Japan
Japan Domestic Flights With Airline Miles: What 6,000–7,000 Actually Buys
Star Alliance miles book ANA, oneworld books JAL. Five award seats we priced in August 2026 cost 6,000-7,500 miles plus $2.90-$20 in tax.
Hideaki Yasukawa
Tokyo-based technology architect and lifelong Japan traveler. Marriott Lifetime Platinum (822 nights worldwide), 44 of 47 prefectures, ~60 hotel nights a year — usually with family. I verify every hotel before it appears here.
Japan
United Miles for ANA Domestic Flights: 6,000–7,000 Miles and the Two-Seat Ceiling
Three ANA sectors priced in August 2026: 6,000-7,000 United miles plus $2.90-$5.20. Plus the two-seat limit and the codeshare flights you cannot book.
Japan
Using oneworld Miles for JAL Domestic Flights: Atmos, AAdvantage, Avios and Asia Miles
Atmos Rewards priced Haneda-New Chitose at 7,500 points plus $20 in August 2026. Which oneworld programmes publish a price, and which make you search.
Japan
When Your Japan Domestic Flight Is Cancelled: Why We Keep an Award Ticket in Reserve
Award tickets on United and Atmos cancel for free, so a backup seat costs nothing if unused. How we used it twice, and where the ethical line sits.
Japan
ANA and JAL Shareholder Discount Tickets: How to Buy One Without Being a Shareholder
Ticket shops sell airline shareholder vouchers for cash, no ID needed. Plus the May 2026 ANA change that makes two-year-olds pay while JAL flies them free.
Japan
Osutaka Ridge, JAL 123, and the One Thing It Asks of Passengers
What Japan's worst air accident changed, from the 2005 Safety Advisory Group to 379 people evacuating a burning A350 in 18 minutes. And what it asks of you.
Japan
Koiwai Farm: The Name Is Three Men, and One of Them Built Japan's Railways
Koiwai Farm is named after Ono, Iwasaki and Inoue Masaru, father of Japan's railways. The 1891 founding story, plus hours, admission and access.
Japan
Inoue Masaru, the Man Whose Statue Stands at Tokyo Station
Who is the statue on Tokyo Station's Marunouchi plaza? Inoue Masaru, father of Japanese railways: melted down in 1944, back on the plaza since December 2017.
Aomori
Sannai-Maruyama Jomon Site Aomori: Japan's 5,000-Year-Old Village, and How to Reach It
Sannai-Maruyama Jomon site, Aomori: UNESCO village dated 3,900-2,200 BCE, reached by Nebutan-go bus from Shin-Aomori stand 3 in 15 min for ¥300.
Aomori
Hachinohe Food Guide: Squid, a ¥1,850 Market Breakfast and a Local Izakaya
What to eat in Hachinohe: squid dressed in its own liver at a Japanese-only izakaya, and a ¥1,850 market breakfast when Minato Shokudo has a queue.
Aomori
Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada Without a Car: Buses, Rail Pass and the Rain Plan
Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada without a car: your Japan Rail Pass covers the JR bus. Shin-Aomori bay numbers, the eight daily departures, the rain plan.
Aomori
Aomori Cider and Sake: Tasting at A-FACTORY, and What to Carry Home
Eight Aomori ciders at ¥250 a pour on a self-serve machine labelled in English, plus Denshu at ¥1,848 in Shin-Aomori Station. Checked August 2026.