Japan Trip Winter 2011 Day 1: 3 Flights to Yakushima

Day 1: 12 December 2011

Planning for this 3-week trip was done way in advance, mostly done by unleash. I booked flights and hotels which were a good distance from places we were going to visit.
We hope the info here will be useful if you're going to Japan. Feel free to ask anything, we'll help if we can :)

Singapore to Haneda (ANA)
Haneda to Kagoshima (ANA)
Kagoshima to Yakushima (JAL)

All tickets purchased online through their official sites.
ANA | JAL

Green tea KitKat, yummy!

At Haneda Airport, we collected our portable wifi device.
Global Advanced Communications
For 21 days, we paid ¥14,720. Battery lasts for about 5 hours. Did not work in Yakushima (the site already clearly said that it might not work in more remote areas, so we have no complaints). It's great to have wifi on the go to check Google Maps, train schedules (Android app: Japan Trains) and whatsapp friends and family to let em know we're alive.

At Haneda Airport

I like Christmas trees :)

At Kagoshima Airport, we collected luggage, then checked-in again for the JAL flight. To get to Yakushima, you can either take the ferry (4 hours) or jet (30 mins). I don't think I can survive 4 hours on water after 2 flights. Changed our SGD to JPY, then took a walk around the airport.

Santa & Sake Tree

Kagoshima is famous for fishcakes

The taste test

The boy in glasses must be a popular kid

After a 30 minute flight, we finally reached our destination!

Our adventure finally begins!

First time on a jet

Yakushima Airport

Someone from the hotel picked us up at the airport. Half an hour later we're at the hotel. Booked through Booking.com.

Hotel Jomon

We're travelling on a budget, so you won't be seeing any fancy hotels throughout our trip.

View from the room

After travelling for about 20 hrs, we were super tired and needed a recharge to be ready for hiking on Day 2!