Spymon

Introduction and Planning



Our route

We'd always wanted to go to Japan. For me it was a love of all things bullet trains, anime, food and that famous Japanese street fashion. Ms. Spymon loves nature, food and that sense of spirituality that Japan promises (and is less keen on the trains and me blowing all the spending money on clothes!). Unfortunately a trip like this requires a fairly serious investment for two average working people so we needed some extra funds and a good reason to take such a trip. We had some pretty personal motivations for our adventure and without sharing our life stories we just wanted to turn some negative impacts on our life into positive ones. Ms. Spymon suffered two family bereavements over the last year and a bit, plus the uncertainty of Brexit was threatening our freedom to live the way we wanted to. These were reasons to look forward to our future whilst not forgetting those who were no longer in our lives. And with that we started to plan our epic trip to (elope to) Japan.

Planning, routing and Budgets:

We started the pre-planning for this trip around 9 months ago. Initially the plan was to save up enough Avios for a first or business ticket on BA to Tokyo, but as the mileage balance had been run down by an increased amount of necessary and last minute flights last summer we had only enough Avios for Euro Traveller and where is the fun in that. So instead, I decided to look for cash fares. The next couple of months was spent trawling google flights and a few of the forums/threads on FT looking for that special deal in the hope we could get something affordable and fun as the regular direct fares from London to Tokyo were way beyond our budget in anything other than economy. The cheapest indirect fares we could find with any certainty were with LOT or Air China and having checked the aircraft typically used on Air China for our routes we decided this was not the best option. Then by magic QR had one of their flash sales and our wishes were granted. I spent that evening checking through pretty much every city pair from Europe to Japan and eventually there were two clear winners Helsinki or Nice, in terms of convenience Nice looked like a pretty good option but in the end we decided on Helsinki. HEL ticked all the boxes, easy enough transfer, plenty of flights on BA/Finnair if things went a little bit wrong and we'd never been. At this point the only snag was a rather yucky connection in Doha but this were fixed by flying into Nartia and flying out of Haneda for about Ł50 extra each which reduced our connection down to about 2 hours each way, enough time for a snack, drink and freshen up. It also meant we'd be on the 777-200LR, 787-8 and A350-900 depending on whether or not QR did any aircraft swaps.

My boss approved the time off for the trip due to the circumstances involved and all that was left was to book our tickets to Helsinki. Unfortunately the Ł200 business class returns to HEL or TLL from earlier in 2016/17 had long gone so we would be down the back for Ł100 each after using up a few of our Avios to bring the costs down. With the amount of Avios we'd generate and being only one return to France away from being BA Silver following this trip I had managed to convince Ms. Spymon that this was the best way to get to Japan. So in the end the cash cost was about Ł1200 each and I reckoned we'd get at least Ł300 of value or more from the 20k Avios we'd both generate from the trip. We also saved more cash by using some of our remaining Avios for internal flights rather than paying for a 2 week rail pass so that helped too.

With flights booked we purchased our Lonely Planet Guide to Japan, drew up summaries of all the itineraries and price comparisons of what the tour groups were offering not to mention browsing a few FT trip reports and some Instagram posts. We slowly started drawing up a short list of places we'd like to visit and after much planning, re-planning and setting up our own scoring system we finally worked out a trip that would let us see a lot of what Japan had to offer whilst not being too brutal travel wise. Our final itinerary looked like this:

LHR-HEL - BA Euro Traveller (Economy)
HEL-DOH-NRT - QR Business
Tokyo-Hakone - Train
Hakone-HND-SAP - Train/JAL Economy
SAP-FUK - JAL Economy
FUK-Hiroshima - Train
Hiroshima-Kyoto - Train
Kyoto-Kanazawa - Train
Kanazawa-Tokyo - Train
HND-DOH-HEL - QR Business
HEL-LHR - BA Euro Traveller (Economy)

We then spent time booking our hotels and planning any special dinners/lunches and we ended with an average cash cost per night of around Ł120 which is a little more than we'd normally spend but certainly not crazy money (which in Japan is very easy). So I think now is a good place to start this TR proper. We begin at lunchtime on our little big day with S&S our two friends, secret keepers, witnesses and wedding photographers (yes they were one and the same). Most of the content for this has been drafted and about half the photos checked over so whilst I can't promise when this one will be finished or how many parts it will be in I can promise I will see you through to the end.

