Thai Airways International 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 Thai Airways International, 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 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Tokyo, Japan to Washington, DC is 12 hours and 30 minutes.*
* Some flights must be used with additional international service on this airline.
During your Washington vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Enid A. Haupt Garden
Named for its donor, a noted supporter of horticultural projects, this stunning garden presents elaborate flower beds and borders, plant-filled turn-of-the-20th-century urns, 1870s cast-iron furnishings, and lush baskets hung from reproduction 19th-century lampposts. Although on ground level, the garden is actually on a 4 1/4-acre rooftop above the subterranean Ripley Center and the Sackler and African Art museums. An "Island Garden" near the Sackler Gallery, entered via a 9-foot moon gate, has benches backed by English boxwoods set under the canopy of weeping cherry trees.A "Fountain Garden" outside the African Art Museum provides granite seating with walls overhung by hawthorn trees. Three small terraces, shaded by black sour-gum trees, are located near the Arts and Industries Building. And five majestic linden trees shade a seating area around the Downing Urn, a memorial to American landscapist Andrew Jackson Downing, who designed the National Mall. Downing's words are inscribed on the base of the urn: "Build halls where knowledge shall be freely diffused among men, and not shut up within the narrow walls of narrower institutions. Plant spacious parks in your cities and unclose their gates as wide as the gates of morning to the whole people." Elaborate cast-iron carriage gates made according to a 19th-century design by James Renwick, flanked by four red sandstone pillars, are placed at the Independence Avenue entrance to the garden.
Jefferson Memorial
President John F. Kennedy, at a 1962 dinner honoring 29 Nobel Prize winners, told his guests that they were "the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence and served as George Washington's secretary of state, John Adams's vice president, and America's third president. He spoke out against slavery, although, like many of his countrymen, he kept slaves himself. In addition, he established the University of Virginia and pursued wide-ranging interests, including architecture, astronomy, anthropology, music, and farming.The site for the Jefferson Memorial was of extraordinary importance. The Capitol, the White House, and the Mall were already located in accordance with architect Pierre L'Enfant's master plan for the city, but there was no spot for such a project that would maintain L'Enfant's symmetry. So the memorial was built on land reclaimed from the Potomac River, now known as the Tidal Basin. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who laid the cornerstone in 1939, had all the trees between the Jefferson Memorial and the White House cut down so that he could see the memorial every morning.The memorial is a columned rotunda in the style of the Pantheon in Rome, whose classical architecture Jefferson himself introduced to this country (he designed his home, Monticello, and the earliest University of Virginia buildings in Charlottesville). On the Tidal Basin side, the sculptural group above the entrance depicts Jefferson with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston, all of whom worked on drafting the Declaration of Independence. The domed interior of the memorial contains the 19-foot bronze statue of Jefferson standing on a 6-foot pedestal of black Minnesota granite. The sculpture is the work of Rudolph Evans, who was chosen from more than 100 artists in a nationwide competition. Jefferson is depicted wearing a fur-collared coat given to him by his close friend, the Polish general Tadeusz Kosciuszko.Rangers present 20- to 30-minute programs throughout the day as time permits. Twenty to thirty minutes is sufficient time to spend here.Spring through fall, a refreshment kiosk at the Tourmobile stop offers snacks. A gift shop, a small museum, and a bookstore are located on the bottom floor of the memorial. There's free 1-hour parking.
George Mason Memorial
This memorial honors George Mason, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which had much to do with the establishment of our national Bill of Rights. Dedicated on April 9, 2002, the memorial consists of a bronze statue of Mason, set back in a landscaped grove of trees and flower beds (lots and lots of pansies), arranged in concentric circles around a pool and fountain. Mason appears in 18th-century garb, from buckled shoes to tricorn hat, seated on a marble bench, but leaning backward on one arm and gazing off in the general direction of the Washington Monument. Two stone slabs are inscribed with some of Mason's words, like these, referring to Mason's rejection of slavery, "that slow Poison, which is daily contaminating the Minds & Morals of our People." Wooden benches at the site present a pleasant opportunity to learn about Mason, and take a break, before moving on.
