Apr 10-11, 2025: From plane, to train, to van! After a 75 minute delay in leaving Calgary Int’l Airport, at around 4:25-ish pm my party of 5 (including me!) boarded our 9 hour, 46 minute direct flight by Westjet to Narita International Airport in Japan!
Narita Airport which I believe is technically in Chiba, was about a 1 hour transit (like a C-Train in Calgary) ride to Tokyo Station, where we boarded the Shinkansen bullet train to Osaka. Two and a half hours later (6 hours by car as per Google estimate), we were at the Shin-Osaka station. Since we planned on using the bullet train to and from Osaka and who knows where else, we each bought a 7-day rail pass which cost ¥70,000 Yen (just over $600 CAD).
With it being about 11:30pm and having traveled for the past 14 hours or so, we opted for an Uber rather than figure out the transit system at that hour. Turns out we could have walked, it would have been about 25 minutes! In our further defense, the five of us each had our large suitcases and carry-on baggage so… MEH! This Toyota Alphard, which looks roomy but IS NOT(!) when you have 5 people with luggage, got us to our Airbnb accommodation.
Map of Narita International Airport to Osaka:
