A short(ish) trip to Japan

[ShelleyB]

Arrived at Melbourne Airport at T-4 hours. Sadly the China Airlines check in counters were yet to open. Opened on the dot of T-3 hours. Once checked in all very efficient. The express pass through security was entirely unnecessary as it was very quiet. A quick stop at the TRS office for a claim then onto the lounge.

CI are currently using the Marhaba Lounge which is OK if a bit undersupplied. Buffet food only - but I will say the butter chicken was very tasty. ShelleyB-son also gave the meatballs a big tick of approval. Plenty of self serve wine, but Mr. ShelleyB got one of the last beers (at 7pm) and the fridges have remained empty since.

 

[rbjhan]

Hold on, you were in Marhaba? What happened to The House?!

 

[Matt_01]

Hold on, you were in Marhaba? What happened to The House?!

In June 2023 from what I understand the Marhaba in MEL was the CI contracted lounge. In my TR I did not get into the details of lounge access however post 1 details my experience.

 

[rbjhan]

In June 2023 from what I understand the Marhaba in MEL was the CI contracted lounge. In my TR I did not get into the details of lounge access however post 1 details my experience.

Well I was travelling May 24 and I surely went to The House.

Return to the Japan Alps May 2024

Ah but that is a mountain hut by Japanese standards! 🤣 From the Kamikochi side you have Dekesawa hut: https://www.yarigatake.co.jp/dakesawa/ When I heard the name "hut" I imagined huts like on the Overland Track.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[ShelleyB]

Well I was travelling May 24 and I surely went to The House.

Return to the Japan Alps May 2024

Ah but that is a mountain hut by Japanese standards! 🤣 From the Kamikochi side you have Dekesawa hut: https://www.yarigatake.co.jp/dakesawa/ When I heard the name "hut" I imagined huts like on the Overland Track.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Sadly I think the use of the The House was only for a short time and it’s back to the Marhaba now. Which is a shame as I have always found the Marhaba a bit ordinary.

 

[ShelleyB]

Boarding for our MEL-TPE leg was quick and efficient and we pushed back basically on time. The cabin is very tastefully decorated. Not a lot of photos from this leg as we mainly slept. Here’s the menu though. Seats good for sitting but not outstanding for sleeping. No topper offered so found the seat a bit hard for a side sleeper like me. Service was very good, particularly when ShelleyB-son managed to drop his small holder of Nintendo game cards down the side of seat and it took two attendants and some ingenuity to retrieve them.

 

[ShelleyB]

Transit in TPE went very smoothly. Transfer from T1 to T2 via train, then rescreening on arrival at T2. The re-screening area was so quiet we actually initially thought we must be in the wrong place as there were no passengers and staff were not immediately visible as they were all sitting down around the corner.

We didn’t really explore the airport as we all a bit tired so we just hung in the lounge. The China Airlines lounge is fairly basic but food was good and did have a cook to order service for noodles and dumplings. We didn’t try it out as our next flight was not that far away. Lucky for us our departure gate was directly opposite the lounge and was decorated more than your average gate.

View attachment 2E2A60DE-1AD8-4ABC-B4AB-9FB34B5C3EEA.jpeg

 

[ShelleyB]

Boarding was quick as the flight was not full and we pushed back from the gate 5 minutes ahead of schedule. On this flight the impressive menu contains a Japanese set menu with a riduculous number of courses. Although I was not particularly hungry did try at least one bite of each course and it was very nice indeed. The flight itself is only two hours and went very smoothly.

 

[ShelleyB]

On arrival in KIX immigration and customs was quick and efficient. We’d completed our arrivals paperwork on the Visit Japan website as we had for previous visits and had our QR codes. Makes for easy arrivals processing. The sooner Australia can get it’s act together and ditch the paper cards the better.

As our hotel, the Art Hotel Osaka Bay Tower, was near Bentencho station on the Osaka loop line we made our way out of the airport to the Kansai Airport train station. The adults in the traveling party have Suica cards in the Apple wallets, and the under 12 has a child physical Icoca. As we didn’t need the Kansai Express (which would need an extra ticket as well as the basic ticket) we were able to touch on directly and head for the Kansai rapid train which would take us to Bentencho with no changes.

We were a little early for check in (2.15pm for a 3pm check in time) and were aware that Japanese hotels really can be quite inflexible on this point. So we just left the bags and visited the Family Mart which was conveniently located directly opposite the hotel entry, to indulge in Konbini cuisine. Egg salad sandwiches for the adults and fried chicken for ShelleyB-son. Yum.

After snacks headed back to the counter to formally check in and head to our room. We were allocated a room on the 50th floor, above which there is only one more floor housing the restaurant. The room itself is fine, and a genuine triple rather than just a sofa bed for ShelleyB-son. And great views, especially at night. And spooky things going on in the lobby in advance of Halloween.

 

[Dmac59]

The adults in the traveling party have Suica cards in the Apple wallets,

Following with interest @ShelleyB in preparation for my maiden trip to Tokyo in November.
Are the electronic Suica cards easy to manage as my research indicates there is no English translation?

 

[ShelleyB]

Following with interest @ShelleyB in preparation for my maiden trip to Tokyo in November.
Are the electronic Suica cards easy to manage as my research indicates there is no English translation?

I am not sure whether it’s the same for Android, but on Apple iphones you just go to the Apple wallet, select the + symbol to add to wallet, choose Transit Card and Suica is one of the options. Everything is in English (or presumably your language of choice for your phone) and you can pay via Apple pay. The balance is easily visible in the wallet.

If you don’t have an iPhone may be different?

 

[Dmac59]

I am not sure whether it’s the same for Android, but on Apple iphones you just go to the Apple wallet, select the + symbol to add to wallet, choose Transit Card and Suica is one of the options. Everything is in English (or presumably your language of choice for your phone) and you can pay via Apple pay. The balance is easily visible in the wallet.

If you don’t have an iPhone may be different?

I have iPhone - Thank you

 

[ShelleyB]

I have iPhone - Thank you

And forgot to say - obviously best to choose a card with no international fees when topping up as you will be charged in yen.