20 Hours in Japan

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Sorry it took so long to put together, but I thought I would write a little bit about my time in Japan to help “wrap up” my thread. First off all I would like to thank the members here who no matter the question go out to their way to provide as much detailed information as they possibly can, and who even digitally can convey an enthusiasm for railways around the world. It’s amazing the wealth of knowledge that resides on these forums, and how gracious everyone is here when it comes to sharing their knowledge.

My flight to Japan was aboard ANA Airlines on one of their new 787s. We departed Hanoi on time I managed to score an exit row seat on the “Dreamliner” which was a welcome experience on the 6 hour flight. There was hardly anyone aboard, so I ended up with an empty exit row my first 787 experience was a very positive one, but I digress. I landed in Tokyo pretty much on time my bag came out quickly, and I was hoping to squeeze as much riding as I could that night. Unfortunately, customs had other plans for me that evening. After a very through welcome to Japan in a tiny backroom in Haneda I was allowed to enter the country, but it left me with very little time for riding around that night.

My first rail journey was aboard the Tokyo Monorail. I had already had some Yen handy, so when I walked to the monorail ticket machine a railroad representative helped me buy the correct ticket for my ultimate destination that evening Tokyo Station. I waited a couple of minutes at track 2 until a train came to a stop, and my immediate fears that I wouldn’t be able to handle the chaos of Tokyo melted away. The car was pretty much empty, and I had no trouble finding a seat. The train made 6 stops before coming to the end of the line, where I was to transfer to the Yamanote Line. The transfer wasn’t as easy as I was hoping since there were a couple flights of stairs and no escalators at least the way I went, so I had to carry my bag up a few flights of stairs. Not the end of the world, but certainly could be a challenge for some.

I took the Yamanote line the “wrong way” to get some more time aboard it since it was considered one of the “must rides”. Eventually I arrived at a station known simply as “Tokyo” which was a little confusing, but I had checked the name ahead of time, so I was prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for was the station itself. Carried my bag down another flight of steps and found myself in the middle of a big bustling city. Having spent the last two weeks in mostly backwater parts of South East Asia my pace of life had slowed down significantly. One of my favorite things to do is walk down the LIRR main passageway around 5:30 during a weekday rush just to feel the rush of the crowds (probably weird), but here I was it was around 11:30 at night at this point, and it felt an awful lot like I was in the LIRR section of Penn Station at rush hour. I was able to consult a map and find my hotel which was inside the station.

It took me a few minutes to walk to the hotel and another couple of minutes to find the rather discreet entrance to the Tokyo Station Hotel. Check in was a breeze, and somehow found myself being led to the Ambassadors Suite which was not what I had booked. They never quite explained how I ended up getting upgraded, but it was 1 of only 2 suites in the hotel, and I was certainly wasn’t complaining. It was a shame I was only going to be there for a night and I was in one the nicest hotel rooms I have ever stayed in. After telling the bell hop the room would be more than “adequate” I popped on the wi fi and updated a few friends and family of my safe arrival.

I was pretty spent, but I knew I was burning what little precious time I had in Japan, so I headed back down to the station. The hotel its self was outside of the fare gates that seemed to exist at every entrance and exit to the station, so after fiddling with a ticket machine for a minute I was able to purchase a platform ticket which would give me access to the station for a couple hundred of Yen. Basically all of the station was closed for the evening, but there were still what felt like thousands of people making connections inside the station. I spent basically 2 hours just allowing myself to get lost inside the station and walk down each and every corridor I could. Just trying to get a feel for the place. It felt more like New York Penn Station then any of the larger stations I have been to in England, France or China. Still an interesting place none the less.

