Flying from Vancouver to a Tokyo (direct)- how bad is the jet lag? What did you do to alleviate that? Please share your experiences! First time travelling to Japan and wondering whether to keep aside a day to overcome jet lag!!!! Will be landing at Narita around 5pm. Thanks so much.

Sleep on the plane. Then land and stay up till 10pm. Timezone is 17 hours off so nothing you can do but suck it up and eat Raman

Jetlag wasn't bad at all. You wake up automatically around 6am. Just don't sleep too early.
Coming back was the hard part.

Yea jetlag is unavoidable. Drink lots of water to keep hydrated and eat meals according to the time zone you are IN to "trick" your body in to thinking everything is as it should be. Get on a regular sleep/wake schedule as soon as possible.

I find flying in and out of NRT the easiest of all Asian flights. It’s the shortest flight over there so the easiest IMO. Drink loads of water.

This is the best arrival time to avoid jet lag altogether. By the time you reach your accommodation, you’ll have time to eat something and wander around a little. Go to bed at a “normal” time (don’t sleep/drink too much on the plane). The next day, just carry on!

Flying there wont be a problem. Flying back will you'll arrive the same time you've left

sleep when its night time there, take melatonin if you have to

Joshua S. Tolentino melatonin on the plane or once we get there??

and what others said going there isnt too bad...coming back youll definitely feel the jet lag. You might find youll sync with the time there easier...we have done many connecting flights to narita when travelling to manila and we usually get to narita at 5 and even if you sleep on plane youll be tired enough to sleep at japan time.

Never had any issue with jet lag going to Asia. Your adrenaline kicks in once you get into the city. Had always gone to bed around 11pm the first few nights and your internal clock will adjust

The minute you board the plane switch your internal time to your destination time. Ex. If you board here at 7am but its night time there force yourself to rest/sleep. If its night here but morning there make yourself stay awake! Always works for us!

Never had an issue with jetlag flying into (or back) Japan. you could always upgrade to premium economy or business - for a more comfortable sleep if you like - but I stayed awake the entire flight over - watched two movies, then went to sleep at a normal hour on the other side. The flight to Japan seems to go faster than you realize. Sometimes going to Europe feels worse.

I travel to South Korea (same time zone with Japan) every 2 years. Also landed around 5 - 5:30 p.m. ish. Jet lag when you land in Japan at 5 p.m. isnt too bad. You will wake up early for first few days but your body will adjust. Coming back to Canada has been harder and took long time to adjust.

I just did the same flight end of Dec, I slept on the plane and stayed up for a bit once we landed. First couple of nights I woke up a bit early but otherwise adjusted pretty quick, earplugs and an eye mask helps. Coming back was way worse

Melatonin is a supplement you can buy in health food stores. You produce it naturally but as a supplement it aids and supports your body to regulate sleep patterns. I take it when I travel long distances (15+ hr flights) and don’t suffer with jet lag as much as when I don’t take it.

First few days in Tokyo will wake up at 3:00am every morning (guaranteed). Try and take a power nap 15-30 minutes in the afternoon. Flying to Tokyo is harder on my system as you leave in the afternoon and arrive in the afternoon. Flying back to Vancouver I find it easier as you leave Tokyo at 7pm and arrive in the morning

Jetlag depends on the person. I don't experience jetlag between YVR and Philippines very much at all. I almost consider it nothing

I would keep awake in airplane Also no sleep until night time in japan.will adjust so quick!

You'll be too excited to have jet lag once you arrive in Tokyo...so much to do!
Coming back is a different story....stay awake as long as you can once you're home to get back on your normal sleep
pattern.
I have a hard time sleeping on planes...couple of glasses of wine and a melatonin and I will sleep 3 hrs...

Going- no problem but coming back to yvr was brutal. It took me a week to get back to normal!

Tricia I second this! We were completely fine by day 2 in Japan, but it took us a week to get back to reality once we were home. We went for spring break last year and we returned the Sunday before school went back in. Kids ended up staying out for the first half of the week because they couldn’t sleep until 4am.

