nine hours! A brilliant way to fly long haul.
Lashings of coffee alongside a hearty breakfast and we were ready to land.
Getting through Narita airport was a breeze with Japanese efficiency on full show. Bags collected, Wi-Fi gained and a message waiting from our pre-booked driver to take us into Tokyo and our hotel. Straight forward and easy and he was exactly where he said he would be.
The trip from Narita airport to our hotel in Shinjuku took around one ½ hours.
Luggage delivered to our rooms, we set off to the area just behind the hotel called ‘Golden Gai’ – a very traditional, small alley conclave of around two hundred exceedingly small, narrow bars. Each one seats no more than a dozen guests. We found one which had just four seats left, and we sampled some of the Saki & had a Japanese Whiskey nightcap.
Short journey back to the hotel and bed.
Day 2 Tokyo – 2nd August 2024
I always find jet lag going East as the worst. I woke at 4am, bright as a button.
I went out scouting to find a decent coffee and found the streets busier than when we had last left them. Shinjuku is the party capital of Tokyo with clubbers and revellers abound. Just below our hotel was a local Lawson’s convenience store open 24/7 and serving superb coffee. My son who visits Japan a lot recommended trying the egg sandwiches! I did, they were superb and cost around £1.50 – they even come with the crusts off the bread!
We all met at 8am for breakfast then headed out to explore.
We found a store selling Data Sim cards so we could use our Google Maps. English signs are exceedingly rare in Tokyo (Japan), so Google maps is essential to get around. They are straight forward to install however, E-Sims are extremely easy, but your phone needs to be compliant for an E-Sim and mine is not.
Next was navigating the Metro and train system. Despite its reputation for impeccable punctuality, it is a bit of a nightmare to negotiate. Their system has a series of owners with differing price points depending on which route you take.
The easiest way to pay is by buying a SVICA card where you put money on it then just tap in and out – just like the Oyster card system in London. You can top it up when it gets low on funds. Google Maps is essential when looking for the best route and it walks you through each step.
Today we headed for SHIBUYA crossing which allegedly is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing in the world, although Kath managed to take a selfie with not one person on the crossing!
It did not disappoint and one of the best vantage points to take a photo is upstairs in Starbuck’s! It also allows you to get a much-needed drink as August in Japan is stifling hot and humid. The weather forecast today said 38 degrees but feels like 44 degrees!
Next, we headed to Harajuku - Buzzing Harajuku is renowned for colourful street art and youth fashion, with quirky vintage clothing stores and cosplay shops along Takeshita Street, and traditional, upmarket boutiques on leafy Omotesando Avenue. Small, trendy bars fill the surrounding lanes, while dessert shops and carts specialize in sweet crêpes, donuts, and bubble tea. If you like food and differing types of food, this is a wonderful place to head.
From here we walked (despite the heat) to the beautiful park which holds the Meiji Jingu Gyoen _ Meiji Jingu is one of the Shinto shrines in Japan, with the vast land of the forest (175 acres), located in the middle of Tokyo.
Once you step into this precinct, you will forget that you are in the hustle bustle city, and will find Japanese traditional scene amidst greenery nature.
It was established in 1920, to commemorate the virtue of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who took the initiative to make a foundation of modernized Japan.
Too hot to walk back to the hotel, we took the Metro
After a rest and shower, we headed to Memory Lane - Memory Lane is a small area of narrow alleyways of restaurants and food stalls on the other side of Shinjuku railway station. Dim, crowded, and dingy, most of the structures are dilapidated and old, with room for only half a dozen patrons or so. Like Golden Gai but more food orientated. Mugs of beer and sticks of yakitori are served matter-of-factly, without the clean pageantry that characterizes other Japanese cuisine. I found it an experience but the others not so. It was extremely hot and stuffy with heavy air from all the grilled food.