After heading back out through the fare gates I was determined to find something to eat late night near the hotel. I didn’t have a destination in mind, but felt a tad nervous wondering around at nearly 1AM in a city I have never been in, but I felt pretty safe. I walked a couple blocks before finding Lad’s Casual Dining. Which was a mix of businessmen still in suites and a couple Westerns wearing shorts. Being dressed like the latter I pulled up a bar stool in the corner. A few Highballs later and after eating a pizza of all things I headed back to the hotel. The walk back again felt safe, and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

My self imposed 6AM wake up call was a tad ambitious, but I planned on squeezing every possible moment I had on the ground to do things other than sleep and sit in airports. As I made coffee I had to laugh while I watched the New York Yankees with my breakfast instead of dinner like I am accustomed to. The first order of business was to purchase my tickets on what would end up being the only High Speed Rail ride of the trip aboard the Narita Express. I had more Yen then I anticipated and elected to spend the extra on a seat in the green car, which was what they called first class. Then not quite ready to head underground to ride some subways, I took a brief stroll through the neighborhood. Made what was probably the worlds quickest visit to the Imperial Palace then walked backed to the train station. I had hoped to take a ride on a Shinkansen, but I wasn’t comfortable with the schedules and timing to give me enough time to catch my flight home.

I decided instead to fulfill a very odd and fragmented dream from my childhood. I believe it was the Boston Children’s Museum that had a display about the Tokyo subway system, and somehow in my mind I remember looking at the subway map of Tokyo with my dad, and I have a clear memory of him tracing his finger across a silver line. Ever since then I have thought about riding the silver line. I guess I could have waited a few months, and rode a silver line down in Washington DC, but here I was in Tokyo with an opportunity to accomplish a very bizarre childhood dream. I didn’t have time to ride the line end to end, but I made it out to a transfer point with the silver line which took a couple of transfers, but using screenshots I took from Google Maps transit directions I made it through the transfers like a seasoned local :lol: . My childhood dream lasting all of 1 station from Kasumigaseki to Hibiya of course fell short of whatever grand fantasy I must have envisioned at the age of 5 or 6, and the reality of being on a packed subway car in Asia was certainly different then the exhibit at the museum. I then made 2 more transfers before getting back to my hotel. Where check out time was rapidly approaching.

I collected my things at the hotel and sent a quick email to my friend who was picking me up at the airport to remind him I was in fact starting the long journey back home. I checked out of the hotel and headed back into the seemingly nonstop river of people inside Tokyo Station. I found the liquor store I had read about online that promised a large selection of Japanese Craft beers and bought a couple different brews to try on the train. Another stop and I had secured a sandwich to eat aboard the train. I was standing on the platform about 40 minutes before departure time, so I was able to watch the Narita Express train before mine pull up and combine two sections which was interesting. I tried speaking to the one engineer who was going off duty, but his English wasn’t to great and he obviously wanted to get off duty, so even though I had roughly 100 questions for him I knew they would have to sadly to unanswered. A couple of other trains came and went in that half hour before the next Narita Express train showed up. I lined up where the sign said car number 6 would be, and as advertised the train pulled up 2 minutes early with first class the last car on the train.

I found my assigned seat, which was luckily a window although in this case it would have hardly mattered since the car was roughly 25% full. After a few minutes we pulled out right on time. I was surprised that no one ever came to check my ticket. I guess since I scanned it through a fare gate they knew I paid a fare, but the only employee I saw was the woman pushing an airline style snack cart through the train offering a selection of food and beverages for sale. The ride was very nice and the seating was excellent. The train ran express from Tokyo right to the terminals. I believe the maximum speed was only around 80MPH, so hardly a high-speed rail experience especially by Japanese standards. The equipment how ever is only a few years old so it was very nice. I was surprised how quickly we got out of the urban sprawl and into more or less farmlands. Although I understand that Narita isn’t really in the direction of most of the urban sprawl of the Tokyo Metro Area. The ride was nice overall and it did provide me with a touch of perspective of what I was missing by spending such a ridiculously short amount of time there. The train ride came to end much to quickly as we arrived at Terminal 1 of Narita airport.

Once you detrain you go through a quick passport screening, and then have to ride up 4 sets of elevators until you arrive at the check in counters. I checked in to my flight and made it through security and immigration very quickly. Checked into the United Club and took advantage of the self serve Crown Royal until it was time to board what ended up being a very blurry flight back to Newark.

