If you have ever wanted to learn more about traveling to the Eastern world or about flying standby, please read on:
The Beginning: I do not work for an airline, but I am extremely lucky to have a friend who does. When my friend told me he could get us standby tickets on Korean Airlines, my immediate response was “I’m in.” We agreed to split our week long adventure between Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. Let me first say, flying standby is not for the faint of heart, and after reading this blog you will understand why.
The Day of the Trip: I arrive at work on Friday as I would any other workday and my mind races as I realized that today was the beginning of the trip of a lifetime. At the end of the day, I call a Lyft and leave for the airport- a trip that usually takes about 30–40 minutes from my office in Newton (just outside of Boston). The traffic, for whatever reason, is far worse heading into Boston than leaving. I begin to bite my nails and repeatedly check waze to see how long it would take to get to the airport. I knew it was getting bad when the driver asked, “What time is your flight?” This flight, by the way is just to get me to Los Angeles where I would meet my friend to take the 11:00 AM flight to Seoul the following day.
The drive to the airport ends up tragically taking over an hour. “You can just drop me off here!” I say as I thank the driver and literally RUN across the road to the terminal. After swiftly making it through security I realize that the gate for my flight has been closed… Luckily, as a standby flyer I have a backup plan.
I walk across the airport to a completely different terminal for my plan B: catch the 7:30 JetBlue flight to LAX. I approach the gate for the JetBlue flight. “It’s not looking good for you. All the seats have been sold, and there are 15 standbys, including a group of seven in front of you. You are third to last on the list.” The gate attendant, who was very nice, also suggested I could fly to JFK to catch the LAX flight with 14 open seats. Connecting through New York is risky and by no means ideal, but at least its a plan C😁.
I’m patiently but never the less, nervously waiting by the gate for all of the paying passengers to board. Once in a while I see people running over to the gate to get on the plane. (“Dammit!). There are others waiting by the gate for standby as well. This is the part about standby travel that’s not fun — the anxious waiting. And a Friday night on a holiday weekend makes it especially nerve wracking. They begin to call the names of missing passengers. More waiting. I’m beginning to lose all hope as I see the party of seven arrive, all of whom get seats on the plane. More waiting. Other standby passengers names are called and FINALLY I hear my name and run up to the ticket counter. Success! I board the crowded plane and realize I have an aisle seat in the “Even More Space” section of the plane. Yes!
I arrive in California around 11 PM local time where I meet my friend. First stop In-N-Out burger. We drive back to his place in Long Beach, have some champagne and call it a night.
The Day of our Flight to Seoul: We arrive bright and early at LAX, only to be told, “It’s not happening today. The flight is 100% full.” How is that possible? The flight is on an 2 floor Airbus A380, the largest plane in the world, and can accommodate up to 450 passengers, but no open seats? We get some breakfast and then go back to wait by the ticket counter. Yay more waiting! It ends up working out perfectly, as my friend and I are able to score the very last two seats on the entire flight. After security, we buy some Lindt chocolates for the flight crew, then board the enormous plane. My friend and I aren’t sitting anywhere near each other but that’s alright. I’m sitting between two sweet girls who are visiting family in Korea. I try to get comfortable by putting on the in flight slippers (lol).
Both of the girls next to me fall asleep before takeoff. Here I am now, about two hours into this particularly turbulent 13 hour flight to Seoul, typing this on my iPhone while enjoying the inflight economy meal and watching Bridge of Spies. We are also treated to a very cool view of frozen land from the plane.
Arrive at the futuristic Incheon International Airport in Seoul a little late and miss our connecting flight to Tokyo’s major international airport, Narita. After spending an hour in line at immigration and customs we try to rebook for the flight to Tokyo early the next morning. The attendant tells us we can try for the 9 PM flight to Tokyo’s other major airport, Haneda (pronounced like “Canada.”) “Let’s just get to Japan tonight,” we agreed. I’m surprised to learn that this flight was only an hour and a half, and also includes an inflight meal. Unfortunately, in flying to Haneda (complete other side of the city) we are unable to make it to the hotel we booked at Narita airport. (Did I mention traveling standby isn’t for everyone?) It’s coming up on 1 AM and we haven’t slept in almost 24 hours, but are surprisingly not super tired. We struggle to find a nearby hotel room for the night as they all seem to be full. We sit to regroup in a waiting area and a friendly airport attendant comes over to bring us blankets. There is some communication difficulty as we explain that we are trying to find a hotel. Within minutes, six other airport employees flock to us and start calling up nearby hotels to inquire about availability for the night. I had heard about Japanese hospitality, but this was a truly heartwarming experience. One of them finds us a hotel then walks us over to a cab and tells the driver where to bring us.
First Day in Tokyo: We make the best of a rainy and cloudy first day in the city, walking around Ginza, Tokyo’s famous high-end shopping area. We roam around world class markets and department stores and stop to get sushi for lunch(of course!) and let me tell you, the sushi was incredible.
The Differences/Other things I’ve noticed so far:
Walk and drive on the leftEveryone is extremely polite and helpfulSo much bowingYou never hand someone cash or a credit card. They have trays on which you place your cash/card.Everyone waits for the walk sign. Even if there are no cars coming. It’s kinda hilarious actually.Once you leave the touristy areas it’s much harder to get by without knowing Japanese.They use the same electrical outlets as North America.People wear face masks when they are sick to prevent spreading germs to other people.At restaurants, food is brought over as soon as it’s done, rather than waiting to bring all the food at once.Nobody talks while riding on the subwayRestaurants have pictures of their food items on the menu.People form lines to get on the subway, instead of just crowding around and pushing their way on.A lot of people still have flip phones!Clear umbrellas are everywhereThey love their fancy heated toiletsElevator doors do not open for you if you shove your hand between themTrash cans are no where to be found, but the streets are meticulously clean.Young kids wear uniforms to school and walk themselves home.The city feels extremely safe (even at night) and very hygienic.Tokyo is best not thought of as one city, but as a collection of many cities in a metropolis.
First Night in Tokyo: Rooftop bar hopping! Our first stop- Stellar Sky Lounge Garden at Prince Park Tower Tokyo. The night has certainly cleared up, what an amazing view of this city!! I don’t think we could ask for a place closer to the Tokyo Tower. Sipped on a Martini here while enjoying this stunning Panorama.
Next stop- Twenty Eight Bar at Conrad Tokyo- another amazing view, this time of the Tokyo Bay including Rainbow Bridge. Third stop- a little too much sake(Japanese rice wine) at the previous bar to remember the name of this place, but we ordered some appetizers and some red wine.👌🏼 I found it interesting that this 14 story building had a different bar or restaurant on each floor.
Second Day in Tokyo: Awake bright and early and ready to explore. It’s beautifully sunny and clear out today. Grab some hotel breakfast then make our way over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tower which has a free observation deck. We meander Tokyo’s streets to find lunch before heading to Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine. I am surprised that the park is peaceful and tranquil all the while in the heart of busy Tokyo. The trees here are very old and tall and remind me of the great redwoods of California. After enjoying the peacefulness of Yoyogi Park we wander into Harajuku, a busy shopping area. But busy doesn’t even begin to describe our next stop- The famous Shibuya “Scramble” Crossing. This intersection is the busiest in the entire world. The Times Square of Tokyo- There are ads, music, flashing lights and tons of people. This really felt like Japan!
For our next adventure, we make our way across the city to Odaiba, a man made island on the other side of Tokyo Bay. This was easier said than done as Tokyo’s subway system is incredibly confusing! Its a mess of 2 different subway systems and various commuter rail lines that weave throughout, across and around the city. The ticket machines also only take cash and most ATM’s don’t accept foreign credit cards.
The view of Tokyo Bay was well worth the trip to Odaiba. What a spectacular scene!! This was without a doubt the prettiest view of Tokyo, and for that matter one of the best panoramas I’ve ever seen in my life.
Last day in Tokyo: Start our day at Imperial Palace and Gardens, home of the Emperor of Japan.
Next up, Senso-ji Shrine in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood. Nakamise street leading up to the temple is famous for souvenir shopping and is extremely crowded. The daunting Tokyo Skytree (the 2nd tallest structure in the world after Burg Khalifa in Dubai) overlooks the whole area. It’s not uncommon to see young people wearing traditional Japanese kimonos here.
We have a sushi lunch at a small restaurant where a conveyor belt delivers your food to you. We take a river cruise back to the Ginza area and walk around a hidden park where we meet a free-spirited girl from Paris. She’s spending the week in various parts of Japan before traveling to Seoul for a semester abroad. Start off the night with a trip to the top of the Mori Tower to get one last amazing view of the city, then spend the rest of the night in the tourist-friendly Roppongi neighborhood.
Travel Day to Seoul: Flights to Seoul are pretty crowded today! A low point of the trip: my friend and I are unable to get two seats on the same flight so I take the last available seat on the earlier flight then meet up with him at Incheon airport in Seoul a few hours later. This airport is amazing! It’s super clean, has great wifi (no annoying login), several gardens, tons of restaurants, bars and stores, sauna and spa, prayer rooms, free showers, dry cleaning, two movie theaters, a casino and an ice rink! Certainly not a bad place to have a layover. Fun fact: Entering a casino in Korea requires a passport because only foreign tourists are allowed to gamble in the country.
Meet up with my friend two hours later, check into our hotel then head out for the night in Seoul’s Itaewon district. This neighborhood is a nightlife center in Seoul and is also home to a major American military base. The bars here actually don’t feel that much different than a big city in the U.S. The bars have a fun vibe with a lot of American music and stay open late (some until 10am!)
Day in Seoul: It’s definitely colder here in Seoul than it was in Tokyo. We take the subway out to see the impressive Gyeobunkgong Palace.
The subway is pretty comprehensive, but like Tokyo, does not accept foreign cards and only takes cash. Overall, Seoul is much less pristine than Tokyo. That’s not to say Seoul is significantly dirtier than any big city, but it feels more like New York with the many street vendors and taxis. Seoul is much louder than Tokyo- people use their horns A LOT here.
Last Day in Seoul/Travel Day: Take the cable car to the top of Mount Namsan to get a beautiful view of Seoul. This city is massive!
Express train back to Incheon airport to catch our flight that has a number of open seats. Flight departs Korea at 7 PM Saturday local time and lands in Los Angeles at 2 PM on Saturday local time. Time travel is weird.
It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in Southern California and I’m not ready to go back to New England just yet. We drive out to spend the afternoon in Malibu to see the sun set for the second time today. Though, I will say, the sunset in California was much more dramatic. After, we go out to a few bars in Hollywood.
I am unable to get a seat on any of early flights out of LAX so my best option is to take a red-eye tonight and pretty much go straight to work on Monday. Not an ideal option after traveling internationally all week, but that’s the price of standby. Even the red-eye flight isn’t looking good as the flight is full. I spend most of the day in California anxious but try to make the best of it by meeting up with some friends for lunch then watching the sunset at the beach. I anxiously arrive at LAX and thankfully get a seat on the red-eye back to Boston (Window seat in premium economy, nonetheless!) Land in Boston in time for a full day at the office.
Overall, it was an exciting and memorable week in Asia. I cannot say, however, that I am well rested for a full week of work, but I will manage! Flying standby is not easy or glamorous. Getting a seat on any flight is by no means a guarantee and is often a risky option. It requires a lot of patience and a “que sera sera” attitude, but the payoff can be great. I have always been fascinated by Japanese culture so it was amazing to have the opportunity to experience Japan, and for so cheap!
I say “arigato gazaimasu” and “gamsa” to the people of Tokyo, the Capital of the Eastern world and Seoul, South Korea, the Soul of Asia, for allowing me immerse myself in your fascinating worlds. And “thank you” to you readers for allowing me to share my story with you. I hope this blog has shed some light on standby travel as well as travelling to the two largest cities in the world.