Day 3 Tokyo – 3rd August 2024
Another scorching day, so our trip to Senso-ji temple is not far to walk from the metro station of Asakusa which retains the vibe of an older Tokyo, with traditional craft shops and street-food stalls along Nakamise Street near the ancient temple. The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built nearby for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple. Worth a trip to this Buddhist temple.
More metro to Akihabara which is a buzzing shopping hub famed for its electronics retailers, ranging from tiny stalls to vast department stores like Yodobashi Multimedia Akiba. This would be a great if we were into electronic games and stores, but we were not. Combine this with the stifling hot weather, it was not for us. Lunch however was in a small café where robots served us! They also claim to have the largest Adult Sex Toy shop in the world…. Allegedly!
The highlight of the day for us happened from 3.30pm which was Tokyo Bay Street Karts!!!! Street Kart is the original and official street legal go-kart company but there are others. I chose this company because the route they take is around Tokyo Bay which is not as congested as other parts of Tokyo on the roads. The downside is that it is located some way away from the Metro station and walking a distance in the heat was unpleasant. I had slipped going up some stairs to the Metro and hurt my knee and was struggling to walk.
You can also dress up to go go-karting but again because it was so hot, we decided against it. We did dress up for photos in the comfort of the air conditioning but promptly discarded them as we went out to the cars.
The girls were apprehensive for several weeks before the trip about go-karting on the open roads around Tokyo. That was, until they got behind the wheel!
We had so much fun! Everybody waves at you when you pass pedestrians and the sights around Tokyo Bay are well viewed from the road. It really is well worth the money and time of just on 2 hours (between 1 hour 15 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes on the road)
If you are a little on the adventurous side, Street Karting is a great and fun experience. A must do.
Just a note if you want to Street Kart when you are in Japan, you do need to take with you an International Driving Permit numbered 1949. You cannot get them in Japan as a foreigner, so you need to get one before you leave the UK. When we got ours, you could buy them at most Post Offices however this is no longer available from March 2024. You can only now buy them at certain shops where they have PayPoint. You can check your nearest one here: https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/get-an-idp You can also check which countries accept or require IDP’s and which number (There are several different ones!) https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit
It currently costs £5.50 for an IDP.
Day 4 Tokyo - 4/08/2024
On awaking this morning my knee was the size of a balloon, and I could not put any pressure on my leg – I just could not walk, and the pain was excruciating so I went off to A & E. I was worried as I had received a partial knee replacement back in February and I thought I might have damaged the replacement. The hospital was terrific and after an Xray, a set of crutches, pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs, I was back on my feet/ I had not damaged the replacement, just torn some ligaments when I fell up the stairs. They did ask me to see the specialist the day after to make sure. After paying the bill of around £600, I was on my way.
I had booked teamPlanet Labs before we left. TeamLab Planets is a museum where you walk through water, and a garden where you become one with flowers. It comprises four large scale artwork spaces and two gardens. You go barefoot and immerse within the art. It really is a fabulous experience where we all enjoyed it immensely. It is worth the £23 entrance fee, and I would highly recommend the experience when in Tokyo. With my limited mobility, I could not experience the whole museum but what I did was amazing.
We also felt our first earthquake tremor today, which is quite common in Japan.
Day 5 Tokyo - 5/08/2024
After the hospital visit and confirmation that I had not injured my partial knee replacement, we hired a car for the day to go to Kusatsu Onsen. Train was £50 each return but car hire is £70 for the day and similar distance of about 3 hours’ drive. Kusatsu Onsen is a hot spring resort located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, northwest of Tokyo. It is a popular tourist destination. There are thirteen public baths at Kusatsu Onsen. The small bathhouses that are free for both town residents and tourists are managed by the townspeople themselves. Just a word of caution – many do not allow tattoos, and many are naked bathing only. They do have separate bathing spots for men and women though.
It really is worth the drive and the Onsen are superb. Kusatsu village is pretty and up in the mountains. Once you finally get out of Tokyo, the countryside is lovely and a real difference to the megalopolis, that is Tokyo.
The Japanese drive on the same side of the road as the UK so driving is remarkably familiar and easy. Speed limits in Japan are also quite low at around 60mph on the motorway, too.