I drug myself and sleep the whole way

I just got back from a flight to china. This is what i do and it really helps! Download some podcasts (for later). When plane is in the air, watch a movie. Once movie is done get up and walk around or stand in an area while keeping your legs moving (this is where you listen to your podcast). Do this for at least an hour. Go sit down and sleep (if you have earplugs ...and eye mask this is awesome). Wake up. Go for a walk again. Listen to podcasts for about an hour. Sit. Watch a movie. Repeat process until you land. Getting the nap and moving around really helps!!

Candice people get so annoyed when you walk back and forth but its a good idea. I once stood or walked the whole flight back home from Mexico. Restless leg syndrome and i had forgotten my folic acid.

It really depends on individuals, I don't have jetlag. My trick is as soon as I get ok a plane, I only think the destination time. If it is night, sleep; if it is day, stay awake.

Thank you all for such amazing advice!

We are going to Tokyo in May - did you find a decent airfare?

I try and sleep as much as possible on any flight b/c i hate flying anyway, but once I land I have a STRICT no sleeping until a reasonable time the first night rule. I'm so tired by that point it's easy to sleep no matter what time it is at home, and then I get a good sleep and am pretty well flipped around. This came from my uncle who has lived in Tokyo for 35 years and travels a LOT without getting jetlag. I also lived in Japan for a few years, flying from YVR (Victoria girl) and that always worked for me. By the time you land, get your stuff, eat some food, find wherever you're staying (esp if it's right in Tokyo), you'll be at 8 or 9 anyway, walking around Roppongi or through Shibuya crossing should keep you awake for a little while after that and you'll be good

Coming back is worse! Drink LOTS of water.

Agreed, I've never had jet lag flying East.

I go all the time. It’s way worse when you come back. Try to sleep on the flight going over. Stay up until 9-10pm and go to bed. You will be likely up around 5am but ready to go for the day. Jet lag is not too bad going over.

Keep moving once you get there! I haven’t been to Japan, but flew Vancouver to Hong Kong. I had an 11 hour layover there, and went straight into town. I think I walked 18km that day, and just pushed through the jet lag. I then took a flight to Bangkok. Took about a week before I stopped waking up at 4:30am every morning.

It was an easy flight for us. We arrived there around 6?? there time. (long drive into Toyko) but we went for a walk , found a noodle house to eat, and walked and explored some more. Everything was so new and exciting it wasn't hard to stay up until around 10 for bedtime.

5 pm is the best for landing. By the time you go through customs and make it to Tokyo itself it will be probably closer to 7-8 pm (about an hour if not more to Tokyo from airport). Then you have to go out to eat (obviously :)) and then you can easily go to bed at 10 pm. Honestly, you are very lucky with this landing time.

I find taking some gravol helps me sleep/stay asleep for the first day or two. usually that is good enough for me to switch over.

Fly on cramp economy class seat, when you arrive, you arrive tired. Fly business class with lie flat seat, you arrive refreshed.

Going there isn’t a problem I find. If you take a red eye and can sleep, even better. But coming home, ...is horrible.

Now I’m less worried about getting there and more worried about coming back
I’ll be returning Sunday in the morning and I have to be at work Monday !!

Arsala Wajahat I booked coming home the same. I went to Thailand (from Vanc) and I didnt think it would affect me coming back but it did, drastically. I was dragging my bottom around for 4 days until I finally slept for 12 hrs.

Arsala Wajahat keep yourself busy after you get back til around 8pm. Then you may just crash and wake up more or less regular hours. It usually takes me a few days to get rid of the jet lag coming home

When we got back my kids and 1 literally slept from 8pm until 4pm the next day
and then were awake at 2am every day for a week and I felt like I had been hit by a bus lol Hopefully your job isn't that "important" lol (messing up people's finances or organs I mean)

The jet lag wont bother you to muck going to Japan but you will have problems when you return home with jet lag.

I had very minimal on the way to Japan but on the way home, it took me 6 days to recover. (was away for 35 Days). They claim it can take up to half the amount of time you were gone to recover. So I feel 6 days is really not bad! From what I read each person handles jet lag different and there are some steps you can take to minimize jet lag.
We flew with All Nippon in the basic economy and all I can say is WOW! The seats were so comfy and easy to sleep in the seats slide back instead of just the back falling back. Which made less of an impact on the person behind you. There is also a footrest that helps if you are short. It has extra leg room. The staff was incredible. They served sooooo much food and all drinks (Including Alcoholic drinks) which were all included. Their entertainment selection was awesome. Plus had a spot to plug in your phone to charge or an option to plug in a device that had movies saved on it.
We would happily fly All Nippon everytime if its possible!

