Flying to Japan From Australia

[Mycruiseobsession]

Hi all

 

I am posting in the Aussie forum because I want Aussie specific answers.

 

One of my wish list cruises is to do Diamond Princess in Japan.

 

I see there's  lots of variables, weather, ports but I won't  get into all of those options.

 

I am looking for opinions, experiences based on flying from Brisbane to Tokyo to meet the ship.

 

I am looking at the 9 day circle Japan cruises. 9 days is our limit as we want a few land days - and work/school doesn't  allow us to plan more than 14 days away in total at these travel dates (need 2 days post travel to recover!)

 

Trying to figure out if travelling before for land portion or after is better? I am gathering flights are long enough to drain me and hubby. Especially when travelling with teens!

 

1) I know there is a timezone difference, would it be better to plan to arrive a couple of days before?

 

2) If we did arrive earlier would Princess offer transfers from hotel to port (I have no idea where we would stay - never been to Japan before!!)

 

3) Or would it be better to stay a couple of days after the said cruise?

 

4) Is there a "cheaper" airfare season for Australia to  Japan flights? 

 

I just can't  get my head around flying from Brisbane to Japan... I have never flown to another country for a cruise before.

[Aussieflyer]

The flight from BNE to Tokyo is fine (in fact my preferred route) - have done it on Qantas and in economy before and no problems. The flight to Tokyo is a daylight one which is easy and the overnight leg is on the way home, so can catch up on sleep when you get back. I would look at staying a couple of days if possible in Tokyo before your cruise as there is lots to see. We usually stay in the area around Tokyo station as we find it convenient for the trains to get around and the NEX goes from Narita to there but there are many other areas that others prefer. Hotel rooms are often small (there are only 2 of us) but a friend stayed in a place in Ginza a couple of years ago which was like a small apartment so quite a good size for them with 2 teenagers.

I have never used cruise line air so don't know what the transfer arrangements would be. 

Edited September 20 by Aussieflyer

[Mycruiseobsession]

14 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

Hotel rooms are often small

Any smaller than an interior cabin on the ship?

[Tranquility Base]

My advice would be to choose your arrival airport depending on your time of day / night of your arrival flight and your personal preference.

 

Originally we had booked a non stop Narita flight with an arrival time of early evening.

After a few weeks consideration I changed that to a transit flight through Singapore to Haneda with an early morning arrival.

That worked best for us.

 

Diamond will use Yokohama and  Osanbashi Pier.

For our next Diamond trip we will plan flying into KIX (Osaka)…..train to Kyoto for 3 or 4 nights….then train to Yokohama to join the ship.

[robncruise]

princess doesn't do transfers from a hotel to the port unless you have one of their pre or post cruise hotel packages which include transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to port ( or vice versa for a post cruise package).  We had a post cruise hotel package 6 years ago and transfers went very smoothly stayed st Keio Plaza hotel - a great location and the cost of the package was very reasonable for the convenience and services provided.

[Aussieflyer]

Interior cabins are usually around 15 sq metres - have seen some hotel rooms smaller than that, especially the standard ones.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We flew to Japan last year for a couple of cruises, one of which was on Diamond Princess.

 

We flew via Singapore into Haneda arriving early morning. We just got a taxi to our hotel as we were quite tired after the overnight flight. However there is a bus service, Limousine Buses, which are apparently very good. 

 

We arrived a couple of days before our cruise, which we always do for cruises departing from an overseas port, just in case we have any delays in our flights over there. It also gave us time to recover from the flight and explore a bit of Yokohama. 

 

We did a 9 night cruise that visited ports on the north-eastern side of Honshu, most of which aren't the places you tend to go to on land travel in Japan. They were all very interesting ports. Our cruise also had one stop in Busan, South Korea. 

 

You won't have much time for land travel if you're planning a 9 night cruise but only have 14 days total. I'd suggest just spending a couple of days in Tokyo after the cruise before flying home. There is so much to see there.

[dazadelaide]

On our Japan cruise (10 years ago now) we flew into Osaka then caught a car transfer to our hotel for 4 nights before the cruise which started on Kobe.

We find spending a few days before a cruise in the country the best fit for us, then post cruise just 1 night before flying home.

The 4 nights we had before the cruise let us relax a bit and enjoy experiencing parts of Japan and it's culture that we would not have been able too while on a cruise with cruise limitations on port times. 

Daz 

[cruiser3775]

The time zone difference between Tokyo and Brisbane is only one hour, so you won't get the jet lag effect.  You might be tired after the long flight, so I'd just take a taxi to your hotel, if you haven't got a transfer arranged.  Maybe spend two nights there on arrival, so you get back to normal rhythms before boarding the ship.

For choosing accommodation, try booking.com  It has a map function which also allows you to put in the name of another location, so you can see how far the hotel you choose is from the next place you have to go to in that city. I always read the reviews by people who have stayed at that hotel. You get a lot of extra information about things that are not mentioned in the positive PR words for the listing.

Edited September 21 by cruiser3775

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

The time zone difference between Tokyo and Brisbane is only one hour, so you won't get the jet lag effect.  You might be tired after the long flight, so I'd just take a taxi to your hotel, if you haven't got a transfer arranged.  Maybe spend two nights there on arrival, so you get back to normal rhythms before boarding the ship.

For choosing accommodation, try booking.com  It has a map function which also allows you to put in the name of another location, so you can see how far the hotel you choose is from the next place you have to go to in that city. I always read the reviews by people who have stayed at that hotel. You get a lot of extra information about things that are not mentioned in the positive PR words for the listing.

I prefer lastminute.com these days. It also has the map function and reviews. 

 

We stayed in the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel in November. It was lovely. However their prices for March next year are double what they were last November so we've booked a different hotel for our post-cruise stay. 