If the 3- or 4-hour drive is not in your reccy, you can get trains to closer Onsen to Tokyo.
Day 6 Tokyo - 6/08/2024
We had a rest morning today after breakfast as we were shattered and the weather continued to be stiflingly hot.
Mid-afternoon we caught the metro over to Ginzo to attempt the East gardens of the Imperial Palace. The weather really got the better of us and we ended up after half an hour in the gardens heading to the aircon in the many plush shops in Ginzo. A trip to Centre Bakary is essential when you are in Ginzo, and it lived up to every expectation for afternoon tea.
The evening meal was back in Shinjuku at a recommended restaurant for Wagyu Beef called Gyu- Kaku. You can have all you can eat menu with as much beef as you like for 70 minutes alongside an all you can drink for the same time limit. Quite excellent value however each table has a hot flame where you cook your own beef! Great fun, excellent value and worth doing. Cost was around £40 per head for lashings of beef and lashings of beer and wine.
This is just around the corner from Godzilla who adorns the top of a hotel in Shinjuku. The sheer number of lights and sounds coming from billboards is worth a visit to this part of party central that is Shinjuku.
My son in Australia told us to be at the entrance to Godzilla Drive at 9pm and wave at the street camera! We did and he saw us on the public system and took a video!
Day 7 - 7/08/2024 – Cruise DAY 1
Check out day today so we booked a people carrier to take us from the hotel to Yokohama and our cruise ship for the next 13 days – The Celebrity Millennium.
The trip from Shinjuku to Yokohama was about 75 minutes and cost £120 for the four of us and all our luggage. We had a pre-arranged check in at 2 pm for the ship and like clockwork, it happened incredibly well. After checking our suites, we headed to the Martini bar to start using our drinks package.
Getting in the spirit of our cruise, we dressed for dinner after the amazing Broadway show before dinner. The cruise departed at 8pm
Day 8 - 8/08/2024 Cruise DAY 2
Today we docked in Shizuoka early which is near to Yokohama but is close to Mount Fuji. Against my better judgement, we had booked an expensive shore excursion from the ship. We decided to do the Shimizu Tour– Hakone National Park and Lake Ashi – which was a five ½ hours tour and a 7.30am start!!! It was a 2-hour coach journey into the national park and up Komagatake top station of the ropeway. On a cloudless day you have uninterrupted views of Mount Fuji however today visibility was down to about ten feet with the clouds incredibly low indeed! They say Fuji is a shy lady. Today she was just plain invisible! The gift shop here sells ice cream and black eggs! Eggs that are baked in the highly sulphurous boiling waters that flow up here. They come from the volcanic depths below. Whilst we passed on the eggs, we did opt for the ice cream and sat in the car park for half an hour almost unable to see each other for the cloud! Next was a trip back down the hill to Lake Ashi where we boarded one of the two ‘Pirate Ships’ on a half hour motor across the lake. Lake Ashi is incredibly beautiful and famous for the Tori Gates which stand in the lake. Unfortunately, after about 10 minutes the cloud cover descended over the lake and the view disappeared! We just managed to make out the Tory Gate through the mist and cloud cover. Off the boat, back on the coach and back to the ship!
Thankfully, the ship was in bright sunshine when we got back so off to the pool and sampling the variety of cocktails on offer. When getting ready for dinner, I sat out on the balcony putting my shoes on and when I looked up, lo and behold, Mt. Fuji was visible! The first and only time I saw her. Kath had managed to get a shot of her also when we landed into Tokyo airport.
The rest of the evening was spent chilling and enjoying the many excellent facilities of the ship.
Day 9 - 9/08/2024 Cruise DAY 3
Today was a day at sea so massive chill day. Pool, reading our books by the adults only swimming pool, leisurely lunches, and excellent wines!
Day 10 - 10/08/2024 Cruise DAY 4
Today we had docked in Osaka for the next two days. No shore excursion today organised by the cruise ship but our own itinerary.
