A long journey to Tokyo - Japan at Cherry Blossom 2023 - 1
15+16.03.23 - A long journey to Tokyo
The flights to Japan are included in the package. It's a connecting flight with Emirates via Dubai. In theory, it's possible to book the trip without the flights, but as we arrive in Tokyo and leave from Osaka, it would have been tricky to find direct flights matching the timetable.
The problem with flights being booked by a tour operator is that they are bundled, and you don't get access to your individual booking. So, no way to change my seating during the online checking yesterday 🙁.
The flight is scheduled to leave Frankfurt at 2:30pm. I get up at my usual time, have breakfast, and leave at 8am. This is all very relaxed and leaves enough buffer in case of a traffic jam. The weather is more April than March with a mix of sunshine, cloudy skies, and snow showers. But everything runs smoothly and I arrive on time at the car park in Neu-Isenburg where I'm going to leave my car for the next 3 weeks.
A shuttle takes me to the airport and the check-in counters are already open. I still try to change the middle seat that was assigned to me for the flight from Dubai to Tokyo, but no chance - the flight is almost full.
The flight from Frankfurt to Dubai takes nearly 6 hours and is business as usual. In Dubai, everyone has to go through security again and even though all shops are still open (it's past midnight local time) I go more or less directly to the new gate.
Unfortunately, it's another 2 hours before boarding for the flight to Tokyo starts. That flight is absolute standard as well.
We arrive 20 minutes late, but that's not the most time-consuming part. Immigration is super bureaucratic and takes ages, although I've heard it was even worse in the past.
I'm one of the first at the meeting point, but again it took a while for everyone to show up. The tour is fully booked, and the group is quite large for Djoser - 20 people in total. Half of them are couples; the rest are with a friend or traveling alone.
Finally, everyone is there and now we're taken by bus to the hotel which takes another hour. From touchdown, till I'm in the hotel room 4 hours have passed.
Nevertheless, I want to get a first sneak peek of the area and walk through the nearby pedestrian zone. I grab some sushi and a beer at the Family Mart that is conveniently located in the hotel, sort a bit my stuff for the following days, and then go to bed. By the way: The room is as small as expected.
