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Korean Air Lines Flights from Tokyo, Japan (NRT) to Los Angeles (LAX)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Korean Air Lines, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Tokyo, Japan (NRT) to Los Angeles (LAX) regularly scheduled to depart at 2:55pm and arrive at 7:25am. Usually a Boeing 777-200 is flown for this route, with in-seat power sources available. The average travel time from Tokyo, Japan to Los Angeles, CA is 9 hours and 30 minutes.
During your Los Angeles vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
California African American Museum
This small museum is both a celebration of individual African Americans and a living showplace of contemporary culture. The best exhibits are temporary and touch on themes as varied as the human experience. Previous shows have included a sculpture exhibit examining interpretations of home, a survey of African puppetry, and a look at black music in Los Angeles in the 1960s. Multimedia biographical retrospectives are also commonplace: An exhibit honoring jazz genius Duke Ellington included his instruments and handwritten music. In the gift shop you'll find sub-Saharan wooden masks and woven baskets, as well as hand-embroidered Ethiopian pillows. There are also posters, children's books, and calendars. The museum offers a full calendar of lectures, concerts, and special events; call for the latest.
Los Angeles Zoo
The L.A. Zoo, which shares its parking lot with the Museum of the American West, has been welcoming visitors and busloads of school kids since 1966. In 1982, the zoo inaugurated a display of cuddly koalas, still one of its biggest attractions. Although it's smaller than the world-famous San Diego Zoo, the L.A. Zoo is surprisingly enjoyable and easy to fully explore. As much an arboretum as a zoo, the grounds are thick with mature shade trees from around the world that help cool the once-barren grounds, and new habitats are light-years ahead of the cruel concrete roundhouses originally used to exhibit animals (though you can't help feeling that, despite the fancy digs, all the creatures would rather be in their natural habitat). Highlights include the Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains habitat, where visitors can see plenty of primate activity; the Red Ape Rain Forest, a natural orangutan habitat; the entertaining World of Birds show; the Pachyderm Forest (climate-controlled digs for the elephants and hippos, complete with an underwater viewing area); the new mandrills exhibit (the world's largest and most colorful baboons); and the silverback gorilla exhibit. The gargantuan Andean condor had me enthralled as well (the facility is renowned in zoological circles for the successful breeding and releasing of California condors, and occasionally it has some of these majestic and endangered birds on exhibit).The zoo's latest attraction (and one they're rightfully proud of) is the Winnick Family Children's Zoo, a fantastic and forward-thinking children's zoo that contains a petting area, exhibition animal care center, Adventure Theater storytelling and puppet show, and other kid-hip exhibits and activities. Tip: To avoid the busloads of rambunctious school kids, arrive after noon.
Santa Monica Pier
Piers have been a tradition in Southern California since the area's 19th-century seaside resort days. Many have long since disappeared (like Pacific Ocean Park, an entire amusement park perched on offshore pilings), and others have been shortened by battering storms and are now mere shadows (or stumps) of their former selves, but you can still get a chance to experience those halcyon days of yesteryear at world-famous Santa Monica Pier.Built in 1908 for passenger and cargo ships, the Santa Monica Pier does a pretty good job of recapturing the glory days of Southern California. The wooden wharf is now home to seafood restaurants and snack shacks, a touristy Mexican cantina, and a gaily colored turn-of-the-20th-century indoor wooden carousel (which Paul Newman operated in The Sting). Summer evening concerts, which are free and range from big band to Miami-style Latin, draw crowds, as does the small amusement area perched halfway down. Its name, Pacific Park (tel. 310/260-8744; www.pacpark.com), hearkens back to the granddaddy pier amusement park in California, Pacific Ocean Park; this updated version has a Ferris wheel, a mild-mannered roller coaster, and other rides, plus a high-tech arcade shoot-out. But anglers still head to the end to fish, and nostalgia buffs to view the photographic display of the pier's history. This is the last of the great pleasure piers, offering rides, romance, and perfect panoramic views of the bay and mountains.The pier is about a mile up Ocean Front Walk from Venice; it's a great round-trip stroll. Parking is available for $6 to $8 on both the pier deck and the beachfront nearby. Limited short-term parking is also available. For information on twilight concerts (generally held Thurs between mid-June and the end of Aug), call tel. 310/458-8900 or visit www.santamonicapier.org.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Los Angeles area, including:
