Flying Home in ANA’s First Class Suite

Sadly all good things must come to an end. It's now time to leave Japan, but at least I'll be doing it in style as I will be flying in ANA's First Class Suites! So after an early morning wake up, I check out of my hotel and make my way to Tokyo Haneda Airport. Haneda Nihombashi Bridge Haneda is a very cool airport in its own right. While most of my time is spent in terminal 3, there are lots of...

Last Days in Tokyo

Good Morning from Tokyo! Today is my last full day in Japan! While I don't have anything specific planned for today I am keen to get it going. And there's no better way to get it going than to wake up to a view like this! After getting myself ready, I head down to one of the on premise dining options, Cerise, where they serve breakfast. As a Hilton status member, I am entitled to free breakfast...

The Imperial Palace & Checking into the Conrad

The main stop for me today is to visit Tokyo's Imperial Palace and change hotels  for my last two nights in Japan! While visiting the area around the Imperial Palace is easy enough to do, being able to enter the grounds and tour around requires a bit of pre-planning. To my knowledge the only way to explore the Palace grounds "inside" the walls is through a guided tour. In order to attend one of...

Back to Tokyo

I have a late morning Shinkansen departure booked as I am heading back to Tokyo today.  So after a bit of a sleep in and a lazy start to the day, I check out of my hotel and make the short walk to the JR Train station in Hakodate. As I have a bit of time before boarding my train I spend the half hour exploring the station a little. I take some time to browse and pick up an ekiben for the journey...

Hakodate

Hokuto Limited Express Sadly, my time in Sapporo is at an end and I need to make my way south to Hakodate. There are no shinkansen trains on the island of Hokkaido itself so the trip between Sapporo and Hakodate will take roughly four hours on the Hokuto Limited Express. Regardless, I'm fairly excited for this part of the journey. In my research this train trip is supposed to be incredibly...

The Nikka Yoichi Distillery & Otaru

The train to Otaru and Yoichi Today I am taking a day trip from Sapporo to Yoichi. I will be visiting the Nikka Yoichi Distillery. Ever since becoming a fan of Whisky, Japanese Whisky has held a special place for as long as I can remember. On my first visit to Japan one of my fondest memories is visiting the Suntory Yamazaki Whisky Museum. So knowing that I will be in the vicinity of another...