This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account of a WeChat group reader, "Lazy 33's Food, Drinks, and Fun." Original link.

Flight Experience

Following the previous article, it was a 10-minute taxi ride from the hotel to Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport), code ITM. Unlike KIX Kansai Airport, ITM is a small airport. It is called an international airport, but it currently has no international flights.

Since it was our first time flying from this airport, we left about two hours for arrival. We had originally chosen Japan Airlines, thinking domestic flights are usually cheaper, but one or two months before departure the price suddenly shot up, and economy and business class were even the same price, so we ended up buying business class.

The airport self-service check-in machines couldn’t check in our child because of the middle name, and after trying for a long time with no success, we asked a staff member for help and checked in at the counter instead. Even though it was business class, the baggage allowance was the same as economy: 20 kg per person. Both of our suitcases were actually over 20 kg, but the ground staff didn’t say anything or charge us. At the time, we thought it only mattered that the three of us stayed under 60 kg total, but later, on the flight back to Tokyo, all three suitcases were overweight too and they still didn’t charge us. It feels like Japan domestic flights are pretty relaxed about baggage weight limits.

Also, there was a row of ATMs across from the check-in counters. We tried one that said it accepted international cards and finally managed to withdraw cash. Thank goodness...

The boarding pass was also a cute little card. Security had no line at all. At the security gate, you scan a QR code and another flight information slip prints out. I was thinking, isn’t all this information already on the boarding pass anyway? I don’t really understand why they needed to print another card in such an environmentally unfriendly way...

It seemed like there were no shops before security. After security there were only a few. We bought a coin purse for our kid to carry loose change—our little child laborer was on the job! There were also quite a few Kansai specialties for sale, but unfortunately our two suitcases were already packed so tightly that we had nowhere to put anything.

The airport seemed to have both new and old sections; the shops and restaurants were in the new area, while our boarding gate was in the old section. As we walked along, the decor suddenly got much older.

ATM check-in

The boarding pass said, "Please go through security 20 minutes early and arrive at the gate 10 minutes early," which felt just like taking a train... Sure enough, until 20 minutes before departure, there was still hardly anyone at the gate...

The plane was a small E190, with business class in a 1-2 layout, so our family of three happened to sit in the same row. As soon as we boarded, our kid said I had lied to him, because this wasn’t business class—business class is supposed to lie flat. I rolled my eyes hard.

The weather was great, and so was my mood. The main reason was that the connecting flight the day before was my biggest concern on this trip, so once that went smoothly, I felt very relaxed.

The flight was only a little over an hour long, with no meal service, drinks only, and no Wi-Fi. They also gave our kid a toy. The flight attendants were very gentle. Near arrival, I took an overhead shot of Hakodate.

A huge billboard advertising Hakodate Mountain night views.

Wi-Fi

The temperature was so pleasant. After passing through the two furnaces of Shanghai and Osaka, even just seeing Hakodate’s temperature made me feel happier.

Hakodate is Hokkaido’s third-largest city, but it’s actually quite small, and the airport is small too and not complicated.

The airport is near the Hakodate hot spring area. Since several of our later stops were also hot spring destinations, we didn’t arrange a hot spring district visit in Hakodate on this trip.

After picking up our luggage, we went straight outside and took a taxi to the hotel, which is about 20 minutes to Hakodate city center, near Hakodate JR Station.

2023 Japan Trip Series

This series records the author’s travels in Japan after returning to China and before heading back to the US.

About the Author

This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Lazy 33's Food, Drinks, and Fun" by a reader in a WeChat group; all content is original. If you’re interested, please follow along.