Flying The City-To-City Business Routes Of East Asia

Anyone who has lived in East Asia or traveled there for work knows of the city-to-city business routes between the major metropolitan areas of Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Seoul. For those planning a visit for the first time, however, it is worth emphasizing just how much more convenient these secondary airports are when compared to their more famous counterparts.

City-to-city business routes in East Asia

City airports almost always started off as the main international gateways to the urban centers they serve. In Asia, these smaller airports were often old military airfields converted into civilian use after World War II. As the economic boom of the 1960s through the 1990s fueled unprecedented growth in the region, major East Asian cities began constructing larger, more modern international airports capable of handling the massive increase in passenger traffic.

Trouble was, space came at a premium closer to town, so most new airports were built on plentiful land far outside of the urban areas, where future expansion was also possible. In a strange twist of fate, however, as business connections grew over time between these interdependent economies, more and more commuters found the newer airports to be far too inconvenient.

Time is money, of course, and if an executive needs to fly from Seoul to Taipei for a half day meeting, the last thing she needs is to spend an hour or more in traffic each way commuting from the airport to the downtown office. If that same executive flew from and to the city airports of Gimpo and Songshan, however, a potential two hours or more could be shaved off the travel time.

In the table below, I have compiled a comparison of the distances between each airport and the corresponding city centers. I've also included approximate driving times as calculated by Google Maps, assuming there is no traffic. Note that many of these airports also have metro connections, which can be faster than driving, depending on the time of day.

Distance and driving time comparisons

The distance and time savings can be considerable. Consider Taipei Songshan, for example. The airport is actually located within downtown Taipei, and reaching central destinations takes only a matter of minutes. Similarly, Tokyo Haneda is infinitely more convenient for those heading into downtown Tokyo compared to Narita, which is located more than 35 miles outside of the city.

While these routes make life a lot easier for business travelers, they can also help the casual visitor heading to East Asia for vacation. Of course, if you plan on solely transiting through one of these major cities, it makes sense to use the same airport (anyone rushing between Tokyo Narita and Haneda can attest to just how painful it can be). However, if you plan on actually stopping over in two or more of these destinations, consider searching for the city-to-city routes when planning your itinerary. It could potentially save you several hours of travel time and a bit of money.

Award availability is quite plentiful on these routes, as fewer travelers worldwide know about them. Out of all the possible routings between these four cities, the busiest by far continues to be between Tokyo Haneda and Seoul Gimpo. A quick search on the United website revealed six daily non-stop flights operated by ANA and Asiana, with tons of seats available in both economy and business:

HND → GMP award availability

Oddly enough, United no longer recognizes Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) in its search tool, so I headed over to the ANA website instead and investigated award availability further. A search for the Taipei Songshan to Seoul Gimpo, Shanghai Hongqiao to Taipei Songshan, and Shanghai Hongqiao to Tokyo Haneda routes revealed decent availability in both economy and business:

TSA → GMP award availability

SHA → TSA award availability

SHA → HND award availability

Over on the Oneworld side, a search using the British Airways website revealed decent award availability (at least in economy) on Japan Airlines between Tokyo Haneda and Taipei Songshan. Don't forget that using distance-based Avios on short flights such as these can be a great value. Be aware that British Airways does collect mild fuel surcharges for Japan Airlines award tickets.

HND → TSA award availability

There are many SkyTeam airlines that fly the city-to-city routes as well, including China Southern, China Eastern, China Airlines, and Korean Air. It can be difficult to search for SkyTeam awards, however, and your best free option is probably the Air France Flying Blue website, although I have found the award search tool to be clunky and quite buggy. Alternatively, the subscription service ExpertFlyer displays award availability for all of the airlines listed above. If all else fails, those who are curiously masochistic still have the option of calling Delta SkyMiles.

Half-Off AAdvantage Award Flights To Tokyo On JAL

Via the AAdvantageGeek blog, this is an incredible deal for using your AAdvantage miles to fly business class round-trip from either San Francisco or Vancouver to Tokyo. To celebrate American Airline and Japan Airline's new joint partnership across the Pacific, they are offering reduced miles redemption for award travel on Japan Airlines through February 29, 2012. Normally, a round-trip business class flight using AAdvantage miles costs 100,000 miles, now it is being reduced to half that amount at 50,000 miles. And for economy round-trip awards that normally cost 50,000 miles, they are now reduced to just 30,000 miles. The value here cannot be overstated!

For the JAL operated direct flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo Haneda (HND), or for the JAL operated direct flight from Vancouver (YVR) to Tokyo Narita (NRT), book your travel starting October 18, 2011 and travel between November 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012. Again, round-trip business class seats will cost 50,000 miles, and round-trip economy seats will cost 30,000 miles. You must call the American Airlines AAdvantage desk at 1-800-882-8880 to make your reservation. Telephone booking fees will apply.

Despite not having a lie-flat business class seat, Japan Airline's hard product still looks extremely good. I actually just flew the SFO-HND route about 4 months ago in economy, and I was very impressed with the food offerings. The service was quite good as well, and every seat had AVOD. You can read my full trip report of Japan Airlines 001 here.

For complete details about the SFO-HND deal, click here. For complete details about the YVR-NRT deal, click here. I recommend booking your tickets as soon as possible before award seats run out!

Tokyo/Vietnam July 2011 - Japan Airlines 751 Economy Class (NRT - HAN)

***This post is part 5 of a full trip report. The index can be found here***

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to avoid the Tokyo Metro on my way to NRT. Despite finally getting slightly comfortable with finding my way through the maze of tracks and transfers, I didn't want any last minute snags that would cause a repeat of my adventure to the airport at the beginning of this journey.

I booked the Airport Limo Bus for $37 from my hotel, which sounded a little steep, but since NRT is about an hour and a half outside of central Tokyo, it really wasn't bad at all. Pickup was directly in front of the hotel, and we continued on to three other pickup points before going on our way. The bus was quite comfortable, and another plus is the Tokyo scenery you get to see along the way.

Once at NRT, I noticed that Japan Airlines had a number of self check-in kiosks which I tried to use, but since I had applied for a Vietnam visa on arrival and didn't have it with me, an agent eventually directed me to the counter where the lady had to ask a supervisor how to deal with my situation, and then proceeded to made copies of my passport and visa approval form.

I made my way through security (love security checks at Asian airports - extremely fast and courteous) and grabbed a bite to eat upstairs at the food court. I must say, NRT seemed a bit bleak when it came to shopping and eating, especially compared to the newer mega-airports all over Asia. A quick tram ride over to Terminal 2 and I arrived at Gate 81 to wait for my flight to Hanoi.

Japan Airline 751

Boeing 767-300
Tokyo Narita (NRT) - Hanoi (HAN)
Monday July 4, 2011
Departure: 5:55 PM (scheduled) / 5:53 PM (actual)

Arrival: 9:40 PM (scheduled) / 9:29 PM (actual)

Duration: 5h 45m (scheduled) / 5h 36m (actual)
Seat: 18C (Economy)

The seats on our 767-300 were a bit more dated than my previous flight, but overall, the interior looked extremely well-maintained. There was AVOD at every seat, which surprised me a little considering the flight was a relatively short 5 1/2 hours. Initially I had an aisle seat on the left side of the plane, but by the time boarding had ended, the window seat next to me at 18A remained empty, so I quickly moved over to snap some pictures along the way. Typically I like to choose aisle seats for any flight over two hours since I have a tendency to drink a lot of water on the plane, resulting in... well, you know.

Takeoff was uneventful. There was quite a bit of turbulence leaving NRT, but seatbelt lights were turned off about 20 minutes out. Drinks and meal service started shortly after that. Dinner consisted of a simple Japanese-style beef bowl with a side of wasabi-seasoned cold noodles. A separate dish contained small appetizers such as fish cake, pickled radish and steamed egg. Dessert was a Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream.

While the taste was not as great as the previous JL flight from SFO, this was definitely good and filling enough for a flight of this duration. Green tea was offered after the meal. For some reason, I just enjoy Japanese green tea a lot more than other types... maybe the deep flavor makes me think it's healthier for some illogical reason.

After the sun had set, I decided to explore the AVOD system. Choices were rather limited, but one movie was all anyone could really fit in on this flight anyways. There were a couple of newer Hollywood movies, and I decided to watch the Disney animated film "Tangled" since it was short and probably didn't require a lot of concentration. By the time the movie ended, I still had about two hours of flight time left, but with a quick nap, and I awoke to the start of our descent into Hanoi.

There was no trouble with landing today (thankfully), but once inside the arrivals area, I quickly realized I was in trouble. As I mentioned above, I had a Vietnam visa on arrival approval form, but I didn't know exactly what to expect once I got there. Well, first, I stood with my form in the foreign passport holders line, waiting for entry. A security officer noticed that I was holding the approval form and asked me if I had a visa already. I shook my head, and he casually pointed for me to go back around the corner.

I looked around and saw a small visa office with glass windows. I first stood in a line with number of other Westerners. I asked if this is where I get the visa on arrival. Someone said yes, but I needed to hand over my approval form and my passport first at another window on the other side of the office. The whole thing was just strange and a little confusing since there were no clear signs as to where to go or what to do. In any case, I went over and gave them my passport and forms (along with a passport photo), and then went back to stand in line.

At that point, my heart suddenly sank as I realized I needed to pay the visa on arrival fee of $25 in US dollars - no Vietnamese dongs, no credit cards. I quickly looked around and saw no currency exchange booths, and all I had in my pocket were Japanese yens that I had hoped I could exchange once I arrived. Freaking out a little, I started to ask people in line if they had any dollars I could borrow. Most looked at me as if I were insane, but the lady in front of me was nice enough to suggest that I ask the officers inside first if there were any other methods of payment, and if not, she would help out.

It was then that I suddenly realized that I still had a reserve of US dollars hidden on my carry-on backpack. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I looked and saw the stash of bills folded up. Sometimes when traveling, I lose track of these important things... I will definitely have to be more on top of rules and regulations next time.

Finally, I located my checked luggage and saw my hotel driver the moment I stepped into the arrivals hall. We headed out into the heat and humidity of Hanoi - even at 10:00 pm - and needless to say, it was a bit of a culture shock to go from the well-organized and seamless Narita to the literal cluster%@#* that was Noi Bai International. Taxi cab peddlers approached at every step practically grabbing at your luggage directing you to their car. Luckily, my driver shooed them away and soon we were out of the airport for the 40 minute drive into town.

Tokyo/Vietnam July 2011 - Exploring Tokyo

***This post is part 4 of a full trip report. The index can be found here***

Tokyo is a metropolis of more than 13 million people spread out over 23 special wards and 39 municipalities. To attempt to explore the city in three days is generally considered an act of sheer folly. But try I did, and perhaps I didn't even get to scratch the surface, but at the very least, I was able to polish it a bit and get a better look.

The first thing one notices about Tokyo is probably its ubiquitous metro system. Just about every other block has a station, and once inside, you can whisk yourself away to virtually every corner of the city. It's clean, efficient, and timed down to the exact minute. One interesting fact is that there are almost no trash cans at all in or near the metro (or even around the city for that matter) due to the Sarin gas terrorist attacks in 1995. However, the entire system is spotless. The Japanese people just learned to carry their trash until they reach their office or home. Pretty amazing.

That's the upside. The downside? If you are visiting Tokyo for the first time, you will get lost - guaranteed. This is due to a number of reasons, the first being there are just so many different lines, with many being operated by different companies. Hence, buying a ticket on one may not get you on the others. You can, however, buy a reloadable Suica card that is accepted on almost all routes. Also, some lines seem to have announcements translated to English, yet others don't. Most confusing of all, not all metro maps are made equal... some maps don't show all the stations for certain lines, which makes life a living hell when you're trying to find your way around. The picture below gives you an idea of the tangled web that is the Tokyo metro system:

Errr...

