Air Canada Flights from Tokyo, Japan (NRT) to Washington (IAD)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Air Canada, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Tokyo, Japan (NRT) to Washington (IAD) regularly scheduled to depart at 11:10am and arrive at 9:40am. Usually a Boeing 777-200 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Tokyo, Japan to Washington, DC is 12 hours and 30 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
During your Washington vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Corcoran Gallery of Art
This elegant art museum, a stone's throw from the White House, is a favorite party site in the city, hosting everything from inaugural balls to wedding receptions.The first art museum in Washington, the Corcoran Gallery was housed from 1869 to 1896 in the redbrick and brownstone building that is now the Renwick. The collection outgrew its quarters and was transferred in 1897 to its present beaux arts building, designed by Ernest Flagg.The collection, shown in rotating exhibits, focuses chiefly on American art. A prominent Washington banker, William Wilson Corcoran was among the first wealthy American collectors to realize the importance of encouraging and supporting this country's artists. Enhanced by further gifts and bequests, the collection comprehensively spans American art from 18th-century portraiture to 20th-century moderns like Nevelson, Warhol, and Rothko. Nineteenth-century works include Bierstadt's and Remington's imagery of the American West; Hudson River School artists; expatriates like Whistler, Sargent, and Mary Cassatt; and two giants of the late 19th century, Homer and Eakins.The Corcoran is not exclusively an American art museum. On the first floor is the collection from the estate of Sen. William Andrews Clark, an eclectic grouping of Dutch and Flemish masters; European painters; French Impressionists; Barbizon landscapes; Delft porcelains; a Louis XVI salon dore transported in toto from Paris; and more. Clark's will stated that his diverse collection, which any curator would undoubtedly want to disperse among various museum departments, must be shown as a unit. He left money for a wing to house it and the new building opened in 1928. Don't miss the small walnut-paneled room known as "Clark Landing," which showcases 19th-century French Impressionist and American art; a room of exquisite Corot landscapes; another of medieval Renaissance tapestries; and numerous Daumier lithographs donated by Dr. Armand Hammer. Allow an hour for touring the collection.Pick up a schedule of events -- temporary exhibits, gallery talks, concerts, art auctions, and more. Families should inquire about the Corcoran's series of Saturday Family Days and Sunday Traditions. (Family Days are especially fun and always feature great live music.) Both programs are free, but you need to reserve a slot for the Sunday events. There is some street parking.The charming Café des Artistes is open for lunch Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 11am to 2pm, on Thursday from 11am to 3pm for lunch and from 4 to 8pm for dinner, and for Sunday brunch from 10:30am to 2pm (reservations accepted for parties of eight or more), which costs $24 per adult, $11 per child (under 12), and includes live gospel music singers; call tel. 202/639-1786 for more information. The Corcoran has a nice gift shop.
National Postal Museum
This museum is, somewhat surprisingly, a hit, a pleasant hour spent for the whole family. Bring your address book and you can send postcards to the folks back home through an interactive exhibit that issues a cool postcard and stamps it. That's just one feature that makes this museum visitor-friendly. Many of its exhibits involve easy-to-understand activities, like postal-themed video games.The museum documents America's postal history from 1673 (about 170 years before the advent of stamps, envelopes, and mailboxes) to the present. (Did you know that a dog sled was used to carry mail in Alaska until 1963, when it was replaced by an airplane?) In the central gallery, titled Moving the Mail, three planes that carried mail in the early decades of the 20th century are suspended from a 90-foot atrium ceiling. Here, too, are a railway mail car, an 1851 mail/passenger coach, a Ford Model-A mail truck, and a replica of an airmail beacon tower. In Binding the Nation, historic correspondence illustrates how mail kept families together in the developing nation. Several exhibits deal with the famed Pony Express, a service that lasted less than 2 years but was romanticized to legendary proportions by Buffalo Bill and others. In the Civil War section you'll learn about Henry "Box" Brown, a slave who had himself "mailed" from Richmond to a Pennsylvania abolitionist in 1856.The Art of Cards and Letters gallery displays rotating exhibits of personal (sometimes wrenching, always interesting) correspondence taken from different periods in history, as well as greeting cards and postcards. And an 800-square-foot gallery, called Artistic License: The Duck Stamp Story, focuses on federal duck stamps (first issued in 1934 to license waterfowl hunters), with displays on the hobby of duck hunting and the ecology of American water birds. In addition, the museum houses a vast research library for philatelic researchers and scholars, a stamp store, and a museum shop. Inquire about free walk-in tours at the information desk.Opened in 1993, this most recent addition to the Smithsonian complex occupies the lower level of the palatial beaux arts quarters of the City Post Office Building, which was designed by architect Daniel Burnham and is situated next to Union Station.
National Museum of American History
Well, you could spend days in here (okay, just plan on a few hours). This museum and its neighbor, the National Museum of Natural History, are the behemoths of the Smithsonian, each filled to the gills with artifacts. American History deals with "everyday life in the American past" and the external forces that have helped to shape our national character. It's all very interesting, but since you do have a life to lead, consider this approach to touring.Start at the top, that is, the third floor, where The American Presidency exhibit explores the power and meaning of the presidency by studying those who have held the position. (There's a gift shop just for this exhibit on this floor.) Continue on this floor to an exhibit new to the museum, as of Veterans Day, 2004. Called The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, the exhibit examines major American military events and explores the idea that America's armed forces reflect American society. Among the items on display here are George Washington's commission from Congress as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and the uniform jacket that Andrew Jackson wore during the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812.Head downstairs to the second floor for the intriguing opportunity of viewing the huge original Star-Spangled Banner, whose 30-by-34-foot expanse has just been painstakingly conserved by expert textile conservators. This is the very flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that eventually became the U.S. national anthem in 1931. Conservation work was completed in August 2004 and now the flag remains on view and outstretched, flat, behind glass, in its specially designed conservation lab.One of the most popular exhibits on the second floor is First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image, which displays the first ladies' gowns and tells you a bit about each of these women. Infinitely more interesting, I think, is the neighboring exhibit, From Parlor to Politics: Women and Reform in America, 1890-1925, which chronicles the changing roles of women as they've moved from domestic to political and professional pursuits. Following that, find the exhibit called Within These Walls..., which interprets the rich history of America by tracing the lives of the people who lived in this 200-year-old house, transplanted from Ipswich, MA. If this personal approach to history appeals to you, continue on to Field to Factory, which tells the story of African-American migration from the South between 1915 and 1940.Finally, you're ready to hit the first floor, where some exhibits explore the development of farm and power machinery, and timekeeping. A temporary exhibit that opened in August 2002 and ends its popular run in September 2005 is Bon Appétit! Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian, a presentation of the famous chef's actual kitchen from her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When she moved to California in late 2001, Child donated her kitchen and all that it contained (1,200 items in all) to the museum. Most of these are on display, vegetable peeler to kitchen sink. Also look here for America on the Move, which details the story of transportation in America since 1876.Wind up your visit at the Palm Court, where you can stop and have gelato and a sub from Subway restaurant; the Palm Court includes the interior of Georgetown's Stohlman's Confectionery Shop as it appeared around 1900, and part of an actual 1902 Horn & Hardart Automat.The museum holds many other major exhibits. Inquire at the information desk about highlight tours, films, lectures, concerts, and hands-on activities for children and adults. The museum has four gift shops, and its main one is vast -- it's the second largest of the Smithsonian shops (the largest is the one at the National Air and Space Museum).
Hilton Garden Inn, Washington, DC, Franklin Square
Located downtown between H and I streets, the Hilton Garden Inn is across the street from Metro's Blue Line McPherson Square station (and three stops from the Smithsonian museums station) and within walking distance of the White House, the new convention center, and the MCI Center. Rooms are spacious with either king-size or double beds, and are designed for comfort -- each room has a cushiony chair with ottoman and a large desk with an ergonomic chair and adjustable lighting. Its location and perks make this 4-year-old hotel a good choice for both business and leisure travelers. The hotel's 20 suites are almost apartment size, with a small pullout sofa in the living room, and the bathroom separating the bedroom from the living room. Complimentary high-speed Internet access is now available in all guest rooms, with wireless Internet access in meeting areas.
Hotel Monticello of Georgetown
This hotel gets a lot of repeat business from both corporate and leisure travelers, who appreciate the intimacy of a small hotel, including personalized service from a staff who greets you by name and protects your privacy. It's also a favorite choice for families celebrating weddings or graduations (both Georgetown and George Washington universities are close by); they sometimes book several suites, or maybe a whole floor. A major renovation in 2000 gutted the whole building and created a more upscale setting (this used to be the Georgetown Dutch Inn). Rooms now bring in much more light, thanks to layout and design changes, better use of windows, and the placement of French doors with frosted glass between rooms. You'll notice that the top sheet on your bed is monogrammed, the sofa in the living room folds out, and those are Hermès bath products in the marble bathrooms. Wireless Internet access is available in all guest rooms, at no extra charge.Accommodations are medium-size one- and two-bedroom apartment-like suites. Six of the suites are studios, in which the living room and bedroom are joined, and nine of them are duplex penthouses with 1 1/2 bathrooms. Every suite has a wet bar with a microwave and refrigerator. The duplex penthouses have full kitchens. In addition to continental breakfast in the morning, fresh fruit, coffee, and herbal tea are available in the lobby all day.The hotel is in the heart of Georgetown, surrounded by shops and restaurants. The C&O Canal towpath, just down the block, is ideal for jogging and cycling, though you should be wary at night.
Residence Inn Capitol
This brand-new hotel was still under construction at press time; it's due to open in January 2005, in time for the presidential inauguration on January 20. I was anxious to include the hotel, which promises to be remarkable, in this newest edition of the guidebook, despite the fact that some information was not available at the time of my research. Here are some reasons why I think you should check out the hotel: The Residence Inn Capitol is located 3 blocks south of the Smithsonian's fabulous new National Museum of the American Indian. Not only that, but four Native American tribes are 58% owners of the hotel, which makes this the first multi-tribal partnership with non-tribal partners on land off a reservation. Hotel features mimic the look of the National Museum of the American Indian; for instance, the Kasota limestone, which covers the museum's exterior, is used throughout the first floor of the hotel. The hotel's covetous location, close to the National Mall and to Capitol Hill, endows it with a spectacular view: From the top three floors of the 13-story building, one has breathtaking sights of the Capitol building. Finally, this Residence Inn, like all Residence Inns, offers some attractive amenities for families and business people who are in Washington for more than just a couple of days: The roomy suites all have fully equipped kitchens, which allows for flexible dining options; the hotel hosts a generous hot lunch daily, social hours with food on weeknights, and a barbeque once a week; and the property provides a pool, exercise room, and free high-speed Internet service.
