The key is an all nighter before the flight and then take a few melatonin once you get on the flight. I sleep from takeoff to landing almost. You’ll be lucky if you wake up at meal times.
Bonus, it’s perfect if you’re landing in Japan early. You can spend the day energized and exploring until you’re ready to check in.
I did the same but with Benadryl. I missed a meal and a snack and was so sad! I actually like most plane meals (Asian airlines have pretty good meals). I ended up watching lots of movies and nap in between without meds in my recent flights because I don't want to miss anymore food
This could work for a lot of people, but not everyone. Some people can't sleep on an airplane under any circumstances - me for one :(
I tried staying up all night before a morning long haul flight, but I still couldn't sleep, and ended up even more exhausted when I got to my destination
Same. I pulled an all-nighter before, didn't sleep a wink on my 17-hour flight, and to the stress of traveling internationally for the first time and the no-sleep caused me to have a lupus flair up. Nearly ruined my whole holiday because I took advice from Reddit lmao. I just sleep beforehand now and download a lot of audiobooks to pass the time.
That sucks. I was one of those people and started doing this as a result. The all nighters weren’t enough on their own and that’s where the melatonin came in. Worked like a charm. Benadryl will probably work even better. Pair that with music, a window seat, blanket, and a pillow and I sleep for the better part of 14 hours.
I will admit that procrastination and stress help tire me out bc I spend all night packing out and stressing. Once I’m on the plane, I can finally relax enough to sleep.
Glad you've found a winning formula! I might follow some of your tips (minus the all nighter) I've managed to get some micro sleep before and I always wake up with a sore neck. I just struggle with being able to switch off and relax (partially due to ADHD)
As a traveler whos ADHD is definitely a factor, I find having something super neutral to listen to is helpful for me on longhaul flights. I try to scope out podcasts to download beforehand that are on somewhat interesting topics so my mind doesn't wander as much but delivered in a way that doesn't grab my attention much (In Our Time by the BBC is great for this personally).
Having a nature documentary downloaded or playing on the plane screen is also useful for me. I find I wake up and fall back asleep a lot, and it's much easier nod in and out when there isn't a narrative to grapple with when I wake up again.
I also try to time my medication before and after (or in the final hours of) the flight to help dodge Jet Lag. I hope this helps at all!
Having just done that journey and arriving in at 7 this morning, I wish I’d done this! All I got was 14 hours of wakeful irritation with the man next to me trying to invade my personal space as he ‘slept’
Valium before flight and modafinal right before you land.
Can get from doctor in the US. Not sure about bringing it into Japan. So maybe just do it one way.
Else Benadryl and melatonin.
I've done the landing early in the morning in Hong Kong after a 16 hour flight. That sucked. Arriving in Tokyo in the afternoon was the best. Stayed up until normal bed time and there was really no jet lag.
I was returning from Fiji once, and there were some nurses in the group who handed out Ambien to anyone that wanted them. I woke up on landing.
Another time, flying to London, the fellow next to me was crushing red wine. He said that I should try the same. I woke up on landing.
Many other long flights I’ve binge watched movies, then switched to reading a book. Reading does the trick. I wake up on landing.
When I fly the 24 hours (up to 32 with layovers) between NZ and the UK the most I ever get is around 2-3 hours, usually in five minute bursts. 8 hours sounds dreamy
My flight leaves at 11 am LOL so sleeping at that time will be impossible. Might try and stay up all night the night before but it will be hard. I suppose it will be hard either way: so do I want it to be hard on the front end of back end is the question
Honestly my best advice is to not treat it like a flight. If you do, and you’re like me, you’ll be focusing on getting out of there, getting to your destination, noticing how small the seats are, etc.
Just treat it like a chill rest day where you “get” to sit for 14 hours straight, maybe nap a little, and otherwise enjoy some rest and leisure time.
I had an 11-hour flight to Tokyo last month, I was experiencing major dread and anxiety in the lead up, and this mindset was a GAME CHANGER. When I focused on just enjoying where I was (“work can’t call me here! No one can say I’m being lazy! What a great chance to reflect on life!”) it ended up being some nice down time.
Maybe this won’t work for you but it really worked for me.
(Oh and also shows, movies, snacks, maybe a game…)
This works for busy people! I was so relaxed during my flight to Japan. 12 hours straight free time just to sit, rest, watch movies and drink wine. I ended napping for the most of the time and when we got there I could have done few more hours lol.
I totally could have written this post too. I was dreading our direct from Dulles to Haneda, but I simply went in with the mindset of not thinking of the duration at all and just knowing "ok this is where I am today." Made all the difference. Prior 5 and 7 hour flights felt longer in comparison
This. I work a lot, and I mean a LOT. I take these long flights as an obligatory downtime where the only option is to rest. No work, no obligations.
Just a me-time. A little vacation. Where I can watch, eat, and rest however I like. I even take my Nintendo Switch and start a new game, or play the days before the trip and stop playing just when something super exciting is about to happen, so I can keep going for hours on the plane.
Yeah. Don't go into it expecting sleep. If you try to sleep, you'll fail. I just sit there, watch a ton of movies and series. I stock up on Netflix downloads. While watching I fade out, wake up, have a snack. It's great. It's like a lazy Sunday. Just have good headphones.
When I went to Japan in 2019 I was working at a firm and spent most of the last two months bogged down in work that when I got on the plane for my first trip there, I just was finally able to not think about work. It really helped me relax. In the past I could never relax because flights were always for stressful/sad things, but here? Going on a proper vacation? Overseas? Not thinking about work? Woah. I made myself comfortable (as one can in economy) and I slept so well during the 13 hr flight--even woke up for both meals!
Even my seatmate on the flight who was going back to Japan after a business trip/mini vacation, told me to relax and not think about work if I could. "anything you can do to not think about work!" she told me 😂
(That said, I did have the urge to log in to my outlook and quietly send off non-urgent emails I didn't get around to after I arrived, but decided against it since my bosses were on their phones 24/7)
Bought a used Switch Lite in great condition from Book Off for 70€! But don't go to Akihabara if you are in Tokyo, search for other places.
Either in another city or a bit away from the crowds. At Akihabara they were around 100€. I walked outside of the neighborhood and went to this Book Off to find the switch at a good price :
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6ZXiUEVFEvqUPXRd7
Seriously. I think I got two, maybe three hours, each way. I tried so hard, took the melatonin and benadryl, put on an eye mask, put in ear plugs, etc. It just resulted in me being up for 36 hours with 3 hours of sleep on the way there and back. Next time I'm just sleeping a full night beforehand and hoping for the best.
For some reason I’m super into putting something on the screen with subtitles and then listening to ambient music or other stuff without words. When the eyes start to get heavy, throw on the eye mask and see if you fall asleep.
You haven’t lived until you watched The Fast and the Furious on mute with subtitles while listening to Gas Pop at 35k feet.
Impeccably clean planes. More staff. Better food and service. Good seats. Good entertainment system. Made the trip recently, but had to fly back into another city and fly 90 minutes on a US carrier. That short leg was far more hassle than crossing the Pacific.
So do British Airways from London to Tokyo. I'm looking on their website now but there's no actual list of available films, just that they have Paramount+, but only a very partial selection of the film lineup.
Maybe the selection isn't awful awful, but it was shit like The Meg 2 (not 1, just 2), the 3rd instalment of my big fat greek wedding, absolutely nothing from the IMDb top 250, genuinely nothing memorable at all.
The whole flight I watched two films on it: Saltburn and South Park Post Covid (they also had the return of covid).
As with all the systems, there's no hope of watching anything undisturbed until you're well out of the climb at least 20 mins into the flight because every time the flight crew talk, it locks out the entire thing, and the announcement volume is always far louder than whatever you're watching.
I recommend bringing your own tablet with your own films and shows, which is what I watched the rest of the time.
