Japan and Jet Lag

We went to Japan earlier this year and have been to Asia several times (as well as lots of Europe trips). The best way to look at it is going to Japan will feel like when you fly home from Europe. It is just one long day. There is no red eye flight but you will be tired wihen you land and probably wake up really early the first couple of days of your trip. Coming home is kinda wierd because technically you will land before you take off because of the time zone and dateline difference. So you lose a complete day on the way to Japan but then gain a day coming back so it evens out. Asia and Japan are great destinations and will give you a change of pace from European destinations. I hope you have fun!!

As a general idea for managing jet lag, which has always given me a couple of miserable days each time I go to Europe, consider the Time Shifter app. This is a science-based process that truly can reduce your jet lag. Basically suggests when to get sunlight, reduce light, sleep, drink caffeine, etc in the days prior to travel. I used it this past summer, not perfectly, and felt noticeably better than my husband, who didn't use it and felt poorly for a couple days.

My wife actually was smart and stayed up when we landed. I made the mistake of "laying down" on the bed and "resting my eyes" so she adjusted fine to the time change. I just delayed it 48 hours. But coming home she actually got vertigo for a couple of days. Maybe related, maybe not, but it was definitely harder coming home.

My advice is oddly to go ahead and make plan for fun stuff for day 1 but leave flexibility on the afternoon of day 2 or morning of day 3.

Where are you flying from - or more important, what time does your plan arrive in Japan?

I have a decade plus experience of regular flights to Asia from Chicago. 5 round trips to Japan since early 2022. My flights have always landed very late afternoon or early evening in Asia. I found consistently that arriving at the hotel late in the day, I was able to go to bed at a fairly "normal" time for me according to the local clocks. Almost always sleep through the night, but awake early - say 6 AM - and ready to go. This early at 'em lasts for the entire duration of my visits. I, personally, have never had a problem doing anything I wanted to do in Japan on the day after my arrival, or on subsequent days. I sleep/nap on the plane on the way over - almost as much out of trying to reduce the travel time consciousness of the long journey as needing sleep.

On the other hand.... Returning to the US has been consistently rough, some returns taking about 3 weeks before I feel normal and back on Central Time. If I manage the return to Central in two weeks, I feel lucky.

I've talked with many colleagues who do similar journeys frequently. The adjustment experiences are remarkably similar - obviously, some individual differences.

I've tried various "adjust the time change in advance" strategies over the decades, but gave them all up. I have not tried the app suggested above. Perhaps that suggestion would work for me, but I've given up the proactive attempts.

Good luck!

Of course everyone is different, but for me, after traveling a long distance going west, I wake up super early and get tired very early at night, but for the most part I am fine during the day. Is that your experience coming back from Europe? If so, I would plan normal days at the beginning of your trip but not much at night.

It depends, as ORDtraveler says, on where you are starting from.

For us in Seattle, flying to Tokyo (our only option for a direct flight) is just like flying home from Europe—-an all-daytime flight, starting around noon or early afternoon, and arriving later in the afternoon the same day by your clock (except for Japan you will cross the Dateline and the date will advance by one). It makes for a long day, but on the flights we take they darken the plane going eastbound, and I get some sleep. By the time we get through immigration and make our way into Tokyo city, it is around 7 pm—-time for dinner and then shower and bed.

Next day we woke up refreshed and ready to go.

Both trips (so far) we flew to Tokyo but needed to get to Kyoto to meet our hiking tour group. The first trip we spent the night in Tokyo at a very nice (and expensive) hotel near the train station for the Shinkansen to Kyoto the next day. The second trip we chose to push on as far as Kyoto after arriving at Tokyo. So it was around 9 pm when we got to our Kyoto hotel. We had a little snack of bar food in the hotel and went to bed. Next day we were fine as well.

We have flown west from the USA to Tokyo, Being and Sydney (twice). Also, we flew east to CDG Paris, stayed one night and half a day before flying to Singapore.

The west flights I mentioned were from Atlanta to Tokyo, Chicago to Bejing and LAX to Sydney. All were flights from 14 to 15 hours, but they were direct flights.

The jet lag was just as bad for those flights as those going to Europe. First, the flights were longer, since our transatlantic flights are usually about 9 hours, not 14-15.

What makes the jet lag worse to me is to have connecting flights either before or after the transatlantic. All our transpacific flights were direct with not flight charge.

I have found that jet lag is not as bad flying home from Europe.

Thanks for the input. I will be flying out of Seattle, where I live, and arriving in Tokyo around 4:00pm their time, spending the night right in Tokyo so don't need to go far that first night. Sounds like adjusting will be a lot easier than when I go to Europe.

I have not flown to Asia but I have had the experience of terrible jet lag going to Western Europe. After a miserable first week in Spring 2023, I used the Timeshifter App for my trip to Scotland in August 2023 and my trip to France in Oct 2024. Both times I had no jet lag! The first trip on Timeshifter is free and based on your personal circadian rhythm, regular bedtime and sleep schedule. You might check it out and see if it might work for you.

Others here on the forum have had varying degrees of success or no success with this app so all I can say is try it and see how it works for you.

BTW, before my experience in Spring 2023 I'd traveled to Western Europe once or twice a year since 2013 (except of course 2020). I'd never gotten myself that far out of synch as that spring. I thought I was doing things right...stayed outside, waited to go to bed...but somehow I messed myself up so that for a full week I was crumping in the afternoon every day. Ugh.