First job was a metro trip to the main Osaka Train Station from near the cruise ship.
Prior to leaving the UK I booked our train tickets to Kyoto on the Bullet Train (Shinkansen) from Osaka to Kyoto 09.57am going and 18.03 coming back. As they only become available 4 months in advance, I used a website called Rail Ninja https://rail.ninja/train/shinkansen-train Here you can book and pay for your tickets in advance and they forward them to you when your dates become available.
Growing up without the internet, we only relied on encyclopaedia which had iconic pictures of all the worlds wonders. Who can ever forget the iconic photo of the bullet train travelling at high speed past Mount Fuji! It did not disappoint.
When we arrived at Kyoto, we took a short metro to hike Through Torii Gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine – we planned to do a short 3-mile hike through the incredibly beautiful forest. We sacked the 3-mile hike because of the intense heat. Nevertheless, we walked around the beautiful shrine.
Fushimi Inari Shrine ( Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto God of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.
From here we headed again on the Metro to Gion. Gion is lovely and the oldest part of Kyoto. It is also where many of the Geisha live and work. If you are heading to Kyoto, then Gion is a must visit.
Ay 2pm I had booked a Traditional Tea Making Ceremony with us all wearing Kimonos!!! Rally great fun and whilst the tea making ceremony was informative, it is one of those things that I would only do once. We could have worn the Kimonos all day however again the heat was too much, and we disrobed after the tea making ceremony. The tea making ceremony and kimono experience cost around £40 each. Here is the link: https://mai-ko.com/culture/tea-ceremony/
We found a bar and enjoyed ice cold beers in the aircon before heading back on the bullet train to Osaka and the ship.
Day 11 - 11/08/2024 Cruise DAY 5
We had intended to visit Nara, Osaka today. Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html
As the ship was sailing today at 3pm it meant an early start. Unfortunately, we were all shattered and the weather was stifling again so we decided to stay on board and enjoy the pool.
Day 12 - 12/08/2024 Cruise DAY 6
Today the ship had arrived in Hiroshima, sat on the balcony early morning was a real treat. The Japanese coastline is stunning with many small islands along the way.
Our shore excursion into Hiroshima today was on an organised tour from the ship. Coach first to Hiroshima Castle. Hiroshima developed as a castle town, whereby the castle was both the physical and economical centre of the city. Built in 1589 by the powerful feudal lord Mori Terumoto. We did not go into the castle, but the outside is very traditional and beautiful.
From here we headed over to the Dome of Hiroshima and the Peace gardens. I found the experience moving. The atomic bombs dropped here and in Nagasaki killed almost 250,000 people – the only time in warfare in history that an atomic bomb has been used. The gardens are beautiful, and the peace bell is well placed. We did not get to the museum as it was the hottest day so far and the queue for the museum was over 2 hours long. Instead, we used the time to pay our respects within the peace park. Whilst virtually everybody who visits Japan visits Hiroshima, it genuinely is worth the visit.
Day 13 - 13/08/2024 Cruise DAY 7
As today was a sea day, we chilled around the pool and enjoyed our books and our unlimited drinks package!
Day 14 - 14/08/2024 Cruise DAY 8
This morning, we had arrived in Busan, South Korea. We had booked a shore excursion from the ship this morning so early start for the 8.30am trip.
Our first stop was Tongdosa Temple, esteemed for its establishment in 643, is a revered site recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage. This temple proudly houses Buddha's genuine sacred relics. It also boasts an array of significant Buddhist cultural treasures, such as the Daeungjeon Hall, the Gilt-Bronze Vairocana Buddha, and the Buddhist Museum. It is one of the finest examples of a Buddhist that I have ever visited. It really is a gem.
We spent a couple of hours here in the baking heat but could have easily stayed longer.
From here we visited the Oryukdo Skywalk. It is located at what was called Seungdumal, meaning a saddle, due to the shape of the point. It was also called Jallokgae by residents and female divers in the area. The female divers (haenyeos) are quite special ladies who dive down holding their breath to pick the shellfish from the bottom at over 10m. Many can hold their breath for over 3 minutes!