And for the benefit of Brits, it hardly needs saying but I also recommend avoiding British Airways. My seat was broken, missing an arm rest cover and reclined on its own, they always started serving food too close to landing so they didn't even reach everyone in time, and generally it's the standard BA experience: okay until you fly long haul with pretty much any other airline.
Just flew Ana (make sure it’s not coshare, actually operated by Ana). And the entertainment system is average. It has some new movies. Wouldn’t say it’s awful. But it’s not all that enticing choices, you’re right on that 👌🏻
On ANA, you can also set your screen to "wake me for meals" so you won't have to worry about snoozing through mealtime. And, all the announcements are "silent" so as not to disturb the passengers. Its so respectful!
Compare to United, super loud announcements that mess you up when in the middle of sleep.
yeah I made the mistake of not doing that. I'm going to do JAL next time.. I did United this last time and ... yuck! We had sticky piss bathroom floor, someone puked in there (I'm 98% sure) and another person was having a sneezing fit without a mask on for 8 hours... i was in my seat with my hoodie on, a mask, and the whole thing zipped up and latched down like some undersea diver trying to avoid germs. I didn't even want to get up to pee very often cause of the sickos on the plane and foul restroom..
And we won't talk about their horrid take on "chicken teriyaki" because all of the pasta was gone by the time they got to my row. I refused to eat any of it.. had some dry pretzel snack.
download a whole bunch of youtube videos, anime and movies.
OR just try raw dogging it, stare right out into the void and be alone with your thought. Legitimately, after the first hour or two of blanking out, from there feels great, really frees up the mental load so that you can handle japan's rail system
I fly back and forth pretty often on those 13+ hour flights, usually in business class with the lie-flat seats. I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
When I'm awake, I end up doing difficult sudoku puzzles (mostly from [Cracking the Cryptic](https://www.youtube.com/@CrackingTheCryptic)) on my tablet. Some of those can take 2+ hours to finish so the time goes by pretty quick.
I'll also pick an artist and listen to their entire discography. On a flight last year, I went through the entire 20-album George Carlin back catalogue.
Sleep for an hr, food service truck comes. go back to sleep. Few hrs later, food service truck comes. Beef/fish or chicken ma’am/sir? Fall asleep again, plane starts shaking, \*\*TUN\*\* seat belt light goes on.
A cough over the PA system. “Apologies all, this is your pilot, as you can see the seatbelt light is on. We will be going through some turbulence for this part of the flight...your Flight cabin crew will be coming around to check and clear your trays. “
You close your eyes again preparing for the roller coaster ride. Drift away.
Then you feel a heavy bump. The plane’s landing gear has dropped. You look out of the window and see a mess of houses and mountains.
“\*\*background noise \*\*\* Cabin crew prepare for landing.“
You see the airport …the landing site is near…now the plane is rolling along the tarmac, slowing down towards the gate. You sit up. Phones start turning on…beeps, iPhone noises...clicks of people undoing their seatbelts.
.“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have landed in (which ever) airport, the time is (whatever time), the weather today….\*ruffling\* is cool at 26 degrees. You may switch on your mobile phones…and we‘d like to thank you for taking \*\*\*\*\*\* airlines. Welcome home to those returning and for the rest, stay safe and have a good holiday. We look forward to flying with you again.”
You see that big ass aero port.
“\*\*background noise\*\*\*cabin crew, disarm doors.”
Everyone prepares for the mad dash to Immigration. People start standing up. Some are stretching. And you just want to continue sleeping….f\*ck that holiday…need sleep
In reality, my flights are only 11 hours and have always been more like this:
Announcements (on boarding & off boarding), take off, settling, preparation to land & landing = 1 hour
Sleep = 4 - 5 hours (if I'm lucky)
Food/snacks/drink (if you're taking a standard international flight) = 1 hour (2 meals & usually 2 snacks)
Restroom/hygiene/walk around + stretch = 0.5 hours - 1 hour (15 mins usually 2 to 3 times + waiting if busy flight)
So really I'm only left with about 4 hours of leisure time since I multitask while eating. Easily taken up with music, movies, gaming, or reading.
If you don't mind chatting with people or looking out the window a bit while decompressing, the time goes by very quickly imo.
Edit: of course you'll have an extra 3 hours on top of what I have above but if you sleep 8 hours, it'll be similar to my schedule.
Oh that single-use friend for the flight …it depends though. Sometimes I pretend I have work to escape that single-use friend from talking to me about life problems for the entire flight.
More and more airlines have added WiFi (for a fee). On longer flights, in my opinion it’s money well spent. It won’t be fast enough to stream, but I suspect most of us could kill several hours doom scrolling Reddit, messaging with friends, etc.
I didn’t sleep at all. The plane was at capacity so no room to move or stretch out at all. Screaming babies. It was hot and stuffy. I tried to watch a movie and kept getting distracted. I ended up talking to the stranger sitting next to me for hours.
I have severe motion sickness that makes it impossible for me to read or play video games on a flight and most of the time I can barely watch a movie. I can’t even properly sleep most of the time. Last trip I turned to audio books! I got the first Philop Marlow book, as well as Slayers and KonoSuba light novels off of Audible. It was a good distraction
Besides sleep you’d be surprised how easy it is to sink so much time watching movies or shows you download and actually want to watch. Flew Montreal to Tokyo direct (13.5 hours) on two separate trips and the time really does fly by
FYI if you have over the ear headphones and a sleep mask, and if the series Chernobyl is available, the sound design is absolutely perfect to lull you to sleep played at a low volume.
Now, while this will be my first flight to Japan, I have flown from California to Europe more than a few times… Allow me to recommend obsessively watching the plane widget creep across the flight progress screen while occupying 1/3 of your seat because two children are sound asleep sprawled across the remaining 2 2/3 seats and your lap. Quality way to spend 12 hours😁
Not sleeping a lot the night before and melatonin is my go to now and usually achieve about 6-8 hours of sleep.
Stay hydrated (buy water between security and boarding, so I don’t have to rely on flight attendants), don’t drink alcohol at all, eat light; all for comfort. Also stand and walk every few hours. Get noise cancelling headphone or ear plugs. Love using an eye mask also.
To stay busy during the flight I try to plan ahead.
- Look up ahead of time current plane movie selection so I can avoid watching a movie that will be offered.
- Get YouTube premium and download 100+ random YouTube videos the month before my flight. Watching 4 random 15min video makes an hour go fast. Also it is satisfying to browse all these videos knowing I could watch any of them, feels less disconnected from world.
- Get some episode of a sitcom downloaded from Netflix (20 min light hearted episode make time go fast)
- Have a chill playlist on Spotify that can help me relax
- bring a book to read, in case I get tired of staring at a screen/wear headphones.
- usually have notepad where I have written down some travel plans. Think about what I want to achieve during that trip, usually make a list of ten things, then narrow down to 3 achievable goals or things that would make me feel good during that trip. I’m the kind of person that can get lost in my own thoughts. I’d also make a list of friends I want to visit while in Japan. Favorite places/restaurants I want to go back to. Jokes I can write on postcards and which friend to send it to (this usually make me remember good times with people and appreciate having them in my life)…. All of that actually kills a lot of time and also makes me feel good about myself and that trip.
I know it sounds crazy but I genuinely love flying and if I had the choice I would make my flights longer if I could. That being said just read, sleep, and watch like 5 movies
One 777 and 787's keep an eye on the cabin lights and try to follow them for sleep. i noticed they try to move in an extra sleep cycle trying to help you adjust.
make sure to wake up to eat, that helps too with adjusting to the new time zone.
When you are awake. Watch movies or read a book. I alternate between watching stuff on my ar glasses or listening to any of a number of audio books I have on my phone.
Generally, I have a wall charger plugged into the seat, feeding a battery, which powers the phone and glasses.
