Would I be tired? I'm confused.
Mar 31st, 2006, 02:26 PM
#1
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Would I be tired? I'm confused.
Okay, in all the reading I've been doing, it seems that people do very little when they first arrive in Japan, other than sleep, due to the time difference. I'm from Los Angeles. I've been to China and Thailand and both times, I was wide awake for hours after late arrivals. Should I expect Japan to be different? I'm wondering how much I can expect to be able to do after an approx 4p arrival. Would a baseball game be out of the question?
Thanks and sorry if this seems like a stupid question. I just don't want to overplan our time.
Thanks and sorry if this seems like a stupid question. I just don't want to overplan our time.
Mar 31st, 2006, 02:47 PM
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When we travel back to Japan from the east coast, we arrive between 4 and 6 pm (depending on which flight/city). The usual routine for us following immigration/baggage pickup/customs is to spend one night in hotel wherever we are as the trip to Kanazawa is another 4 hour train ride and we are just not feeling much like more motion after the flight.
So, we check into a hotel, Osaka or Nagoya Hilton usually. This ends up being 2 or 3 hours after landing time...if we are early enough, we have dinner in a restaurant and a swim. If it's too late, we have room service. We are typically awake until 10 or 11 pm that same night.
It's the wake up time that gets us I think. Inevitably, we wake up, hungry and ready to go at between 3 and 4 am. If it's nice weather (not winter), we'll often go for an early morning walk outside...interesting time of day in the city with the late night places closing and people going home. Breakfast is our big meal of the day for a few days, and we are typically wiped out by 7 pm at night and force ourselves to stay awake even that long.
Our daughter goes right back to school the next day and we go right back to work, too. The early morning waking and early sleepiing lasts about a week for us...consistent trip to trip over 11 years...but everyone is different!
The other way...to the states...is more difficult for all of us I think because we kind of just come alive around 5 pm and are up until all hours of the night. I forgot to set my alarm last month in New York and my MIL woke us at 1 pm wondering if we wanted to sleep more...my daugther and I were both in DEEP sleep at that time, and had been awake until after 3 am the night before.
Baseball game on arrival? I wouldn't count on it for a few reasons...flight delay, baggage delay, long wait for limo bus/train, and you don't know how you will feel. You could keep it in mind as an option, but don't buy tickets. You might not be in time, or you might not feel like going anymore.
So, we check into a hotel, Osaka or Nagoya Hilton usually. This ends up being 2 or 3 hours after landing time...if we are early enough, we have dinner in a restaurant and a swim. If it's too late, we have room service. We are typically awake until 10 or 11 pm that same night.
It's the wake up time that gets us I think. Inevitably, we wake up, hungry and ready to go at between 3 and 4 am. If it's nice weather (not winter), we'll often go for an early morning walk outside...interesting time of day in the city with the late night places closing and people going home. Breakfast is our big meal of the day for a few days, and we are typically wiped out by 7 pm at night and force ourselves to stay awake even that long.
Our daughter goes right back to school the next day and we go right back to work, too. The early morning waking and early sleepiing lasts about a week for us...consistent trip to trip over 11 years...but everyone is different!
The other way...to the states...is more difficult for all of us I think because we kind of just come alive around 5 pm and are up until all hours of the night. I forgot to set my alarm last month in New York and my MIL woke us at 1 pm wondering if we wanted to sleep more...my daugther and I were both in DEEP sleep at that time, and had been awake until after 3 am the night before.
Baseball game on arrival? I wouldn't count on it for a few reasons...flight delay, baggage delay, long wait for limo bus/train, and you don't know how you will feel. You could keep it in mind as an option, but don't buy tickets. You might not be in time, or you might not feel like going anymore.
Mar 31st, 2006, 05:13 PM
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I just had an "aha" moment....aren't you the person who went to Thailand with her daughter and did the cooking class with Yui? Don't you work at SMC in Vermont?
If so...small world. I did my MATESL at SMC 15 years ago (OMG!) and met my husband while working at the Bourbon Street Grill in Burlington.
If so...small world. I did my MATESL at SMC 15 years ago (OMG!) and met my husband while working at the Bourbon Street Grill in Burlington.
Apr 2nd, 2006, 12:25 AM
#6
Going to the baseball game is definitely not out of the question.
I flew from D.C. to Tokyo via Chicago or San Francisco and arrived about 45 minutes late, so probably around 5PM or a bit later. Took the train to Yokohama where I left my luggage in my room in a hotel adjacent to Yokohama station. Then took the subway to the stadium and made it to my seat during the 2nd or 3rd inning (it was a 7PM start, IIRC). I enjoyed it immensely. The visting Carp beat the Bay Stars.
Went back to the hotel and got to sleep around 11PM. Wide awake at 3 or 4 AM the next day.
I flew from D.C. to Tokyo via Chicago or San Francisco and arrived about 45 minutes late, so probably around 5PM or a bit later. Took the train to Yokohama where I left my luggage in my room in a hotel adjacent to Yokohama station. Then took the subway to the stadium and made it to my seat during the 2nd or 3rd inning (it was a 7PM start, IIRC). I enjoyed it immensely. The visting Carp beat the Bay Stars.
Went back to the hotel and got to sleep around 11PM. Wide awake at 3 or 4 AM the next day.
Apr 2nd, 2006, 06:10 AM
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Kim: You have jlaughs confused w/someone else.
jlaughs: I don't know what it will be like for you going from LAX to Narita. When I went from D.C. to Narita last year, we left DC at 8:30 a.m., had a layover of 2 hrs. in Minneapolis, boarded flight to Narita at 1 pm, and got to Narita at 4:30 pm the next day w/time difference. Both my son and I stayed up on the plane, not sleeping at all, because we weren't tired and we both wanted to try to stay awake to get on Japan time when we got there. After we landed it took two hrs to get through customs (because we had to be bused to the terminal from the plane, apparently an unusual situation). Then I found the ATM and got yen, and went to the booth to get tickets on the 7:30 limo bus to our hotel in western Tokyo. Since we had about an hour left before the bus, I went to the JR office right in the terminal at Narita and made reservations for all of the trains we would take for the next two wks. This was very convenient, and I plan to do this again next week.
Then we caught the bus at 7:30, and arrived at our hotel at 9:30. By the time we checked in and got to our room it was after 10 pm. At this point we had been up for like 20 hrs and fell into bed. We woke up at 9 am Japan time and never had any jet lag at all.
If we had gotten in at 4 pm and had only a one hr wait (as it seems most people experience) for getting into the terminal and customs instead of 2 hrs and had skipped the JR reservations (but gone to the ATM), we could have gotten a 6 pm bus to the hotel and been there at 8 pm. But most baseball games at Tokyo Dome and Jingu Stadium start at 6 pm. I don't know how you can get in at 4 pm, go thru customs, get luggage, get yen at ATM, and take Narita Express to Tokyo Station and then train/subway/cab to your hotel or take the limo bus (each takes at least 2 hrs), check in, and then maneuver your way to either Tokyo Dome for the Giants by subway or Jingu stadium for a Swallows game in time to see even half of the game.
See 2006 baseball schedules for Swallows and Giants (with all games for both temas in August starting at 6 pm) at:
http://www.japanesebaseball.com/teams/index.jsp
Also, it is difficult to get baseball tickets before leaving the U.S. So you'd need to get tickets at the ticket window, and it might be hard to do that for a game that night if the Giants are playing at Tokyo Dome in August (when you are planning on going).
So you can certianly keep the option open to go to a game, and then decide to ditch the idea when you arrive late at your hotel and are too tired and the game is already well under way.
Do not underestimate the time it takes to get through customs, get luggage, get yen, and get on the NEX or limo bus and get to your Tokyo hotel. I think 3 hrs. is a conservative estimate to do all of that. It can take longer (it did for us).
Mrwunrfl went on the NEX from NArita straight to Yokohama (right?) and his hotel was literally right next to the Yokohama station, plus his game in Yokohama started at 7 pm. Plus I don't think that was his first trip to Japan, so he knew the drill from a previous trip (right?). I think those factors were likley a big part of him being able to get to that game in the 2nd or 3rd inning.
jlaughs: I don't know what it will be like for you going from LAX to Narita. When I went from D.C. to Narita last year, we left DC at 8:30 a.m., had a layover of 2 hrs. in Minneapolis, boarded flight to Narita at 1 pm, and got to Narita at 4:30 pm the next day w/time difference. Both my son and I stayed up on the plane, not sleeping at all, because we weren't tired and we both wanted to try to stay awake to get on Japan time when we got there. After we landed it took two hrs to get through customs (because we had to be bused to the terminal from the plane, apparently an unusual situation). Then I found the ATM and got yen, and went to the booth to get tickets on the 7:30 limo bus to our hotel in western Tokyo. Since we had about an hour left before the bus, I went to the JR office right in the terminal at Narita and made reservations for all of the trains we would take for the next two wks. This was very convenient, and I plan to do this again next week.
Then we caught the bus at 7:30, and arrived at our hotel at 9:30. By the time we checked in and got to our room it was after 10 pm. At this point we had been up for like 20 hrs and fell into bed. We woke up at 9 am Japan time and never had any jet lag at all.
If we had gotten in at 4 pm and had only a one hr wait (as it seems most people experience) for getting into the terminal and customs instead of 2 hrs and had skipped the JR reservations (but gone to the ATM), we could have gotten a 6 pm bus to the hotel and been there at 8 pm. But most baseball games at Tokyo Dome and Jingu Stadium start at 6 pm. I don't know how you can get in at 4 pm, go thru customs, get luggage, get yen at ATM, and take Narita Express to Tokyo Station and then train/subway/cab to your hotel or take the limo bus (each takes at least 2 hrs), check in, and then maneuver your way to either Tokyo Dome for the Giants by subway or Jingu stadium for a Swallows game in time to see even half of the game.