1) Compression socks
2) avoid booze and caffeine
3) Oxygen drops (you can buy them at MEC)
4) upgrade to a seat with more leg room, if you can’t, get an aisle seat.
5) start adjusting your time a few days before, by a couple hours a day.
6) Get into sunshine as soon as possible. Stay awake till at least 9:30pm at your destination.

Greg Turnbull would be the perfect person to ask in my opinion. I think he is pretty seasoned with travelling to Japan and back.

I have had no problems going to Asia from Vancouver, whether Economy or Business class. Returning home is when I have felt jet lagged
I have flown Beijing, Taipei,Tokyo and Thailand
Take sleeping med first 3 days after returning

I second all those that say the jet lag back is worse. If you can stay up until 9-10pm japan time you should be okay and just wake up around 5 or 6am. So you can get a good start.

Rest upon arrival. Don’t overdo activity for the first day.

The family went last year. The first few days we were all awake by around 3:00am.

You won't have problem going there. It's the coming back that is difficult

The time change wasnt too bad

Try to sleep on the plane as much as possible. I didn't have a jetlag problem travelling east, but some do.

Hard liquor is your friend.

Chris worst thing to do!

I pulled an all-nighter before a 6am flight and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I took some thc gummies to help with the sleep and I was out for most of the flight. Gravol works too!

What a genious Take illegal drugs thru security and on a plane

I wasn't carrying 'drugs' on me. I ingested a perfectly light dose of legal THC. Nothing illegal about it Gord. Worked like a charm!

I just returned from Japan last week, and I have still jet lag.....Going to Japan is no problem, but coming back to Vancouver is always problem for me
16hours different time is hard....I still wake up at 1:30am and I can't go back to sleep until 6am
and sleepy all day
It takes at least 1week to adjust for me.

We have gone twice. The flight isn’t bad. Get an early night first night and go on day 2. We have not found it an issue. First time we allowed the first day for jet lag and we didn’t need it. Coming home is a different story

flying there was easy, flying back was when I felt some jet lag. I landed at Narita at the same time, got to my hotel, had a shower, went for a walk to get some dinner, fell asleep around 11 pm Japan time. Woke up the next morning ready to go.

Saw some excellent sunrises those first few days in Japan as we were up soooo early. Upon return home to Vancouver it took a good week to come around, but so worth it.

I took jetlag pills and felt 100% fine as well as my 5 & 8b year olds were ready to rock like normal the next day. We didn't sleep on the flight and then went to bed like normal in Tokyo and got right onto their schedule. . the way back I felt like death for 2 weeks though but I think that's normal esp after being SO busy for 2 weeks. Have fun!!

Melatonin

Meaghan Hawes funny story - it’s a banned substance in Japan! They took it out if my suitcase!! I couldn’t figure out where it was when we got there then googled it. Sure enough, its banned!

Check out the Timeshifter app

I have done van-australia and vice versa plus Asia. The best way to decrease jet lag is no matter what time you arrive stay up as long as possible to the evening and than go to bed. Orientate yourself straight back into nights and days.

We arrived at our hotel around 4 or 5 pm. Plan was to push through and explore a bit at night and go to sleep at an early but reasonable time. In actuality we fell asleep immediately, lost the entire evening and the whole night, and just woke up super early the next day ready to go! It actually worked out well.

I find it pretty easy flying west. The flight isn't terribly long, a little over 9. I guess it depends when your flight leaves, but I followed the sunshine. Landed just at dusk. Kept my eyes open until about 8pm. Fell asleep and woke at 4:45am and explore the empty streets. It was awesome.

Stay up as long as you possibly can to get on their time. Seems to work best for us. The excitement keeps ya going. And then just suffer at home and use melatonin. Its all part of the experience. Lol. Melatonin is banned in Japan. Ours was confiscated there- taken out of my checked luggage. Also, when u arrive, they stand at the top of the escalator and take your temperature. Just don’t be alarmed about that. Kinda shocked us.