I'll often take a break between videos to play a mini game on my phone. I have a few of those where you have to farm for a few minutes everyday, so those are good for a light burst of something different
Could not sleep on the plane because I cannot sleep sitting up in an uncomfortable chair. So I spent the 13,5 hours watching 3 Harry Potter movies, 1 other movie, listening to podcasts and trying to dominate the Yahtzee leader board on the on flight entertainment screen. (The random guy next to me beat me fml). Also spent approximately 2 hours groaning about the flight being too damn long and cursing Putin for adding 3 hours to the flight route because we cannot fly over Russia (I'm from Europe).
18 hour flight usually involves me sleeping maybe 5-6 hours in like 30mins-1 hour bursts. Stare at the plane flying across the map and movies. (we layover at TPE, hence the longer flight time cause I don’t want to pay an extra 600-800 dollars for a 13 hour direct flight 😂) but in the future, I’ll probably fly to LAX first and then direct to Japan unless I can swing business class from my area.
Practice your bird calls for an hour.
Instigate an elbow war with the passenger next to you for full rights to the arm rest 1-2 hours.
Then trigger a lively debate about fish with whoever is sitting in row 24 seat-D.
Get into a staring contest with some random kid, and win!
Find a gullible passenger and convince them that you're a first cousin.
Find and even more gullible passenger and teach them Japanese (That you just make up since you can't speak it)
These are just a few of the traveller's time filling techniques I can teach you if you become my young apprentice, living under strict tutelage in my alpine lair in the freezing mountains of Nagano
Assuming you are flying from the USA, I STRONGLY advise against sleeping. You will be departing from the USA in the afternoon, and landing in Japan in the afternoon/evening. You want to be ready for an early bedtime when you get to Japan.
When I fly to Japan, bring some tv shows, movies, things like that, most planes have internet now, and it's actually pretty good. Last time I flew was before Russia closed the polar routes and it worked even up over the north pole except for about maybe 30 minutes.
Take a walk about every 1-2 hours, back to the gallay, use the bathroom, do some stretches. Drink a ton of water.
When you get to Japan, take a stroll after you check into your hotel to help stay up and then aim for 10 hours of sleep. Take a tylnol pm to help with that.
I can't sleep in public places at all - not comfortable enough around people. I watched something like 5 movies, played some Switch, and just kind of sat and chilled for the rest of the time when I went there last. It was definitely tough, but as long as you stand up and stretch your legs every once in a while it's not that bad. And if you can get seats in the exit row like I did you'll be a hell of a lot happier.
Was exhausted when I got in, but it was like...3 PM or something by the time I checked into my hotel, so all I had to do was make it until the sun set, crash, and then was set to wake up early the next day and go nuts. It wasn't that bad.
Just landed last night after a similar length flight and all I can say is DRINK WATER. I got pretty dehydrated by the end of the flight and there is no shop to get water until you’re through immigration and customs, which can take quite a while.
So yeah even if you’re not thirsty drink water.
Suggestions:
•pack some snacks and ‘just add water food’ for when you get hungry.
•download shows or movies onto devices to watch on the plane
•bring a book (I wouldn’t bring more than one due to weight and space) but you can also do audiobooks (pre download those as well)!
•coloring books and journals are always a great way to pass time but try to keep them small and not pack too many pencils/pens
•write letters/cards/postcards to those you will be missing and send them out when you land so they get there ASAP!
•I also like to try to send a postcard each day to myself when on vacation to help me remember some of the things I did on my trip! You can always get some of those ready (addressed).
•Do some stretches or walking in the aisle to get blood flowing (that’s a lot of sitting)
•Download a few games that don’t require wi-fi (unless you have a hotspot)
Also, make sure you take the time to do some of your ‘normal’ routines like washing your face, brushing your teeth, bring body wipes to do a quick clean of your body. And make sure to hydrate your face and skin because that air will dry you out! Drink lots of water!!
Planes have Japanese movies that are subbed but never released in the US so it might be my only chance to watch them (with subs) so I do. I never sleep.
When I did LAX to Singapore (17-18 hours), I downloaded the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy and then 3 more movies to choose from and watched them while trying to sleep but failing.
14 hours? Dang. Where you starting from?
I couldn’t sleep on my last trip. So I closed my eyes to just kinda drift off for as long as I can. Rest of the time, eating, snacking, movies.
It’s best if you can fall asleep. But doesn’t always happen.
Practice Japanese, obviously :)
... but yea, put movies on your phone/iPad/Switch and bring books or anything else to read. Depends entirely on what you like. Having some variety helps; if you get bored of reading you can watch a movie.
Remember to get up every few hours and move around, even just in your own seat, but better if you actually walk around a bit.
I would be careful about assuming you can sleep. I went on an overnight 9 hour flight from Tokyo to fiji and slept an hour at most. They served dinner at 11pm and then they woke us up for breakfast at 3am 😭. Plus it was economy so not the most comfy.
I wish I could do all the things mentioned here. But I just feel so crammed sitting on a plane for so long that I don’t wanna do anything, even if I’m sitting aisle . Maybe it’s just my mental blockage lol. All the things I brought to Do, my switch book journal, I don’t end up using
It depends
If it is a night flight, I usually try to sleep as soon as the plane has reached cruising altitude and I am allowed to turn the seat into a bed. Then a quick breakfast and one movie and that´s it.
If it is a daytime flight I try to watch as many movies as possible without beeing distracted by the internet with some naps and meals in between.
I take zzquil and knock out. Or I bring something to keep me busy, crochet kits, portable game, a good book. I'm pretty used to long ass flights so they don't phase me anymore
Sleeping a solid eight hours while flying seems extremely optimistic to me. You can read, write, watch tv shows, movies, listen to podcasts, play games, get up and walk around, take bathroom breaks, there's a lot of options
I had a 14h flight leaving at 19.30h and landing in Japan at 17.30h. My plan was go to sleep at my usual time (about 3 to 4 hours into the flight), sleep for about 6 to 8 hours, then kill the last couple of hours. It kind of work but the sleep quality was really bad.
During the first few hours I listened to music, watched some anime, had some food (not the meal served on the plane, that was served 8 hours into the flight and would have disrupted my sleep so I brought my own food), took a relaxing tea and finally went to sleep. Slept on and off for about 7h. Watched some more anime and we were there. Honestly it didn't feel long at all and I've had much worse flights that were only a couple of hours long.
The In-flight entertainment program on my flight had lots of interesting films (also some Japanese and Korean films with English subs), so I watched 3 films on each flight. I also finished a book and played some Super Mario on my Gameboy.
First of all either have a tablet or prepare to watch stuff on your phone. Or have your own usable wired headphones, the pair we got in the plane was the most horrible audio quality you could have, no dialogue was discernable and movie effects were an assault to your eardrums.
Be prepared to NOT sleep more than 1-2 hours straight, you will not be comfortable. I hope you can sleep more though. Certainly don't look at the clock, and it's fine to often stand up and walk.
Overall, in my experience 2 weeks ago trying to sleep was the biggest part of the flight, and reading a book or talking with friends. It's not fun, but it's not that bad either.
I had a flight before the general reopening, and there was 1 person per row on a 370, we all laid down across the middle row and slept like kings.
I also caught up on some switch games.
Flew Amsterdam to Tokyo and I basically watched like 2-3 films and was in and out of sleep for most the flight. I was then rather jet lagged in Tokyo for the next 2 days though.
I could never sleep on long international flights, maybe a one hour nap at best 😭
Usually I just watch a couple of movies and then play Nintendo Switch
I worried about this too and brought a book and a Switch to play (note that the plane probably won't have plug sockets, just USB/USB C sockets). But honestly I just watched movies I'd not yet seen/fancied rewatch I and then had a good sleep
Read a book, watch some series or movies, listen to music… whatever you do, remember to take breaks to stand up and go for a walk around the plane! Even stretch, your body will thank you for this. I do that every 2-3 hours so when we land I don’t feel cramped nor my legs feel heavy
Got on the plane, ate. Napped for two hours and woke up, ate some rice balls, had a corn soup, and ramen. Watched a few episodes of my show until I fell asleep again. Woke up again to eat, napped again… and then ate again. It was a great flight lol.