See 2006 baseball schedules for Swallows and Giants (with all games for both temas in August starting at 6 pm) at:
http://www.japanesebaseball.com/teams/index.jsp
Also, it is difficult to get baseball tickets before leaving the U.S. So you'd need to get tickets at the ticket window, and it might be hard to do that for a game that night if the Giants are playing at Tokyo Dome in August (when you are planning on going).
So you can certianly keep the option open to go to a game, and then decide to ditch the idea when you arrive late at your hotel and are too tired and the game is already well under way.
Do not underestimate the time it takes to get through customs, get luggage, get yen, and get on the NEX or limo bus and get to your Tokyo hotel. I think 3 hrs. is a conservative estimate to do all of that. It can take longer (it did for us).
Mrwunrfl went on the NEX from NArita straight to Yokohama (right?) and his hotel was literally right next to the Yokohama station, plus his game in Yokohama started at 7 pm. Plus I don't think that was his first trip to Japan, so he knew the drill from a previous trip (right?). I think those factors were likley a big part of him being able to get to that game in the 2nd or 3rd inning.
Apr 2nd, 2006, 06:16 AM
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Oh, I just realized you didn't say you are going into NArita. I do not know what it would be like to land at KIX and go to a game at Osaka Dome or Koshien stadium. I have been to a game at Osaka Dome, but not from KIX (I was coming from Kyoto) and mrwunrfl has been to a game at Koshien Stadium (but also, not from KIX).
If you are going into KIX, I suggest posting a question about that w/a very clear title (like, "Landing at KIX, can I get to a basbeall game at Osaka Dome or Koshien?"
on the forum at www.japanesebaseball.com (the site I gave you above that has the baseball scheudles). The people there can tell you, if no one here has done that.
If you are going into KIX, I suggest posting a question about that w/a very clear title (like, "Landing at KIX, can I get to a basbeall game at Osaka Dome or Koshien?"
on the forum at www.japanesebaseball.com (the site I gave you above that has the baseball scheudles). The people there can tell you, if no one here has done that.
Apr 2nd, 2006, 10:05 AM
#11
My arrival might have been 4PM with a 6PM game time. Yes, my hotel was next to the station and the station was not far from the ballpark.
Three hours to get to the hotel and a half hour to get from there to the ballpark would get you there by the 4th inning. That is pushing it. Do you have other opportunities for a game during your trip?
Three hours to get to the hotel and a half hour to get from there to the ballpark would get you there by the 4th inning. That is pushing it. Do you have other opportunities for a game during your trip?
Apr 2nd, 2006, 10:38 PM
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As always, thanks for all feedback.
mrwunrfl, yes, we could possibly have other opportunities to see a game. So far, I have 4 different itineraries going with different departure/arrival dates and different airports (NRT & KIX). I'm trying to figure in when things are happening (like baseball games and festivals), when things are open & closed, etc. to figure out the best time for us to go and whether it would be better to fly into/out of NRT or KIX. In case you hadn't read about my situation on another post, we basically have the following restrictions:
1. Must go sometime between July 27 & August 28;
2. BF only has 9 days off from work;
3. My award ticket does not allow open jaw flights.
I'm thankful for everyone's advice and experience. I hope that I'm able to put everyone's input to use.
Thanks!
Judy
mrwunrfl, yes, we could possibly have other opportunities to see a game. So far, I have 4 different itineraries going with different departure/arrival dates and different airports (NRT & KIX). I'm trying to figure in when things are happening (like baseball games and festivals), when things are open & closed, etc. to figure out the best time for us to go and whether it would be better to fly into/out of NRT or KIX. In case you hadn't read about my situation on another post, we basically have the following restrictions:
1. Must go sometime between July 27 & August 28;
2. BF only has 9 days off from work;
3. My award ticket does not allow open jaw flights.
I'm thankful for everyone's advice and experience. I hope that I'm able to put everyone's input to use.
Thanks!
Judy
Apr 21st, 2006, 03:01 PM
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Hi everyone,
I'm back again. I was just rereading all the feedback I got on this post as well as others because...we are DEFINITELY going to Japan now!! YEAH!!
We'll be departing LAX on July 28 and leaving NRT on August 9. I think I've got an itinerary pretty much put together, so I'll be submitting that as a separate post soon for feedback.
Thanks for everyone's help.
Judy
P.S. I guess I missed the post from KimJapan about having an "aha" moment before. You kinda have me identified correctly. I did take my daughter to Thailand and we did take the cooking class from Yui. I also work at SMC, but wrong state. I work at Santa Monica College in California.
I'm back again. I was just rereading all the feedback I got on this post as well as others because...we are DEFINITELY going to Japan now!! YEAH!!
We'll be departing LAX on July 28 and leaving NRT on August 9. I think I've got an itinerary pretty much put together, so I'll be submitting that as a separate post soon for feedback.
Thanks for everyone's help.
Judy
P.S. I guess I missed the post from KimJapan about having an "aha" moment before. You kinda have me identified correctly. I did take my daughter to Thailand and we did take the cooking class from Yui. I also work at SMC, but wrong state. I work at Santa Monica College in California.
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