Pam that did not happen to us at all. I had melatonin and they never took that, nor did we have our temperatures taken.

We have just returned. Flying to Tokyo we only arrived in the evening so had a good sleep and were able to start the next morning quite early. If you arrive in the day, try and stay awake until bedtime and that should help. Coming home was tough getting over the jet lag. Enjoy your trip. Tokyo is great and Japan is the most wonderful country.

Arsala out of curiosity which airline are you flying with? I’m looking to go in April and am struggling to find decent flights. Im doing multi city though: Vancouver to Tokyo and then Osaka back to Vancouver.

Debby Fu air canada - flying into and out of Narita

Debby Fu ANA is awesome!

Arriving at 5PM is perfect, try not to sleep too much on the flight. Once you've checked into your accommodations and eaten some food, you'll be ready for bed. I'm guessing it'll be close to 9-9:30 PM, which means you can go to bed.

Took this exact flight to Tokyo and didn't have any issues. The flight, service, amenities (even economy) were really good. However, jet-lag depends upon each person. I find the best way to mitigate this is to drink plenty of water (keep hydrated) and change your time to Tokyo time when you board the plane so you can adjust to destination time. By the time you land at 5pm, get your luggage, make your way to your lodging and grab some food...it will be the perfect time to sleep. I awoke the next morning at regular time. Don't worry too much and have a great trip.

Get some 5mg melatonin for sleep aids when you arrive. It’s a natural product!

We took this same flight when we traveled there!
Arrived at 5pm Tokyo time, and went straight to bed. Woke up super early the next day to explore.
Tokyo in the very early morning is like nothing else!
Once you adjust to their time, you'll never see it that quiet and empty again
Jealous. Japan is my favourite country of all time!

I absolutely swear on No Jetlag pills from a natural foods store.

Sue is that a real thing? Can you please let me know which store to look for these?

*

A pilot friend of ours gave us some great advice a few years ago....
To avoid jetlag, DO NOT consume ANY alcohol or caffeine pre-, during, or post-flight. I know it's a drag to not have that cup of coffee or glass of wine but it really works!!! Alcohol & caffeine are super de-hydrating & only increase jetlag symptoms. Skip them & drink lots of water during your flight & you will notice a HUGE difference!!! Good luck!

When I fly to Asia(18-22hrs)I always plan on sleeping on the plane based on the arrival city. Using eye mask, ear plugs and sometimes melatonin.

More jetlag coming home

Way worse jet lag going home. Awaking early in Tokyo is not a bad thing.. actually amazing. Enjoy!

You go 2-3 days early!

Stay awake as long as you can!

Switch your clock immediately on getting on the plane . If you would be sleeping in Tokyo then sleep on the plane - if you leave here at night but it’s daytime there stay awake . The sooner you switch the easier it is . Just don’t “take a nap” push through the first 24hours

Stay well hydrated....got that top from a pilot. If arriving at 5pm then I suggest you go to bed in evening using their time zone. Take a light sleep aid if needed. Should adjust seamlessly.

I always try to push through and adopt whatever time zone I’m in. If I arrive super early AM then I will time myself for a 1 hour afternoon nap, if I arrive afternoon/evening then I just stay up it’s bedtime. Take it easy the first day you land unless you are feeling super energetic and want to see it all.

If you are lucky enough to be on a 787 - you will be much better off on the other end. Amazing airplane and the combination of better seats, more legroom, bigger windows and regular air circulation make a huge difference. Drink lots of water. No alcohol. You will be fine.

My family (husband & adult children) grudgingly went to Sheepworld (near Auckland) with me last year. To their surprise they really enjoyed it!! Not worth going if you don't go to the show or aren't interested in sheep farming, herding dogs etc. https://www.sheepworldfarm.co.nz/shows-and-times/
SHEEPWORLDFARM.CO.NZ
Shows & Times

Depends on how old you are
. If you’re over 40, definitely keep a day aside for sleep

Going is fine. Returning take melatonin to get you back on schedule for a couple nights.