All in all, it was quite an interesting although very brief trip to Japan. I knew I wouldn’t have time to even begin to scratch the surface on an entire country in that kind of time, but it certainly sparked a strong desire to return and give it a proper amount of time to fully explore and enjoy. There was definitely a little bit of a culture shock for me coming out of Laos and their microscopic Capitol city of just 50,000 to one of the biggest cities in the World. I think it would have been better to have had this layover on the front end of the trip, but either way I know I want to head back to Japan and give it a couple of weeks to visit more of it. I hardly feel like I was there, and would hate to feel that an entire country could be summed up in one quick visit like that. I would hate for someone to judge America on a 19 hour layover and a basically a glorified airport transfer from Newark to JFK, so I don’t think I can really give an informed opinion on Japan. I just hope my travel plans take me back there sooner rather then later.

Thanks for reading! This ended up being much longer than I anticipated!

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Waiting to board the Yamanote Line

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The first half of my room.

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The Bedroom.

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Awful shot of a Shinkansen departing Tokyo

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Tokyo Station
 
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Welcome home Stephen, maybe NYP and the subway won't seem so hectic now that you've seen Tokyo even though it wasn't rush hour there! I thought Mexico City was bad but Tokyo leads the League IME!!
 
Japan is my bucket list. The hole dang bucket. I've been planning a two week rail pass trip. When I get the money that trip is gonna get BOOKED.

I get your silver line thing. As a kid I saw things and then went back to do them as an adult.
 
Great report! Every once in awhile I get a hankering to visit Japan, then forget about it but it looks stunning!
 
My flight to Japan was aboard ANA Airlines on one of their new 787s. We departed Hanoi on time I managed to score an exit row seat on the "Dreamliner" which was a welcome experience on the 6 hour flight. There was hardly anyone aboard, so I ended up with an empty exit row my first 787 experience was a very positive one, but I digress.
What did you think of the 787? What did you think of NH (ANA)? My first 787 flight was on a packed ten hour redeye that left me rather unimpressed. I did appreciate the larger windows although the electronic window shades are a bit of a joke. It's like the shade is perpetually stuck on early morning sunrise and can't actually block all of the light. My first A380 flight was much smoother and roomier than my first 787, but arrival was a much bigger pain since conventional luggage carousels arent nearly large enough to handle aircraft of that size.

After a very through welcome to Japan in a tiny backroom in Haneda I was allowed to enter the country...
Say what? Don't just leave us hanging on a note like that.

I spent basically 2 hours just allowing myself to get lost inside the station and walk down each and every corridor I could. Just trying to get a feel for the place. It felt more like New York Penn Station then any of the larger stations I have been to in England, France or China. Still an interesting place none the less.
Except that NYP seems to be more about standing where you're supposed to, sitting where you're allowed to, and heading for one specific platform only when you're told to. Thats quite different from my experience in Tokyo station.

After heading back out through the fare gates I was determined to find something to eat late night near the hotel. I didnt have a destination in mind, but felt a tad nervous wondering around at nearly 1AM in a city I have never been in, but I felt pretty safe.
When it comes to crime Japan is among the very safest countries in the world. Statistically most of us are safer there than we are at home. In the past I would have said that eating in Tokyo is all about the fresh seafood, but that was before the continuing radiation leak. These days Im not sure what I'd eat.

I found my assigned seat, which was luckily a window although in this case it would have hardly mattered since the car was roughly 25% full. After a few minutes we pulled out right on time. I was surprised that no one ever came to check my ticket. I guess since I scanned it through a fare gate they knew I paid a fare, but the only employee I saw was the woman pushing an airline style snack cart through the train offering a selection of food and beverages for sale. The ride was very nice and the seating was excellent. The train ran express from Tokyo right to the terminals. I believe the maximum speed was only around 80MPH, so hardly a high-speed rail experience especially by Japanese standards.
Your observation of 25% full sounds about right for the NEX. To be fair 80MPH isnt considered high speed rail by anyones standards, even here in the US. The Keisei Skyliner reaches a more respectable speed of 100MPH. Consider trying it the next time youre passing through NRT.

