Back in the early part of 2011, I had planned a trip to Kansai with my GF at the time. My desire to go to Japan for the first time proper in twenty plus years was heightened by a five hour layover at HND in December of 2010. In that instance, I was lucky enough to be able to leave the airport and make my way down to Tsukiji Market for a few hours before making my way back to HND for a flight to TSA. To be honest, I'm not sure why I had wanted to go to Kansai, outside of a desire to not go to Tokyo, since everyone does it.
However, the trip never manifested due to a combination of a career change and well, having a three year relationship severed in the spring of 2011. Despite those factors, my desire to return to Japan never dimmed and so in the early part of this year, I booked my flights and started planning my trip to Japan. My flights were as follows:
UA PDX (Portland) - LAX (Los Angeles)
NH LAX (Los Angeles) - HND (Tokyo/Haneda)
LQ HND (Tokyo/Haneda) - KOJ (Kagoshima)
MM KOJ (Kagoshima) - KIX (Osaka/Kansai)
MM KIX (Osaka/Kansai) - FUK (Fukuoka)
JR Kyushu Shinkansen Fukuoka Hakata - Kagoshima Chuo
NH KOJ (Kagoshima) - HND (Tokyo/Haneda)
NH HND (Tokyo/Haneda) - LAX (Los Angeles)
UA LAX (Los Angeles) - PDX (Portland)
I was pretty open to my starting points in Japan and while Kansai was the ideal destination, I also wanted to spend some time in Kyushu, having never been in the past. The fare I booked on United.com was the same for Kagoshima as it was for Sapporo but I ultimately settled on a Kagoshima/Osaka/Fukuoka itinerary. In addition, I also built in a twelve hour layover in Tokyo in order to have a half day of exploring on my way out of the country.
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19 May 2012
All Nippon Airways - ANA (NH) 1005
Los Angeles International - Tokyo/Haneda
01:10 - 04:39 +1
Boeing 777-200ER, JA715A
17A
Premium Economy
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JA715A at LAX
I'm a big fan of the LAX - HND late night (technically early morning) flight that gets one into Tokyo in the early hours of the morning. I like it as it gives me an additional twelve hours in Japan, instead of waiting for an afternoon flight to leave from the West Coast of the United States. In addition, I much prefer flying NH than UA as I find the catering to be much better. I know that FT is littered with people complaining about the tight pitch on NH but being six feet tall, I've never had an issue with it. Then again, none of my intercontinental segments with NH has been in a "normal" Y seat.
I had quite a long layover at LAX so after grabbing my traditional LAX meal of Chicken McNuggets from McDonald's (I know...), I returned to the just opened NH check-in line. While my bags were tagged all the way to Kagoshima, I still needed to check-in at LAX for my LAX-HND & HND-KOJ BPs. The line was quite long, which made me long for *G status but since I had so much time to kill, I wasn't really worried. Due to the fact that I didn't have any luggage to check-in at LAX, I was skipped ahead of quite a few people. This seemed to happen to anyone who did not have luggage to check. While at the counter, I inquired about the possibility of securing an aisle seat and was told that due to a full flight, that was not possible. However, due to said full flight, I had secured a bump to a window seat in NH's Premium Economy cabin.
The rest of the layover at LAX was nothing to write home about. I killed time walking around the airside of TBIT, which was mediocre as always. I really can't wait until the Bradley West project is done! I mainly spent time near the temporary bus gates, charging electronics and such. The flight was called on time and boarding was orderly and soon I found myself onboard NH1005.
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Gate area for my flight. Pleased to not be assigned a bus gate this time.
We left on time and soon found ourselves in the air. As per NH's usual service on NH1005, a drink and snack service was offered shortly after takeoff, which consisted of a mediocre turkey, mayo and lettuce bagel sandwich. I had NH's signature lime juice, Kabosu, along with my sandwich. I would've had a lot more of that drink, except that my window seat limited the amount of liquids I took in on this flight.
Seeing as it was an overnight flight, it was fairly uneventful. I mainly slept, walked around the aircraft when I could and also watched a bit of a TV show about the twentieth anniversary of the J.League, Japan's top flight football league.
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Typical mediocre snack sandwich post-takeoff on NH 1005
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Snacks, amenities and water set up in the mid cabin galley
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Y cabin shot from the rear
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Mini Premium Economy cabin
The Premium Economy cabin on the 777-200ER is not something I would actually spend money on. I understand that the seat pitch and width is greater than the regular economy cabin but besides that, there is nothing special on offer. I would compare it closely to UA's E+ cabin. Nonetheless, I was grateful for the "upgrade".
The main meal service was served a couple hours out of Haneda and as is usual with the flight, this meal was superb. There was a Western option but to start my vacation off right, I elected for the Japanese option, which consisted of shrimp & mushroom congee and side dishes of cold soba noodles and such. Excellent catering as always in regards to the main meal.
