13+ hours to London, so I decided to spring for the inflight wifi. Such a super clear day leaving Tokyo, my best ever shot of Mt Fuji. Got to say I really rate Haneda as a transfer spot if heading to Europe. Even though we transited through to the “Land Side” of the airport JAL were able to store the luggage so we didn’t have to re-check it all in. Obviously if you do that you have to have a change of clothes in your carry on. Plane to London is a slightly older 777 but still lots of room. Also only about 50% full.
Coffee today : nothing spectacular, hotel included breakfast so it was just one of those machines, but way better than instant, so no complaints
Apart from being located right at the airport, the best thing about the Villa Fontaine hotel is that it has an outdoor onsen. For obvious reasons, phones are banned from that part of the hotel so I don’t have any pics, except the stock one from the hotel website.
A dip in this warm 42c water after 10 hours on the plane was a fantastic way to relax. If you come to Japan I highly recommend giving the onsen a try..
Well after months of waiting, planning, saving, replanning and more waiting we are finally off to Europe ! Thanks to the “C” word that shall not be named this trip is a few years later than originally desired, but here we are, sitting in the cafe waiting to board. Paid the usual eye watering amount for a very average coffee in the departure area. Shire Shuttle Bus picked us up on time and it was a super quick trip out to the airport. I’d seen horror pictures of massive queues here this week and being the Christmas week and School holidays I was a little worried however we arrived so early it wasn’t an issue. Slight hiccup on checkin as one bag was slightly over the limit but a little redistribution and we were fine.
After an hour here I’m thinking about that movie “The Terminal” where Tom Hanks was stuck for years on the airside at the airport. I know now why they cast Tom, you would have to be a multi-millionaire to spend even a few days here!
The flight was really good, Japan Airlines are excellent. Landed at Haneda and there was a bit of queue into immigration however as soon as we cleared that we were in the hotel quickly. I picked the Villa Fontaine hotel as it was at the airport and also has an Onsen. After checking in we had a quick meal in the restaurant area just below the hotel before crashing for the evening.