All in all, it was quite an interesting although very brief trip to Japan. I knew I wouldnt have time to even begin to scratch the surface on an entire country in that kind of time, but it certainly sparked a strong desire to return and give it a proper amount of time to fully explore and enjoy...I know I want to head back to Japan and give it a couple of weeks to visit more of it.
I would recommend revisiting Tokyo for a solid week and then traveling via Shinkansen toward Kyoto and Nara before returning home from KIX. That should make for a decent two week trip. Or you could just bounce all over the place on an unlimited rail pass if that's more your style.
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]What did you think of the 787? What did you think of NH (ANA)? My first 787 flight was on a packed ten hour redeye that left me rather unimpressed. I did appreciate the larger windows although the electronic window shades are a bit of a joke. It's like the shade is perpetually stuck on early morning sunrise and can't actually block all of the light. My first A380 flight was much smoother and roomier than my first 787, but arrival was a much bigger pain since conventional luggage carousels arent nearly large enough to handle aircraft of that size.[/SIZE]
ANA delivered a good flight experience I was impressed that I was given an exit row seat with no status aboard the airline and booked through a 3rd party website. I flew Japan Airlines a couple of weeks prior and found them both to be very similar experiences. Miles ahead of any flight on US legacy carrier, but I still think that Asiana delivers an overall better experience. The 787 was interesting a lot of unnecessary technology being there just to be there type thing. The faucet in the bathroom had digital controls to adjust the water between hot and cold that just seems a bit silly to me. The windows honestly didn't feel that much bigger and I agree with you about the shades their not nearly as effective as the old school ones, but they are kind of neat.

[SIZE=10.5pt]Say what? Don't just leave us hanging on a note like that.[/SIZE]
The customs guy didn't like the answers to I gave him, so he asked me if he could search my bag which obviously I told him he could and tried to be as cooperative as possible with him. After taking out about 50% of the contents of my bag he gave it a nice massage to see if I had stuffed anything in the lining of the bag. After that left him still unsatisfied he repacked my bag zipped it up and asked me to follow him. At this point I was getting really nervous not because I had something to hide I just didn't know what was going to happen. We went into a small interview room where another customs guy came in and they again checked my entire bag, and ask me to remove my backpack they then went through that and even asked if it would be okay for me to boot up my laptop. After what felt like forever they finally decided I wasn't carrying anything that was against the rules and with my stuff scattered all over they told me I was good to go. The one guy stood and watched me repack all of my things and as I was escorted back out of the customs area he told me welcome to Japan. Really just a major inconvenience, but I think it was somewhat my fault. I said I was really only entering Japan to transit back to the US, so I feel like I sort of offended him that I was considering Japan as simply a place to transit I guess in retrospect I should have checked the tourism box, and maybe things would have gone differently I have no idea. Either way that was a first for me getting such a warm welcome to a country. I was definitely a little shaken by the experience I would expect being a young single traveler in a third world country it would have simply been a game to extract a "gift" for the customs agent, but in Japan I felt like these guys don't play games like this, so something I did made this guy feel like I was really running drugs, which felt rather offensive that I fit that days profile or I offended his Nationalistic pride who knows. In the end it just wasted everyone's time and wasn't the best first impression.

[SIZE=10.5pt]Except that NYP seems to be more about standing where you're supposed to, sitting where you're allowed to, and heading for one specific platform only when you're told to. Thats quite different from my experience in Tokyo station.[/SIZE]
Sure that what NYP is like if your their to catch an Amtrak train, but if your there simply to be there both NYP and Tokyo Station have a lot in common. I'm sure most normal people have never gone to either place with no destination in mind and no train to catch, and just simply are there to wonder aimlessly around. However, having spent time doing exactly that in both stations I found them very similar different subterranean passage ways that provide different forms of transportation with similar food and beverage options lining the corridors, and masses and masses of people moving between the transfer points. In both stations its difficult to wonder down to platforms for trains you are not taking, and in Tokyo it would be pretty much impossible since there are so many different sets of fare gates. I would say I found it more like NYP then say LAUS where you can walk on to a platform without anyone or anything restricting your access.