Part 1: Heading to London - but first food!
Part 2: 24 hours in HEL (sorry, couldn't help myself!) Part 1
Part 3: 24 hours in HEL (Still with the HEL jokes) Part 2
Part 4: Flying the "World's Best Business Class" to Japan
Part 5: 36 hours in Tokyo: Fortune Favours the Fortunate
Part 6: A day in Hakone: Hot tubs, Mount Fuji and a feast
Part 7: Sapporo: Dinner, Beer and Diarrhoea :-( Part 1
Part 8: Sapporo: Dinner, Beer and Diarrhoea :-( Part 2
Part 9: Fukuoka: Part 1 - Sunset & Yakitori
Part 10: Fukuoka Part 2: Light, Water and Music
Part 11: A Day of Reflection in Hiroshima
Part 12: Living the Suite Life in Kyoto
Part 13: Castles and Kappo in Kyoto
Part 14: Tempura and Torii Gates - Saying Farewell to Kyoto
Part 15: Kanazawa Day 1: Feeling All Kinds of Zen
Part 16: A Bus Trip to the Villages of the Hida Mountains
Part 17: Shrines, Soba, Shopping, Skyscrapers - We're back in Tokyo!
Part 18: On Tokyo Time
Part 19: Last Day in Tokyo
Part 20: The 36 Hour Trip Home
Part 21: Final Thoughts

Suzzin

Spymon

After some romantic looks out to sea and a few more shots we'd had enough and called our ride back to town as it was time for lunch (and for S to sneak in an afternoon nap).



Whilst the night before was all about old memories, lunch was all about making new ones. We headed to our favourite lunch spot for 3 courses of exquisitely spiced cuisine from India via Britain. Stuffed and unable to move we summoned some energy for the bill… somehow they had charged us for 8 people, which soon became 7 and finally after much laughter 4!



















With everyone fed and happy it was time for one last photo shoot with S&S in fine form.



We returned home to finish off packing and send S number 1 back home. We'd all had a wonderful day so far.

Heading out to the bright lights of London it was time to say farewell to S number 2, leaving her with the bouquet in hand (wedding number 4 please! - yes for undisclosed reasons this report was going to be called 3 weddings and 2 funerals but it wasn't really in good taste) to head north and us to the wild west of London's Heathrow Airport! Initially I wanted some place fancy in town but after I had over spent on the Japan hotels we made do for a much more sensibly priced airport option. Having missed the rush hour and the football crowds the only crowd we got were a gang of people who had unfortunately not been shown how to use a London bus. In through the front door, show your ticket or tap your card and out the back, not so hard. Sadly, these poor ladies and gentlemen bundled on through the back door and up the stairs. The driver had thankfully spotted their faux pas and called them back down again so they all politely got off the bus and charged through the front door without showing the tickets in their hands and sped back upstairs again much to everyone's frustration.

Still our short trip from Hounslow West to the Renaissance (now not a dump!) had time for more drama as a man arose from his spot to berate the adjacent bus driver for not letting him on at the previous stop. Fun times! We had a one minute walk from Mondial Way to our hotel and as a valued gold member we'd been upgraded to an executive room. The main difference being the higher floor and closer proximity to the executive lounge that my gold membership included (at least till till August).

Hotel: The Renaissance LHR
Status: Marriott Gold
Room: Executive Runway Room









We still had time to sneak in a happy hour beer, wine and slice of Black Forest gateaux and watch the planes fly off to destinations far and wide in the fading light. I also had time to leave my suit jacket in the lounge…



And with that it was time to call it a day, a night, the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

Mordac

As someone who eloped last year, I can't recommend it enough, and my wife agrees (although we did it in the US). Have a great time, this sounds like amazing fun. I am disappointed you didn't manage to squeeze an S7 segment in there, though, just for bragging rights. Ah, well, maybe on the return.

deuce1

Looking forward to this one!

roadwarrier

Great start! looking forward to the rest.

fotographer

nice , hoping to see more

Spymon

More coming soon...

