Sydney to Takamatsu

Welcome to Japan 

We were up and out at 5:30 with an easy run to the airport.  Georgia came with us so she could have the car whilst we were away. She had a few plans for how to make use of it, including taking great pleasure in ensuring her flatmate couldn’t park across two spots.  There was no issue in checking the bikes in, with our bikes and bags weighing around 30kgs all up.

We’d had our daily coffee ration by the time we boarded the plane.  The trip was fine though the movie selection on JAL was limited - hopefully there will be some new titles added for our return in November.  We landed slightly early and switched on our phones and activated our eSIMs - which didn’t work for some reason.  With limited time to resolve the issue, we switched to the airport wifi so that we could access our QR codes for easier transit through immigration and customs.  The immigration line was fairly short and moving quickly, and our bags were out quickly as well.  There was a bit of a wait for the bikes and then a hazardous journey through the crowds of people queueing for the paper lines through customs.  The electronic customs route was super fast and within 30 minutes of disembarking the plane we were checking our bags and bikes in for the domestic connection to Takamatsu.

The lady at check in was lovely and took us to the oversized baggage area where she ensured that we were happy with the way our bikes were laid on the x-ray machine.  Baggage-free, we spotted a long queue for the Welcome Suica card before finding the location of the Pasmo Passport which was empty.  According to our research it performed the same function.  There was a handy ATM nearby but Simon had to wait for ages whilst the man ahead tried multiple times to get money out with a card that was constantly declined before finally giving up.

Pasmo Passport purchased, we topped it up nearby then headed to the domestic terminal where we found a bar for a beer and light dinner.  We still hadn’t sorted out the eSIMs so we activated roaming on my phone to ensure we had data access at Takamatsu should there be any issues catching the last airport bus into town.  Despite opening boarding around 15 minutes before departure, we left on time for the hour flight.

I was a little anxious about having enough time to get the bikes and catch the bus, which left 15 minutes after our plane’s arrival, however, an ANA flight landed just after us, and the bikes were available before our bags.  Once on the bus, it was a 40 minute ride to our hotel, with the bus conveniently stopping in the forecourt so easy access to reception

We were pleased to get to our rooms but couldn’t find the air conditioning unit to cool it down.  We gave up in the end as it was 1:30am Australian time and we were ready to sleep. 

Prev entry - Home - Next entry