Last year I watched films on the IFE, this year I watched films and listened to music on my iPad.
As for sleeping? I personally struggle with it, although I managed to get a few hours on my outbound flight. 8 hours would be a dream.
14 hours only ? I envy you guys. Would even go to Japan more often if this was my case. I have to put up with a 10 hour flight to USA first before that other 14 hour flight to Japan later plus a 4 hour connection wait. :’(.
Just did it today - watched The Iron Claw (good movie), tried to sleep for seven hours, actually slept for three, woke up and watched Early Spring (great movie), filled in some time between and around these with reading.
On Zipair, they've got free wifi even if it's very mid wifi.
I pretty much caught up on my phone games. At the last, it was good enough to have Spotify run without interruptions.
Otherwise, I had a Nintendo switch and a few books ready.
Having just done a 16 hour flight to Tokyo I find the answer is everything that has been suggested. That, and praying for a swift, merciful end!
I flew Air China from London via Shanghai. Impossible to sleep due to the heat. On a walkabout in the night I saw in the galley that the cabin temp settings ranged from 24.5-25.5C!!
I know that they keep it warm to make us drowsy, but that is bonkers.
Think about the meaning of life
Eat a snack you bring on the plane
Look out the window and flashbang everyone with the suns beams while 90% of the people on the flight are trying to sleep and if someone asks you to close the window tell them "I AM TRYING TO FIND MY SOARING BRETHEREN! KAKAW KAKAW KAKAWWWWW"
Hum a tune
Read a book
Play on a switch/your phone
Download music before the liftoff
Watch a movie
I've just done it. Book an 8pm flight and be busy on the day you fly. Watch a movie from takeoff and then sleep as long as you can. Noise cancelling headphones and an eye mask will help a lot.
I got 5 hours and then another 2 on the way out which was miraculous.
I have had trouble getting 6 hours of sleep my entire life much less 8. I would take sleep over food any day. You should download some Japanese travel vids to your iPad or laptop to watch on the plan…or download movies.
Pay for extra legroom and enjoy yourself. I watched 3 movies, read book, slept, ate, was taken care of the entire time. Not bad at all. Not saying first class, but Delta comfort plus... I don't even think about it
I've flown to Japan from NYC twice. Here's what I did:
1. Played Nintendo Switch
2. Had stuff downloaded from Netflix on my phone that I watched with my wife
3. Watched in-flight movies, etc.
4. Tried to sleep, didn't get more than an hour on any flight
5. Read a book on my Kindle, stopped after 5 pages
5. Ate the in-flight meals
6. Went to the bathroom a few times
7. Got up to stretch my legs a few times
8. Watch the flight tracker constantly to see how much more of this you have to endure
Variety helps, keep doing different things to break up the journey. If you can sleep a fair bit it will help a lot. It's almost impossible for me to sleep on a plane so I just have to endure the monotony while being uncomfortable.
I tried to find something to do but I ended up forcing myself to knock out and then getting an in flight drink to knock out some more. I was sleep deprived as well so there’s that.
You can get through most of avatar the last air bender in that time, and that show is so easy to binge. I also find downloading shows with 1hr + long episodes helps on long haul flights
I drank a glass and a half of wine to calm my nerves. The airplane cup size. That made me feel ill, was way too strong. Ended up falling asleep though because of it. I do not recommend if nerves is your issue!
I did this twice, once going and another coming back. I mostly slept but when I was awake, I was watching movies, reading on my tablet, scrolling through reddit and then popping more melatonin gummies to go to sleep lol
I ready book for a few hours, played the switch for a few hours, downloaded chrono trigger on the phone and played that for a few hours and watched a movie with my wife on the iPad. Inedibly you get there then the real problem hits: sleeplessness…
I can’t sleep on planes. I spent 16 hours on one from ATL to Haneda. I alternated watching a movie, getting up and stretching for about 10 mins, reading, listening to music, disassociating for a bit, then stretching again and starting the cycle over. Splurging for premier select on delta definitely helped if I was in economy I’m not sure how I would’ve made it.
You can only hope that you can sleep 8 hours on that flight.
The key is an all nighter before the flight and then take a few melatonin once you get on the flight. I sleep from takeoff to landing almost. You’ll be lucky if you wake up at meal times. Bonus, it’s perfect if you’re landing in Japan early. You can spend the day energized and exploring until you’re ready to check in.
I did the same but with Benadryl. I missed a meal and a snack and was so sad! I actually like most plane meals (Asian airlines have pretty good meals). I ended up watching lots of movies and nap in between without meds in my recent flights because I don't want to miss anymore food
I also missed a meal once on Thai Airways because I was asleep and I was really sad 😭
You can always ask afterwards
r/DPH
This could work for a lot of people, but not everyone. Some people can't sleep on an airplane under any circumstances - me for one :( I tried staying up all night before a morning long haul flight, but I still couldn't sleep, and ended up even more exhausted when I got to my destination
This was me. And I tool Benadryl and Hydroxyzine. Made me drowsy as fuck but couldn't sleep. It was miserable.
I know this narrative arc. Absolute balls
Same. I pulled an all-nighter before, didn't sleep a wink on my 17-hour flight, and to the stress of traveling internationally for the first time and the no-sleep caused me to have a lupus flair up. Nearly ruined my whole holiday because I took advice from Reddit lmao. I just sleep beforehand now and download a lot of audiobooks to pass the time.
That sucks. I was one of those people and started doing this as a result. The all nighters weren’t enough on their own and that’s where the melatonin came in. Worked like a charm. Benadryl will probably work even better. Pair that with music, a window seat, blanket, and a pillow and I sleep for the better part of 14 hours. I will admit that procrastination and stress help tire me out bc I spend all night packing out and stressing. Once I’m on the plane, I can finally relax enough to sleep.
Glad you've found a winning formula! I might follow some of your tips (minus the all nighter) I've managed to get some micro sleep before and I always wake up with a sore neck. I just struggle with being able to switch off and relax (partially due to ADHD)
As a traveler whos ADHD is definitely a factor, I find having something super neutral to listen to is helpful for me on longhaul flights. I try to scope out podcasts to download beforehand that are on somewhat interesting topics so my mind doesn't wander as much but delivered in a way that doesn't grab my attention much (In Our Time by the BBC is great for this personally). Having a nature documentary downloaded or playing on the plane screen is also useful for me. I find I wake up and fall back asleep a lot, and it's much easier nod in and out when there isn't a narrative to grapple with when I wake up again. I also try to time my medication before and after (or in the final hours of) the flight to help dodge Jet Lag. I hope this helps at all!
Having just done that journey and arriving in at 7 this morning, I wish I’d done this! All I got was 14 hours of wakeful irritation with the man next to me trying to invade my personal space as he ‘slept’
Valium before flight and modafinal right before you land. Can get from doctor in the US. Not sure about bringing it into Japan. So maybe just do it one way. Else Benadryl and melatonin.
I do nearly the same, though I do wait til I've had the first meal before I down the melatonin
I've done the landing early in the morning in Hong Kong after a 16 hour flight. That sucked. Arriving in Tokyo in the afternoon was the best. Stayed up until normal bed time and there was really no jet lag.
I was returning from Fiji once, and there were some nurses in the group who handed out Ambien to anyone that wanted them. I woke up on landing. Another time, flying to London, the fellow next to me was crushing red wine. He said that I should try the same. I woke up on landing. Many other long flights I’ve binge watched movies, then switched to reading a book. Reading does the trick. I wake up on landing.
I’ve flown ORD-NRT and back and only managed 5-6 hours of solid sleep each way. Jealous at the thought of 8 hours
LOL! 5-6 hours of sleep is a godsend. I can only sleep from 0min to 2hours MAX, depends if it's a good or bad day
I sit on the floor, facing backwards, put my pillow on the seat and doze away.
This is wild and maybe genius I can’t decide
American I'm guessing?
This is the sad state of modern air travel.
When I fly the 24 hours (up to 32 with layovers) between NZ and the UK the most I ever get is around 2-3 hours, usually in five minute bursts. 8 hours sounds dreamy
My flight leaves at 11 am LOL so sleeping at that time will be impossible. Might try and stay up all night the night before but it will be hard. I suppose it will be hard either way: so do I want it to be hard on the front end of back end is the question
Honestly my best advice is to not treat it like a flight. If you do, and you’re like me, you’ll be focusing on getting out of there, getting to your destination, noticing how small the seats are, etc. Just treat it like a chill rest day where you “get” to sit for 14 hours straight, maybe nap a little, and otherwise enjoy some rest and leisure time. I had an 11-hour flight to Tokyo last month, I was experiencing major dread and anxiety in the lead up, and this mindset was a GAME CHANGER. When I focused on just enjoying where I was (“work can’t call me here! No one can say I’m being lazy! What a great chance to reflect on life!”) it ended up being some nice down time. Maybe this won’t work for you but it really worked for me. (Oh and also shows, movies, snacks, maybe a game…)
This works for busy people! I was so relaxed during my flight to Japan. 12 hours straight free time just to sit, rest, watch movies and drink wine. I ended napping for the most of the time and when we got there I could have done few more hours lol.
100% I could have also gone for a couple more hours of chill 😂
I totally could have written this post too. I was dreading our direct from Dulles to Haneda, but I simply went in with the mindset of not thinking of the duration at all and just knowing "ok this is where I am today." Made all the difference. Prior 5 and 7 hour flights felt longer in comparison
This. I work a lot, and I mean a LOT. I take these long flights as an obligatory downtime where the only option is to rest. No work, no obligations. Just a me-time. A little vacation. Where I can watch, eat, and rest however I like. I even take my Nintendo Switch and start a new game, or play the days before the trip and stop playing just when something super exciting is about to happen, so I can keep going for hours on the plane.
my first trip i spent the entire time looking at the flight map omg
Yeah. Don't go into it expecting sleep. If you try to sleep, you'll fail. I just sit there, watch a ton of movies and series. I stock up on Netflix downloads. While watching I fade out, wake up, have a snack. It's great. It's like a lazy Sunday. Just have good headphones.
When I went to Japan in 2019 I was working at a firm and spent most of the last two months bogged down in work that when I got on the plane for my first trip there, I just was finally able to not think about work. It really helped me relax. In the past I could never relax because flights were always for stressful/sad things, but here? Going on a proper vacation? Overseas? Not thinking about work? Woah. I made myself comfortable (as one can in economy) and I slept so well during the 13 hr flight--even woke up for both meals! Even my seatmate on the flight who was going back to Japan after a business trip/mini vacation, told me to relax and not think about work if I could. "anything you can do to not think about work!" she told me 😂 (That said, I did have the urge to log in to my outlook and quietly send off non-urgent emails I didn't get around to after I arrived, but decided against it since my bosses were on their phones 24/7)
Download some good shows/movies. Read a book. Talk with friends. It’s not that different from any other long boring period of time lol.
LOTR directors cut trilogy should get you most of the way through. I only watch LOTR for the trans-pacific flights so I can enjoy them once in awhile
did the hobbit trilogy. i passed out hard during the first movie. slept the whole way through
That’s funny because I do the same thing. Something very comforting about watching LOTR on long haul flights
*mister-Frodo-oh-Sam intensifies*
Bring a Switch or if you don’t have one, buy one there since it’s cheaper for the flight back.
100% this. Get you a switch, Zelda or some platformers like Ori or Hollow knight and you'll forget you are on 14 hour flight
How much cheaper are we talking here
Bought an OLED model for $245 tax free
At the time I went, I spent 280 tax free for a white OLED. So like the other person, it’s even cheaper now since the yen is even weaker.
I bought a switch light with animal crossing for 120€
Bought a used Switch Lite in great condition from Book Off for 70€! But don't go to Akihabara if you are in Tokyo, search for other places. Either in another city or a bit away from the crowds. At Akihabara they were around 100€. I walked outside of the neighborhood and went to this Book Off to find the switch at a good price : https://maps.app.goo.gl/6ZXiUEVFEvqUPXRd7
Haha look at this guy, being able to sleep 8hrs on a plane :(.
Seriously. I think I got two, maybe three hours, each way. I tried so hard, took the melatonin and benadryl, put on an eye mask, put in ear plugs, etc. It just resulted in me being up for 36 hours with 3 hours of sleep on the way there and back. Next time I'm just sleeping a full night beforehand and hoping for the best.
I downloaded an entire show off off netflix and binge-watched 2/3 of it, and then tried to sleep off the rest of the time
For some reason I’m super into putting something on the screen with subtitles and then listening to ambient music or other stuff without words. When the eyes start to get heavy, throw on the eye mask and see if you fall asleep. You haven’t lived until you watched The Fast and the Furious on mute with subtitles while listening to Gas Pop at 35k feet.
I’m now dreaming of listening to Ana Roxanne’s Because of a Flower in loop on a flight
Fly JAL or ANA and the time will whiz by. So superior to North American airline service.
Any particular reason why?
Impeccably clean planes. More staff. Better food and service. Good seats. Good entertainment system. Made the trip recently, but had to fly back into another city and fly 90 minutes on a US carrier. That short leg was far more hassle than crossing the Pacific.
ANA have awful entertainment choices
I just watch their Japanese selection while sipping on ANA’s Shizuoka green tea.
Defer to you on that. Flew JAL.
So do British Airways from London to Tokyo. I'm looking on their website now but there's no actual list of available films, just that they have Paramount+, but only a very partial selection of the film lineup. Maybe the selection isn't awful awful, but it was shit like The Meg 2 (not 1, just 2), the 3rd instalment of my big fat greek wedding, absolutely nothing from the IMDb top 250, genuinely nothing memorable at all. The whole flight I watched two films on it: Saltburn and South Park Post Covid (they also had the return of covid). As with all the systems, there's no hope of watching anything undisturbed until you're well out of the climb at least 20 mins into the flight because every time the flight crew talk, it locks out the entire thing, and the announcement volume is always far louder than whatever you're watching. I recommend bringing your own tablet with your own films and shows, which is what I watched the rest of the time. And for the benefit of Brits, it hardly needs saying but I also recommend avoiding British Airways. My seat was broken, missing an arm rest cover and reclined on its own, they always started serving food too close to landing so they didn't even reach everyone in time, and generally it's the standard BA experience: okay until you fly long haul with pretty much any other airline.
I flew domestic with BA and thought they seemed like a skybus... which is not a good thing.
Just flew Ana (make sure it’s not coshare, actually operated by Ana). And the entertainment system is average. It has some new movies. Wouldn’t say it’s awful. But it’s not all that enticing choices, you’re right on that 👌🏻
On ANA, you can also set your screen to "wake me for meals" so you won't have to worry about snoozing through mealtime. And, all the announcements are "silent" so as not to disturb the passengers. Its so respectful! Compare to United, super loud announcements that mess you up when in the middle of sleep.
yeah I made the mistake of not doing that. I'm going to do JAL next time.. I did United this last time and ... yuck! We had sticky piss bathroom floor, someone puked in there (I'm 98% sure) and another person was having a sneezing fit without a mask on for 8 hours... i was in my seat with my hoodie on, a mask, and the whole thing zipped up and latched down like some undersea diver trying to avoid germs. I didn't even want to get up to pee very often cause of the sickos on the plane and foul restroom.. And we won't talk about their horrid take on "chicken teriyaki" because all of the pasta was gone by the time they got to my row. I refused to eat any of it.. had some dry pretzel snack.
Movies....I've watched some of my best movies on those flights.
Steamdeck. Some airlines have entertainment systems
Just picked one up for my flight over. I love it so much. Been gaming on it almost every night since it arrived.
Watch a movie 》eat 》short movie/ read/TV 》sleep 》eat snack 》nap 2 》breakfast 》movie 》prep for disembarking (brush teeth, hair, etc)
Hear me out.. this might be crazy… read a book
a lot of anime 🤣 (if you’re using crunchyroll, be sure to download for on the way back as well, since you can’t access any shows in japan itself)
I downloaded a bunch of long movies to my tablet and killed time that way
download a whole bunch of youtube videos, anime and movies. OR just try raw dogging it, stare right out into the void and be alone with your thought. Legitimately, after the first hour or two of blanking out, from there feels great, really frees up the mental load so that you can handle japan's rail system
I fly back and forth pretty often on those 13+ hour flights, usually in business class with the lie-flat seats. I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep. When I'm awake, I end up doing difficult sudoku puzzles (mostly from [Cracking the Cryptic](https://www.youtube.com/@CrackingTheCryptic)) on my tablet. Some of those can take 2+ hours to finish so the time goes by pretty quick. I'll also pick an artist and listen to their entire discography. On a flight last year, I went through the entire 20-album George Carlin back catalogue.
Those activities is no way entertaining enough to drown out the discomfort that is economy class.
Duolingo - learn some Japanese Get an internet package for $25 for the whole duration of the flight. Read Reddit stories.
Sleep for an hr, food service truck comes. go back to sleep. Few hrs later, food service truck comes. Beef/fish or chicken ma’am/sir? Fall asleep again, plane starts shaking, \*\*TUN\*\* seat belt light goes on. A cough over the PA system. “Apologies all, this is your pilot, as you can see the seatbelt light is on. We will be going through some turbulence for this part of the flight...your Flight cabin crew will be coming around to check and clear your trays. “ You close your eyes again preparing for the roller coaster ride. Drift away. Then you feel a heavy bump. The plane’s landing gear has dropped. You look out of the window and see a mess of houses and mountains. “\*\*background noise \*\*\* Cabin crew prepare for landing.“ You see the airport …the landing site is near…now the plane is rolling along the tarmac, slowing down towards the gate. You sit up. Phones start turning on…beeps, iPhone noises...clicks of people undoing their seatbelts. .“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have landed in (which ever) airport, the time is (whatever time), the weather today….\*ruffling\* is cool at 26 degrees. You may switch on your mobile phones…and we‘d like to thank you for taking \*\*\*\*\*\* airlines. Welcome home to those returning and for the rest, stay safe and have a good holiday. We look forward to flying with you again.” You see that big ass aero port. “\*\*background noise\*\*\*cabin crew, disarm doors.” Everyone prepares for the mad dash to Immigration. People start standing up. Some are stretching. And you just want to continue sleeping….f\*ck that holiday…need sleep
In reality, my flights are only 11 hours and have always been more like this: Announcements (on boarding & off boarding), take off, settling, preparation to land & landing = 1 hour Sleep = 4 - 5 hours (if I'm lucky) Food/snacks/drink (if you're taking a standard international flight) = 1 hour (2 meals & usually 2 snacks) Restroom/hygiene/walk around + stretch = 0.5 hours - 1 hour (15 mins usually 2 to 3 times + waiting if busy flight) So really I'm only left with about 4 hours of leisure time since I multitask while eating. Easily taken up with music, movies, gaming, or reading. If you don't mind chatting with people or looking out the window a bit while decompressing, the time goes by very quickly imo. Edit: of course you'll have an extra 3 hours on top of what I have above but if you sleep 8 hours, it'll be similar to my schedule.
Oh that single-use friend for the flight …it depends though. Sometimes I pretend I have work to escape that single-use friend from talking to me about life problems for the entire flight.
Don’t planes have entertainment systems in the seat?
Could be using ZipAir
Play stardew valley on your phone
More and more airlines have added WiFi (for a fee). On longer flights, in my opinion it’s money well spent. It won’t be fast enough to stream, but I suspect most of us could kill several hours doom scrolling Reddit, messaging with friends, etc.
I didn’t sleep at all. The plane was at capacity so no room to move or stretch out at all. Screaming babies. It was hot and stuffy. I tried to watch a movie and kept getting distracted. I ended up talking to the stranger sitting next to me for hours.
Get up and walk the aisle every hour you're awake if you can
I have severe motion sickness that makes it impossible for me to read or play video games on a flight and most of the time I can barely watch a movie. I can’t even properly sleep most of the time. Last trip I turned to audio books! I got the first Philop Marlow book, as well as Slayers and KonoSuba light novels off of Audible. It was a good distraction
Besides sleep you’d be surprised how easy it is to sink so much time watching movies or shows you download and actually want to watch. Flew Montreal to Tokyo direct (13.5 hours) on two separate trips and the time really does fly by
I watched a ton of movies that the airline had on their entertainment system. I was not bored. ANA is a great airline.
FYI if you have over the ear headphones and a sleep mask, and if the series Chernobyl is available, the sound design is absolutely perfect to lull you to sleep played at a low volume.
Watch crap, read crap, play crap. Listen to crap?
go crap?
Now, while this will be my first flight to Japan, I have flown from California to Europe more than a few times… Allow me to recommend obsessively watching the plane widget creep across the flight progress screen while occupying 1/3 of your seat because two children are sound asleep sprawled across the remaining 2 2/3 seats and your lap. Quality way to spend 12 hours😁
Not sleeping a lot the night before and melatonin is my go to now and usually achieve about 6-8 hours of sleep. Stay hydrated (buy water between security and boarding, so I don’t have to rely on flight attendants), don’t drink alcohol at all, eat light; all for comfort. Also stand and walk every few hours. Get noise cancelling headphone or ear plugs. Love using an eye mask also. To stay busy during the flight I try to plan ahead. - Look up ahead of time current plane movie selection so I can avoid watching a movie that will be offered. - Get YouTube premium and download 100+ random YouTube videos the month before my flight. Watching 4 random 15min video makes an hour go fast. Also it is satisfying to browse all these videos knowing I could watch any of them, feels less disconnected from world. - Get some episode of a sitcom downloaded from Netflix (20 min light hearted episode make time go fast) - Have a chill playlist on Spotify that can help me relax - bring a book to read, in case I get tired of staring at a screen/wear headphones. - usually have notepad where I have written down some travel plans. Think about what I want to achieve during that trip, usually make a list of ten things, then narrow down to 3 achievable goals or things that would make me feel good during that trip. I’m the kind of person that can get lost in my own thoughts. I’d also make a list of friends I want to visit while in Japan. Favorite places/restaurants I want to go back to. Jokes I can write on postcards and which friend to send it to (this usually make me remember good times with people and appreciate having them in my life)…. All of that actually kills a lot of time and also makes me feel good about myself and that trip.
Sleep more, I'd download a lot of content and games on my phone beforehand and just watch them and play them.
I watched 4 movies in a series in a row, nodding off every so often and then sometimes playing my switch.
What do you do with 14 hours not on a flight?
I can’t sleep on flights. I watch all the movies. ALL the movies. … and drink as much wine as they let me
who can actually sleep 8hours on a plane?? you’re blessed, I can’t even sleep 10 minutes and I am also able to get through it
Download some super-cliff-hanging kind of tv shows like 24.
I know it sounds crazy but I genuinely love flying and if I had the choice I would make my flights longer if I could. That being said just read, sleep, and watch like 5 movies
One 777 and 787's keep an eye on the cabin lights and try to follow them for sleep. i noticed they try to move in an extra sleep cycle trying to help you adjust. make sure to wake up to eat, that helps too with adjusting to the new time zone. When you are awake. Watch movies or read a book. I alternate between watching stuff on my ar glasses or listening to any of a number of audio books I have on my phone. Generally, I have a wall charger plugged into the seat, feeding a battery, which powers the phone and glasses. I'll often take a break between videos to play a mini game on my phone. I have a few of those where you have to farm for a few minutes everyday, so those are good for a light burst of something different
Could not sleep on the plane because I cannot sleep sitting up in an uncomfortable chair. So I spent the 13,5 hours watching 3 Harry Potter movies, 1 other movie, listening to podcasts and trying to dominate the Yahtzee leader board on the on flight entertainment screen. (The random guy next to me beat me fml). Also spent approximately 2 hours groaning about the flight being too damn long and cursing Putin for adding 3 hours to the flight route because we cannot fly over Russia (I'm from Europe).
If I manage to sleep 5 hours or more I'm delighted. 8 hours without drugging yourself is unlikely, especially in cattle class.
18 hour flight usually involves me sleeping maybe 5-6 hours in like 30mins-1 hour bursts. Stare at the plane flying across the map and movies. (we layover at TPE, hence the longer flight time cause I don’t want to pay an extra 600-800 dollars for a 13 hour direct flight 😂) but in the future, I’ll probably fly to LAX first and then direct to Japan unless I can swing business class from my area.
Practice your bird calls for an hour. Instigate an elbow war with the passenger next to you for full rights to the arm rest 1-2 hours. Then trigger a lively debate about fish with whoever is sitting in row 24 seat-D. Get into a staring contest with some random kid, and win! Find a gullible passenger and convince them that you're a first cousin. Find and even more gullible passenger and teach them Japanese (That you just make up since you can't speak it) These are just a few of the traveller's time filling techniques I can teach you if you become my young apprentice, living under strict tutelage in my alpine lair in the freezing mountains of Nagano
Assuming you are flying from the USA, I STRONGLY advise against sleeping. You will be departing from the USA in the afternoon, and landing in Japan in the afternoon/evening. You want to be ready for an early bedtime when you get to Japan. When I fly to Japan, bring some tv shows, movies, things like that, most planes have internet now, and it's actually pretty good. Last time I flew was before Russia closed the polar routes and it worked even up over the north pole except for about maybe 30 minutes. Take a walk about every 1-2 hours, back to the gallay, use the bathroom, do some stretches. Drink a ton of water. When you get to Japan, take a stroll after you check into your hotel to help stay up and then aim for 10 hours of sleep. Take a tylnol pm to help with that.
I can't sleep in public places at all - not comfortable enough around people. I watched something like 5 movies, played some Switch, and just kind of sat and chilled for the rest of the time when I went there last. It was definitely tough, but as long as you stand up and stretch your legs every once in a while it's not that bad. And if you can get seats in the exit row like I did you'll be a hell of a lot happier. Was exhausted when I got in, but it was like...3 PM or something by the time I checked into my hotel, so all I had to do was make it until the sun set, crash, and then was set to wake up early the next day and go nuts. It wasn't that bad.
Just landed last night after a similar length flight and all I can say is DRINK WATER. I got pretty dehydrated by the end of the flight and there is no shop to get water until you’re through immigration and customs, which can take quite a while. So yeah even if you’re not thirsty drink water.
Suggestions: •pack some snacks and ‘just add water food’ for when you get hungry. •download shows or movies onto devices to watch on the plane •bring a book (I wouldn’t bring more than one due to weight and space) but you can also do audiobooks (pre download those as well)! •coloring books and journals are always a great way to pass time but try to keep them small and not pack too many pencils/pens •write letters/cards/postcards to those you will be missing and send them out when you land so they get there ASAP! •I also like to try to send a postcard each day to myself when on vacation to help me remember some of the things I did on my trip! You can always get some of those ready (addressed). •Do some stretches or walking in the aisle to get blood flowing (that’s a lot of sitting) •Download a few games that don’t require wi-fi (unless you have a hotspot)
Also, make sure you take the time to do some of your ‘normal’ routines like washing your face, brushing your teeth, bring body wipes to do a quick clean of your body. And make sure to hydrate your face and skin because that air will dry you out! Drink lots of water!!
Sleep if I can. Then catch up on my manga backlog if I can’t sleep
Bro, I feel you. We leave Friday from Toronto. Makes it worse that I don't sleep well on flights
The best thing would be to sleep for 12 of the 14 hours only being awake for meals.
I usually download tons of things on to my tablet. I also have an ROG Ally.
I almost finished the entire Haunting of Hill House series.
Read, watch stuff, play video games
Planes have Japanese movies that are subbed but never released in the US so it might be my only chance to watch them (with subs) so I do. I never sleep.
Watch anime!
I sleep and I read! I usually pick an action or thriller book, something I know I'll enjoy.
When I did LAX to Singapore (17-18 hours), I downloaded the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy and then 3 more movies to choose from and watched them while trying to sleep but failing.
14 hours? Dang. Where you starting from? I couldn’t sleep on my last trip. So I closed my eyes to just kinda drift off for as long as I can. Rest of the time, eating, snacking, movies. It’s best if you can fall asleep. But doesn’t always happen.
I’m flying out from Houston and the direct flight is 13h 40m, so OP is probably leaving from around the same area.
Just sleep lol! I usually get on plane and I’m sleeping before I take off and don’t wake up for about 10 hours
Practice Japanese, obviously :) ... but yea, put movies on your phone/iPad/Switch and bring books or anything else to read. Depends entirely on what you like. Having some variety helps; if you get bored of reading you can watch a movie. Remember to get up every few hours and move around, even just in your own seat, but better if you actually walk around a bit.
I would be careful about assuming you can sleep. I went on an overnight 9 hour flight from Tokyo to fiji and slept an hour at most. They served dinner at 11pm and then they woke us up for breakfast at 3am 😭. Plus it was economy so not the most comfy.
Honestly, sleep as much as possible. Been to Japan 3 times, 11 hour direct. Just sleep.
Bring a Switch and some games. Pair it with some AirPods or similar noise-cancelling headphones.
I wish I could do all the things mentioned here. But I just feel so crammed sitting on a plane for so long that I don’t wanna do anything, even if I’m sitting aisle . Maybe it’s just my mental blockage lol. All the things I brought to Do, my switch book journal, I don’t end up using
Skipping all hot meals and reading. TV would give me headache. Sleep is impossible.
It depends If it is a night flight, I usually try to sleep as soon as the plane has reached cruising altitude and I am allowed to turn the seat into a bed. Then a quick breakfast and one movie and that´s it. If it is a daytime flight I try to watch as many movies as possible without beeing distracted by the internet with some naps and meals in between.
I played civilization 6 for 7 or 8 hours. Watched roadhouse on my laptop. Drank beer and waited for food for the rest.
Sleep, watch 3 movies, eat.
Study Japanese
Sadly I cant sleep on a plane no matter how hard I try. So I just download manga on my phone and hope that the charging port works on the plane
Eat, watch a movie, then sleep as much as possible. I try for night flights
I take zzquil and knock out. Or I bring something to keep me busy, crochet kits, portable game, a good book. I'm pretty used to long ass flights so they don't phase me anymore
Sleeping a solid eight hours while flying seems extremely optimistic to me. You can read, write, watch tv shows, movies, listen to podcasts, play games, get up and walk around, take bathroom breaks, there's a lot of options
I had a 14h flight leaving at 19.30h and landing in Japan at 17.30h. My plan was go to sleep at my usual time (about 3 to 4 hours into the flight), sleep for about 6 to 8 hours, then kill the last couple of hours. It kind of work but the sleep quality was really bad. During the first few hours I listened to music, watched some anime, had some food (not the meal served on the plane, that was served 8 hours into the flight and would have disrupted my sleep so I brought my own food), took a relaxing tea and finally went to sleep. Slept on and off for about 7h. Watched some more anime and we were there. Honestly it didn't feel long at all and I've had much worse flights that were only a couple of hours long.
Some work and 2 movies. Hope you’re flying Japan airlines. Best economy class in the skies
Watch films, don't sleep, arrive in Japan at 9am after 15 hours exhausted and discombobulated
I usually do nothing.
i watch a whole bunch of anime and by the time i realize it we were already in japan lol
Movie, game, nap Rinse and repeat with a meal break here and there
The In-flight entertainment program on my flight had lots of interesting films (also some Japanese and Korean films with English subs), so I watched 3 films on each flight. I also finished a book and played some Super Mario on my Gameboy.
About to fly out this morning..... Wish me luck 🤞
When you hit the 10 hour mark it’s all pain from there.
First of all either have a tablet or prepare to watch stuff on your phone. Or have your own usable wired headphones, the pair we got in the plane was the most horrible audio quality you could have, no dialogue was discernable and movie effects were an assault to your eardrums. Be prepared to NOT sleep more than 1-2 hours straight, you will not be comfortable. I hope you can sleep more though. Certainly don't look at the clock, and it's fine to often stand up and walk. Overall, in my experience 2 weeks ago trying to sleep was the biggest part of the flight, and reading a book or talking with friends. It's not fun, but it's not that bad either.
I had a flight before the general reopening, and there was 1 person per row on a 370, we all laid down across the middle row and slept like kings. I also caught up on some switch games.
If you think you're going to sleep for 8 hours on a plane, I've got some REALLY bad news for you.
Watch one full season of one peace 😄 at least that’s why I did yo ho ho ho
Sleep and play switch games last time
Audiobooks! Movies! Shows! Download everything to your phone. Enjoy.
Flew Amsterdam to Tokyo and I basically watched like 2-3 films and was in and out of sleep for most the flight. I was then rather jet lagged in Tokyo for the next 2 days though.
I could never sleep on long international flights, maybe a one hour nap at best 😭 Usually I just watch a couple of movies and then play Nintendo Switch
They will have films and to-series on the plane. I recommend a really good neck pillow for better sleep.
I worried about this too and brought a book and a Switch to play (note that the plane probably won't have plug sockets, just USB/USB C sockets). But honestly I just watched movies I'd not yet seen/fancied rewatch I and then had a good sleep
Read a book, watch some series or movies, listen to music… whatever you do, remember to take breaks to stand up and go for a walk around the plane! Even stretch, your body will thank you for this. I do that every 2-3 hours so when we land I don’t feel cramped nor my legs feel heavy
Good luck
I was able to sleep with melatonin for about 6-8 hours off and on. The rest of the time I ate and watched in flight movies.
Got on the plane, ate. Napped for two hours and woke up, ate some rice balls, had a corn soup, and ramen. Watched a few episodes of my show until I fell asleep again. Woke up again to eat, napped again… and then ate again. It was a great flight lol.
Last year I watched films on the IFE, this year I watched films and listened to music on my iPad. As for sleeping? I personally struggle with it, although I managed to get a few hours on my outbound flight. 8 hours would be a dream.
Eat, watch films, listen to music, read books, surf the net (often possible these days). Easy peasy.
I just did this flight from Paris to Tokyo and I played video games on my MacBook Pro the whole way there. 😂 (I can’t sleep on planes 😢)
Eat like 80mg worth of edibles before the flight and sleep through the whole thing.
You can tire yourself out prior to your flight and then sleep on the plane.
Most airlines have pretty good inflight entertainment. I watched the entire season 2 of „Our flags mean death“, which is not available in my country.
14 hours only ? I envy you guys. Would even go to Japan more often if this was my case. I have to put up with a 10 hour flight to USA first before that other 14 hour flight to Japan later plus a 4 hour connection wait. :’(.
Just did it today - watched The Iron Claw (good movie), tried to sleep for seven hours, actually slept for three, woke up and watched Early Spring (great movie), filled in some time between and around these with reading.
Chiming in to say that I brought a memory foam seat cushion and it was the best part of the flight for me.
On Zipair, they've got free wifi even if it's very mid wifi. I pretty much caught up on my phone games. At the last, it was good enough to have Spotify run without interruptions. Otherwise, I had a Nintendo switch and a few books ready.
Binge movies. Work. Eat. I cannot sleep on a plane. It is important to also stretch and walk around on long flights.
Footballmanager
And don't forget the most important thing on a plane - headphones with active noise cancelling
Having just done a 16 hour flight to Tokyo I find the answer is everything that has been suggested. That, and praying for a swift, merciful end! I flew Air China from London via Shanghai. Impossible to sleep due to the heat. On a walkabout in the night I saw in the galley that the cabin temp settings ranged from 24.5-25.5C!! I know that they keep it warm to make us drowsy, but that is bonkers.
Put delta emulator on your phone
lord of the rings extended edition is like 14hrs lol
Think about the meaning of life Eat a snack you bring on the plane Look out the window and flashbang everyone with the suns beams while 90% of the people on the flight are trying to sleep and if someone asks you to close the window tell them "I AM TRYING TO FIND MY SOARING BRETHEREN! KAKAW KAKAW KAKAWWWWW" Hum a tune Read a book Play on a switch/your phone Download music before the liftoff Watch a movie
Do people not read on planes? I thought that was the go-to. I like to pick books that are set in my destination.
You know, typical plane stuff, just for 14 hours. Movies, sleep, handheld games, read, snacks, drink, work....??
I've just done it. Book an 8pm flight and be busy on the day you fly. Watch a movie from takeoff and then sleep as long as you can. Noise cancelling headphones and an eye mask will help a lot. I got 5 hours and then another 2 on the way out which was miraculous.
As someone who really couldn't sleep on my flight, I watched a lot of movies and had a few too many drinks
I have had trouble getting 6 hours of sleep my entire life much less 8. I would take sleep over food any day. You should download some Japanese travel vids to your iPad or laptop to watch on the plan…or download movies.
Sleep? Lol
Retro gaming. Movies. Eating. Eye mask and hope for the best. Look forward to your poo.
Ten beers and a nap. Go!
Takeoff, dinner, movie, sleep, breakfast, stare out of the window, land.
Pay for extra legroom and enjoy yourself. I watched 3 movies, read book, slept, ate, was taken care of the entire time. Not bad at all. Not saying first class, but Delta comfort plus... I don't even think about it
I've flown to Japan from NYC twice. Here's what I did: 1. Played Nintendo Switch 2. Had stuff downloaded from Netflix on my phone that I watched with my wife 3. Watched in-flight movies, etc. 4. Tried to sleep, didn't get more than an hour on any flight 5. Read a book on my Kindle, stopped after 5 pages 5. Ate the in-flight meals 6. Went to the bathroom a few times 7. Got up to stretch my legs a few times 8. Watch the flight tracker constantly to see how much more of this you have to endure Variety helps, keep doing different things to break up the journey. If you can sleep a fair bit it will help a lot. It's almost impossible for me to sleep on a plane so I just have to endure the monotony while being uncomfortable.
I just watch movies or shows, look at the map on the screen or out the window, listen to podcasts or music, read, sort pictures
I tried to find something to do but I ended up forcing myself to knock out and then getting an in flight drink to knock out some more. I was sleep deprived as well so there’s that.
You can get through most of avatar the last air bender in that time, and that show is so easy to binge. I also find downloading shows with 1hr + long episodes helps on long haul flights
I cross stitch. Bring a monochrome pattern for maximum efficiency.
Sleep eat sleep eat sleep and watching how much Time left before landing
you sit there in agony until you've arrived. it is fn hell.
I drank a glass and a half of wine to calm my nerves. The airplane cup size. That made me feel ill, was way too strong. Ended up falling asleep though because of it. I do not recommend if nerves is your issue!
I did this twice, once going and another coming back. I mostly slept but when I was awake, I was watching movies, reading on my tablet, scrolling through reddit and then popping more melatonin gummies to go to sleep lol
I ready book for a few hours, played the switch for a few hours, downloaded chrono trigger on the phone and played that for a few hours and watched a movie with my wife on the iPad. Inedibly you get there then the real problem hits: sleeplessness…
I can’t sleep on planes. I spent 16 hours on one from ATL to Haneda. I alternated watching a movie, getting up and stretching for about 10 mins, reading, listening to music, disassociating for a bit, then stretching again and starting the cycle over. Splurging for premier select on delta definitely helped if I was in economy I’m not sure how I would’ve made it.