Flight to Japan

Pin
Send
Share
Send

Day 2: ISTANBUL - KANSAI AIRPORT (OSAKA) - KYOTO

Saturday, December 21, 2013

And so we spent the day of December 20 almost without realizing it, at the Istanbul airport, waiting for our flight to Japan, passing the security checks again, taking off boots for the second time and taking out the laptop, ipad ... etc of the backpacks.
And all this in a transit area of ​​almost ridiculous dimensions, with an impressive volume of people and with a warmth that makes us stay in short sleeves even in the middle of December.
There is nothing like airports and their facilities, sometimes so impractical and so little intended for people who really use them.


Istanbul Airport waiting for the flight to Japan

Our flight to Japan It leaves at 00.50h heading to Kansai International Airport from gate 311 and there we go without wasting much time.


Of course, stopping before in a bar to take a coke and a water, to avoid the possible dehydration by the temperature 😉 for 4.22 euros to the change and that we paid with a ticket of 5 euros, at the time that they return us the change in liras Turkish

For a few seconds we have remembered our trip to Turkey several years ago.
We take advantage of these minutes of "loneliness" to once again take a look at the notes we have of Japan And without being able to avoid it, we mentally review some of the many pending trips that we have in mind, which make our imagination fly for a few minutes that pass without realizing it.
The flight to Japan leaves at the scheduled time and when we really realize that we still have 11 hours left to reach the Kansai International Airport, we become aware and relax to spend those hours in the best possible way ... that is not a little!


Flight to Japan

The Turkish plane that will take us to Japan It is much more comfortable than the previous one that brought us from Barcelona to Istanbul and although the first 4 hours are a little slow, I can not lie and I have to say that the rest I spend sleeping like a lil and I wake up just when they are putting the food on December 21 ... and it is 17.30h in Japan.


Sunset on the flight to Japan

Roger the truth is that he cannot say the same, since he has spent almost 11 hours of flight to Japan Watching movies and series. When he arrives in Kyoto, he will destroy the bed!
There is only one hour left to arrive and I have slept almost all the way ... it is the first time that happens to me ...
When I wake up it is dawn and we begin to enter the area of ​​Korea. Although we have to say that such long journeys we dislike for some of the things that entail, flying, knowing that with this begins a new trip, looking out the window and seeing the world down there, makes us feel alive. This is something we always remember when we are back up there looking out the window of an airplane ...
We are looking forward to Japan and we have a few minutes left to do it. Now we have started having those butterflies in the stomach that remind us that we are about to start a trip that promises a lot: Christmas in Japan.
As we descend, we think that Japan It's light ... it's amazing.
For many trips, as we approach a destination with the plane, we can not avoid associating that place with any adjective, usually with colors, in Sri Lanka it was green, Marrakech the pink ... and here, in Japan, although it has not been a color, it has been something similar: light.
We can't think otherwise while we land, Japan It has been presented to us as "a light" for us.
And finally, after a good handful of hours, we are here and our Christmas in Japan.
We arrived at 18.45h and the first thing we do is go through immigration control, where in less than 3 minutes they have taken our prints, made the photo and we have passed through the “quarantine” area, where we control the temperature for 1 minutes to reach the baggage claim area, which in less than 5 minutes were already on the belt.
We have talked a lot about Japanese effectiveness and the truth is that so far, we can not say anything against it, vice versa.
With the bags already in hand and before leaving, we have to go through another control, where after asking if we go together, they tell me that I have to open the suitcase and they check it and Roger let it pass without further ado.
At this point we already intuit again the kindness and “know how to be” that awaits us in Japan.
At all times the girl who checks my suitcase is talking to me, explaining what she does and with extreme delicacy, she is checking everything inside.
At the moment it ends, a policeman approaches, who helps me close it and lower it from the table.
Since when did I not see this at an airport? Mmm ... I think I've never seen it !!
After these minutes of "delay" in our departure to "Japan really ”, we find a room where, at first glance, we see all the services, which previously, consulting several forums, we thought they would be closed or that they did not exist.
We have two exchange agencies in front of us, which close at 11 p.m., when on the airport website and in various forums we had read that they closed at 6 p.m.
But all this has remained in borage water, since as we have commented, just at the exit, we have already found 2 agencies.
As soon as we get in the queue of the first one we see, a man approaches us, informs us of the current change, which is at 1 euro = 138.6 yen and helps us fill out the form that we have to deliver after the 3 minutes it takes in stop queuing ... This is Japan in pure state. 😉

Currently and after many trips to the back we recommend, if you do not want to pay commissions when taking money from ATMs abroad and always have the current exchange, use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money in the ATMs They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

While we go in search of the station to catch the train from Kansai to Kyoto, we also see a couple of stores where they rent phones, sell SIM cards ... etc.

By the way, we have bought a SIM card for iphone with B-Mobile, since this is the only company that has nano sim for iphone5. The plan is 1GB of data, with no calls included, for a period of 14 days from the day you arrive at the destination you have chosen. You can choose the airport, but the schedule was quite limited, so we asked to be delivered tomorrow at the Kyoto hotel.
The price has been 3980 yen and at the end of the activity period, you can recharge it for 14 more days.