St. Gregory Luxury Hotel and Suites
The St. Gregory, open since June 2000, is an affordable luxury property, with marble floors and chandeliers. The hotel is well situated at the corner of 21st and M streets, not far from Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, and the White House, and with many good restaurants within a literal stone's throw.Most of the guest rooms are one-bedroom suites, with a separate living room and bedroom, and with a pullout sofa in the living room. For privacy and views, choose one of the 16 "sky" suites on the ninth floor, each with terrace and city overlooks. Of the 100 suites, 85 have fully appointed kitchens, including microwaves, ovens, and full-size refrigerators (the other 15 suites have no kitchens). In the remaining 54 units are either king or two double beds. Decor throughout the hotel is an attractive mélange of olive green and gold, with un-hotel-like lamps, mirror frames, and fabrics. Three whole floors of the hotel are reserved for club-level rooms. The St. Gregory offers special rates to long-term and government guests, and to those from the diplomatic community. If you don't fall into one of those categories, check the hotel's website for great deals like the often available "One Dollar Clearance Sale": You pay a set price -- this can fluctuate, sometimes $159, sometimes $209 -- the first night and only $1 for the second night, for Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday stays. To book this discount, you must call the hotel's 800 number.Facilities: Restaurant and coffee bar (American) with sidewalk seating seasonally; state-of-the-art fitness center, as well as access (for $20 fee) to the nearby and larger Sports Club/LA; concierge; tour desk; business center; room service (6:30am-10:30pm); massage; babysitting; coin-op laundry room; same-day laundry/dry cleaning; concierge-level rooms; 6 rooms for those w/limited mobility, 2 with roll-in showers.
Hotel Madera
The Hotel Madera fancies itself as a kind of pied-a-terre, or home away from home, for travelers. But it would be a mistake to think that means the hotel is homey in the traditional sense. This is a boutique hotel, whose sisters, the hotels Rouge, Topaz, Helix, and Monaco, each reviewed elsewhere in this chapter, have all made separate splashes in our fair city. The Madera, likewise, caters to those with avant-garde tastes. The registration desk in the small lobby is covered in leather; a hammered copper mobile of abstract leaflike shapes dangles overhead. The guest rooms are large (this used to be an apartment building), measuring an average 340 square feet. Those on the New Hampshire Avenue side have balconies that offer city views. Rooms at the back of the house, 6th through 10th floors don't have balconies, but do have pretty good views of Rock Creek Park, Georgetown, and the Washington National Cathedral. All rooms are comfortable and furnished with sofas and bed benches, and with beds whose wild-looking headboards are giant dark wood panels inset with a patch of vibrant blue padded mohair. Other fey touches: pillows covered in animal print or satiny fabrics, grass-clothlike wall coverings, and black granite with chrome bathroom vanities. Every guest room has complimentary high-speed Internet access. The "specialty" rooms (a feature of all Kimpton Group hotels) at the Madera include a Nosh Room (studio with kitchenette and grocery shopping service), Flash Room (with personal computer, printer), Strength (has a Nautilus machine) and Cardio (has either a treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical steps) rooms, and a Screening Room (equipped with a second TV, DVD player, and a library of DVDs).The Madera has an excellent restaurant, Firefly.Facilities: Bar/restaurant (American bistro); access to the posh Sports Club/LA health club at the nearby Ritz-Carlton ($15 per guest per day); 24-hr. concierge; business center; room service (during restaurant hours); same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 6 rooms for those w/limited mobility, all with roll-in showers. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, 2-line cordless phones w/dataports, minibar, coffeemaker with Starbucks coffee, hair dryer, iron, safe, robes, umbrella, free high-speed Internet access.
The Mansion on O Street
A legend in her own time, H. H. Leonards operates this Victorian property, made up of four interconnecting, five-story town houses, as a museum with rotating exhibits, an event space, a private club, an art gallery, an antiques emporium, and -- oh, yeah -- a B&B. The Mansion attracts a lot of celebrities and CEOs, mostly people who crave both luxury and privacy (H won't reveal her guests' names). If you stay here, you may find yourself buying a sweater, a painting, or (who knows?) an antique bed. Everything's for sale.Guest rooms are so creative they'll blow you away; they're expensive, but simply outrageous. Most breathtaking is the Log Cabin loft suite, with a bed whose headboard encases an aquarium. The Art Deco-style penthouse takes up an entire floor (with a large living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen) and has its own security cameras, elevator, 10 phones, and multiple televisions and DVD systems. The International Room (one room with a queen bed and sitting area) has a nonworking fireplace and four TVs, a combination of Victorian antiques and contemporary furnishings, a sunny sitting area, hand-made prism-glass windows, and a bright bathroom with two-person Jacuzzi. The simplest of the bunch is the Country Room, decorated in blue and white, and with French doors leading to a porch overlooking O Street. All rooms have either king-size or queen-size beds and complimentary high-speed Internet access; most have a whirlpool and a few have kitchens. Elsewhere on the property, there's an outdoor pool, eight office/conference spaces, 28 far-out bathrooms, art and antiques everywhere, and a thousand or so books. Full business services are available.
