Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
In Real Life
this looked much more cool
at the Osaka Airterminal Hotel (大阪国際空港ホテル), Itami Japan

I've discovered a new way to travel out of Kyoto/Osaka: a morning flight out of Osaka Itami combined with a previous-night's stay at the Osaka Airterminal Hotel.

Note: the airport is Osaka Itami (ITM), not the larger and more popular (and farther away) Kansai International (KIX).

It's less than 45 minutes to my fligh,t but I'm just getting out of a long, hot bath and now sitting down to write this. No rush. The entrance to the gate security area is a two-minute stroll from the hotel front desk, with a Starbucks in between any time I want to avail myself. I already checked my bag when I woke up, spending the three minutes to walk it down to the no-line-yet ticket counter. Back to my room a few minutes later for breakfast and the aforementioned bath.

What a great value. A clean, quiet room for $75 is hard enough to find to begin with, but with this kind of convenience providing such a gentle start to a 20+ hour trip, it's well worth it.

The free internet access is blazingly fast. Last night I downloaded an hour-long video from YouTube to put on my phone. It took just a minute or two.

My only words of caution: book in advance (the hotel was fully occupied last night), and note that the free internet is wired only.

Oh well, I guess I should get to my plane...