Channel Road Inn
The innkeeper has used her eye for design to outfit this beautiful colonial revival house in gracious period style. The individually appointed rooms range from "shabby chic" to antique, and all have top-quality textiles and linens, VCRs, and spacious, nicely renovated bathrooms. Some have four-poster beds covered with hand-sewn Amish quilts; others have fireplaces, and others feature whirlpool tubs. Don't expect much from the promise of an ocean view, however; you'll overlook a busy street, wires, and rooftops for your sliver of blue. The outdoor areas include a quiet rose garden and private hillside hot tub on the upper lawn. Dominated by an impressive Batch elder tile fireplace, the impeccably decorated living room makes an ideal place to curl up with a book. If you'd rather head outside, the staff will provide bicycles, beach chairs, and towels for your use. I prefer Channel Road's sister property, the Inn at Playa del Rey; still, this is a beautiful, comfortable, and well-run B&B in a terrific location for beach lovers.
Century Plaza Hotel & Spa
Despite the almost-foreboding scale, I really like this hotel. The guest rooms are more beautiful than you'd expect from a corporate resort hotel, with designer furnishings, gorgeous warm-hued textiles, attractive contemporary prints, big closets with terry robes, and almost universally impressive views from the small deck. The beautiful Italian-tile-and-glass bathrooms are some of L.A.'s best. Westin's celestial Heavenly Bed -- touted as "10 layers of heaven" -- is a treat, and the cushioned headboards are a nice finishing touch. Guest office rooms add a fax/printer/copier, an ergonomic desk chair, glare-free task lighting, a coffeemaker, late checkout, and continental breakfast for a few extra dollars. Breeze, the hotel's beautiful 250-seat restaurant and sushi bar designed by architect-of-the-moment Stephen Jacobs, is extremely popular with the L.A. elite, particularly at lunch.Adjoining the hotel is the 35,000-square-foot, Asian-inspired Spa Mystique, the largest in L.A. Features include an epic menu of traditional and Eastern treatments, 27 indoor treatment rooms and several outdoor cabanas, impressive hydrotherapy features (including two Japanese furo pools), salon services, and a fitness center with cardio machines that let you surf the Web as you pump, plus a meditation garden and alfresco spa cafe. Even if you're not staying at the hotel, it's worth a splurge to pamper yourself at this amazing spa. Tip: Get the Akasuri scrub followed by a Thai massage -- you'll be the cleanest, happiest noodle on Earth.Facilities: Restaurant and lounge; spa cafe; lobby bar; outdoor heated pool and Jacuzzi; Spa Mystique health club and sauna; concierge; Hertz car-rental desk; business center; salon; 24-hr. room service; in-room massage; laundry service; dry-cleaning service; wireless service in lobby.
Cal Mar Hotel Suites
Tucked away in a residential neighborhood just 2 blocks from the ocean, this garden apartment complex delivers a lot of bang for your vacation buck. Each unit is an apartment-style suite with a living room and pullout sofa, a full-size kitchen with utensils, and a separate bedroom; most are spacious enough to accommodate four in comfort. The building was constructed in the 1950s with an eye for quality (attractive tile work, large closets). While the furnishings aren't luxurious, they're all quite modern and very clean, and everything is well kept. It's easy to be comfortable here for stays of a week or more, especially since it's so well located -- a mere bock from the Third Street shopping promenade and a short walk to the beach -- and covered parking is free. The staff is attentive and courteous, which helps account for the high rate of repeat guests. The garden courtyard has an inviting swimming pool and plenty of chaises for lounging. Tip: Request a room on the second floor to avoid the sound of stomping feet.
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