Sorry, but I don’t really have a list of “go to” sites that I use for flights to Tokyo.  The last two time I flew, I used miles.  What I can tell you is that from LA to Tokyo you can get deals for less than $1,000.  Add in your connecting flight and you’ll be at about $1,300.  Yes, you can get them cheaper, and yes, there are times when...

Finding hotels in Tokyo isn’t very difficult.  I mostly stick to a few options, but you can search just about any travel website and they’ll have access to rooms in Tokyo.  I usually pay close attention to the map and I try to stay close to train stations.  It just makes things easier and faster. Most hotels will have a restaurant for breakfast, but it...

One thing to keep in mind is that Japan is a modern country like any other.  Yes, there are temples, beautiful castles, kimonos, festivals, Mt. Fuji, etc., but at the end of the day most of the things you pass will be 7-11 convenience stores, taxis, men in business suits, office buildings, the regular and mundane things you’re used to from back at home.  In...

When you arrive in Tokyo, there are a few things to take care of at the airport.     You’ll want to hop on Narita’s free Wi-Fi service.  You can see the current instructions here.  You can usually connect to this while you’re still on the plane. Next up is immigration.  It’s organized, clean, they speak some English, and mostly...

Before you get on the plane you should have a hotel reservation, a phone/internet reservation, a rail pass, and the route to your hotel.  You won’t need much beyond that.  Currency exchanges are at the airport and you can buy all kinds of transportation to the city there as well. .  HOTELS  FLIGTHS  PHONE & INTERNET  APPS...