Top 3 Haneda Hacks, Zipair Review, IC Update, Osaka's Best Okonomiyaki, Nepal
From the Himalayas to Haneda, we've got you covered
Top 3 Haneda Hacks
Haneda Terminal 3. Photo by Florentyna Leow.
Tokyo has two airports: Narita and Haneda. If you have a choice, always fly into Haneda - it’s way closer to Tokyo and it’s a much nicer airport. Flying into Haneda is itself a great Japan travel hack. Here are three more:
1. Stay at the Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport
Mt Fuji visible from the rooftop “onsen” at the Villa Fontaine Grand.
There are three hotels located right at Haneda. They’re all good but the Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport is easily the best. It’s directly connected to Terminal 3 (the international terminal). The rooftop “onsen” offers full spa services and has indoor and outdoor baths. On clear days, you can easily see Mt Fuji from the baths. They also offer an excellent 24-hour stay option which allows you to stay a full 24 hours from when you check in (check-in is possible as late as 10pm). This worked very well for me recently when I had a flight to Bangkok leaving just after midnight. I checked in at 10pm the previous evening and I checked out about 2 hours before boarding my flight. This saved me from having to mooch around Tokyo for hours in the late afternoon and evening.
2. Take a rest at the Royal Park Hotel Tokyo Haneda Transit Hotel
Royal Park Hotel Tokyo Haneda Transit
The lounges at Haneda are pretty nice, but they can be crowded. There’s a better option if you want privacy, a shower, and a rest before a flight or during a long layover: The Royal Park Hotel Tokyo Haneda Transit. They offer both “refresh rooms” (with a shower and a chair but not a bed) and “transit twins/singles/doubles” (with showers and beds). Rates are very reasonable. It’s located airside near Gate 114 of Terminal 3.
Transit single at Royal Park Transit Hotel.
3. Have a last sushi meal at Tsukiji Sushiko
Tsukiji Sushiko at Haneda Terminal 3
One of my rituals before boarding a flight out of Haneda or Narita is eating a good sushi meal. There’s a branch Tsukiji Sushiko in the Haneda Airport Garden complex at Haneda Terminal 3 (located just outside the entrance for the Villa Fontaine). Tsukiji Sushiko is a proper sushi restaurant, as you can see from the picture. The sushi is very good and they have an English menu. I recommend ordering a la carte and not asking for a set.
Zipair Full-Flat Review
Zipair full-flat seats
Zipair is Japan Airlines’ budget brand with flights to Narita (Tokyo) from Vancouver, San Francisco, LA and Houston (among others). Zipair is a low-cost carrier (LCC) and that means no frills. I recently flew from Vancouver to Narita in Zipair’s premium section in order to try their full-flat seats. The total fare, including add-ons like amenity kit, meal and premium check-in was CA$3245 (about US$2335). I can report that the seat was very comfortable and I was indeed able to lie fully flat and stretch out (I’m 6’2” tall). The service was a bit brusque but Zipair is the cheapest lie-flat seat from the US to Japan - by a wide margin. So if you really want to get some sleep on the way to/from Japan, it’s a great bargain. Their regular economy is also extremely cheap.
IC Card Update
Welcome Suica card
The situation with IC cards continues to change. You can buy Welcome Suica cards at Haneda and Narita from vending machines and JR Travel Service Centers, as well as at similar offices in major Tokyo JR train stations. You can also buy regular Suica cards with your name on them (“kimei Suica”) from black ticket machines in big stations like Tokyo Station and Shinjuku (but not at Haneda and Narita). If you’ve got an iPhone with your Apple Wallet linked to a MasterCard or Amex, you can install a digital Suica on your phone before arriving (and this is the best option). From what I can tell, JR really wants to push tourists toward Welcome Suica cards and digital Suica cards.
Osaka’s Best Okonomiyaki Restaurants
Osaka okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is Japanese comfort food that every visitor should try at least once. Osaka resident Angelino Donnachaidh recently wrote a fantastic Insider’s Guide to Osaka Okonomiyaki Restaurants for InsideOsaka. If that article doesn’t make you hungry, nothing will.
Nepal
Prok Village on the Manaslu Circuit. Photo by Anthony Weersing.
I know that this newsletter is about Japan, but I can’t resist publishing something about my recent trip to Nepal. I did the Manaslu Circuit with my friend Anthony Weersing who worked with me at Lonely Planet and has done some Japan travel consulting with me. It was my fourth trek in Nepal and Anthony’s sixth (he also lived in Kathmandu for about six months). I hadn’t been back to Nepal for 10 years and I was worried about the effects of overtourism and the damage from the 2015 earthquake. I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley (Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu Durbar Square) had either survived the quake or had been rebuilt. The city was just as magical as I remembered and the Manaslu Circuit was amazing - it was the best of the four treks I’ve done there. Before the trek we stayed at the Hotel Friends Home, which was friendly and comfortable. After the trek we stayed at the stylish Kantipur Village. I’d recommend the former to budget travelers and the latter to flashpackers. Anthony can help you plan a trip to Nepal, among other places, and can be reached by emailing me a Chris Rowthorn Tours. Here’s a video I put together of pics taken by Anthony: