malkie

I'm planning a holiday in China and Japan next spring. Currently have J tickets booked LHR-PEK then NRT-LHR with BA.

Need to book PEK to Toyko, but would appreciate suggestions of whether its better to fly into NRT or HND ? (Both offer multiple carriers about the same price with roughly the same schedule). Date of flight would be 1st April 2010 (apparently United fly PEK-NRT and were the cheapest but stop flying there on 27th March 2010 !?!)

Does HND offer an advantage for getting into central Toyko ?

I've no experience with asian carriers, but was leaning towards AirChina. At the moment I'm simply considering Y tickets, but may consider J tickets as it's only essentially double the cost. I have concerns about baggage as the J-ticket BA flight has a generous allowance, and I don't want to get screwed on excess baggage if I book Y from Beijing to Toyko. Any thoughts ?

Secondly, can anyone recommend hotels in Toyko - a quick expedia search suggests that I could be looking at ~£100 a night for accomodation, but that seems rather cheap for central Tokyo. I was expected (or rather prepared) to spend ~£200 a night.

I want to stay somewhere central, but connected to the underground system. I'd prefer somewhere near shopping / eating areas rather than business. We're in our very early 30s, so have no issues walking around.

Any information / suggestions / tips would be widely appreciated!!

edit

Mods - if you feel this thread would be better suited to the dedicated Japan forum then please just move it!

LizzyDragon84

HND is in Tokyo, while NRT will require about an hour's train ride to get to Tokyo.

Braindrain

HND is far closer.

As for hotels, like any major city, TYO runs the gamut of cheap to ridiculously expensive.

Like most people, my 1st choice is usually linked to the hotel chain I gain points at.

Ocn Vw 1K

On balance, this is best discussed in our Travel-Japan forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

malkie

Thanks for the help so far. I did appreciate that NRT is outside of Toyko, and that HND is closer, but was unsure if I was missing something obvious. I'd imagine the line at immigration would be shorter at HND given the lack of international flights into that airport.

I also appreciate the 'how long is a piece of string' arguement about hotels in main cities - I'm just genuinely looking for info from anyone who might travel there regularly. I've got books, tripadvisor, expedia etc etc to assist, but I know that there are some well travelled people using these forums!

I'm not tied to any particular hotel chain, but seeing as it's a holiday I'm happy to stay wherever gives me the most enjoyable stay. We don't plan on staying on the hotel too much, however I would like to stay somewhere towards the upper end of the market to make the holiday special. Saying that, location is more important than quality of hotel, and as soon as I understand where I want to stay then I'll know where to start!

jib71

HND is closer to central Tokyo, as others have pointed out. And, yes, with fewer flights at HND, you're competing with fewer people for immigration counters (but fewer immigration counters). Those immigration lines move rather slowly when there are lots of non-G7 passports in the line, so Business Class can save you a little time there ... etc.

However, don't be too put off by the horror stories about how inconvenient NRT is. If you are headed to the North of central Tokyo (points between 11 and 3 on a clock face), then NRT can be as good as HND.

So ... My advice is to make your hotel selection first. Then choose your flight.

Alternatively, cut the Gordian knot and fly to KIX instead. Start your trip with some time in Kyoto and then take a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo. That would make sense if you have, say, a week in Japan.

About Hotel choices - If you're after a fairly small but clean room in a newish, low-frills hotel, you have plenty of choice in the range of £70 to £100. There are numerous threads on this board about the merits of various hotels. You might want to think about what activities you want to do in Tokyo and then ask about hotels in that neighbourhood.

EDIT - I see you want a more upmarket hotel. In that case, I'd take a look at ikyu.com and see what kind of offers there are at the somewhat higher points on the price scale.

malkie

Thanks again. Looks like more research on my part before I can make a sensible decision. I'm seeing that a number of hotels offer buses to their hotels from the airport, which seems like a sensible idea (even if takes longer than using public transport).

I'm leaning towards staying in / near Ginza, which is sort-of south'ish (by my poor geography), hence HND is the closer airport.

However, I'm tied to flying out of NRT back to London.

I'm flying out to PEK on 24th March, and back from NRT on 5th April. I'm yet to book the flight to Japan, so can go on any day, and stay in any area.

My only concern is (a) lugging luggage around Toyko, so keep that to a minimum would be great, and (b) getting to NRT for an 11am flight back to London.

I'm pretty 'organised' and like to have everything in place with extra time in case anything goes wrong.

LizzyDragon84

Getting to NRT in the morning should not be a problem. The trains in the country are very efficent and usually run on time, so give yourself an hour and a half to get there and you'll be fine. The only challenge is if you go during the morning rush hour, the trains can get crowded.

jib71

If you're looking at rooms around 100 pounds and up then I'd suggest
Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza

If you're looking around the 200 quid per night range, I'd suggest you look at some rooms at :
The Park Hotel in Shiodome
Royal Park Hotel in Shiodome
Dai-ichi Hotel (Shinbashi)
They're all on the periphery around Ginza, which means bland surroundings (for the first two) and slightly grimey (for the third)

Pricier (and older but worth looking at)
The Imperial - The grand old dame of Tokyo Hotels
Seiyo Ginza

Top drawer (new, snazzy, wow)
The Peninsula
The Conrad
(Conrad is in the same bland area as the Park and Royal Park)

You won't find buses directly to these hotels from HND, but you could take the monorail to Hamamatsucho and get a cab from there. (Also possible to take Keikyu line to Shimbashi then walk or take a taxi).

Heh. I think that flying to KIX on 31/March, spending two days in Kyoto and then going on to Tokyo would be fun.... but just Tokyo is also fun.

If you're really nervous and really concerned with ease, I would suggest that you look at the hotels at a hotel right next to Tokyo station, such as The Marunouchi Hotel, and Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi
(And the deluxe hotels - The Shangri-La, The Four Seasons Marunouchi)
For those hotels, you'd be better off flying into NRT and taking the N'EX to Tokyo station. You have a reliable, regular train service to the airport there.

(Also easy to get there from Kyoto if you follow my advice and fly to KIX ....)

mjm

My 2 pence say that Kyoto for a couple days, shinkansen to Tokyo after that for most of the balance of the time and then a late evening train to NRT on 4 April sounds good if you want to feel most secure about departure etc. I say go to NRT on 4 April because from there you can catch, up until quite late, the various shuttle buses from the airport itself to the various airport hotels which run from 5-10,000 per night. The transport to the hotels is often most easily accomplished doing NRT-hotel-NRT, and getting to NRT via the train can happen until later than buses unless leaving from TCAT (Tokyo City Air Terminal) which is also a possibility and may be easier if you have a lot of luggage.

In any case, I am liking the Kyoto idea from PEK and then the rather Japanese experience of the Shinkansen to Tokyo for more fun there. Overnight at an airport hotel the night before your flight and life gets rather worry free.

Q Shoe Guy

I've stayed there, quite alright and the views were good. Single rooms are small though, but larger than Jib's parlour!

RichardInSF

Contrary to what is said above, given the choice, I would pick HND every time over NRT. I have never had to wait for more than 3 people in front of me at HND immigration and I have had to wait as long as an hour at NRT. That pretty much nullifies any geographic advantage of going to northern Tokyo.

jib71

I've heard one immigration horror story from HND, so it can happen there too. Not to you, clearly. More power to you.

WRT my comment about Northern Tokyo - I would say that there are few places where NRT has a geographic advantage. But there are large parts of Tokyo where NRT / HND choice is pretty much a wash. I know because I lived in one such place.

Consider also that for a first time visitor who is dealing with luggage, convenience may trump time -- which can sometimes mean that NRT is a pretty good choice. (For example, when going to hotels that have direct limousine bus connections from NRT but not from HND or when staying right by Tokyo station etc.)

malkie

Thanks again for the info - please fee free to keep it coming.
We're unlikely to visit Kyoto on this trip, despite a number of friends recommending it. Partially due to attempting to take another major city and travel in a relatively short overall holiday, but largely as Mrs Malkie has business in Kyoto next year.

Many thanks for the hotel recommendations and putting the relative merits of each airport into perspective.

I will indeed decide on a hotel and it's services (ie bus to NRT etc) before booking flights.

Am I correct in thinking I could get a hotel immediately next to a train station with a direct link to NRT ? (ie no changes)

When is 'rush hour' in Toyko ? If I've got an 11am flight, I'd need to be at NRT around 8.30am, meaning I should leave Toyko centrally around 6am ? Does that put me safely before the rush hour ?

Sorry for asking naive questions that I could probably get the answer for from google, but I prefer to trust people from these forums as it's proven invaluable in the past.

MichaelAKL

Hello there.
Recently returned from a holiday in Tokyo. Great city to experience.
Re. airports: HND if you can.
Accommadation: Stayed at Citadines in Shinjuku. Excellent staff. Room very reasonablely priced. The room was not very big. However, it was very functional and clean. Ultimately, the size of your pockets, will decide where you stay. For me, I prefer spending my cash on enjoying Tokyo than lashing out on an expensive hotel room. Have a great time. Cheers, M.