Japan – day 0, fly Emirates, fly!

As you already know, we took a trip to Japan with one of the world’s top airlines – Fly Emirates. The trip itself was very long (with a transfer in Dubai), plus the time change made the trip take two days.

Fortunately, both the transfer in Dubai and the flights themselves passed very smoothly and pleasantly.

Warsaw-Dubai flight (WAW-DXB)

At the very beginning of our long journey, we encountered an unpleasant surprise – a late train to Warsaw…. Fact, on this route it often happens, but does it have to acurate as we rush to catch a plane? As ever, the smiling and apologetic Mr. Conductor was able to ease the tension on the train. Fortunately, we arrived at Chopin Airport fairly on time. The whole check-in went very smoothly and we took our seats on time on the plane, which, to put it mildly, disappointed us…. disappointed.

Old model aircraft, poor entertainment system (on small and weak monitors). But nothing, because for about 40-50 minutes after the launch anyway, you couldn’t select channels. We finally asked the flight attendant why we still couldn’t watch anything, and the answer completely surprised us. It turned out that the system was not turned on at all for so long and no one noticed it! The selection of movies was very limited, plus the movies flew according to the program and you could not turn on a particular movie and stop it at any time. This is not what we expected from Emirates.

However, they successfully made up for it a bit at meals: at the beginning we were given a menu with two dishes to choose from (as it turned out later, this did not apply to us, as we had already chosen our own special meals before check-in). One of the benefits of special meals on airplane flights is that they come before standard ones! :-) The food itself was quite good. Of course, we were able to order drinks (including alcoholic beverages) throughout the trip. After a 6-hour flight, night came, and we began our approach to landing in Dubai.

Dubai Airport

After passing the makeshift inspection (where we didn’t even have to throw away our drinks), we arrived at the departure hall, where luxury can be smelled a mile away. The best stores, the most exclusive brands, the most expensive alcohol and quite cheap food in the stores – all this awaits those waiting for a transfer in Dubai. If someone has change with them they can buy a Cognac for 11k or a cell phone for 40k, covered in diamonds of course ;)

Although we would never have expected it, this airport was the place where we got the most cold during the entire trip. Seriously! Bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets, we lay down on comfortable recliners and waited about 2 hours for our next flight.

Dubai-Tokyo Narita flight (DXB-NRT)

The flight was on a Boeing aircraft and lasted 9.5h (!). It wasn’t until this flight that we understood why Emirates is one of the best airlines, and we weren’t flying first class at all. Comfortable seats, socks, hygiene kits for everyone, great in-flight entertainment system (large selection of movies, TV series, music), delicious food, great service – what more could you want :-)

The vast majority of passengers were Japanese, who as soon as they took their seats fell asleep with their heads firmly down. As it turned out later, it is typical of the Japanese to fall asleep wherever they can. The lines were prepared to meet the needs of passengers and green tea, Japanese cuisine was served and instant noodles could be ordered at any time. The flight passed peacefully and quite quickly for a nearly 10-hour trip. We landed at Tokyo Narita Airport.

Getting to downtown Tokyo from Tokyo Narita Airport

The cheapest option to get to downtown Tokyo was to buy single train/metro tickets. You can also pick up a JR Pass (Japan Rail Pass), or season tickets for all kinds of trains, at the airport, but we’ll write about that in another post….

After just a few minutes, it dawned on us that we wouldn’t understand much from the Japanese stamps, but fortunately there are also signs in English at all stations, and the staff is very helpful. From the very beginning, we were also struck by the huge number of vending machines at every turn.

Tired, we reached the train, which took us to the center, from where we changed to the subway straight to the hotel. A quick check-in and we went out into the city to get a feel for Japan, while buying something to eat.

Our first steps were to the store where we could eat (since it was already late the choice was the 24-hour 7 Eleven, our kind of Polish Żabka). Unfortunately, intimidated, we couldn’t really even guess what was offered in this store, but somehow managed to buy snacks and drink. After a short walk through the empty streets, we returned to the hotel.

The hotel, although not a “capsule,” was really small. No closet, only a table for the TV. By design, the hotel was to serve us only for the night- spending the day there was a waste of time when there were so many things to see outside. The bathroom, of course, with the typical washlet, or loo, with a thousand strange functions that we discovered with each passing day.

We can safely recommend the hotel to you. It is, admittedly, located slightly out of the way, but it is only about a 15-minute walk to Tokyo’s main station. The hotel is called Villa Fontaine Nihombashi Hakozaki.

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Read also:
– A summary of our eastern vacation, or practical tips on how to visit Japan!