[SIZE=10.5pt]When it comes to crime Japan is among the very safest countries in the world. Statistically most of us are safer there than we are at home. In the past I would have said that eating in Tokyo is all about the fresh seafood, but that was before the continuing radiation leak. These days Im not sure what I'd eat.[/SIZE]
It felt pretty safe, but I was still a little bit on edge since it was late and in a big city. Although I'm a pretty big guy so I like to think people out there looking to cause trouble will find someone else to bother. I really wanted to have some fresh sushi while I was there since people have said the seafood there is really world class, but like you said with all of the radiation I figured better to just look elsewhere. Plus, Lads Casual Dining had a pretty limited menu and at that hour I figured it was going to be as good as it gets.

[SIZE=10.5pt]Your observation of 25% full sounds about right for the NEX. To be fair 80MPH isnt considered high speed rail by[/SIZE]anyones standards, even here in the US. The Keisei Skyliner reaches a more respectable speed of 100MPH. Consider trying it the next time youre passing through NRT.
Yes I realize 80MPH isn't really high speed rail, but lets ruin my fantasy here :lol: when I go back there will definitely be more trips by rail hopefully high speed rail.

[SIZE=10.5pt]I would recommend revisiting Tokyo for a solid week and then traveling via Shinkansen toward Kyoto and Nara before returning home from KIX. That should make for a decent two week trip. Or you could just bounce all over the place on an unlimited rail pass if that's more your style. [/SIZE]
I think it will be 2 or 3 years until I have the time to dedicate for long stay in Japan, but it will certainly be at least 2 weeks there are quite a few things I want to do including visiting Okunoshima to see the rabbits :lol: my next trip to Asia will be in Febuary and at the moment it looks like I am going to try connections in Singapore and Dubai this time around. To try a couple of new airlines and get a small sample of a couple of new places.
 
Singapore: if you thought Japan gave you, a young single traveler with a backpack, a less than warm welcome, you'll really love Singapore!

The Single worst place to visit in Asia IME, but at least its clean and safe! Hopefully you are just in transition here and not wasting time visiting this facist paradise in SE Asia!!!
 
ANA delivered a good flight experience I was impressed that I was given an exit row seat with no status aboard the airline and booked through a 3rd party website. I flew Japan Airlines a couple of weeks prior and found them both to be very similar experiences. Miles ahead of any flight on US legacy carrier, but I still think that Asiana delivers an overall better experience. The 787 was interesting a lot of unnecessary technology being there just to be there type thing. The faucet in the bathroom had digital controls to adjust the water between hot and cold that just seems a bit silly to me. The windows honestly didn't feel that much bigger and I agree with you about the shades their not nearly as effective as the old school ones, but they are kind of neat.
I've never flown ANA but I have flown JAL several times and appreciated the improved service levels and the foreigner friendly exit row access. The only thing I didn't like was that they only give out Japanese sized medicine that would struggle to sooth a child's headache. Was there anything in particular about Asiana that you preferred? The only thing I know about them is the rather unfortunate SFO fiasco. More than anything flying the B787 reminded me that the specific aircraft is largely irrelevant compared to the impact of a given airline's service standards. Even though the B787 represents a big change in construction techniques I've honestly had much better trips on ancient B742's with wider pitch, comfier seats, tastier food, and friendlier attendants.