Another option is to choose to buy one Holafly SIM card being in Spain, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Japan much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

That said, we continue with the part that plays now of the day: train from Kansai to Kyoto.
From the arrivals hall, we have to turn left and go up to the first floor 2F where we turn right again and directly we find the JRP office and the machines where we can get the tickets.
As we will activate the JRP for 14 days in a few days, today we have to get the tickets from train from Kansai to Kyoto in the machine, which by the way, is super intuitive and it relaxes us to check it, since we had a rather preconceived idea that the transportation in Japan it was going to cross us.
The ticket machine has a button to select the English language and then you can choose the destination, the number of people, who are drawn on the buttons ... and directly put the yen and go!
For this journey of train from Kansai to Kyoto We have taken reserved seats, for 1830 yen per head.
We go down the escalator to the platforms and see that the Haruka leaves at 8:16 p.m. so we wait with our mouths open for the time to come.


Waiting for the Haruka at the JR station of Kansai Airport

In these moments and contact that we have not even left the Kansai airport, we are like children with everything we are seeing: indications for everything, vending machines for all the drinks we can imagine, everything very clean, silent for many people who have ...


First vending machines at JR Kansai Airport station

In the signs that indicate the next trains, you already put the wagons that go with a reserved seat and those that do not, so before the train arrives, you know in which area of ​​the platform you have to place yourself, according to the ticket you have bought .
The minutes fly by and at the moment the train from Kansai to Kyoto, we see how some boys put up some cleaning posters and in less than 5 minutes they clean the train and at 8:14 p.m. they let us in.
We put our bags and we are on our way to what will be the first destination of our trip: Kyoto for the next 7 nights !!!


Haruka Kyoto Road

20 minutes pass, that we spend with our mouths open looking out the window although it is night and nothing is seen, well we lie, one of the many things that are seen are the lights of the beverage vending machines that we cross each minute!
It seems a lie that we just arrived at Japan and one of the things that have caught our attention have been these little machines!
The reviewer passes by and tells us that we have to pay 940 extra yen because this train is express. The truth is that we have not been very clear the explanation he has given us, but we see that he charges the same to almost the entire car, so we have to pay 1880 yen more ...
Because we are in Japan if not ... we think we have been ripped off 😉
It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to arrive in Kyoto. Successfully passed our first train journey in Japan!!

More practical information to prepare your trip to Kyoto

- 50 things to see and do in Kyoto
- 10 essential places to see in Japan
- The best tips for traveling to Japan
- The best travel insurance for Japan
- 10 essential places to visit in Kyoto
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Kyoto
- Where to eat in Kyoto: Recommended restaurants
- Book here your JRP of 7.14 or 21 days with shipping included
- How to use the Japan Rail Pass

At 9.30pm we arrive at Kyoto Station and just leave ... Japan It invades all our senses.
We realize that recently it has rained to see the wet street and people with the famous transparent umbrellas in their hands.


Kyoto Station

We are like little children with new shoes and we still think it's a lie to be in Japan.
We cannot avoid it and we take out our cell phones to take some photos of the Station area, which reminds us, in case we had forgotten, the time in which we are.
The street lights and the Kyoto Tower in front of us remind us that it is also Christmas in Japan.


Christmas lights in the Kyoto Tower

We have a mobile application that tells us where we are and the points of interest online, so we look at what will be our accommodation in Kyoto, the Citadines Kyoto Karasuma-Gojo and we verify that we are still 1km following the main road, so we keep our cell phones, we lower our heads to avoid the many distractions we have in front of us and not to stumble and get on our way.
The first 5 minutes we go through a street with a lot of atmosphere despite the time it is: restaurants, shops, lots of people walking ... but after another 5 minutes, we take a shortcut, guided by the GPS and we are in the middle of the night with some Traditional little streets with the typical low wooden houses.
At this point we have stopped looking at the ground and we are absorbed with the things we are seeing and that is 10 at night and the truth is that we can see little.
We have just arrived and we are already impressed.
So the 10 minutes on the road fly by and we arrive at the hotel and just approach the door we are amazed. It is fully mimicked with the surroundings, although it is a building. We even find it hard to find the door through which we can access the reception!
We enter and check in in 3 minutes and just go up to the 8th floor ... and open the door of the room ... we hallucinate!
This is what you have to book many months in advance.
We had been told that in Japan The hotel rooms are tiny and the truth is that we have been thinking about that, but in this case, it has nothing to do with it.
The room is huge, a 1.50cm bed, with a mini living room and integrated kitchen.
We have sockets everywhere, controlled lights in each room, a bathroom smaller than the rest, but with all the comforts and accessories.
Free Wifi and more than acceptable speed ...


Mini kitchen in our room at Citadines Karasuma-Gojo Kyoto

Living area in our room at Citadines Karasuma-Gojo Kyoto

Free tea and coffee service. This is like being at home and the best thing is that we can enjoy it 7 nights!
One of the things that attract our attention is that next to the welcome letter, they leave us a mini paper crane ... (which will accompany us throughout our Trip to Japan).
After 10 pm we left the hotel and as we had seen on the map, we have places to choose to have dinner today: from a 7eleven that opens all night to a Mcdonalds in the same corner, passing through a couple of bars / restaurant that have plastic plates in the shop window and machine to get the ticket before you sit down.
We have a fairly wide selection, really. And yes, you can kill us, but for getting out of the fast pace with what time it is… we end up with the famous fast burger menu!
We ordered two large menus for 1300 yen and began to contemplate the Japanese culture. The whole place is full of people, but 95% are alone, at their table with their laptop or cell phone.
And beside us a girl sleeps on the table. But sleep, sleep, no headaches. He has his head on the table, with his arms around. What a little night awaits you 😉
At 11.30 at night we return to Citadines Kyoto Karasuma-Gojo, not without little desire to continue knowing Kyoto, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Today we have to rest and dream with those we intuit will be the best Christmas in Japan.


Kyoto Tower
Day 3
KIOTO TEMPLES

Pin
Send
Share
Send