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I've always been impressed by NH's catering in Y
We arrived to a still dark Tokyo/Haneda, about half an hour early. Economy passengers were held back until all Business passengers disembarked, which is how it should be done. HND immigration was painless, although my bags took a bit longer to arrive than I would've liked. Customs was a breeze and for the first time in twenty-two years, I was back in Japan (for longer than five hours)!
kevincrumbs
Jul 12, 12, 11:31 pm
It would be incorrect to say that this was my first time in a domestic terminal at HND but it would be correct to say that this was my first time in a domestic terminal at HND that I actually recall. At my age, I would tend to attribute any issues with memory to, say, indulging in too much alcohol :D but really, I had no recollection of the domestic terminals since I was so young last time I was through here. My point being that it has been a long time since I'd been in a domestic terminal at HND.
After finding myself at the arrivals lobby of the international terminal, I went to the NH transfer desk to have my luggage checked to KOJ. This procedure is only necessary for those connecting at HND to domestic flights, similar to the procedure at American airports. The process was quick and painless and I then headed downstairs to catch the free shuttle that linked HND's three terminals.
HND's Terminal 2 was really dead at this hour, seeing as it was Sunday morning a little before six. Of course, the security check was painless and about seventy billion times better than the usual US TSA BS. However, I failed to understand the point of scanning one's boarding pass and then being presented with what one would describe as being a "receipt".
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HND T2 check-in area
My first mission was to find some wifi, of which I paid for a seven day service from Wi2 for approximately US$25, which I found to be a fair price. It was certainly easier than mucking about with having to activate a 3G card for the iPhone and such. Having secured decently priced wifi, I settled in to watch live coverage of the Champions League final between Chelsea & Bayern Munich. The only bad part about the match was that it was not possible for both teams to lose. :)
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Champions League final viewing
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HND T2 FIDS. T2 is pretty much all NH.
I headed down to the bus gates, where my flight to Kagoshima was leaving from.
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Waiting room for bus gates
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First food in Japan of the trip and first of many, many onigiri I had.
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20 May 2012
Solaseed Air (LQ) 71
Tokyo/Haneda - Kagoshima
07:17 - 09:00
Boeing 737-400, JA392K
18C
Economy
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JA392K at a rainy Kagoshima Airport
The load on this domestic flight was probably somewhere around eighty percent but with scattered empty seats. I shared three seats with a gentleman seated in the window seat while I found myself in my customary aisle seat. Nothing much to say as I slept through most of it and missed whatever beverage/food service there was. I'm pretty sure that LQ's complimentary service only involved tea and water and I'm not even sure if they had a BOB program.
The approach to KOJ was quite windy and we found ourselves surrounded by mountains, which made for some really great views. The pilots did a great job getting us in safely and hey, I was in Kyushu for the first time.
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Cabin, Solaseed Air 71
KOJ is a small facility, so it didn't take long for the luggage to come off the baggage carousel. Since check in for my hotel wasn't until much later in the day, I headed up to the observation deck for a bit. The lack of traffic coupled with the rain ensured that I didn't stay too long.
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Japan Air Commuter Bombardier Dash 8 Q400
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ANA Boeing 767-300
After that brief sojourn on the observation deck, I caught the bus into town, which took around fourty minutes and got off at the Tenmonkan stop in the centre of Kagoshima to head to my hotel and rid myself of my luggage.
kevincrumbs
Jul 12, 12, 11:58 pm
I stayed at the REMM Kagoshima, which seemed to be quite a new hotel. It's owned by the Hankyu/Hanshin group and really enjoyed the hotel. However, during the morning I did not get to enjoy the hotel as check in was not until the afternoon. I was able to leave my heavy bag at the front desk and started to explore Kagoshima thereafter.
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Area map. I loved this.
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Saigo Takamori statue. He's a famous samurai.
Due to Kagoshima's proximity to the highly active Sakurajima volcano, everything seemed to be caked in ash. While it was initially amusing and pretty cool, it soon started to get a bit annoying. I felt bad for the housekeepers at the hotel.
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Ash covered car. Not sure why someone would purchase a white car while living in Kagoshima!
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Volcano evacuation meeting point
I soon made my way to the ferry in order to get to the aforementioned Sakurajima. It used to be an island (jima = island in Japanese) but due to subsequent eruptions, it's not an island anymore. However, the ferry is still the quickest way by far to get there. It was a scenic fifteen minute ride over to Sakurajima.
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The ferries also carry automobiles to and from Sakurajima
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Sakurajima from the ferry
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Looking back at Kagoshima
I spent my time on Sakurajima at both the Sakurajima Yougan Nagisa Park Public Footspa, which was great for my tired feet, and also walking the Nagisa Lava Trail to the Karasujima Observatory.
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Public footspa. Despite the fact that I had no way to dry my feet off, I still soaked my sore feet in for quite awhile.
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Sakurajima (the actual volcano) in the distance
Karasujima itself was another former island, although in this case, it was completely buried by volcanic eruptions. The observatory marks the spot where the island used to stand.
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Sakurajima Port
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Docking in Kagoshima
kevincrumbs
Jul 13, 12, 12:08 am
From the Kagoshima ferry terminal, I walked down to the tram line to catch a tram to the hotel. The ferry terminal is not too far from the hotel but the combination of jet lag and all that walking prompted me to catch a tram.
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Older style Kagoshima City Tram
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Onboard the tram
Finally, it was time to get acquainted with my room. I found it to be pretty great and yes, while it was small, I didn't mind it at all. Firstly, I'm not someone who needs to ton of fancy amenities in the room and secondly, I wasn't planning to spend a ton of time in the room. It had cold air conditioning, was clean and had fast and free wifi, so I was very happy.
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Bed from entrance hallway
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Bathroom & shower from the bed
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Room view. Notice the ash covering up part of the window
After resting up a bit, I walked down to Kagoshima Chuo station for a look and then walked back to the Tenmonkan shopping arcade and had dinner at a ramen place.
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Kotsukigawa, the main river that runs through Kagoshima
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Insanely delicious ramen with grilled pork, egg, seaweed and bean sprouts
I liked Kagoshima but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, especially not all the way from North America. However, it was a nice time for a day before I headed off to Osaka the next morning.
SPBanker
Jul 13, 12, 2:58 am
Great TR! Love the food pics... Our next trip to Japan will be in December 2012!
dat4life
Jul 13, 12, 4:20 am
Great start! Waiting for the rest.
sushiinSYD
Jul 13, 12, 7:07 am
Interesting & good start. Thanks a lot kevincrumbs.
Kagoshima looks so empty everywhere in your pics. Was that because the time you took a trip?
I have also found your route is very interesting. General route would be: HND - KOJ - Khusyu Shinkansen - FUK - KIX - HND or something like that. I might have miscomprehended your introductory...
Looking forward to your next segment ^
qbrain
Jul 13, 12, 1:16 pm
Great start and that ramen does look good.
isaifan
Jul 13, 12, 2:22 pm
Looking forward to the rest
aztimm
Jul 13, 12, 2:24 pm
Agree with the others, great trip report, and fantastic pictures!
I did a summer session of grad school in Tokyo and had the chance to travel around the country quite a bit. I thought Kyushu was one of the best places--when people saw me, they'd come up and immediately try to practice their English. Most times they'd speak to me in English and I'd answer them in Japanese.
The only things I remember about Kagoshima are some crowded beaches, constant ash from the volcano (I think I bought a cheap umbrella to help), and the shrines for St Francis Xavier.
Did you consider just getting a JR pass to travel around the country? I loved it, pretty much just hopped on most trains whenever I wanted to. Otherwise the bullet trains are extremely expensive (especially while on a student budget).
Now you've got me wanting to go back to Japan :)
kevincrumbs
Jul 13, 12, 3:18 pm
I had booked myself onto the 12:35pm departure from KOJ to KIX and seeing as how the journey to KOJ from Kagoshima itself was approximately fourty minutes, I got up fairly early for being on vacation. The bus stop was a few blocks away from the hotel, set in a glamourous location in front of a parking lot. I purchased the ¥1500 ticket from a manned ticket counter and uttered one of my very few Japanese sentences I knew, "Ichi kuko basu kippu, dozo", or one airport bus ticket, please. Not bad for someone who's never studied Japanese. :)
The ride to KOJ felt faster than the ride from KOJ and we wound our way through Kagoshima before hitting the Kyushu Expressway and onto KOJ, located out in Kirishima
As was the case in LAX, I was a bit too early for the check in as the Peach counters were not open yet. I headed up to the third floor of KOJ in search of breakfast/lunch and settled on a cheap looking restaurant that vaguely translated to "Big Sky Food Hall" (大空食堂), complete with 777 logo. My tonkatsu set cost ¥777, which I thought was cute.
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Kagoshima Airport tonkatsu set
After lunch, the check in lines were open and the queues were quite full, although owing to Peach's LCC status, the lines moved fairly quickly. After checking in, which involved placing one's itinerary underneath a scanner, a receipt BP was given out and passengers with luggage had to queue for a luggage screening check over at NH's counters.
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Peach check in counters
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Long baggage screening queues. A mix of Peach & ANA passengers at this point.
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You know you're flying on a LCC when...