We went into a small interview room where another customs guy came in and they again checked my entire bag, and ask me to remove my backpack they then went through that and even asked if it would be okay for me to boot up my laptop. After what felt like forever they finally decided I wasn't carrying anything that was against the rules and with my stuff scattered all over they told me I was good to go. The one guy stood and watched me repack all of my things and as I was escorted back out of the customs area he told me welcome to Japan. Really just a major inconvenience, but I think it was somewhat my fault.
That must have been very unnerving but I seriously doubt it was you fault in any way. Japanese immigration officials tend to be overly suspicious of casually dressed foreigners who enter the country for short periods after traveling through Southeast Asia. Japan has some of the most restrictive drug possession laws in the world. You can be denied entry for even the most minor of infractions, like being caught with a single dose of Sudafed, and once you're denied entry for drug related reasons you'll never be welcomed back again. It's not uncommon to have them rummage through your belongings on arrival. Usually this ends after a few minutes at the inspection counter and you're on your way. I've never had to go into a private room but I've had Japanese officials rummage through my things in the standard inspection area. On my recent flight back home from Germany I had a rather unpleasant "come with me" moment. Nothing was ever explained. I was simply whisked through the exit queues and then set aside in a series of open cubes that were along the edge of the main processing area. At first I was the only person in any of those cubes and it felt odd to be singled out. Soon the rest of the cubes started filling up with other travelers stuck in the same predicament. Apparently this was part of the TSA's new "test all electronics" directive, even though it was administered by foreign inspectors. After everything had been extracted, swabbed for bomb juice, and passed the turn-on test I was eventually allowed to rejoin the rest of my party. I took a more critical look at my paperwork and realized that my ticketed name didn't exactly match my passport and that my ticket was marked with the 4S code. Suddenly everything made sense again.

I think it will be 2 or 3 years until I have the time to dedicate for long stay in Japan, but it will certainly be at least 2 weeks there are quite a few things I want to do including visiting Okunoshima to see the rabbits :lol: my next trip to Asia will be in Febuary and at the moment it looks like I am going to try connections in Singapore and Dubai this time around. To try a couple of new airlines and get a small sample of a couple of new places.
I have very little interest in Dubai and Singapore proper turned out to be a bit of a dud in my view. The Singapore airport is pretty nice, I cannot dispute that, but the rest of the city turned out to be rather underwhelming. They have lots of fancy hotels that are supposed to be among the very best but they seem to have a hard time earning their asking price. USD$10 for a tiny little pastry, USD$20 for a syrupy Singapore sling, USD$40 for a midlevel mimosa, USD$100 for the breakfast buffet, and USD$500 for a bed to sleep on. I tried all of those things but in my view none them were worth that kind of money. Hopefully you'll find much better values and enjoy it more than I did. In any case thanks for your trip report and if you've blogged about the rest of the trip elsewhere and you don't mind leaving a link I'd be curious to read about it.

Singapore: if you thought Japan gave you, a young single traveler with a backpack, a less than warm welcome, you'll really love Singapore! The Single worst place to visit in Asia IME, but at least its clean and safe! Hopefully you are just in transition here and not wasting time visiting this facist paradise in SE Asia!!!
Singapore was actually plenty nice to me, it just cost more than I felt was deserved and there wasn't that much to do which interested me. Then again I didn't try chewing any gum while I was there so maybe that's what set them off? ;-)
 
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Singapore is a fine city...my refrigerator magnet from there even says that. :D

That said, it's the most "sterile" city I've ever visited. Nice place, modern and all, good food but it felt really devoid of culture and was the most expensive place in the region, unlike KL, BKK (did all three on that trip last year for my honeymoon), Taipei and Shanghai (where I lived for awhile.)

If I had more time in Singapore I would have taken a ferry over to Batam Island in Indonesia to get that stamp.
 
Singapore: if you thought Japan gave you, a young single traveler with a backpack, a less than warm welcome, you'll really love Singapore!

The Single worst place to visit in Asia IME, but at least its clean and safe! Hopefully you are just in transition here and not wasting time visiting this facist paradise in SE Asia!!!
Yeah I understand its a pretty strict place, but I'm not planning on staying to long. My understanding is something like 20 hours in Singapore is enough time to get a feel for the place, so I will just be stopping there for a short layover just to take a look around. With some playing around with the airfares I've found its pretty easy to add a stopover under 24 hours and not end up spending more on the flights, so since I have to layover somewhere I am trying to change it up and at least get a little taste of different places.
 
