One of the slightly negative aspects of living in Japan while your business is moving forward in Finland is purely the feeling of isolation and of missing something that is happening while you are not there. It is purely an ego thing so will revert to an old sombre adage “the graveyard is full of indispensable people” – life goes on and things move forward.
However, it was time to head back for a quick business trip. The choices of getting to Helsinki from Sendai airport are limited so I ended up taking a connecting flight from Sendai to Narita airport Tokyo. It left at 7.30am and was due to land at 8.40am – my flight from Narita was due to leave at 10.40am, so two hours seemed to be plenty.
The first hurdle was getting to Sendai airport so early as I had no idea of the best way and if anything is running that early; so to be safe I asked someone we had met that could speak Japanese to order me a taxi to Sendai airport. The taxi firm explained that it would be over 10,000yen probably 12,000yen (roughly converted to euros at the time of travel this would be anywhere between €90 to €110). This was too rich for my taste so we started to explore what trains were available – there are some running as early as 6.08am from Sendai main train station so I took the taxi there – costing 2,000yen.
To cut a long story short (and probably save you from tears of boredom) the time between landing at Narita and getting from the domestic terminal to terminal 2 needs to be a couple of hours at least as the bus takes 10 to 20 mins depending on how busy it is.
I was on a Japanese Airways flight (JAL) and was really impressed by the plan, size of the seats, leg space, entertainment system and the cabin crew service. All make a huge difference when you are on a plane for 10 hours plus.
It was nice to be in Finland and get stuck into some work but exhausting at the same time – so much to do and catch-up with it felt like a couple of days rather than 10. Of course I missed the family, as although I am use to the business travel from my past job, I haven’t been that far for that long so that was tough. I did get to see our family dog and spend a few days with the in-laws and get to buy some Fazer blue chocolate and rye bread to bring back 😋.
The flight back to Japan was a full one and this time I was right at the back of the plane next to the toilets – never the best place to sit with people leaning on your chair waiting for the toilet or the sound of the flushing; so sleep was not on the menu. I also had an 8-hour wait for my connecting flight back to Sendai – ahhhh! I headed to the domestic terminal and tried to see if I could find a day hotel or pay to get into a lounge – nope; nothing available. However I was able to check my suitcases in already 8 hours before my flight was due to leave and I was directed to a transit lounge which once I showed my tickets I was able to access for free. There was nothing in the lounge apart from chairs and a few recliners (no food or drink) – so I found a free recliner put on an eye-mask I got on the plane, left my bags on the floor (it is incredibly safe in Japan, so you can leave you stuff and sleep soundly knowing that no one will steal anything – has to do with karma which I hope I can cover in another posting) and crashed for 3 hours – much needed sleep.
It was great to get home after being on the move for over 24 hours. The jetlag probably lasted a day or two (I think) but the trip was a long one.
Some practical information:
- The connecting flight to Tokyo was with ANA so I had to collect my bags at the domestic terminal and check-in again at terminal 2 at Narita.
- Once you have your bags – head down the escalators, as you need to find the terminal shuttle bus. Once downstairs head outside walk left and look for bus stop number 6.
- Leave enough to get from one terminal to another (I had a very tight timeline and basically had to get to my gate for boarding after heading through security).
- After going though security you will be at the immigration section – make sure you stop and complete an Embarkation slip (even if you have a temporary residence card).
However, it was time to head back for a quick business trip. The choices of getting to Helsinki from Sendai airport are limited so I ended up taking a connecting flight from Sendai to Narita airport Tokyo. It left at 7.30am and was due to land at 8.40am – my flight from Narita was due to leave at 10.40am, so two hours seemed to be plenty.
The first hurdle was getting to Sendai airport so early as I had no idea of the best way and if anything is running that early; so to be safe I asked someone we had met that could speak Japanese to order me a taxi to Sendai airport. The taxi firm explained that it would be over 10,000yen probably 12,000yen (roughly converted to euros at the time of travel this would be anywhere between €90 to €110). This was too rich for my taste so we started to explore what trains were available – there are some running as early as 6.08am from Sendai main train station so I took the taxi there – costing 2,000yen.
To cut a long story short (and probably save you from tears of boredom) the time between landing at Narita and getting from the domestic terminal to terminal 2 needs to be a couple of hours at least as the bus takes 10 to 20 mins depending on how busy it is.
I was on a Japanese Airways flight (JAL) and was really impressed by the plan, size of the seats, leg space, entertainment system and the cabin crew service. All make a huge difference when you are on a plane for 10 hours plus.
It was nice to be in Finland and get stuck into some work but exhausting at the same time – so much to do and catch-up with it felt like a couple of days rather than 10. Of course I missed the family, as although I am use to the business travel from my past job, I haven’t been that far for that long so that was tough. I did get to see our family dog and spend a few days with the in-laws and get to buy some Fazer blue chocolate and rye bread to bring back 😋.
The flight back to Japan was a full one and this time I was right at the back of the plane next to the toilets – never the best place to sit with people leaning on your chair waiting for the toilet or the sound of the flushing; so sleep was not on the menu. I also had an 8-hour wait for my connecting flight back to Sendai – ahhhh! I headed to the domestic terminal and tried to see if I could find a day hotel or pay to get into a lounge – nope; nothing available. However I was able to check my suitcases in already 8 hours before my flight was due to leave and I was directed to a transit lounge which once I showed my tickets I was able to access for free. There was nothing in the lounge apart from chairs and a few recliners (no food or drink) – so I found a free recliner put on an eye-mask I got on the plane, left my bags on the floor (it is incredibly safe in Japan, so you can leave you stuff and sleep soundly knowing that no one will steal anything – has to do with karma which I hope I can cover in another posting) and crashed for 3 hours – much needed sleep.
It was great to get home after being on the move for over 24 hours. The jetlag probably lasted a day or two (I think) but the trip was a long one.
Some practical information:
- The connecting flight to Tokyo was with ANA so I had to collect my bags at the domestic terminal and check-in again at terminal 2 at Narita.
- Once you have your bags – head down the escalators, as you need to find the terminal shuttle bus. Once downstairs head outside walk left and look for bus stop number 6.
- Leave enough to get from one terminal to another (I had a very tight timeline and basically had to get to my gate for boarding after heading through security).
- After going though security you will be at the immigration section – make sure you stop and complete an Embarkation slip (even if you have a temporary residence card).
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