Day 1 - An epic journey!

The day had arrived. We were travelling to Japan, how hard could it be?

• Getting to Gatwick
• Flight No.1 - Gatwick to Shanghai Pudong International Airport
• Transfer at Shanghai Pudong
• Flight No.2 - Shanghai Pudong to Narita International Airport
• Welcome to Japan, wait at immigration
• Navigating Narita, pocket wifi, Welcome Suica and train to Tokyo
• Express to Tokyo SkyTree
• The end (of the journey) - Check-in
• The beginning (of the holiday) - Asakusa

Getting to Gatwick

The journey began simply enough, an hour’s drive to Gatwick and the early start meant limited traffic on the M25 & M23. And although I drove past the entrance to PurpleParking meet and greet reception (drive past the Sofitel and see photo below for turn-off) we had still made it to the South Terminal in good time. If you’ve flown from Gatwick during school holidays then you know the drill:

DAD HINT - Give yourself at least an additional hour before check-in time to get through security etc. If you don’t you’re not getting a pint at the Red Lion!

Flight No.1 - Gatwick to Shanghai Pudong International Airport

As it happens I still didn’t get a pint at the Red Lion. Check-in with China Eastern Airlines had gone smoothly but security was incredibly busy as expected. I noted at Gatwick there is a paid-for Fast Track security lane. It may be something I consider next time. But it wasn’t the slow-progress of security that denied me one last pint but due to succumbing to the snacking needs of my family. A quick stop at Starbucks (a returning motif of our trip) and getting ripped off for an average coffee and croissant and we were ready to board our first flight.

China Eastern Airlines is a solid enough service. Boarding the plane we quickly found our beige seats. The interior deco could be considered a little plain but everything seemed new and certainly clean. The economy seat legroom and width were standard, but I did notice a feature I hadn’t seen before: a mini-adjustable headrest. I set mine as high as it would go and found it really helped my comfort for the flight.

We took off at 11:35am and arrived in Shanghai at 05:55 am local time. During the 11+ hour flight, we were served two Chinese-style meals, which I enjoyed.I felt the flight could have used a couple of coffee/tea runs but we had drinks with us. The staff were fantastic, friendly but also firm when people needed to be reminded not to lean on the emergency doors or start roaming the aisles immediately after landing. The film and tv choice is relatively limited but there was enough to engage everyone in my family for at least part of the journey.

The one thing we should have done was sleep. Travelling through what was daytime for the UK meant sleeping didn’t seem natural, even with the cabin lights dimmed. With an early start, several hours of screen-time would soon come to bite us.

DAD HINT - Get some sleep in. Take a spare bottle of water just in case.

Transfer at Shanghai Pudong

We arrived in Shanghai in the early morning, right on schedule. The transfer at Shanghai Pudong International Airport was simple enough. Follow the signs and get herded by the staff to the appropriate place. One annoying thing however is that you have to go through security again. Despite that this has already been completed at Gatwick you go through the same procedure, albeit with slightly steerner staff in Shanghai. The upshot of this is if you have any water/drinks bottles on you - they are going in the bin!

So, after security we went to Starbucks to buy new bottles of water (just in case) and outside of rip-off Britain didn’t get charged an arm and a leg. The coffee was good and the chocolate muffins were wonderful. The two-hour transfer time passed surprisingly quickly, and before we knew it, we were back in the air on our second flight.

Flight No.2 - Shanghai Pudong to Narita International Airport

The flight to Japan is three-hours which seems easy in comparison with spending the best part of the day flying to China. But by now, we’d been travelling for over 16 hours and the kids were starting to feel it. Both were told to get some sleep and we’d deal with the jet lag later. Happy to report they did which let me tuck into another meal provided by China Eastern Airline. I didn’t need it but you can’t be overweight unless you overeat so I ensured I finished the lot ready for the next leg of the journey.

Welcome to Japan, wait at immigration

Thanking the great staff of CEAirlines we disembarked to go through three layers of border control. Prepping the family for the facial recognition and fingerprint tracking meant we sailed through that simply enough.

Immigration, however, was another matter. Despite using the Visit Japan Web service and having my QR code ready, I was told I still needed to complete paperwork for the rest of the family. All their details were already logged in the system, but one particularly animated staff member insisted we do the forms anyway.

We complied, only to be met with bemusement by the immigration officer, who looked at our QR code and face seemed to say, “Why did you fill out the forms as well?”