I suppose this would be a good time to explain exactly what Peach is. Peach is a LCC set up by NH and something generic called the First Eastern Investment Group (surely they weren't actually the first Eastern investment group...). They have a fleet of three very colourful A320-200s and at the time of flying, were exclusively domestic and based out of KIX. Since then, the fly KIX - ICN with service to TPE & HKG to start soon. I chose them because I love flying, wanted to try a new airline and the cost and time savings were much greater than the Shinkansen. NH was also a consideration but I didn't need miles that badly and didn't mind flying outside of *A for once. My ticket, including seat selection and baggage fees came to ¥6190 or approximately US$79.
I had free time after all of the check in procedures, so I headed up to the third floor of KOJ again to check out their free aviation museum, Sora Stage. They focused mainly on airlines that serve KOJ and talked about the history of flight, the history of KOJ, etc. Nice way to kill some time and similar to the set up, albeit much smaller, that they have at HKG's T2.
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Japan Air Commuter Dash 8 Q400 mock up
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Mock up interior. I wonder if the 1-2 seating is true.
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Winglet and fan blade
After that, it was through security and into the airside of KOJ.
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Departures level, shot from the third floor. Still landside at this point.
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Airside corridor, down by JL's gates
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So many people fly from here to Tokyo that there's actually a Keikyu railway ticketing machine here. Next to it was a Tokyo Monorail ticketing machine.
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Boarding gate for my flight
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Japan Air Commuter Saab 340B.
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Air Nippon Boeing 737-800
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JL Boeing 767-300
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21 May 2012
Peach (MM) 194
Kagoshima - Osaka/Kansai
12:35 - 13:35
Airbus A320-200, JA801P
2C
Economy
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7092/7320222622_ede65b57a9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320222622/)
Today's aircraft at Kagoshima
The flight arrived late but was turned around quite quickly. Unlike in KIX, Peach flies out of actual gates in both KOJ & FUK. The first thing I noticed when I sat down was how tight the seat pitch was. I've never flown a true LCC before (I don't count WN) and boy, was it tight!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7320258350_1736111ff2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320258350/)
Apologies for the terrible iPad picture
I would not be happy with this on a flight to, say, HKG and would definitely spend money for an exit row or bulkhead seat. Considering how cheap the flight was, I was okay with it. I spent most of the short flight reading and also visited the restroom once. To my relief, the restroom was not as cramped as the main cabin seating. Peach featured a BOB program, which few people seemed to partake in and also had FAs making announcements in English, which was unexpected.
Landing at KIX was one of the roughest ones I've ever endured. Being seated in 2C, I heard what sounded like a warning going off moments away from touchdown. I tightened my seat belt, the plane made contact with the runway, bounced up and then made contact again. I'm not sure how the winds were on this afternoon but it didn't seem any worse than yesterday's arrival in KOJ. Anyway, we made it safely and the flight was thoroughly uneventful outside of the landing.
I would absolutely fly Peach again due to their low fares.
kevincrumbs
Jul 13, 12, 3:29 pm
Great TR! Love the food pics... Our next trip to Japan will be in December 2012!
Thanks! I'm already itching for another trip to Japan, although I think it'll be a few years from now, sadly.
Great start! Waiting for the rest.
Thanks! The rest is coming slowly. I'm realising that I'm writing way too much. :)
Kagoshima looks so empty everywhere in your pics. Was that because the time you took a trip?
I have also found your route is very interesting. General route would be: HND - KOJ - Khusyu Shinkansen - FUK - KIX - HND or something like that. I might have miscomprehended your introductory...
Partly due to the fact that it was Sunday evening and partly due to the fact that I liked to wait until quieter moments to take pictures. Tenmonkan was certainly busy (not, uh, Harajuku busy or anything) but just not the bits in my photos.
My itinerary was circular & back tracked as I purchased a RT PDX-LAX-HND-KOJ ticket and added in the KOJ-KIX-FUK sections myself with the Shinkansen connecting Fukuoka & Kagoshima.
Great start and that ramen does look good.
The crazy thing is that the ramen came from a chain and was still the best ramen I've had in my life.
Looking forward to the rest
Thanks and thanks for reading!
Agree with the others, great trip report, and fantastic pictures!
I did a summer session of grad school in Tokyo and had the chance to travel around the country quite a bit. I thought Kyushu was one of the best places--when people saw me, they'd come up and immediately try to practice their English. Most times they'd speak to me in English and I'd answer them in Japanese.
Did you consider just getting a JR pass to travel around the country? I loved it, pretty much just hopped on most trains whenever I wanted to. Otherwise the bullet trains are extremely expensive (especially while on a student budget).
Thanks for your compliments. Just trying my best to emulate some of the masters of the TR that are found here.