Thanks, roadwarrier

Thanks, hopefully you enjoy the rest. Will try and get 2-3 parts up over the weekend.

It was definitely a good idea and thankfully the people that matter to us most have accepted and hopefully understood our decision. I think this TR would have had a very different tone if they had not!

Thanks, I'm looking forward to sharing our fun.

Spymon

The day began with breakfast in the lounge. We enjoyed some fruit, pastries, coffee and juice as well as some plane spotting. The lounge was lovely and quiet and only half full.











We checked out around 9:15 and I have to say every member of hotel staff was polite, friendly and welcoming from beginning to end. They had set the bar for this trip nicely.

We jumped on the bus and two stops later we arrived at Heathrow Central. It was then a short walk to T3 along the travellators and we were quickly checked in as there was no queue whatsoever. Security was the same, a minimal wait and straight through. We also realised it was our first time at T3 not using fast track which carefully skips the bulk of duty free shops.





After a quick browse we headed to the lounge.

Whilst not as friendly or spacious as the Cathay lounge we have become used to we were happy to spend an hour or so relaxing over coffees and a second breakfast which also doubled as a lunch. The lounge itself was nicely decorated though the tables all felt a little too close together so I'd have not wanted to be there when it was full. In addition quite a lot of the tables did not have power outlets.





I believe there may have been complimentary beer and wine but at 10am it was too early for anything other than champagne which was anything but free at around Ł8 per glass. There were also cocktails available forŁ4.99 but we did not feel the need to partake. The food spread consisted of all your breakfast favourites: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, beans as well as pastries and bread rolls. There were also fresh fruits, yogurts and cereals as well as two bean to cup coffee machines.







Shortly before leaving for the gate I made myself a reasonably tasty breakfast roll filled with egg, bacon and sausages, topped off with brown sauce. It hit the spot and kept me filled up till dinner time.



Before long it was time to head to gate 11, just a short walk away. About 5 mins after sitting down boarding was called with groups 1-3 done in no time followed by group 4 (which was us!)

Flight: BA794 London to Helsinki
Depart LHR: 11:25
Arrive HEL: 16:20
Seats: 14E and 14F
Aircraft: A320-200 G-EUYR - First Flight 2013





We were warmly welcomed aboard our British Airways flight to Helsinki. Today we were on an A320 which felt about 2/3rds full. There were 9 rows of Club on the flight with a fair bit of that taken. The plane felt new and was relatively clean. Ms. Spymon and I did not have a seat mate in our threesome.



















We left on time and were soon up in the air on a pleasant sunny London day with just a few clouds. There was a buy on board run which a few people in front of us took part in followed later by a duty free run. I spent the flight working on this TR whilst Ms. Spymon panicked me into thinking I'd gotten all my dates wrong whilst sending her family a copy of our itinerary.



Before we knew it there was 20 mins to landing and we enjoyed the scenery of lakes and forests on our descent.



We arrived around 15 mins early and shortly After disembarked.





Helsinki airport was busier than we were expecting but we were soon through the crowds, the electronic booths worked their magic! Bags were near enough waiting for us by the time we were through and we headed over to the train station.



Ticket machines were easy to use with a simple "Helsinki" option to choose and cost 5 euro for the 30 minute journey. Trains were spacious but not great for luggage as although the racks were large they were very high above the seats and floor level storage was poor.









We soon exited the station and despite the poor signage made our way to the tram stop. Tickets were easy enough to come by from the machine, or would have been if that machine was working… Ms. Spymon headed across the street and at 2.50 Euro each we were ready to roll. The tram was soon here and other than a nice drunken chap hurling what was most likely insults the trip was uneventful.

Hotel: Radisson Blu Seaside Hotel, Helsinki
Room Type: Standard (I think - feel free to correct me if you know better)
Status: Radisson Rewards Gold

On exiting the tram the hotel was just across the road and could not be missed.





