Japan Cruise: Kanazawa, Otaru, Aomori, Hakodate, and Bosun, South Korea

 

Our second week of the Japan headed up the western coast of Japan into the Sea of Japan and included a stop in South Korea. Here are the highlights:

 

Japan Cruise: Omaezaki, Kobe, Kochi, and Fukuoka (Hakata)

 

Our first week on the Japan cruise, we visited Omaezaki, Kobe, Kochi, and Fukuoka (Hakata) as we sailed south from Yokohama. Here are the highlights:

 

One big lesson I learned on this trip was that we overbooked excursions. I was unsure about how easy it would be to navigate from the ports. It turned out most ports had a shuttle to the downtown area or public transit.  I underestimated how comfortable we could be at navigating in Japan.

 

Japan Series: Toyko, Osaka, and a baseball game in Yokohama

 

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Our first week in Japan was great. We spent 4 nights in Tokyo, 3 nights in Osaka, and one night in Yokohama: 

Japan Series: Tips for Japan

 

Are you heading to Japan?

Here’s some things I wished I’d known before my April 2023 trip:

 

 

 

 

Japan Series: The United Polaris Business Class flight review and tips for long flights

 For our flight to Japan, we booked a United Polaris Business Class ticket from Tampa, Florida through Chicago O'Hare airport to Haneda airport near Tokyo, Japan. Polaris is United's newest version of International Business Class. 

Here's a review of my experience: 

The O'Hare Polaris Lounge is a great reprieve in the airport. It offers a small buffet, bar, showers, and a sit down restaurant. I recommend leaving at least an hour to eat in the sit down restaurant as there can be a wait. Overall, I think it's a great lounge and a nice perk for flying Polaris. 

It was so nice to arrive in Japan slightly refreshed and not in a total Zombie haze from being awake all night.  

A few other things I find helpful for long international flights: