Tokyo - Hanoi Wednesday Nov 26

 Wednesday Nov 26 2025 - Tokyo Japan - Hanoi Vietnam

Previous posts can be found on the right side under BLOG ARCHIVE.

STEPS not many TRANSIT 1 cab 

WEATHER sunny

TOUR DAY 1 airport transfer

You have to be early to catch Mount Fiji from our room. 

We had a later breakfast and then hung around our room.I tried the vegetable and mushroom dumpling this morning along with the rose ham.

 I used the business centre to do some blog updates..Have I mentioned I HATE this chromebook!!

We arranged our airport transfer for 12:30 PM even though the flight is at 6. Hotel checkout is 11 and I arranged for a 12:30 checkout. 

As we were going to checkout the driver messaged to say he was early and we could leave when ready. We got in the cab and he was away running. It took 1.5 hours to get to the airport compared to the 2.5 when we arrived.

Narita airport is amazing! Check in was quick and efficient. Then through priority security, it was so quiet and it was mainly women working there. Immigration was a matter of scanning our passports. Then to the Sakura Lounge. It is two floors. 

There was a good selection of food. Beer and wine were dispensed by machine! The bathroom was the most technical we've seen! 

Boarding was ar 15:50 PM and it was seamless. The gate attendants made sure boarding was orderly. Some tried to skip the line and were sent back! Our tickets, through Air Canada, said Premium Economy so I assumed upright seats like AC with no amenities! WOW what a surprise! 

I would love to see JAL business class, nevermind, first class! 

We were offered Japanese sweaters, yes, please. A full bar and menu selection, both Japanese and western. Seats that fully reclined to flat. Yikes, they had built in massages.

John, in his sweater and slippers, fully looked like an English lord of the manor.

The head flight attendant greeted each of us with a series of bows. The service was outstanding.

After a Japanese whisky, I chose the Japanese meal for the experience. I enjoyed parts of it...I chose Japanese red wine. John had the steak which he said was meh. 

I watched a silly movie Something from Tiffany's and rewatched Juror No.2.

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Tour description

Welcome to Hanoi! You will pass through immigration (have your visa ready) and then go to baggage claim. Our representative will welcome you outside the arrival’s hall holding a sign with Wingbuddy's logo. The representative will brief you about the tour and advise the pick-up time for your first activity. Transfer to the hotel and check-in.

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It is a 6 hour flight and we gained 2 hours.

We landed about minutes late and headed to Immigration, where the lines were long. Passports stamped, and we never had to present our visas. It was probably already in the system. Luggage picked up and Vinnie met us with his sign and called for the car. It is about a 40 minute drive to the hotel so it was around midnight when we got our room.

This is considered day one of the tour although the actual tour doesn't start until Nov 29, as we booked two additional hotel stays to be spent on our own.

The hotel is the Thang Long Opera hotel in the French Quarter. It is called the French Quarter although the French left the city nearly 70 years ago.

ITALICS TOUR DESCRIPTION

Make your way to your hotel for check-in. (To ensure your airport transfer is arranged, please make sure to send us your flight details - only if you are arriving that day.)

After arriving in Hanoi, the rest of your day is free for you to relax or start your exploration of the night markets and bustling streets of Hanoi.

Quick facts about Vietnam

Population: 97.34 million

Currency: Vietnamese Dong

Capital city: Hanoi

Major airports:Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) and Da Nang International Airport (DAD)

Language: Vietnamese