Everybody's talking Tokyo, and with good reason. The country is psyched to begin restarting tourism, autumn over there is magical, and the ANA 787 Dreamliner just completed her maiden revenue flight out of the city. So when you do take that dive and head to Japan, you'll likely spend some time in Narita International Airport. If you're flying United and holding a Business Class, ticket or Star Alliance status, then you'll want to know about the United Business Lounge.

We recently spent some time here after bumping ourselves up to Biz, and gave the sizeable lounge a good once-over: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-28T16:27:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/21/111424/15

You've had a long flight, or maybe you're about to have a long flight, or maybe—horror of horrors—both. You've got some sizeable layover time at Tokyo-Narita Airport and you're desperate to have a shower, take a nap or work in peace and comfort—or all three things. If you're flying economy you don't have the option to crash in a lounge, but luckily Narita is a large (and awesome) enough airport to offer Shower rooms and Day Rooms, and we just tried them out!

Our story involved a long flight to NRT from Bangkok, an 8-hour layover and another long flight back to the States in economy. Typically we'd enjoy the airport like an amusement park, but we were under the weather and sleepy. Although the day rooms may be reserved online up to one month in advance, we just walked in and plonked down our credit card for five hours in a single room.]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-21T12:05:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/13/134546/14

Everyone and their moms are talking about Japan's big plan to give away 10,000 roundtrip plane tickets to international tourists willing to visit (and blog and tweet) about Tokyo. It hasn't been approved yet, but that doesn't mean anxious travelers around the world are going to stop daydreaming about cherry blossoms, gadgets, cosplay and, of course, fresh sushi.

We're disappointed that Japan needs to resort to nearly dragging tourists to visit when there's so many reasons to skip a vacay in Mexico or the Caribbean and hightail it instead to the Land of the Rising Sun. Our favorite impetus to up and go? It's got to be the food, specifically the stand-up sushi counters found around the city, but most easily located in Shibuya. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-13T14:05:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/25/23372/7086

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

You like pancakes, right? Who doesn't like pancakes?! That's what we thought. No one. Everyone likes pancakes, but this love can be tested on a visit to Japan when confronted with a specialty called Okonomiyaki. Not only is it a quirky word that's fun to say, it's also a quirky meal that's fun to make...on a personal tabletop grill.

Okonomiyaki is a seafood pancake, prepared with batter mixed with a variety of seafood, which is then grilled right before you at a traditional okonomiyaki-specializing restaurant. There's a whole street in Tokyo—Monja-dori in Tsukishima—dedicated to both this and the non-egg-based similar pancake called Monjayaki. For our visit, our sights were clearly set on a heaping helping of okonomiyaki with a tall, frosty glass of Kirin beer.]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-26T10:00:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/23/225418/341

DRUMROLL PLEASE! The first destination to get regular, scheduled service on the very first Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be...Okayama, Japan! Why Okayama? Well, the airline with the pleasure of introducing the 787 to the traveling public is Japanese airline ANA, and after a few fun flights to show off the shiny new plane, she'll be put into domestic service between Tokyo-Haneda and Okayama.

Okay so this is literally yesterday's news, but we got a little wrapped up in the East Coast Earthquake drama, so chillax.

Finally, some dates: the very first scheduled flight will happen on November 1, to be immediately followed by the start of Tokyo-Haneda to Hiroshima service on the 787. Want to go international? You've got to wait a tad bit longer, but Tokyo-Haneda to Beijing begins as soon as December, with Tokyo-Haneda to Frankfurt kicking off the long-haul routes in January, 2012.

Here's the official schedule, straight from ANA: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-24T08:15:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/22/1346/33453

Harajuku. What does that word conjure up in your mind? Chances are it's Gwen Stefani, or girls dressed as Gothic Lolitas, but the correct answer is an area of Tokyo, in which cosplay is smiled upon and the Rockabillies rule the roost.

Make sure your trip to Tokyo includes a wide-open Sunday, and pray the weather is nice. Walk towards the entrance to Tokyo's famous Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine near Harajuku Station, and you'll encounter a plaza dominated by three distinct gangs, each dressed as if they just stepped out of the film Grease. They have 1950s poodle skirt and greaser Americana nailed down to the last detail, from the brands of handkerchief they stick in their Levi's pockets to the way they comb back their hair. It's all so cool.

The Rockabilly gangs don't just stand around and hang out, either. They each have their own stereos and CDs mixed with vintage tunes for dancing—some of it choreographed and much of it polished from countless hours of studying old American films. All in all, this is a scene that goes on for hours (we stayed for nearly three, taking 100s of photos) and which you won't find anywhere else in the world. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-22T18:03:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/5/18/94331/4667

Sometimes an airfare deal so sweet comes along, that it's almost impossible to resist. And—if you think about the current under-$600 deals on Delta in terms of new shoes (4-ish pairs), iPads (1), or Starbucks coffees (100), it really doesn't seem so bad.

You heard us right—Delta has just dropped prices on their routes to Tokyo, to Haneda Airport in particular, which just happens to have a sparkling new international terminal waiting for you. Try searching any US city to airport code HND, and you'll find fares like $582 from San Francisco, $588 from New York or Chicago and $564 from Los Angeles. These prices are roundtrip, total including taxes, and some are direct and some include stopovers.

Now here's the really awesome part: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-05-18T13:13:47-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/