The construction of Oryukdo Skywalk began on September 12, 2012, at the Seungdumal area, which is regarded as the dividing point between the East Sea and the South Sea, and the skywalk opened on October 18, 2013, with the theme of "walking over the sky.”
Iron columns were set up over a 35-meter-high coastal cliff, and a 15-meter glass bridge comprised of 24 glass plates and shaped like a horse’s hoof connect the iron columns. The glass flooring was made by four layers of 12-millimeter glass panels coated with a bulletproof film for a total thickness of 55.49 millimetres, making the structure quite safe. (Not that I do not like to check these things before embarking!) Visitors will be thrilled with the view of the waves while looking down through the transparent floor. The sea stretches out ahead of the skywalk, perfect for a photo op. It gives spectacular views along the Busan coastline.
By far the best shore excursion organised by the cruise ship!
Back to the ship to enjoy the sunshine around the pool.
Day 15 - 15/08/2024 Cruise DAY 9
Today we were back in Japan and the ship docked in Kumamoto. Another stifling day, so we decided to stay on board. Pool, food, books, and booze!
Day 16 - 16/08/2024 Cruise DAY 10
The coastline around Nagasaki and Kumamoto really is spectacular! The beauty of being on a ship and sitting on the balcony early morning is that you get to see it in its full splendour! Many, many small islands adorn the coastline. It really is beautiful.
Today we docked in Nagasaki where of course the second atomic bomb was dropped in WW2.
We decided we would do our own thing today instead of the cruise on shore excursion. We thought we would evaluate how much we would save (if at all) by doing the cruise itinerary by ourselves.
We walked from the ship to the tram. After several stops, we arrived at the Peace gardens and made our way to the museum. We had not done the museum in Hiroshima, so was determined to do the one here in Nagasaki. We were not disappointed as the crowds were much lighter and the museum very moving. We hired the headsets in English which is vital and incredibly informative. We spent over 2 hours here and as in Hiroshima, found the experience very moving.
After the museum we visited the Peace Gardens which are exceptionally beautiful.
As the weather was now well over one hundred degrees, we decided to catch a cab to the Nagasaki Ropeway instead of walking.
The all-glass gondola offers a 360-degree panoramic view of the beautiful city of Nagasaki and is famous as a viewing spot for the million-dollar night view, which was re-certified as one of the "World's New Three Great Night Views" in 2021. We didn’t see the night view, but the light shows and views of the city are said to be spectacular.
From "Fuchi Shrine Station" at the foot of Mt. Inasa, it takes about 5 minutes to connect to the summit of 333-meter-high Mt. Inasa, and on a clear day, you can see as far as Unzen, Amakusa, and the Goto Islands. Today was a cloudless day and the views were indeed stunning!
After a good couple of hours, we were back at the bottom and a taxi took us back to the ship.
The shore excursion from the ship was US$120 each, so $480 for the four of us. Our identical tour done by ourselves – so tram fare, museum entrance, headset hire, 2 x taxis, ropeway return and a beer at the top of Mt. Inasa cost a grand total of £50 for the four of us. A saving of about US$400!!!
Day 17 - 17/08/2024 Cruise DAY 11
Sea Day today so enjoyed the facilities of the ship.
Day 18 - 18/08/2024 Cruise DAY 12
This morning, we arrived back in Yokohama where we will spend our last day. I ducked off the ship to see if I could find a Go pro camera to buy. Unfortunately, I did not take my wallet with me, so the trip was in vain. As the heat was again well over one hundred degrees, we decided to stay on board today for our last day and enjoyed the pool, drinks, and superb food.
Day 19 - 19/08/2024 Cruise DAY 13
Today we leave the ship and are booked back into the same hotel in Tokyo. Our disembarkation time was 9.30am and by the time we collected our luggage our driver on queue, arrived to take us back to Tokyo.
