In just 66 days, I’ll be flying off on my next holiday to Japan. But unlike previous visits, I’ll be taking quite a circuitous route to get there…

Yes, it’s another mileage run.

I need the BA miles to keep my Gold status, so the idea here is to book a series of flights to and from Tokyo that get me the maximum number of points. This means booking several flights each way. It’s a good thing I like flying, right?

So what does it look like?

On the Friday, I fly with BA from London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol. I stay the night in an airport hotel, and then the following morning, I fly with Finnair to Helsinki. After a couple of hours in the very lovely Finnair executive lounge there, I board another plane and leave Helsinki with Finnair, to fly to Seoul, South Korea. I have a five-hour layover in Seoul, and then I fly with a new airline (exciting!) Jeju Air, to get from Seoul to Tokyo.

Whew!

A week later, I do the same in reverse! Despite all this flying, I’m really looking forward to the trip. And, apart from the JeJu Air legs of the trip, I’m going Business Class, so it’ll be very comfortable.

I went with Finnair to Tokyo last summer, when I brought my nephew with me. It was incredibly comfortable and the service was really excellent. So I’m looking forward to that.

I gather Jeju Air is a bit like Easyjet, but it’s only a two-hour flight so I can put up with anything for that long. I’m also looking forward to visiting the spa in Seoul Airport, which I gather is an excellent way to recover from long flights while waiting for your next one.

Our plans for Tokyo are still being fleshed out, but it’ll involve plenty of walking around the city, plenty of time soaking in hot water and lots and lots of delicious food. Roll on January!