You can probably picture the scene. And yes—it rhymes with flusterduck.

We collected our luggage easily enough and joined a third queue to register for tax-free shopping. This time, the QR code and my passport worked a treat, letting us skip part of the line and finally proceed into Japan.

Navigating Narita, pocket wifi, Welcome Suica and train to Tokyo

I’d been looking forward to Narita Airport. There’s a Pokémon Centre and food galore. But as we walked through the doors, thought Japan greeted me warmly, I realised our journey wasn’t over. Now the sleep deprivation was hitting hard.

Fortunately, my meticulous planning kicked in. I collected our pocket WiFi from Japan Wireless quickly. Then downstairs, I already knew where to find the vending machine for our Welcome Suica cards. Once done, it was time to board the Keisei SkyAccess. Or was it the Keisei Access Express?

Honestly, I still don’t know. All I knew was: get on the orange train—and it would take us in the right direction. 

But here’s the thing: until you’re actually on the train, it’s not entirely clear where a Metro train is going or stopping. Now 24 hours deep into the journey, I was struggling. I turned to my wife and said, “Let’s just step on the next orange train—we’ll work it out from there”. At that point, if I could’ve jumped in a taxi or coach, I would’ve.

However, as soon as we boarded, the TV displays above the doors showed which stations we’d stop at. With huge relief, I realised that instead of going all the way to Asakusa, we could get off a couple of stops earlier—at the Tokyo SkyTree.

DAD HINT – I knew which train to get but didn’t know where it would stop. Do the full research—it’ll save the panic. Now looking back it is the Keisei Access Express train we took to the Tokyo Skytree.

DAD HINT – I needed sleep too. Should’ve got some on either flight.

Express to Tokyo SkyTree

Knowing where we were going and seeing how quickly we were getting there gave us a second wind. Excited to see Japan properly for the first time meant the near hour train ride seemed shorter than that.

Arriving at the Tokyo Skytree, we grabbed our luggage and finally rolled out into Tokyo. By UK standards, it was relatively hot: high 20s, bright sunshine, and humidity. It felt like a British summer day. And it wasn’t just the weather that felt familiar. Having spent quite a bit of time on Google Maps street view, I was already pretty (OK—very) familiar with Sumida. So with the family in tow, we wheeled our luggage ten minutes to our Tokyo home.

The end (of the journey) - Check-in

Walking into Playsis East Tokyo check-in was a welcome sight. Friendly, English speaking staff greeted us and after our passports were scanned and a couple of forms signed we made our way to our room. Entering a pin-code into our door I noted my watch as the kids rushed into the room.

Door to door, we had been travelling for 25 hours. Our family had finally done it.

But now wasn’t the time for sleeping. After a quick refresh, we were ready to explore Japan.

The beginning (of the holiday) - Asakusa

We left the UK on the morning of April 8th and arrived in Japan on the afternoon of April 9th. That’s time travel for you. But we weren’t going to wait for our bodies or minds to work it all out. With one of Tokyo’s main tourist attractions within walking distance it was time to get going.

Walking to our hotel had been hot but in the early evening it had cooled considerably. Grabbing our jackets we set from our base in Sumida we walked to Asakusa, crossing the bridge by the Golden Poo.

By now the family needed feeding and as any parent of tired children will tell you, sometimes the safe bet is the right option and so we deliberately went to the McDonalds in Asakusa. Eating a Samurai Burger was on the to-do list anyway.

Afterwards, I took the family to the Asakusa Tourist Information Centre. Thanks to Abroad in Japan, I knew there was a viewing deck perfect for soaking in the sights.

Walking down through the information centre, there were exhibitions to check out—which were nice—but honestly, they were just delaying tactics. My goal was simple: to view the Kaminari-mon Gate and Sensō-ji Temple lit up at night.

The gate is stunning. But the audible gasps from my family came when we saw the temple itself. With light crowds, visiting in the evening is a top tip—especially for weary travellers.

After wandering around Asakusa, we headed back via Sumida Park for our first taste of sakura season. We saw the cherry blossoms and the Tokyo Skytree lit up. To view Tokyo’s oldest temple and then gaze up at this modern marvel was everything I hoped for.

Already entranced by this brief beginning to our trip, we crossed back via the Sumida River Walk and headed to bed—dreaming of the day to come.

DAD HINT - During our time in Tokyo the temperature drops and wind increases in the evening. Layer up.

YouTube Day 1 Playlist: