I never do more than cat-nap a bit westbound. After arrival in late afternoon, I try to schedule light activities to stay awake until a normal bedtime, even though I am tired earlier. If you give in to the urge to go right to bed, you tend to wake up at 4:00 am, ready to go. Unlike my friend LapLap , I have no desire to get out before dawn and go to the smelly fish market again so a later bedtime means a later wake-up at a more normal time on my first day in Japan.

Eastbound, on the way home, a little sleep can help ease the shock of arriving home in the morning after a 20 hour day.

JR