On the way back you pass Disneyland Tokyo, which we decided not to do (I was outvoted 3 to 1) but taking advice from my son Lee, he says the two parks are normally heaving with over two-hour queues for each ride! So, in hindsight and the soaring summer heat, my travel companions were wise to out vote me!
After checking in and depositing our luggage, we headed out to a great bar called Café 99 which served food and of course drinks. After a couple of hours in the aircon we went back to the hotel and got changed for dinner. We had the evening out around Shinjuku and back to Gyu-Kaku again for their unlimited beef and booze.
Day 20 - 20/08/2024
This morning, we headed over to the Metropolitan building in Shinjuku.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is often visited by tourists for its free observation decks which provide good panoramic views of Tokyo and beyond. The 243-meter-tall building has two towers, and each houses an observatory at a height of 202 meters. It had been the tallest building in Tokyo until it was overtaken by the Midtown Tower in 2007. It is free to visit, and the views are expansive with favourable weather conditions. Whilst we did not see Mt. Fuji, we could see the Tokyo Skytree, Meiji Shrine, Tokyo Tower amongst other landmarks.
This was our final day in Japan and our flight from Narita airport was at 22.35pm back home. We had arranged a late checkout of 4pm of our hotel room, so we had plenty of time for showers and getting ready for the flight home. Our driver collected us at 5.45pm and after a 90-minute drive, we arrived back at Narita airport for our flights home:
Tokyo Narita 22.35 LO080 arrive in Warsaw 06.00 21/08/2024 (14 ½ hour flight)
Warsaw 07.15 LO301 arrive in Rome 09.45 (2 ½ hour flight)
Rome 13.20 LH233 arrive in Frankfurt 15.20 (2-hour flight)
Frankfurt 16.40 LH 946 arrive in Manchester 17.25 (1 ¾ hour flight)
The trip home was uneventful.
Background and costs involved in this trip.
This holiday was to celebrate, my brother-in-law’s 60th, my wife’s 70th next year and my retirement this year, so we decided to push the boat out and travel in style. Business class flights, upgraded cabins on a cruise and everything we fancy doing, we are doing.
Flights are a nightmare at present. Airlines cancelling flights and if you book by one of these charlatans online ‘multi’ airline flights, you are asking for trouble. Those cheap flights turn into extremely expensive ones because there is no help when they cancel one of the legs and other airlines do not refund because a competitor cancels, even though it is part of your overall trip. I have had horrendous experiences with Kiwi.com, Opodo, GotoGate, Trip.com and EDreams. Last year I booked a cheap flight to Sydney with Trip.com using both Thai and Philippine airlines. My flight was from Sydney – Manila – Bangkok – London. The flight from Manila to Bangkok was hugely delayed and I missed my connection from Bangkok on a different airline. I found no help nor support from Trip.com despite being stranded in Bangkok and only sorted the issue by buying another ticket from Bangkok to London at an additional cost of over £500. My advice: Do not use them!
Always, always book direct with the airline and after my experience with this trip, use the same airline for the whole trip and book tickets where you can change at no additional cost – it costs more BUT many airlines are cancelling flights when they don’t have full routes so if you book the whole trip with the same airline, they have to reschedule your trip for you or give a refund for the whole trip
The Japan flights
As we were pushing the boat out, I used Skyscanner to trawl the various European and Scandinavian cities to check prices for business class flights. The UK has higher taxes on flights than other countries and business class flights are considerably more expensive, so I tried all other capital cities to compare. I then book directly with the airlines.
The cheapest UK business flights to Japan were £3,450 each from Manchester with a change in Amsterdam and a long layover.
I managed to find flights from Rome with LOT airlines via Warsaw, business class for £1,870.70 each.
Next step was flights from Manchester to Rome. The usual suspects Jet2 or Ryanair were cheap enough but by the time you added luggage (we are all away for 3 weeks so have quite a bit of luggage) the flights were £477 each including luggage.
