The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Have you eaten the cookies Bai Se Lian Ren (白い恋人)? Its Japanese name, Shiroi Koibito, literally meant white beloved ones. There was a time when almost everyone who went Japan would buy this back to Singapore as a souvenir. It’s delicious and I usually could not stop at one piece. …
The reason for our Japan trip was to ski in Niseko, Hokkaido! We could have bought the return air tickets from Singapore to Hokkaido. However, it turns out that the “direct” flight from Singapore to Hokkaido is not that direct. We will still need to …
The reason for our Japan trip was to ski in Niseko, Hokkaido! We could have bought the return air tickets from Singapore to Hokkaido. However, it turns out that the “direct” flight from Singapore to Hokkaido is not that direct. We will still need to make a transfer at Tokyo (without getting out of the airport). Since this was our first time to Japan, we decided we should just pop by Tokyo. We simply needed to find other ways to travel from Tokyo to Hokkaido, more specifically Sapporo. In the end we went for the fastest option — fly from Tokyo to Hokkaido.
p.s. When we were in Japan end-Feb/early-Mar, the Hokkaido Shinkansen was not up yet. And the sleeper train journey was simply too long for us.
Domestic Flight Carriers (with English online reservation): All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan Airlines (JAL), Jetstar, AirDo, Skymark Airlines, Peach Aviation, Jetstar Japan, Vanilla Air and Spring Airlines Japan.
Our itinerary:
Each of us bought 2 one way tickets, which added up to be about the same as round trip tickets.
We wanted to fly to Japan with ANA or JAL since we heard so much about their services. However, Delta was offering a deal we couldn’t resist. Hence another way to experience ANA or JAL is their domestic flights. However, most of ANA and JAL domestic flights depart from Haneda Airport, and we are landing in Narita Airport. Most of the international flights are at Narita Airport, while domestic flights at Haneda Airport.
We did not want to make the inter airport connection, because Narita and Haneda airports are not exactly near. It takes about 60 minutes on Keisei Train and 90 minutes on Airport Limousine to travel between the airports. And this will also incur additional expense.
Factoring in the prior check-in timings at airport, we needed to have at least 2-3 hours interval between the flight timings. There are just too many unknown factors to delay our journey and miss our flight. Moreover, the interval meant reaching Sapporo even later! We left house at 4:30am to reach Sapporo at 11:30pm?! That will be insane! We didn’t want to reach Sapporo too late.. and so we decided to get the domestic flight leaving Narita Airport to save time. Jetstar, Vanilla Air and Peach fly from Narita Airport more than the other airlines.
Top: Vanilla Air, Bottom: ANA
When we return to Tokyo from Sapporo, we decided to fly ANA to Haneda Airport because it is much nearer to Tokyo’s city centre. This makes a lot of difference in the amount we paid for transportation from the airport to Shinjuku. If you have a choice, fly into Haneda Airport, it’s much cheaper to get to Tokyo’s city center.
(Compare the transportation costs with these two posts: Haneda Airport transfer and Narita Airport transfer.)
There are many early bird promotions for the various airlines. But what’s good for tourists are the following promotions. The prices are fixed and not fluctuate with peak period.
ANA Experience JAPAN Fare: ¥10,800 for one-way domestic sector. For foreigners residing outside of Japan, or Japanese with permanent residency outside of Japan. Must have international return ticket (any airline) from outside Japan. (More info)
JAL oneworld Yokoso/Visit Japan Fare: ¥10,800 for one-way domestic sector. International travel to/from Japan must be on JAL or oneworld member airlines. Fare is available overseas only.
Please be advised that the sales of oneworld YOKOSO/Visit Japan Fare and oneworld YOKOSO/Visit TOHOKU Fare have ended as of March 31, 2019.
JAL Welcome to Japan Fare: ¥14,040 for one-way domestic sector. International travel to/from Japan may be on ANY carrier. Fare is available overseas only. (More info)
Do note that these promotions should be booked on the local ANA/JAL website for you country of residence, and not the Japanese websites.
p.s. Even a Japanese we met later had a better opinion of ANA over Vanilla Air. And he always flies on ANA or JAL.
And for those wondering if there’s anything to eat in Narita Airport Terminal 3 (Domestic), there are many choices! We ate our first yummy Japan meal here! :)
Do you prefer to fly from Tokyo to Hokkaido? What other airlines have you tried? Do share with us below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram.
Travelled in February/March 2016
When we were in Japan end-Feb, early-Mar, Hokkaido Shinkansen (Bullet Train) has not opened. But we did see a huge countdown clock at JR Sapporo for the Shinkansen’s opening on 26 March 2016. It sounded like a big deal! Of course, Hokkaido Shinkansen is only …
Japan is a country full of oishiii food! So I did some research online before going to sieve out the best from the good. We had very limited time in Sapporo, so I made sure we get to eat some of the food you must …
So what are the things to do in New Chitose Airport Sapporo? Firstly, EAT! We arrived at New Chitose Airport in time for dinner! It was a long flight from Singapore, with a transfer at Narita Airport. There are many things to do at the airport, but we arrived after most of the shops’ opening hours.
Looking at the offerings, one can easily spend a few hours in the airport! So be sure you get to the airport early to explore. In this way, you wouldn’t miss your flight too!
Ramen is a noodle soup dish that is well known as a specialty of Hokkaido. There is a huge variety of Ramen in terms of its soup base, noodles and toppings across Japan. There are also variations between the regions within Hokkaido: Sapporo’s miso broths, Hakodate’s salt-based broths and Asahikawa’s soya sauce based ones.
Even if you don’t travel out of New Chitose Airport, you will get an opportunity to try one of the famous ramens. There’s an alley called Hokkaido Ramen Dojo (北海道ラーメン道場) at Domestic Terminal Building 3F. The alley is lined with Hokkaido’s most famous ramen shops, each with their signature cooking style.
We tried the ramen at Ebisoba Ichigen. Ichigen is famous for its shrimp-based ramen. It’s a bit like Singapore’s prawn noodles, but the noodles is a bit more taut or “QQ” as compared to Singapore’s ramen.
There are 3 kinds of soups: a regular shrimp based straight soup, a straight soup mixed with tonkatsu soup, or a thicker version of the mixed. We ordered the first two, and preferred the former for its strong prawn taste.
Ebisoba Ichigen is apparently the more popular one among others at the alley. It usually has a snaking long line, so thank God for empty seats when we arrived. The queue started forming only after we ordered. If you want to try, it’s the first shop on your right. Otherwise, you can go to other branches in Sapporo or Tokyo.
Hours: 10:00am – 9:00pm (L.O. 8:30pm)
Location: Domestic Terminal Building 3F
www.ebisoba.com
There are many famous sweet treats in Hokkaido that you can buy back as souvenirs. And the best part is… they are all packaged nicely! Aesthetically pleasing and definitely a good buy as gifts.
We went to Otaru and were so tempted to sweep up the many treats from Rokkatei, Kitakaro, and LeTAO. And also the famous Ishiya Shiroi Koibito cookies (白色恋人) when we visited its factory in Sapporo. But since we are not buying super a lot from each shop to qualify for tax refund, hubby suggested a better idea!
Consolidate our food buys at a tax free shop in New Chitose Airport. There are a few tax free shops, such as ANA Festa and Tokyu Store, that carry a variety of food souvenirs from the different brands, including Royce’, and also instant noodle ramen. These shops are located in the public and not transit area, that is before you go through the immigration counters.
Thank God we bought these souvenirs at New Chitose airport. Other than the tax savings, we didn’t have to pack and carry them in our luggage as we travelled around Hokkaido. What’s more, it’s fresher to buy them just before we board our outbound flight!
If you cannot find what you want at these “consolidated” shops, you can still search for the respective brand outlets in the airport for your buys. For example, I wanted this chocolate by LeTao, but it was not sold in ANA Festa or shops alike. Thus I went to the LeTao outlet at New Chitose airport and got what I wanted. Yays!
Do check out the many more food available at New Chitose Airport. There’s the freshly fried potato chips at Calbee+, the mouthwatering bake cheese tart at Kinotoya, and the fluffy Snaffles cheesecake. I really miss the tart and cheesecake…..
ANA Festa
7:10am-8:30pm
Domestic Terminal Building 2F
www.anafesta.com
Tokyu Store
7:30am-8:30pm
Domestic Terminal Building 2F
www.tokyu-dept.co.jp/sapporo
Image Credit: www.hokkaidolikers.com
Royce’ is Hokkaido’s local chocolate maker and it has set up Royce’ Chocolate World, the first chocolate factory and museum located inside of a Japanese airport.
Learn about the process of chocolate making, history of chocolate and view collections from around the world. Then with a self guided factory tour, see the various steps of chocolate making. Of course, there’s a shop for you to buy their tasty treats! But you should go to the tax free shops in New Chitose Airport to consolidate your Royce’ purchase with other souvenirs and qualify for tax rebates! ;)
Pricing: Entrance Free
Hours: 8:00am-8:00pm | Factory: 8:30am-5:30pm | Bakery: 9:00-8:00pm
Location: Connecting Path, 3F
www.royce.com/contents/english_rcw
Image Credit: new-chitose-airport.jp/en/doraemon
If you are a big fan of Doraemon, be sure to visit the Doraemon Waku Waku Sky Park. With many large Doraemon figurines, have fun exploring the themed attraction. View Doraemon animation and read its books. Or participate in Doraemon Craft workshop (buy and colour plain plaster figurines) or take photo in sticker booth.
You can also eat at its cafe with Doraemon themed dishes. They’re super cute! We didn’t actually go to this skypark or eat here, but we went to a similar but bigger Doraemon museum in Tokyo. And the dishes were kawaii and oishii!
Pricing: It’s free except for the entertainment park zone. Adults 800 yen; Students from 400 yen; Free for children below 3 years old.
Hours: 10:00am to 6:00pm | Shop till 6:30pm.
Last admission/order Park Zone: 5:30pm | Workshop 5:00pm | Cafe 5:00pm
Location: Connecting Path, 3F
www.new-chitose-airport.jp/en/doraemon
Onsen Public Bath: There’s an indoor and outdoor public bath, with its hot spring properties helping to improve blood circulation and effective to incision, burn and chronic skin disease as well as children weakness and chronic gynopathy. It is also Beauty Bath (a PH value of 8) that gives you a smooth skin.
Relax: There are also rooms with beds for you to rest or nap after a relaxing time at the hot spring. There are also guest rooms for you to sleep and catch your morning flight.
Spa: There is a variety of wellness treatments, such as bodycare, body treatment, facial treatment and foot treatment.
Food: Dining room with various main dishes and desserts, and also complimentary drinks, including coffee and tea. It opens until 3:00am, good for those who get hungry at night.
Pricing: Check out the price menu at its website: www.new-chitose-airport.jp/en/spend/relax/spa
Hours: 10:00am-9:00am (23 hrs). Public Bath ends at 8:00am (reception time ends at 7:30am); it will also be closed for some days in March because of the legal facility maintenance.
Location: Domestic Terminal Building 4F
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Scroll down for the various options to travel from Haneda Airport to Tokyo: Tokyo Monorail & JR Easiest Way Price: 490 yen (one way) from Haneda Airport to Hamamatsu Cho; another 200 yen to Shinjuku 500 yen (one way) from Haneda Airport Terminal to any …
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2016 and a few links have been updated for accuracy. Three options to travel from Narita Airport to Tokyo. N’EX (Narita Express) Fast and convenient, but not cheap Price: 4,000 yen, ~S$50 (round trip); from 3,020 …