Is 1 day before cruise arrival still enough time when going from US to Japan

[tscoffey]

When going as far as Japan (from the US), is the tried and true advice to arrive 1 day early still a safe guideline?  Or is 2 days prior to the cruise better advised?

Trying to plan our Japan cruise in late May, 2024. Going to be booking flights and hotels in a few months.

 

Thanks,

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, tscoffey said:

When going as far as Japan (from the US), is the tried and true advice to arrive 1 day early still a safe guideline?  Or is 2 days prior to the cruise better advised?

Trying to plan our Japan cruise in late May, 2024. Going to be booking flights and hotels in a few months.

 

Thanks,

You are going to spend an awful lot of money just getting to Japan.  Why not fly-in several days (or even weeks) in advance and spend some time enjoying the country?   In our case, with an upcoming cruise out of Yokohama, we are ONLY flying-in 11 days in advance because we other obligations.  Otherwise, it would have been at least two weeks.

 

But, if you have no interest (or time) to spend on land, pre-cruise, we think planning on at least a 2 day pre-cruise stay makes sense, just to give you some time to recover from jet lag.  And if your luggage were to somehow get lost/diverted during your journey, the extra time vastly increases the odds that your luggage will catch-up prior to the cruise.  Also pay attention to your flight schedule.  There are flights (from the USA) that can get you into Tokyo in the morning, and there are also flights that would get you in later in the afternoon.  Arriving fairly early in the day gives you time to check-in to a hotel and still have as much as a half-day to enjoy/explore the area.

 

Hank

[ARandomTraveler]

I would do at least 3 days early.
 

I'm flying into Singapore to take a cruise that ends in Japan, and I'm trying to decide how many days to stay in Japan before flying back to the US. 

 

So far based on my research of the areas I'd like to visit, it seems like I'll need a minimum of 7 days. Japan has so much to see. Kyoto needs at least 3 days, as does Tokyo, at a minimum. So that's a week right there (a little more if you want 3 full days in each spot). Then of course there's Osaka, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Mt Fuji etc, if you want to make the trip even longer.

 

That being said, you may be constrained by time, or money, and not be able (or wanting) to do an entire land vacation along with your cruise, and in that case, I would suggest flying in at least 2 days early, 3 to be the most safe, since the time change from the US to Japan makes it so you lose a day already. 

 

Im leaving the US on a Wednesday, arriving in Singapore at 6am on Friday (because of the long flight and time change). My cruise leaves on Monday, so this gives me 3 days. I feel safe with that, and would do the same if my cruise was starting in Japan. 
 

 

[les37b]

We are flying into Osaka 2 nights before our cruise starts and the flight arrives at 10.30am.

 

The intention is to buy a 2 day amazing Osaka card and use that on day one and day two to navigate the metro and visit countless attractions for free.

 

Then on the day of the cruise, catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto and back on a brief visit of 2 hours, mostly just for the 13 minute bullet train ride. Wished I had more time and my research has taught me there is enough to visit Japan for a return land based visit for 2 or 3 weeks in the future using a train pass to get around.

[villauk]

Does anyone know the earliest flight time that would be viable for a flight from Haneda airport - travelling from the cruise terminal at Yokohama - on disembarkation day? If we stay a few days prior to our cruise, then we will have to travel back home on disembarkation day once the cruise has ended (yes, it would be wonderful to stay for weeks as posted above, however, employment does not allow for that many vacation days unfortunately 😁).

[tscoffey]

Thanks everyone. Looks like 2 days before is the plan.

 

We were going to stay an additional 3 days post-cruise in Tokyo (weeks would be nice - but we both work).

The cruise is 12 days around the main island of Honshu, in late May 2024, on Celebrity. We should be sufficiently time-adjusted after that cruise to be able to enjoy Tokyo, with full days planned out. I just hope we aren't falling asleep during the day the first few days of the cruise!

 

 

[floridatravelersforlife]

7 hours ago, villauk said:

Does anyone know the earliest flight time that would be viable for a flight from Haneda airport - travelling from the cruise terminal at Yokohama - on disembarkation day? If we stay a few days prior to our cruise, then we will have to travel back home on disembarkation day once the cruise has ended (yes, it would be wonderful to stay for weeks as posted above, however, employment does not allow for that many vacation days unfortunately 😁).

We elected to book Celebrity Flights arriving the day before embarkation and stay a few days after embarkation. Our thinking is we can recover on the ship within two days and let Celebrity pamper us for a while.  Traveling west is easier on the brain.  After debarkation we can tackle Tokyo