Singapore is a fine city...my refrigerator magnet from there even says that. :D

That said, it's the most "sterile" city I've ever visited. Nice place, modern and all, good food but it felt really devoid of culture and was the most expensive place in the region, unlike KL, BKK (did all three on that trip last year for my honeymoon), Taipei and Shanghai (where I lived for awhile.)

If I had more time in Singapore I would have taken a ferry over to Batam Island in Indonesia to get that stamp.
Yep, I've done that. Unfortunately there isn't a heck of a lot to do at Bintan in Batam, other than have some wonderful local food for lunch. And if you give them a chance they willt ry to send you to every two bit souvenir store in the place!
The other thing to do is cross over to JB (Johore Bahru) in Malaysia across the Johore Straits.

For train aficionados, a train ride to KL (Kuala Lumpur from Singapore could be a fun thing to do, but you do have to overnight a KL at least until they get the planned high speed line going. Unfortunately the old venerable KTM (Keretapi Tenah Melayu or Masayan Railway) Singapura Station in Tanjong Pagar is not a rail station anymore. The KTM terminus has now been moved to WTCP (Woodlands Train Check point).

Frankly, there is much good food to be had in Singapore. My favorite is the Banana Leaf in Little India. You better be OK with really hot and spicy food though, to survive that! Also many very good authentic Cantonese Chinese establishments, the food being very different from the usual Szechuan affair that most in the US are familiar with. Yes it is a bit plastic in Singapore, but I have generally enjoyed it and Singapore law enforcement has never bothered me, and I have always traveled single there, back pack and all in my earlier ventures there. Indeed I have had more problems with completely unpredictable Thai Police in Bangkok than with anything in Singapore. Of course I was careful not to chew any chewing gum while there :D . And of course they have without question one of the most spectacular airports in the world in Changi.
 
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[SIZE=10.5pt]I've never flown ANA but I have flown JAL several times and appreciated the improved service levels and the foreigner friendly exit row access. The only thing I didn't like was that they only give out Japanese sized medicine that would struggle to sooth a child's headache. Was there anything in particular about Asiana that you preferred? The only thing I know about them is the rather unfortunate SFO fiasco. More than anything flying the B787 reminded me that the specific aircraft is largely irrelevant compared to the impact of a given airline's service standards. Even though the B787 represents a big change in construction techniques I've honestly had much better trips on ancient B742's with wider pitch, comfier seats, tastier food, and friendlier attendants.[/SIZE]
I guess it came down to the food. I enjoyed the food more on Asiana in both cases the flight attendants were always in the aisles offering small snacks, water and would quickly go get anything you requested. Either way I would much rather be on ANA or Asiana over United, Delta, American, or really any US carrier. Even the same plane on different airlines can be night and day. I've flown British Airways 747s and then flew a 747 on Air China the inflight entertainment was projected on to screens on the bulkheads. I know some of those planes have been in the air a long time, but it was night and day in that case.

[SIZE=10.5pt]That must have been very unnerving but I seriously doubt it was you fault in any way. Japanese immigration officials tend to be overly suspicious of casually dressed foreigners who enter the country for short periods after traveling through Southeast Asia. Japan has some of the most restrictive drug possession laws in the world. You can be denied entry for even the most minor of infractions, like being caught with a single dose of Sudafed, and once you're denied entry for drug related reasons you'll never be welcomed back again. It's not uncommon to have them rummage through your belongings on arrival. Usually this ends after a few minutes at the inspection counter and you're on your way. I've never had to go into a private room but I've had Japanese officials rummage through my things in the standard inspection area. On my recent flight back home from Germany I had a rather unpleasant "come with me" moment. Nothing was ever explained. I was simply whisked through the exit queues and then set aside in a series of open cubes that were along the edge of the main processing area. At first I was the only person in any of those cubes and it felt odd to be singled out. Soon the rest of the cubes started filling up with other travelers stuck in the same predicament. Apparently this was part of the TSA's new "test all electronics" directive, even though it was administered by foreign inspectors. After everything had been extracted, swabbed for bomb juice, and passed the turn-on test I was eventually allowed to rejoin the rest of my party. I took a more critical look at my paperwork and realized that my ticketed name didn't exactly match my passport and that my ticket was marked with the 4S code. Suddenly everything made sense again.[/SIZE]
It was a first for me to receive such a VIP reception but now that its over I feel a lot less sour about it then I did immediately following it. I know that being in Southeast Asia doesn't really look good to most customs folks, but I also knew the only "drugs" I was carrying was a still unopened box of Pepto, but in those situations I can't help but think of movies where they magically plant things in your bag or are looking for some kind of "gift" probably not going to happen, but thats where my mind was wandering to during my suitcases' full body massage. At least they stopped with my stuff I would have really felt violated if they wanted to inspect certain areas of my person.