[mrpotatohead]

Lived in Japan for 4 years, travel there at least once a year and travelling there in a few weeks to do the Royal trip (Quantum) from Tokyo to Singapore.

 

Take your time and travel early - spend at least a few days in the country before you embark on the cruise. It will help you understand the country a bit, with time on your side, before you need to do the daily rush at each cruise port. Tokyo & Kyoto are the must do places and better to them land based rather than a cruise tour. I prefer to get out to the country these days and spend less time in the big city. This time we are spending about 3 days in Izu prefucture and then Yokohama for a couple of days before jumping the cruise.

 

Hard to give too much advice in japan - just take time to see what you want , enjoy the country and hopefully you will love it like most people who travel there do

[Mycruiseobsession]

8 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We did a 9 night cruise that visited ports on the north-eastern side of Honshu, most of which aren't the places you tend to go to on land travel in Japan. They were all very interesting ports. Our cruise also had one stop in Busan, South Korea

 

Thos sounds like one of the cruises on my narrowed down list to choose from.

 

 

I know 14 days is not a lot but that's  all we can afford to take off due to leave permissions etc

 

I really do have a lot to research in terms of flights and Tokyo  (Yokohama)

Edited September 21 by Mycruiseobsession

[Mycruiseobsession]

33 minutes ago, mrpotatohead said:

Hard to give too much advice in japan - just take time to see what you want , enjoy the country and hopefully you will love it like most people who travel there do

 

Thank you. Yes I really just need to get my head around flying there, staying a couple of nights and getting back to the airport.

 

I have never flown international as an adult so completely new experience for me! 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

Thos sounds like one of the cruises on my narrowed down list to choose from.

 

 

I know 14 days is not a lot but that's  all we can afford to take off due to leave permissions etc

 

I really do have a lot to research in terms of flights and Tokyo  (Yokohama)

Slightly different but it looks interesting. We stopped at Aomori, Sakata, Kanazawa, Sakaiminato, Busan and Nagasaki. You have to do a departure customs check before getting back on the ship at the last port before Busan Sakaiminato on that cruise, and an arrival check in Nagasaki. It's fairly efficient.

 

Although I agree with MrPotatoHead about Kyoto being a must see place it would be tricky to fit it in. However the Shinkansen trains are amazing so it might be possible.

 

We love visiting Japan.

[Mycruiseobsession]

24 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Although I agree with MrPotatoHead about Kyoto being a must see place it would be tricky to fit it in. However the Shinkansen trains are amazing so it might be possible.

 

Sounds like I may have to visit Japan more than once! What a shame 😉

[cruiser3775]

17 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

I have never flown international as an adult so completely new experience for me! 

It is not greatly different to flying domestic, once you are on the plane. The announcements will be in two or more languages. Depending on the airline, the food may be a little different, but they try to cater to different tastes. If it is a night flight, you may get a pillow and a blanket. Don't pack away your jumper or jacket, because the air con is often turned down quite low.

The main difference is in the airport before and after the flight. You check-in in the usual way, but at that point the ground staff will want to see your passport, plus a visa for your destination (if required). This is because it is their responsibility to fly you back to where you started if you don't have the correct visa on arrival.  Once you have checked in your bags and got your boarding pass, take note of the boarding time on your pass, then you can wander around the landside parts of the airport.

When you are ready, say goodbye to anyone who came to the airport with you, and you go through to border security, get scanned, checked and photographed, and in some places fingerprinted. You may be told to remove your belt and shoes and put them in a bin which goes through the scanner, along with all your personal hand luggage and your coat/jacket.   Once that is all past you, you collect your belongings and you are in the wonderful world of the duty free shops, which you are forced to walk past in order to get to the boarding gate.  Some amazing and expensive stuff there, if you are interested.  It is often quite a long wait at the boarding gate, but there are cafes and toilets and free airport wi fi.

Edited September 22 by cruiser3775

[bazzaw]

On 9/20/2024 at 4:53 PM, Mycruiseobsession said:

Any smaller than an interior cabin on the ship?

YES!!!! 10 square metres!!! is a very common sized hotel room in Tokyo - you can of course get 20 sq M at twice the price 🙂

[bazzaw]

On 9/20/2024 at 5:14 PM, Tranquility Base said:

My advice would be to choose your arrival airport depending on your time of day / night of your arrival flight and your personal preference.

 

Originally we had booked a non stop Narita flight with an arrival time of early evening.

After a few weeks consideration I changed that to a transit flight through Singapore to Haneda with an early morning arrival.

That worked best for us.

 

Diamond will use Yokohama and  Osanbashi Pier.

For our next Diamond trip we will plan flying into KIX (Osaka)…..train to Kyoto for 3 or 4 nights….then train to Yokohama to join the ship.

Currently there are only two options for flights to Tokyo from Brisbane - both go to Narita - Jetstar and Qantas - seating config for Qantas is 2-4-2 - for Jetstar it is 3-3-3 - We recently flew to Wellington for 3 hours with Jetsar 3-3-3 m- NEVER AGAIN and certainly not for 9 hours to Tokyo 😞

[Tranquility Base]

13 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Currently there are only two options for flights to Tokyo from Brisbane - both go to Narita - Jetstar and Qantas ……..

Sure.

 

Whilst my preference is almost always non stop, in this case I overrode that convenience and chose a transit connection.

The morning arrival at the hotel became my preference as opposed to a very late evening arrival.

The expected airport arrival formalities plus the transport time from Narita to Yokohama became a deciding factor in this case.

Therefore I chose Haneda.

 

It just depends on how people rank their priorities.

One option works well for some, whilst another option works better for others.

 

 

Edited September 22 by Tranquility Base