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leendstaa · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Posts: 4 Location: New York

Hey. I'm flying from NYC to Japan next week. I've never been on a flight that long (14 hours). I was wondering if anyone had any tips for making the journey more bearable?

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Bring: lip balm, hand cream, tissues, eye drops- the worst thing for me on long flights (am from NZ so there is nothing but long flights) is the dryness. My nose, eyes, throat and skin all turn to parchment.

Drink lots of water as you've probably heard before. I prefer the window seat, it's easier to sleep because you can lean on the wall and people don't bump you as they walk past like they do if you're in the aisle seat. Also the views are good- I saw Denali on the flight from Japan to NY a couple of years back- apparently we flew as far north as Alaska- and you can sometimes see Fuji as well.

Hope the flight isn't too full because an empty seat between you and the person next to you can make all the difference.

Bring an easy to read book- my brain is always fuzzy when flying and can't deal with anything too taxing.

Wear comfy clothes- if you are a girl, not a skirt, can't understand people who do that at all. Shoes should be roomy and easy to get on and off- you might find your feel swell during the flight.

Ear plugs may be useful if you have crying babies anywhere near you- there's usually at least one.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Bring along some of your own food.
Don't drink alcohol and watch the caffeine too.

Don't worry about it. It could be much worse, try travelling with 2 very small kids, then flying solo would seem like a piece of cake. Very Happy

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Also, feel free to use the toilets to freshen up, not just use the toilet. That is, shave, wash your face, brush your teeth, etc. Feeling refreshed helps.

If you can read on the plane (some people can't), bring more than one type of reading material. Crossword puzzle. Novel. Short story collection. Your favorite magazine.

Get up and move around. Getting the circulation pumping not only helps to stave off "economy syndrome" in your blood vessels, but it also refreshes you.

Start a postcard on the plane!!! Finish it after you land and mail it the next day.

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

Watch the movies. Sleep. Walk around every once in a while.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

mp3 player is great too, if you have one.

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

Sleeping pills

David W · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 457 Location: Japan

www.flyertalk.com more info here than you can imagine.

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
I bring ear plugs.

freddie's friend daniel · Joined: 17 Apr 2005 Posts: 84 Location: Osaka-fu

Aspara wrote:

parrothead · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 342 Location: Japan

Crosswords. Or better yet, Sudoku! The hours slip away...

moot point · Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Posts: 441

Wow, what a bunch of party-poopers! You'll get on your flight and have the chance to drink as much free bottles of very good whiskey, vodka, and gin. I've always found it nice to have a few in the airport before boarding the plane then order several doubles/triples (extra bottles going into the carry-on) until I pass out. The head really hurts when you land ten hours later (this assumes you've been drinking hard for the first two or three hours of the flight), but it all comes to pass and jet-lag is not a problem.

lajzar · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 647 Location: Saitama-ken, Japan

Take an aspirin 12 hours before take off, and another one when you go. That should prevent a certain feature of long haul flights.

whatthefunk · Joined: 05 Aug 2003 Posts: 130 Location: Japan

i agree with moot point on this one. where else but on an international flight can you drink all sorts of free booze?? take full advantage. stumble out of the plane, make sure that the airline staff knows that you took full advantage . they think theyre getting us with all the taxes and surcharges but they didnt get you...no, cause you drank at least $200 worth of booze on the flight. stick it to the man. its your right, your duty to drink as much as possible on the flight.

wintersweet · Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:17 pm Post subject:

If you want to spend your first full day there enjoying yourself and not recovering from the flight, take the advice on skipping the alcohol and caffeine. Ditto walking and shoes and water and so on. As for clothes, I usually wear comfy pants, but floor-length full skirts are really comfortable too.

I'm seriously considering buying a pair of headphones with active noise cancellation before I fly back. For me, the loudness of jets is a real strain, and 14 hours of it is really awful.

If you're going to sleep, do it toward the beginning of the flight, not the end. You want to take advantage of the great thing about flying west (assuming flights from the east coast do): you crash as soon as you get to your hotel room, and you wake up the next morning BRIGHT AND EARLY and ready to go! It's great.