[SIZE=10.5pt]I have very little interest in Dubai and Singapore proper turned out to be a bit of a dud in my view. The Singapore airport is pretty nice, I cannot dispute that, but the rest of the city turned out to be rather underwhelming. They have lots of fancy hotels that are supposed to be among the very best but they seem to have a hard time earning their asking price. USD$10 for a tiny little pastry, USD$20 for a syrupy Singapore sling, USD$40 for a midlevel mimosa, USD$100 for the breakfast buffet, and USD$500 for a bed to sleep on. I tried all of those things but in my view none them were worth that kind of money. Hopefully you'll find much better values and enjoy it more than I did. In any case thanks for your trip report and if you've blogged about the rest of the trip elsewhere and you don't mind leaving a link I'd be curious to read about it.[/SIZE]
My desire to fly to Dubai is three fold: I want to see the city however briefly, and I am dying to try out Emirates Airlines since they also market themselves as a 5 star airline. Also I want to fly the long way next time I go to Asia so I can say I've flown around the world.

Flying through Singapore again I want to try and get a small taste of another big city, and try one of Singapore Airlines A380s. When you fly Singapore Air they allow you a free 24 hour stopover in SIN so might as well take advantage of their offer to see the area. My dad did a 24 hour stopover there a couple of years ago, and told me it would be just about as much time as I would want to spend there anyway.

I honestly haven't written anything else about my trip. I just wrote this for AU since without the help of the forum here I would have felt a lot less confident about the trip. The pics above are really the only ones I have put online from the trip. Most of the trip was either shared van rides down poorly maintained roads, or short hops on Vietnam Airlines in and out of small cities. The only really interesting part of my trip that I would enjoy sharing, but have no idea where it would be appropriate to post was a 16 hour drive across Laos where there were moments I began to wonder why I ever thought going there was a good idea.
 
LTR: Good call on just cooperating with the Custom's agents in Tokyo. They are a no-nonsense force. I, too, started thinking about those drug-planting movies. And I can assure you, if you tried to grease the palms of the officials with a "gift", you may not have ever experienced train transit in Japan!

One of my complaints about the Green Car in Japan is that it costs nearly double the regular seat, and all you get is, well, twice the seat. No free perks, no food, no drinks. As for the N'Ex, when I took it with my family 10 years ago, it was packed.

Like I've mentioned in the past, I'm a JR fan, so the Keisei Skyliner never appealed to me. However, it does look like it would be a fun ride. It just doesn't go into Tokyo Station...

Let me know when you go back. I can't wait to go back myself...
 
I on the other hand am just cheap. :p I just take the local train from Narita Airport. Yeah, it's a little slower and all that, but it costs a darned sight less, and SUICA works on it nicely.

If the hotel I am staying at is inconveniently distant from a direct train stop from the airport, I have been known to take the Limoliner too, if it stops close to the hotel. It is actually quite convenient if you want to avoid block long transfers from one train to another with a pile of baggage.
 
I used to take the Airport Limousine (big orange bus). Nice thing is that you can actually check into your flight and check your bags in downtown Tokyo and go straight to security when you get to the airport.

But I'm not a bus fan. :D
 
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