Instead, I managed to get flights with Lufthansa from Manchester to Rome via Munich, business class, for £408.18 each which includes 60kg luggage!
Word of caution here. Although I booked directly with the airlines the risk here is there were two airlines. On cue, we saw Lufthansa cancel the second flight and put us on a later flight – so far, no problem as we had planned an afternoon in Rome before our late flights from Rome with LOT.
The issue came when LOT cancelled our return home flight from Tokyo to Warsaw and placed us on the flight the day after – they also changed our return flight to Rome from Warsaw at no additional charge HOWEVER we then had to change our Lufthansa flights coming home which cost us an additional £142 each to change
So cheapest UK flights on Skyscanner with multiple airlines was £3,450 each. The LOT and Lufthansa flights return were £2,420.88 each (including fee to change Lufthansa). A saving of £1,000 each and as we are four people, which is a massive £4,000 saving.
It means 4 flights however compared to the UK flight using multiple airlines and three flights, but the difference in time because of layovers, it worked out similar in time (a couple of hours longer), but we do get the use of the airport lounges which are included in business class flights
Cruise
There are multiple cruises wherever you go, and Japan is no different. We chose one on length of cruise which was a thirteen-day cruise around the whole of Japan with a day in Busan in South Korea.
We also booked connecting suites with balconies so we could have pre-dinner drinks and nibbles as we get ready for dinner. The cruise is with Celebrity Cruises on the Celebrity Millennium ship. The cruise cost £3,654.98 per couple and of course with all cruises includes all your food and then some!
Just a word of caution on most cruises, they add tips to your bill at anything from US$100 to $200 per day per cabin. Always check this as it can run into quite a lot. On this cruise, the tips are included. If you do not want to pay tips, you can request when you board not to pay tips in this way and just pay as you feel fit as you go along.
On this cruise we opted for the all-inclusive drinks package as well as 5 x onshore excursions. These added an extra £2,999.66 per couple to the bill.
Celebrity cruises changed the itinerary before we left where we were supposed to visit HAKODATE and AOMORI but changed the direction and added Nagasaki and Kamakura instead. This meant 2 x of our onshore excursions changed too.
I also planned a shore excursion to Kyoto from Osaka where the ship docked. We booked the Bullet Train from Osaka to Kyoto – the 15-minute journey costs £50 each. Whilst there we booked a Tea Ceremony with a geisha and kimonos. This was a £40 each event.
Total cost for cruise, excursions, and drinks package.
£6,654.64 per couple OR £3,327.32 each
Tokyo
We planned to spend 6 x nights in Tokyo before we board for the cruise ship. I found the hotel from booking.com and chose a charming hotel in the Shinjuku called the Citadines Central Shinjuku Hotel
6 x nights was £1,250 for 6 nights in a Deluxe double room (per couple)
1 x night in same hotel the night before flights home £165
There are several ways to travel from Narita Airport to your hotel. Train, bus, taxi or pick up by minibus. The traffic in Tokyo is terribly busy but despite this it takes about the same time to get to central Tokyo as on train. It costs about £25 each on the train. As there was four of us, we chose the easy route and booked a people carrier to collect us to take us directly to the hotel. This cost £95 for the four of us
Itinerary for Tokyo is below with all our events.
We hire a car on one day to travel to one of the many Onsen. The cost is around £70 for the day.
Total cost per person.
Flights: £2,420.88
Cruise and excursions: £3,327.32
Extras hire car/events/bullet train: £326.27.
Hotels: £707.50
Total cost per person £6781.95 or £13,563.90 per couple!!
Also allow for food whilst in Tokyo and anything you buy – we spent an additional £1,000 in the 3 x weeks.
Make sure before you go, you are aware of the following:
Japanese SIM cards for phones – your UK phones will be extremely expensive to use. I will buy a DATA only SIM for Google Maps. Wi-Fi is available but make sure calls are only via WhatsApp when you have Wi-Fi – switch off data roaming!
Buy Suica Cards for train travel around Tokyo or pay on day.
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