One of my few regrets is that I didn't spend enough time in Kyushu on this trip. I wanted desperately to go to Nagasaki, especially after reading David Mitchell's "Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" last year, which takes place in Dejima. Alas, there was not enough time. I also wanted to go to Miyazaki for some sun and wouldn't have minded Beppu and/or Kumamoto.
I passed on the JR pass due to time constraints and overall cost. Peach's fares were too low for my main two segments and as referenced somewhere in the TR, I love flying. I love trains too but not as much as planes. Indeed Hakata - Kagoshima Chuo was expensive but I looked as it was a special splurge as opposed to a regular occurrence.
sushiinSYD
Jul 13, 12, 6:14 pm
Once again, thanks a lot for interesting TR with full of useful info., kevincrumbs^
Ramen is a very interesting food. Each region has its own style and many Japanese argue about which region is the best.
Although it is not easy to get there, you may add Shimane for your next visit if you are interested in Japanese history.
Cannot wait for your next update!!
Cheers,
pvdecastro
Jul 13, 12, 7:34 pm
Thanks ! Great TR on some less known parts of Japan and a new LLC.
kevincrumbs
Jul 13, 12, 7:48 pm
Upon arrival at KIX, we exited the aircraft through the stairs (back stairs were also an option) to the waiting buses. This, of course, is nothing new and is still common at many large airports around the world. As with most airports that still feature busing, there were some nice views of various aircraft, although at this afternoon hour, they tended to be regional and not intercontinental.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/7320542290_2ae75ac1cd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320542290/)
CZ SkyTeam Boeing 777-200ER
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7320547928_decb9754b8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320547928/)
StarFlyer Airbus A320-200
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7320553256_4935e63d38_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320553256/)
Brand new NH Boeing 777-200ER delivered in late April.
This is where it starts to deviate from the norm. The bus did not take us to, say, a bus gate. Instead we passed through a security gate and headed out of the secure area, with our destination being a bus stop. Instead of an actual baggage claim, our luggage was delivered via a vehicle that looked similar to a dump truck. The luggage was dropped off at the curb ala a long distance bus and that was it.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7320560180_66afb68eea_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320560180/)
Baggage claim, Peach style. This would be terrible in torrential rain or heavy snow. To be fair, this truck beat the bus, so it was certainly quick.
I briefly walked through KIX as I had never been, bought a ticket for Nankai's rapi:t service for Namba and headed into Osaka.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7320566164_51007c9566_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320566164/)
KIX international arrivals
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7243/7320572462_b325655a15_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320572462/)
International arrivals FIDS
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/7320578466_2f833911d0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320578466/)
Kansai Airport Station ticketing machines
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/7320584058_f445f5dcfd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320584058/)
Onboard Nankai's rapi:t service
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7320590132_8303efcc82_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320590132/)
rapi:t train at its final destination, Namba
DstnDavid
Jul 14, 12, 3:16 am
"Ichi kuko basu kippu, dozo", or one airport bus ticket, please. Not bad for someone who's never studied Japanese. :)
Hopefully to help improve your Japanese language ability, I think you should replace "dozo" with "onegai shimasu", and add the suffix "mai" to "ichi", so "ichi-mai". Counting in Japanese requires the use of a variety of suffixes depending on what type of item you are counting (people vs food vs floors in a building, etc). The whole sentence might be better as "Kagoshima kuku made ichimai onegai shimasu". ^
Loving your trip report! I'm in Japan quite often and have been considering a stop in Kagoshima in November, mostly to visit Sakura-jiima. I think I might be headed to Naha or Sapporo instead, though.
Looking forward to your section on Osaka. My mother's family moved there from Shikoku when she was young and I still have some family in the area. Hope you had some takoyaki and enjoyed the okonomiyaki. :)
kevincrumbs
Jul 14, 12, 12:10 pm
I stayed at the new Fraser Residence Nankai Osaka (http://osaka.frasershospitality.com/), which I found to be pretty excellent. They're more of a long-stay place but I chose them due to the good price (around US$130), good location (I wanted to be in the south of the city) and new & clean facilities. My room came with a kitchenette & even a washer/dryer, although I never utilised either of those things. Wifi was free and fast, at least for web browsing purposes, the air conditioning was cold and my rate included a Western style breakfast in the restaurant connected to the hotel. Inexplicably, I didn't take pictures of the room interior.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7101/7340176824_a9d05db69f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7340176824/)
View from the room, looking over at the Namba PARKS shopping centre
I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for my first day in Osaka. I had lunch around the corner at a CoCo Ichibanya and then took the Midosuji Line up to the Umeda area in order to hit the Hanshin Tigers Shop inside the Hanshin Department Store. After that it was onto the Umeda Sky Building, then back onto the Midosuji Line where I got off at Nagahoribashi, walked through Ame-mura, Dotonbori and finally back to the hotel after a long day.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7320599744_3e732702cc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7320599744/)
Curry rice with cheese & sausages. Definitely not healthy.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7322432778_d5f6a56133_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7322432778/)
Hanshin Tigers Shop. The rest of the Hanshin Department Store was really unimpressive. Hankyu on the other hand...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7322466346_d913a75361_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7322466346/)
Escalator, Umeda Sky Building
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/7322472904_4c8408be2c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7322472904/)
Looking south from the observation deck
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7101/7322510314_8c43bc6df4_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7322510314/)
Looking north, with Yodogawa (Yodo River) in the foreground. Generally speaking, looking towards Itami Airport.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7328447700_6a4a843364_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7328447700/)
Sat and read at Osaka Station City for awhile, watching the sun set
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7244/7328488156_54f72be818_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7328488156/)
While enjoying a Nikka Whisky - Taketsuru - Premium Highball
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8155/7328504340_8466318d68_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7328504340/)
Back onto the Midosuji Line, where I managed not to fall into the tracks, thanks to this poster.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7328519932_560741aeba_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7328519932/)
Walked through Ame-mura on my way to Dotonbori
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7333447638_ed196f4cce_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7333447638/)
The canal itself
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/7333468536_c20e66ea5c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7333468536/)
Famous giant crab advertisement at the Kani Doraku restaurant
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7333491628_57390c4e4d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7333491628/)
The shot of Osaka, including the uber famous Glico Man.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7333486250_b6398c9bbc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7333486250/)
Had some Takoyaki while on a bridge Dotonbori. Seems like a stereotypical tourist thing to do.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7333503320_fb02140b39_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7333503320/)
Then had some karaage while walking back to the hotel
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7101/7333518178_f8b0d58b97_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7333518178/)
The Takashimaya Department Store at Namba station
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7340174050_18b50ccf4e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7340174050/)
Made my own (Suntory) Boilermaker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boilermaker_%28beer_cocktail%29) in the hotel room, mucked about with the television & internet and called it a night.
kevincrumbs
Jul 14, 12, 12:18 pm
Ramen is a very interesting food. Each region has its own style and many Japanese argue about which region is the best.
Although it is not easy to get there, you may add Shimane for your next visit if you are interested in Japanese history.
Honestly, I didn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the different ramen varieties. Partly due to language issues and also some shyness that took awhile to get rid of. Maybe it would've been easier if I travelled with someone else.
Thanks for the tip about Shimane. I certainly had not considered northern Chugoku before.
Thanks ! Great TR on some less known parts of Japan and a new LLC.
Thanks for your compliment. There's not a ton on Peach out there, although there is a much more in depth TR at Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/215023/).
Hopefully to help improve your Japanese language ability, I think you should replace "dozo" with "onegai shimasu", and add the suffix "mai" to "ichi", so "ichi-mai". Counting in Japanese requires the use of a variety of suffixes depending on what type of item you are counting (people vs food vs floors in a building, etc). The whole sentence might be better as "Kagoshima kuku made ichimai onegai shimasu". ^
Loving your trip report! I'm in Japan quite often and have been considering a stop in Kagoshima in November, mostly to visit Sakura-jiima. I think I might be headed to Naha or Sapporo instead, though.
Looking forward to your section on Osaka. My mother's family moved there from Shikoku when she was young and I still have some family in the area. Hope you had some takoyaki and enjoyed the okonomiyaki. :)
Yeah, I definitely knew my Japanese wasn't accurate by any means but hey, it worked and I got a bus trip for Kagoshima Airport. I feel like I got slightly better in regards to using what little Japanese I had as the trip progressed. Thanks for the language tip, hopefully it won't be long before I get to practice it. :)
Thanks for your kind words and a takoyaki picture has since been posted but sadly, I did not have any okonomiyaki. I think it might be illegal to visit Osaka without having okonomiyaki. :D
mapleg
Jul 15, 12, 6:12 am
Baggage claim, Peach style. This would be terrible in torrential rain or heavy snow. To be fair, this truck beat the bus, so it was certainly quick.
Hmmmm... I have not flown Peach yet, but have used Skymark within Japan. They use normal luggage procedures with the standard baggage claim from a carousel. Some pretty cheap fares to if you book 55-60 days before (eg Kumamoto to-Haneda or Kobeto-Nagasaki--each was Y5800 when I booked.
sushiinSYD
Jul 16, 12, 12:04 am
Thanks for your kind words and a takoyaki picture has since been posted but sadly, I did not have any okonomiyaki. I think it might be illegal to visit Osaka without having okonomiyaki. :D
Do not worry, kevincrumbs. But you may be prosecuted for failing to have "Okonomi-yaki" in Hiroshima :p
mkjr
Jul 16, 12, 2:09 pm
Do not worry, kevincrumbs. But you may be prosecuted for failing to have "Okonomi-yaki" in Hiroshima :p
actually, it is probably better since he may face the next few years yearning for it versus what they serve in almost all places in NA. please tell me you did not mix the beer and yamazaki 12 year old...sure, a little soda as when in rome, but i have never seen any japanese person mix beer and whiskey.:confused:
nice TR. the Sakura trains are very nice...i assume that is what you will be posting pictures of.
i missed dontonbori last trip and opted for this place in Osaka.
http://www.bento.com/kansai/rev/8277.html all i have to say is WOW!!
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/c807713/lang/en/ BTW, there is no english menu...
sushiinSYD
Jul 22, 12, 7:05 am
You must been very busy, kevincrumbs. But I am awaiting you another TR.
Take time, but please come back^
kevincrumbs
Jul 23, 12, 2:20 pm
Sorry for the delay in the postings. I figured trying to type this up while on an iPad on the road wouldn't have been the best idea. Anyway, the trip continues:
This day featured three main activities, which included a trip up to Itami Airport for a bit of planespotting, followed by a trip to Oyamazaki to visit the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery and finally off to the Osaka Dome for the Kansai Derby, Hanshin Tigers v. Orix Buffaloes. A lot to pack into one day! We'll start with the visit to Itami Airport and the transportation to Oyamazaki.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7213/7340180102_1dd5c9d13b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7340180102/)
On the Midosuji Line during the late morning, heading to Senri-Chuo
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7229/7154983105_5d22889257_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7154983105/)
First MOS Burger of the trip. I know it's sacrilege, but I prefer MOS Burger to In n' Out.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7104/7340203152_09f0079f31_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7340203152/)
North Terminal, ITM
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8157/7343755368_7808297e81_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7343755368/)
JL Boeing 777-200 in Oneworld livery, my favourite out of all the alliance liveries
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8002/7343758066_7228b098bd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7343758066/)
NH Boeing 777-300
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7343766990_6943b7502b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7343766990/)
NH Boeing 767-300 in the retro "Mohican" livery.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7343794026_821037b73e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7343794026/)
North Terminal exterior
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7158589159_e988d48942_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7158589159/)
NH advertisements and timetables at Osaka Airport monorail station
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7240/7343801986_47e531a635_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7343801986/)
Onboard the monorail
I took the monorail from Itami Airport over to Hotarugaike in order to change for Hankyu Railways out to Oyamazaki. This involved an additional change at Juso
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7158890685_69f1f62b11_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7158890685/)
Hankyu Railway at Hotarugaike. I love the maroon colour and Hankyu's livery!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7158892825_5001f20fcc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7158892825/)
Onboard an empty train. Heading for Juso.
mapleg
Jul 23, 12, 4:28 pm
I spent my time on Sakurajima at both the Sakurajima Yougan Nagisa Park Public Footspa, which was great for my tired feet, and also walking the Nagisa Lava Trail to the Karasujima Observatory.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7299514618_263abb824a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7299514618/)
Public footspa. Despite the fact that I had no way to dry my feet off, I still soaked my sore feet in for quite awhile.
I have been to Sakurajima a number of times. For anyone visiting this park (and the footspa which bills itself as the longest in Japan), I highly recommend a visit to the Rainbow Hotel Onsen which is in a hotel complex just beside the footspa. You don't have to be a guest to use the Onsen, and if memory serves me, it is only about Y350. This happened to be the very first (but not he last) onsen I ever visited in Japan.
You get a great view of the bay while soaking your troubles away. If you just want to use the footspa, they also sell minitowels you can use to dry your feet. (But I must admit, I always carry one of those while visiting Japan..great for drying your feet after a public footbath)
sushiinSYD
Jul 29, 12, 9:23 am
Dear kevincrumbs,
It is actually interesting to see how you managed to take all those pics with lesser people.
Did you have to wait for a while in particular place (I do not expect you sitting in a train for that purpose, though)?
I know you must be very busy, but I am still interested in hearing how you rate Kyushu Shinkansen was. So I decided to twist your arms ;P
mkjr
Jul 30, 12, 6:56 am
Dear kevincrumbs,
It is actually interesting to see how you managed to take all those pics with lesser people.
Did you have to wait for a while in particular place (I do not expect you sitting in a train for that purpose, though)?
