I was looking around the United website, and they have weekly short-term-departure e-fares to various places. Well, the only one they have for Hartford is to Tokyo so I wasn’t interested at first. But what shocked me was that it was only $515 per ticket including all taxes and fees. Downside is that the only remaining dates are a Tuesday to a Tuesday, in late April to early May, which is kind of a short trip given the length of the flights.
But that seems like a very good price for the east coast to Asia, so I’m tempted. And it’s only a two leg flight, non-stop from Chicago.
So if you were in this situation, would you go? Any other considerations I should think of? Is SARS in Japan?
I wouldn’t only because of the time zone issue. There’d barely be time to get over jet lag before turning around and getting all jet-lagged again. If it was for a longer period of time, I’d give it serious consideration… not that I’ve ever had any desire to go to Japan.
There’s been one reported case of SARS in Japan – 192 fewer than in the US.
I don’t know if I’d do it, because I like to travel in bulk and one week in Japan would probably be just long enough to be frustrating, but I’d be sorely tempted.
I’d go if I could find a place to stay while I was there for under 500. There’s not a whole lot that I would really want to see in Japan, but to go that cheap even for just a few days to me would be worth it.
I am sure there are some youth hostels or whatever where you can stay cheaply…and go just for the sheer fun of culture shock! There is nothing quite as exciting as being in a place where you know NOTHING…new food, new language, new customs, new fashion, new everything!
P.S. And if you do it, please write about it here on the board!
Often there are posts like this, and then no one ever follows up on how the trip went…come on, I love to re-live the thrill of travel, even if it is vicariously! (Better yet, find a cyber cafe and post a thread while you are there!)
I’ve been to Japan several times, loved it ewavch and every time.
GO!
You can get hostels for $20 a night,and you can eat your meals in JR stations and at convenience stores, like those yummy rice triangles with the meat and vegetable fillings you can get at Lawson (they’re called o-nigiri.) Japan is an amzingly beautiful place, especially Kyoto and Nara in the Kansai. Get a 7-day JR pass ahead of time because you can’t get them in-country. For around $200, you can get unlimited travel on the shinkansen (aka the bullet train) so you can breakfast in Nagasaki and have lunch in Tokyo.
Do it. Eating can be done really cheaply at convenience stores or little Mom & Pop restaurants, and business hotels are typically about $50 a night. You could also stay at one of the capsule hotels for about $30, or a youth hostel for even less.
Thanks for all the advice. You pretty much sold me.
Now I just hope they run the same special again in a few weeks. Can’t go due to work. Stupid customers visiting stupid site and apparently I have a stupid meeting with them.
I AM doing it. I leave next Monday for ten days. Apparently, those extra three days will make all the difference, but honestly, I don’t see how it could change too much.
Of course, I only sleep about three hours a day, so the whole concept of jetlag doesn’t bother me.
So yeah, if you got the money and the time, I say go for it. I’ve got a friend who lives over there, and there’s no concern over SARS, so if that’s your big hang up, I wouldn’t worry about it.
I’m killing myself because I bought my ticket about a month ago and it was $700. But I’m not ghoulish enough to think that people would not want to travel to Asia because of worries about a disease.
Asia is a big place. And Japan <> China. Besides in Japan, you can walk around with a surgical mask on your face and not look out of place. It’s a germophobic country to begin with.
Your biggest health fear would be getting “economy class syndrome” where you get can get blood clots in your legs which can then migrate to your lungs and …
So buy the ticket and make it a point to get up every couple of hours and walk around the cabin.
I’m going to Japan next month on a baseball excursion (12 parks in 15 days)!
I have only one thing to add. People here are, rightly or wrongly, very concerned about SARS. My boss for one has put all employees who have been out of the country since last week in quarantine for 10 days. Sheesh. Anyway, if your flight stops over in HK, then be prepared for a difficult immigration process. Even if you are flying direct, they will ask you to fill in a yellow card on which you write down any recent illnesses you’ve had. If you do indicate that you’ve had some sort of cold recently, there is a chance that you will spend your whole vacation as an involuntary patient at the local hospital.
Oh yeah, also, make sure you have an address for where you will be staying ready to quote when they ask you.
Can’t go due to work. Stupid customers visiting stupid site and apparently I have a stupid meeting with them.