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Old Aug 18, 2015, 4:33 pm
  #8  
Jermyn
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: Ronin - churn and burn
Posts: 701
Part 7 : The Trip back to Tokyo, Dai-Ichi Seafort and the HND JL F Lounge

Part 7 : The Trip back to Tokyo, Dai-Ichi Seafort and the HND JL F Lounge


After our late checkout from the Hilton Niseko we were lucky enough to end up with a private minibus as opposed to the large coach that we had taken on our journey into Niseko. I guess the hotel has a good amount of flexibility wth its vehicles and adapts the size to meet the demand.

We had a row each and took advantage of the space to get some sleep.

Our flight to HND was the last of the day, unfortunately it seemed like the middle aged Japanese businessman in front of us at the F check-in had made full use of the day to do nothing other than drink endless sake bombs.

He was slurring, dribbling, shouting and trying to reach for the female check-in agent. His unfortunate subordinate had to try and control him as best he could. It was like the younger guy was an apologetic butler with a besuited, rabid octopus in tow.

After that farcical check-in, my request to check my snowboard and suitcase all the way to LHR was handled with relative ease.
JAL JL530
Sapporo Chitose (CTS) - Tokyo Narita(NRT)
Boeing 737-800
Exit Row
Economy Class

It does happen... very rarely. For this flight we found ourselves Y. However, the fact that I was connecting in F meant that we were given an exit row to ourselves.








The flight was only about 60% full and boarding was completed quickly and efficiently (as tends to be the case in Japan). I once again dozed off and before I knew it we had arrived at HND.

I love flying into HND as it is so close to the city centre. It only takes around $5 and 20 minutes to get into town.



Exit rows, couples, single seats, high seats, low seats, seats in the middle of the carriage. Mayhem. Awesome monorail mayhem.

As my flight home was early the next day I picked a hotel that was located on the monorail line. The Dai Ichi Seafort. I liked that the rooms had bayviews, seemed modern and weren't ludicrously small like some of the absolutely silly cupboards people sometimes have the misfortune of inhabiting in Tokyo.




Dai Ichi Seafort Hotel

We made our way through the darkened monorail station, past a series of deserted shops and a ubiquitous (and still open) convenience store.








We arrived at the front desk at around quarter to midnight. We were ready to just collapse into bed and get some sleep after a long day of skiing, snowmobiling and travelling.

Unfortunately the hotel check-in staff had other ideas. We were asked to pay a supplement because there were two of us staying and they had been told by the OTA that there would only be one person. I spent some time on the phone in a hellish hold queue, got routed to some call centre in the Philippines and wasn't able to get a straight answer.

I was about to give up after the line went dead but then I saw that the manager was now making some phone calls. After another half hour he finally relented and just said "ok". "Room is ok for two, please".

I'm not sure whether the phone calls he made were even real, or if he was just saving face. Still we got to the room and finally fell into the sweet embrace of slumber.







In the morning we had time to briefly enjoy the awesome view whilst we got ready.


The very grand, main dining room at Dai-Ichi Seafort


Seafort station during the day

At this point I bade farewell to K as she was nesting a trip to visit her family in Shanghai, into her US Airways itinerary. She took the monorail back to HND, whilst I decided to risk heading in to Marunouchi to see some cherry blossoms.



The Tokyo Monorail


These machines are everywhere in Japan, even on the corners of quiet residential streets. You're never more than 2 minutes from a can of coffee

I'm actually kind of proud of the fact that I managed to make it all the way to Tokyo but was so busy and have been lucky enough to visit so many times (thanks to FT!), that I had completely forgotten about the cherry blossoms. It was only when checking out in Niseko that we were asked if we planned to see them during our remaining time in Japan.

Given that it was only 4 hours until wheels up I really had to rush to make it to Hibiya park for a morning power stroll and some very brisk Hanami (blossom watching).




Still, it was worth it. I would have been kind of sad to transit through one of my favourite cities in the World without at least setting foot in one of the busier central areas. In a way airport and peripheral hotels are kind of sad places, they represent a lack of time, lost opportunity. I guess Dai-Ichi at least had nice views and an impressive lobby. Then there are places like the Hyatt at Incheon which is just superb and so far from the city that it kind of makes sense.

Generally though, if I can squeeze in at least 2 or 3 hours in a city I'll jump at the chance, rather than spending time at the lounge.

This day was no general day. It was my first chance to check out JL's new F lounge at HND and I was pretty excited, to say the least!


The main floor of the departures area was absolutely rammed with people at 9am but this was a bright, energetic kind of busy, rather than an oppressive crush you might get elsewhere.

I love the sweeping design of the roof of the terminal building, you feel like you're making your way through a majestic hommage to man's airborne endeavours, rather than a utilitarian transport shed (here's looking at you LTN).

Given that I already had my F boarding pass, issued at CTS, I was able to beat the crowds and breeze straight through priority security.

JAL First Class Lounge - Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)






From left to right, top to bottom: Showers. Baggage storage (JL are always great at providing lockers so you can quickly and easily store away and access your bags whilst in their lounges). Phone Room. Smoking Room. Main Lounge 1. Coffee Lounge. Restrooms. Restaurant Lounge. Buffet Area. Another phone area. Main Lounge 2. Massage chairs and treatment rooms. DIY bar. RED Suite (with champagne room, recreation room and John Lobb shoe shine concession).


The screen at the end represents two contrails crossing through a blue sky


Such beautiful design, incorporating the traditional Japanese screens along the walls


The Coffee lounge was empty for most of the time I was there.


The hallway to the showers






Ultra powerful shower. Unfortunately the lounge staff weren't able to provide any shaving foam or body lotion though.


The beginning section of Main Lounge 1


Main Lounge 1. Amazing, panoramic views of the runway. Every area of the lounge was tastefully decorated with very solid and well designed furniture, trees and sculptures throughout. There was also ample opportunity to find a power socket, without needing to trail wires around.


Runway view



The Restaurant area of the lounge. This was the busiest section. If I was suffering from jet lag and needed to wake up, I'd head here for the panoramic runway views and the energetic buzz of people moving around. The centrepiece of the restaurant area was the live cooking station. In the morning the chef makes pancakes.


A huge buffet selection of very high quality food


More buffet selections


My first point of call


The ever present automatic Japanese draft beer machines.


A fridge filled with frosty beer glasses and soft drinks


Beautiful, aerodynamic sculpture at the entrance to Main Lounge 2




Main Lounge 2. I found this section to be quieter and brighter than Main Lounge 1 and decided to sit and watch the planes go by for a while.


Coffee and chocolate truffles for breakfast...


...and a massage. I reserved the massage as I checked in to the lounge. After finishing my coffee I went to the massage area and was greeted by and old lady who asked me to take my top off, or so I thought. She seemed very shocked when I not only took my jumper off but also my polo shirt. She immediately ran out of the treatment room and came back with a load of towels. She then proceeded to massage my neck and shoulders through the towels. Haha, lost in translation I guess Next time I'll try out the mechanised massage machines!


After my massage I went in search of a drink.




A very good selection. Hibiki 17 in particular, is far superior to the likes of JWB.


Great presentation for the champagne


With my whisky in hand, I went to explore the RED Suite. This was my favourite part of the whole lounge.


The John Lobb shoe shine guy did an amazing job on my boots


A model of a JAL concorde. The RED Suite is Avgeek paradise!


Next time I'm in HND I'll write a TR from this desk




The recreation room.


The champagne room is always stocked with Laurent Perrier; a better champagne than the revolving selection in the main lounge DIY bar.




Fantastic Riedel glassware. What a difference to some of the thick walled basic glasses supplied in other F lounges around the world.


After spending a long while in the RED suite, I made my way back to Main Lounge 2 and indulged in some plane watching with my feet up.


I wasn't the only one watching the planes go by. Apparently on a clear day you can see Mt Fuji from the observation deck. Soon enough it would be me waiting to take off on that runway.

Conclusion


This lounge is all about luxury and quality. Total comfort with zero bling. I absolutely loved the RED suite. One of my other big passions outside of planes is shoes, so having the John Lobb concession there was a real treat!

The lounge has enough varied environments that you really feel like you're on a journey whilst you're there. Your interest is piqued and a childlike urge to explore takes over.

Right now, this is probably my favourite lounge in the world. Is is so much more intimate than the cavernous TG F BKK, CCR, CX F Wing and QR Al Mourjan. It is way more fun than QF F at LAX and resoundingly beats the bland little NH F lounge at NRT and OZ F at ICN. Also, it goes without saying that this wipes the floor with any American legacy carrier's lounge offerings. The only lounge that captures a similar feeling, with a similar eye to design and F&B quality is the VS Clubhouse at LHR T3.

I'd recommend getting to the airport early to experience the JL F lounge at HND in full and plan to do so myself when I'm there in one week's time

Last edited by Jermyn; Oct 10, 2015 at 4:55 am
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