I know you must be very busy, but I am still interested in hearing how you rate Kyushu Shinkansen was. So I decided to twist your arms ;P
the train from Kyoto to Oyamazaki was equally empty when we travelled to the Yamazaki distillery mid week, around 9am out of Kyoto and then on to the Suntory Premium Malt's Brewery...the JR special rapid train between Kyoto and Osaka during a weekday morning, most uncomfortable train trip of my entire live to date...not even in the busiest trimes in the busiest trains in tokyo was i crammed in...
mapleg
Jul 30, 12, 2:45 pm
the train from Kyoto to Oyamazaki was equally empty when we travelled to the Yamazaki distillery mid week, around 9am out of Kyoto and then on to the Suntory Premium Malt's Brewery...the JR special rapid train between Kyoto and Osaka during a weekday morning, most uncomfortable train trip of my entire live to date...not even in the busiest trimes in the busiest trains in tokyo was i crammed in...
Wow, that is really saying something. I have taken that rain a few times before, but never in rush hour
How did you like your visit to the Yamazaki distillery? I have had plans on my last 2 trips to Japan to get there, but never did.
mkjr
Jul 31, 12, 9:21 am
Wow, that is really saying something. I have taken that rain a few times before, but never in rush hour
How did you like your visit to the Yamazaki distillery? I have had plans on my last 2 trips to Japan to get there, but never did.
Trip to the distillery was fantastic. the audio guides were great and then tasting...they will pour you neet also but was new to me to try with sparkling spring water from the same source as the water for the whiskey...
it was actually painful riding the train. just when i thought some people would get off at TAKATSUKI, it GOT EVEN worse...and more people crammed on...honestly, totally crazy. i do not know how i could do this as a regular commute but all appeared to hate it but knew it was necessary and not one single complaint...the same in HKG or NYC or even here in YYZ, there would be brawls...it was a mistake with a JR pass to not just take the shinkansen to shin-osaka and then a local train to osaka...as they say in pretty women, HUGE...
armagebedar
Aug 2, 12, 2:39 am
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7340174050_18b50ccf4e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumbs/7340174050/)
Made my own (Suntory) Boilermaker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boilermaker_%28beer_cocktail%29) in the hotel room, mucked about with the television & internet and called it a night.
If only you had gone with a Premium Malts (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/865/8128) instead of a Kinmugi near beer (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/suntory-kin-mugi/74686/)...
sushiinSYD
Aug 2, 12, 7:28 am
Trip to the distillery was fantastic. the audio guides were great and then tasting...they will pour you neet also but was new to me to try with sparkling spring water from the same source as the water for the whiskey...
it was actually painful riding the train. just when i thought some people would get off at TAKATSUKI, it GOT EVEN worse...and more people crammed on...honestly, totally crazy. i do not know how i could do this as a regular commute but all appeared to hate it but knew it was necessary and not one single complaint...the same in HKG or NYC or even here in YYZ, there would be brawls...it was a mistake with a JR pass to not just take the shinkansen to shin-osaka and then a local train to osaka...as they say in pretty women, HUGE...
My English is not good enough to dig into some delicacy. All what I can say is that some Japanese are very proud of the quality of water and believe that is one of the most important things to produce superb spirits/sake/ whiskey, etc. I assume that they simply tried to introduce to visitor/s the quality of water they use.
Japanese have their own set of mind. Peak hour brawls is common to them and unfortunately, not many people are not aware the fact that it is not common to visitors. When you point it out to them, they simply look at you with confused eyes. It always happens to me when I go back to Japan.
Anyway, where is OP?
mkjr
Aug 2, 12, 9:26 am
My English is not good enough to dig into some delicacy. All what I can say is that some Japanese are very proud of the quality of water and believe that is one of the most important things to produce superb spirits/sake/ whiskey, etc. I assume that they simply tried to introduce to visitor/s the quality of water they use.
Japanese have their own set of mind. Peak hour brawls is common to them and unfortunately, not many people are not aware the fact that it is not common to visitors. When you point it out to them, they simply look at you with confused eyes. It always happens to me when I go back to Japan.
Anyway, where is OP?
agree..OP...we need more updates...i would have posted some photos of the sakura train but i did not take any since i was tired but they were amazing 2:2 seats and nice wood panels...
in fact, as a result of my visit to the distillery, i now drink certain, especially in this summer heat, some whiskey with soda water...found it odd at first but LOVE it.
sushiinSYD
Aug 4, 12, 7:30 am
mkjr[/B];19046823]agree..OP...we need more updates...i would have posted some photos of the sakura train but i did not take any since i was tired but they were amazing 2:2 seats and nice wood panels...
in fact, as a result of my visit to the distillery, i now drink certain, especially in this summer heat, some whiskey with soda water...found it odd at first but LOVE it.
You should report your own TR about sakura, mkjr. Truly, it is a amazing train introduced to Kyushu. OP, please come back !!!!
OT, how do you compare the whiskey and soda water with drink very popular one in Germany, or at least in FRA, called "Shanty"? Just in case, it is a mixture of beer and (particularly Fanta Orage)!!.