We were warmly welcomed but no mention was made of my gold membership or our special occasion.



On the plus side we had a room on a high floor with plenty of space if not the greatest layout. The room featured a long, narrow corridor which led straight to the bed. Around the corner and to the right was a spacious living area with a separate bathroom and toilet. The room looked great but as always with the limited selection of Radisson properties we've stayed in things were just not quite right, little things like space for 2 suitcases, the distance from the sink to the taps and an odd pillar in the middle of the room.



















After settling in to our room and having a short rest we enjoyed a beautiful summer evening walk around Helsinki city centre passing two of the large cathedrals and walking along the seafront and back along the esplanade. We really enjoyed ourselves and the weather was perfect for strolling.









We then returned to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner.

We didn’t really plan our stay in Helsinki and chose Muru as it looked reliable and had decent reviews. According to their website they offered one option of 4 course for 52 euro each. Yes, a little pricey but not crazy, especially as lots of the cheaper spots were closed due to the bank holiday. We were soon seated at the back of the restaurant and the staff were happy to speak to us in English. Service was warm with a degree of bluntness throughout. On arrival it also turned out they had an a la carte menu (offered but not shown or priced) as well as wines by the glass (not priced) and a wine pairing not offered or priced.

We decided on the four courses, arctic char starter, reindeer main, cheese course and the dessert was yogurt ice cream with rhubarb. We enjoyed a glass each of some red wine with our meal. The food was all beautifully cooked and presented but the price to quantity ratio was poor. The food was cooked in a modern French style and we knew in Paris or London the same thing would have been significantly cheaper. There were no extras like amuse bouche, palate cleansers, chocolates etc. The portions were also a touch on the small side, would have loved an extra cracker, slice of cheese or just a bigger piece of reindeer.

Anyway, if it were a third cheaper it would have been a great meal, but it wasn’t. We walked back to our room as the sun began to finally set. It had been a long day with an even longer one to follow.

AhogZ

Great read, thanks and waiting for more !

Spymon

The two hour time difference made getting up a real hardship, but somehow we managed it. The breakfast spread was pretty decent, not in an OTT champagne way but it consisted of a solid mix of local and international options, two kinds of filter coffee, juice on tap via an iPad plus all the usual fruit, carbs and cooked options. We definitely ate well that morning.





















We checked out shortly after breakfast and left our bags at the hotel. As it was a gloriously sunny morning we strolled through the beautiful Histaniemi cemetery until we arrived at a small beach where people were enjoying their free time playing volleyball and basketball. We then decided to walk towards the famous Rock Church. On our way over we were walked past a church with the most mournful funeral bells ringing out loud in the empty surrounds. It was important to remember that the joy of this adventure was also a memory of those lost too soon. It would have been Ms. Spymon's mum's birthday that day and we were also mourning her late godfather whose generosity helped fund this trip.












We stood in silence for sometime taking it all in before continuing to the stunning Rock Church. Whilst initial impressions of the building make it feel like a small and simplistic Bond villains hideout, watching the play of light and shadows bring out all the different colours in the walls and ceiling was a sight to behold. Unfortunately our visit was initially spoilt by two tour groups in full on selfie mode. Whilst we may not all share the same or any religious beliefs there's nothing wrong with trying to show a little respect for those that may when taking a few photos of a beautiful religious place. Hopefully we did not offend anyone with our photo taking during our trip.

















We hung around the church enjoying the atmosphere once the groups had left and we were even treated to some live music. There was just time for a short walk around the perimeter for some selfies with a cherry blossom tree before we had to be on our way. We then walked back to the main town centre area and its fancy shops for a walk to the Old Market Hall by the harbour front to view, but sadly not eat the culinary delights on display. It reminded us a lot of Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse but in a smaller and nicer building.















We walked back to the hotel to get our things for our journey to HEL.

Spymon

Thanks AhogZ, posted another part just for you. Hope you stick with me till the end!

Spymon

We checked in on time and probably got some looks whilst we held up the queue. The agent processing Business Class check in got caught up with his passenger whilst the lady running the Economy queue called us over. When her colleague had finished she then got him to print our BPs on the right paper and ensure we had all the correct bits of info before anyone else was processed. We were told we could use the Finnair Lounge or Plaza Premium Lounge. We trundled off through a very fast, friendly and ever so chilled out premium security line before swimming upstream through the terminal to what we thought would be our lounge for the night… However, we forgot that Finnair have a second lounge on the non-Schengen side. We were nicely asked to try the other lounge and so we did. It was across the way from our bus gate and in the end we never found the Plaza Premium.





I really enjoyed the Finnair lounge. The service, food, design and ambience made for a great late lunch, even more so once the crowds died down around 5 o'clock. I particularly loved the Marimekko tableware and napkins. The food was also decent, maybe not the burger but that was Ms. Spymon's fault not mine! Before we knew it we were heading for the gate and our first ever flight on QR Business Class.

















Flight: QR302 Helsinki to Doha
Depart HEL: 18:10
Arrive DOH: 23:59
Seats: 1F and 2F (after some switching)
Aircraft: A7-BCM Boeing 787-8 First Flight 2014

We sailed through the priority lane only to find ourselves on the bus with everyone else… Nevermind, whilst everything had exceeded expectations so far other than some slightly misleading lounge directions this was nothing special. At least there was one advantage of the bus gate and that was some great pics of what would be my first flight on a 787-8 Dreamliner.









Once on board things quickly improved. The excellent Dennis looked after me the whole flight. I never had an empty glass (in this case mostly water - I learned my lesson once when overdoing the champagne so kept it sensible!)







Seeing as we were sat in 2k and 3k and row 1 was open, Dennis encouraged us forward so we could sit together at the front. Not passing up a chance at row 1 I duly took him up on his offer. Once settled in we got some refreshing cold towels and a glass of champagne each (one white, one rose to match our rings ��!) We settled into our spacious seats and I knew right away this would be a great flight. Menus were handed out and we were asked when we wanted to eat and our meal choices. Not being hugely hungry I chose a main and asked to eat towards the end of the flight to try and make it a late dinner to adjust to the upcoming time zone change. Ms. Spymon confirmed her gluten free meal had been loaded.









































We were soon up in the air and Dennis had sprung into action. I was pretty easy mostly filling up with nuts and water whilst watching movies. I enjoyed The Square but found Downsizing to be much better. We had wanted to watch both films at the cinema but had somehow not managed to see them. The IFE screen was of a decent quality, the Qatar branded noise cancelling headphones did their job.











After being done with movies it was now time for my second favourite pastime, eating. I had chosen the beef which I had with a glass of Bordeaux. Whilst the vegetables were beautifully cooked and seasoned the meat was what many would call a BA bulletproof beef special. That was one tough plate of meat! With the chocolate dessert being out I had the berries. Shockingly enough they were delicious with a glass of sweet sherry. On the other hand Ms. Spymon's gluten free meal was not a success…

















We soon came into land after I'd made time for a coffee and we enjoyed seeing the bright lights and tall towers of Doha as we approached Hamad International.



We arrived early and got a lovely farewell from Dennis before we left. They apparently even held back economy so I could use the bathroom before disembarking.

Overall some really great moments on our first QR flight and I can definitely see what the hype is about and their whole idea of first in business. However, for those that say it matches or beats BA F, you must have been very unlucky with your BA flights and super lucky on QR, as clearly from my limited sample BA first was on a higher level.

Arriving early and being amongst the first off meant for an easy run through transit security. Unfortunately this is where I made a small error. We arrived at one of the D gates and looking around for signs for the lounges we continued onward. Unknowingly the Al Mourjan Lounge was a good 15 minute walk away and at just after midnight it felt a lot longer than that. What we didn’t realise until afterwards is that there is a transit train that would have made this a lot easier… oh well, I least I got to have my photo taken with that giant Pinocchio type thing.





Eventually we arrived at the lounge and despite what some reviews have stated it is a spectacular space. Although it was busy we were able to find a table upstairs in the dining room for a quick snack. There was waiter service for drinks and whilst Ms. Spymon stuck to the soft stuff I couldn’t resist an ice cold mojito. We both attacked the cakes and petits fours with abandon, it did not end well as I piled my plate high like a man possessed. It was not my fault they all looked so good.













After a few more drinks of coffee, fruit juice and water to keep hydrated and ready for our flight to Narita it was time to leave the lounge and head for the gate. In all it would have been a great place to stop off for another hour if we had been less tired and less full. I was already looking forward to our return in a few weeks.

Flight: QR806 Doha to Tokyo
Depart DOH: 02:20
Arrive NRT: 18:40
Seats: 2A and 2B
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER (Reg Unknown)

We boarded on time and were one of the first on the aircraft as we'd camped out next to the gate in the priority seats.





I have to say my first impressions of the 777 did not match those of the Dreamliner. Our mostly female and Japanese crew welcomed us warmly aboard but the ambience of the cabin was not the same. The cabin felt dark and small and the seats less private. At the same time, despite being sat next to each other there were still quite a few obstacles between our seats so they were not exactly honeymoon seats either.

The other issue was a lack of storage space compared to the 787. The bedding, headphones and amenity kit (Armani vs Brics, we both preferred the design of the Brics kits) took up pretty much all the space leaving very little room for important things like my iPad and camera for trip reporting. There was also nowhere good to store clothes.














Menus were distributed and our plan was to sleep straight away after takeoff, have breakfast half way through the flight and finish up with dinner. This was the opposite of what the intended service routine was and we could seem the crew looked a little puzzled. But seriously why would we want breakfast at 4PM Japan time and dinner in the middle of the night Qatar time or breakfast time in Japan?

Welcome drinks came round and I'm pretty sure we both stuck to fruit juice again… some honeymoon, but we really weren't in the mood for anything stronger. It was at this point the flight started going downhill much in the same way we knew the previous flight was going to be awesome. It started with a 20 odd minute delay on the ground waiting for a takeoff slot and continued up in the air. I went straight to the bathroom to change once the seat belt signs went off in anticipation of quickly going to sleep. I'd pajamaed up, slippered away and brushed my teeth in anticipation. Ms. Spymon had a similar idea in mind but to make up for her gluten free meal she decided to order a tasty looking sushi plate as a midnight snack.

























No sooner had the crew sprang into action then we hit turbulence and continued to hit it for the bulk of the flight. I tried to sleep but with the continually bumpy ride I quickly gave up and made a start on Black Panther. An hour into the flight, turbulence or otherwise I was determined to sleep. At least I was no longer in danger of being given a wake up shower from my glass of water.

I managed a couple of hours shut eye before waking up for breakfast. I'd chosen the continental option, Ms. Spymon the omelette, both were good. I finished up Black Panther and then tried to sleep for a few more hours. Again the regular bouts of turbulence didn’t help.





Not feeling like another movie with 2 hours to go I changed out of my pajamas and got ready for dinner. We had both gone for the chicken main whilst I'd chosen Arabic mezze to start Ms. Spymon went for a gluten free option by removing the coating from the chicken. Whilst she went for cheese and ice cream, I finished off with a hazelnut tarte. I washed mine down with a pineapple punch and a glass of champagne and finished the meal with a coffee. In all the food was excellent, with one major failing, the chicken was way over cooked. Everything else, particularly the dessert and vegetables were excellent and certainly felt a step up from your typically high end microwave meal. (I forgot to upload the menus - but seeing as I stole them I will add them in due course!)





















We landed around 20 mins late into Narita and were glad to be on solid ground. Next up Japan!

Hezu

For future reference, the ticket, which you buy for the train at HEL, will allow you to travel not only local trains, but also on trams, busses, metro and Suomenlinna ferry with unlimited changes within the 80 minutes. So, I have to tell you that tram ticket purchase was unnecessary. Also you can save few eurocents on Helsinki region's public transport tickets if you buy them using the HSL mobile application.

offerendum

Looks like a very nice trip^