JR Line in Harajuku

During the planning stages, I knew I wanted to keep my time in Tokyo relatively free so that I could just hang out with my friend strolling through quiet neighborhoods of Harajuku, trying out a number of hole-in-the-wall restaurants, or window shopping in Shinjuku and Shibuya. But I had also identified a couple of sites I definitely wanted to see - first of which was the Tsukiji Fish Market. 

Unfortunately, I read that the famous early morning auction in the market has been closed to tourists indefinitely due to the recent earthquake, and I was sad to learn that that was indeed the case when I arrived. But more important was my mission to try some of the freshest, best-tasting sushi I've ever had. And that I definitely accomplished :) 

 Fish market to the left, start of the restaurant wait line on the right

The two most famous sushi restaurants in the fish market - Daiwa Sushi and Sushidai - are right next to each other. Keep in mind, however, when I say "restaurant", I mean a tiny, narrow corridor with one sushi bar capable of seating maybe 12 people at most. This was the case with Sushidai. We arrived at the restaurant at 11 am, and didn't get seated until 2 pm, so that should give you an idea of the wait. The general idea is to get there as early as possible... obviously advice that was not heeded by us!

But the sushi... OMG the sushi. It's hard to describe something that tastes so good, unlike any sushi I've ever tasted in the States. Even the uni (sea urchin), which I usually despise, had none of the pungent ocean taste that is associated with it. Instead, it was creamy, buttery, and so delicious. And I truly doubt I will ever have a better piece of toro (fatty tuna) in my life. There are only 2 sets that you can order on the menu - the large and small. The larger omakase set cost approximately $50 USD, which was quite reasonable given the quality.

On the outside looking into Sushidai

  Maguro, uni, mackeral, toro

It's amazing to me how crowded Tokyo is, yet everything flows like clockwork here. Rules are always obeyed... which leads to some very surreal situations. You can have maybe 30 people waiting to cross a tiny, one-lane alley with no cars in sight, yet not one single person will step onto the pavement to cross before the light turns green. And I don't even think I heard one car horn the entire time I was there. There is probably no better example of how smoothly Tokyo runs than the famous "busiest crosswalk in the world" in Shibuya. Somehow, it just works.

Shopping district in Ginza

Remember this orderly street before reading about Hanoi :)

Cool Prada building in Harajuku

One of the "smaller" skyscrapers in Shinjuku

Probably my favorite place in Tokyo that I visited was the Meiji Shrine. Built in 1920 in commemoration of Emporer Meiji, it is an oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle. Once you enter, the calm envelops you, and you just want to sit under the canopy of trees and enjoy the beautiful wooden structures surrounding you. I could have stayed there an entire day.

Hand-washing station before entering

You can buy a wood placard and write down your prayers

There was a wedding procession that day

On my last day there, my flight departed at 5:55 pm, so that gave me pretty much a full day to explore the city some more. I decided to visit the Tokyo Tower to get in some nice shots, and then on to Zojoji Temple, where the graves of six Tokugawa shoguns are housed. The tower itself is nothing special... modeled directly after the Eiffel Tower, it has a dubious paint scheme, and unfortunately, the observation deck was closed due to the earthquake. But I've heard there are much better viewing platforms elsewhere in the city anyways.

Tip of the antenna still damaged from the earthquake

Zojoji Temple prayer flags

I definitely want to return to Japan sometime in the near future to do a more in-depth tour of the country. It's an absolutely beautiful place and I can only imagine what all the sights outside of Tokyo are like. I'll leave you with one more shot of the best tempura I've ever had. It's dipped in sea salt so as to not ruin the crunchiness of the batter. Also with grilled mushrooms and soba in duck soup.