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DownUnder2014: OZ F Suites, OZ J, TG F (A380 + 747), NZ Y, EK F, VA Y, CA J, and NH F

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DownUnder2014: OZ F Suites, OZ J, TG F (A380 + 747), NZ Y, EK F, VA Y, CA J, and NH F

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Old Apr 14, 2014, 11:13 am
  #16  
 
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nice tr!
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Old Apr 14, 2014, 4:22 pm
  #17  
 
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Excellent start to your first TR (I'm planning my first one - well I've attempted to start them in the past but never got around to making a post - err, my first successful TR in a little under 2 months too!). Definitely feel like we are traveling a long with you. Look forward to the rest of your travels!
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Old Apr 14, 2014, 9:11 pm
  #18  
 
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A great TR. Have really enjoyed reading it.
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 1:24 am
  #19  
 
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am sitting in the aforementioned Asiana lounge (biz side) as I read your TR- thinking it looks like my grandma's rec room but with an expresso machine.
Keep on writing.
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 1:47 am
  #20  
 
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Me like your writing style. Me in 1K, that made me smile.

Nice seeing another 'young' FTer!
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 4:41 am
  #21  
 
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Nice start. Looking forward to the remaining installments. Did they provide instructions on how to eat the Bibimbap? Did the menu really state Udong?

The Sir Winston is nice but I have still to find a champagne that beats the Comtes De Champagne from Taittinger.
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 12:42 pm
  #22  
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OZ 108: ICN – NRT A321

Well that was a fun couple hours in the lounge. Now let’s finally get on that plane to NRT and conclude what I think is the longest travel day of my life (and possibly yours too). Asiana often uses 747s, A330s, and 777s on this route in-between long-haul turns but sadly this flight is just an A321. I have a feeling this won’t quite live up to the epic experience that we just had on the flight in from New York but hopefully it’s better than you typical US domestic First Class flight.

Hmmm we better bring our expectations wayyy down, it looks like we’ll be taking a bus out to the plane. Well at least we get to board the bus first? How far away did they park this plane? Even worse we didn’t even get any cool tarmac views and we’re stuck in the very back of the bus – oh well we’ll just be the last to board the plane.

Okay first impressions of the seat aren’t great. Feel free to disagree but this reminds me of a US domestic flight in First Class – or perhaps the business class recliner on American’s 762s. I mean granted the AVOD screen seems to be a little bigger (though that could be the alcohol / exhaustion from the last 14+ hours talking) and the seat has a few more buttons but I think that’s an accurate comparison:







Oh and someone wants to switch seats with us so they can sit together. Not a big deal of course but this already has US domestic first flight written all over it. What’s this? Wait a second maybe I’ve been a little too harsh. Look at this menu they just gave us for food. This actually looks pretty good.



First the Western options:
Western

Appetizer
Mozzarella Cheese with Mixed Greens
Main Course
Grilled Sea Bream Fillet
Dessert
Sweet Potato Mousse

And now for the Korean option:

Nutritious Korean Cuisine, Ssambap



As for wines we have a choice of the following: Champagne Cattier Brut, Albert Bichot Macon-Villages Blanc Chardonnay 2011, or Arboleda Cabernet Sauvignon 2010.

Well, I don’t want to ruin that bibimbap we had on OZ 221 so I’m going to play it safe and go for the Western options and how about that Chardonnay to go with the fish.



Nope. That was not good at all, at least what they served me. My fish was mushy and the cream sauce was pretty bad. Plus I still can’t figure out how that dessert qualified as “Sweet Potato Mousse.” I know like me you don’t really like domestic first class food but I feel comfortable saying we’ve had better meals on American Airlines flights of similar length (2.5 hours).

No matter at least it helped us pass some time. I'm going to take a nap until we land in Tokyo. I'll see you when we land!

Last edited by Duke787; Apr 15, 2014 at 2:15 pm
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 2:00 pm
  #23  
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Editor’s Note: Note the change in tense. As noted at the outset of the report, for hotels and reports on the actual sights and cities I visit I’ll be reverting to a descriptive tense and not using the first person inclusive approach being used for flight and lounges. Additionally if you only care about the actual flights feel free to skip this section, the next flight (TG 677 – A380 F + NH F lounge) will be posted soon enough

Courtyard Marriott Ginza
First let’s get some business taken care with a quick review of the Courtyard Marriott. The room cost 30,000 Marriott points and because of my Marriott Gold status that includes free WiFi, 2 bottles of water in the room, and a complimentary breakfast buffet (though you’ll see soon that I opted to go with sushi for breakfast instead). The hotel itself is located in Ginza within the Chuo district which is one of the more upscale parts of Tokyo. Just a couple blocks away from the hotel is Ginza Street, the Tokyo version of Fifth Avenue or Oxford Street. A few blocks the other direction is the Tsukiji Fish Market which is why I chose this hotel in the first place (that and because I had 30,000 Marriott points to burn).

The room itself was pretty basic and similar size-wise to rooms I’ve had in Manhattan at various SPG and Hyatt properties. The layout was efficient and as you can see the bed was a full Queen size which is not a given in Japan (many hotels only offer twin beds in their standard award night room):



Since we’re in Japan a picture of the toilet is a must. This one was a bit more simplistic than the one at the Asiana First Class Lounge:



All in all the room as sufficient for what the two things I wanted most: a bed and a short walk to Tsukiji the next morning. Having literally been traveling for 24 hours and completely unaware of what time my body was supposed to be operating on I promptly passed out for 4.5 hours.

I should note here that I almost never suffer from jetlag though. Despite getting just 4.5 hours of sleep upon waking up at 4:30am my body was fully adjusted and I was fully functional for the day in Tokyo and did not suffer any other effects of jetlag for the balance of the trip (including returning to the US).

Tokyo
I’m sure some of you have enjoyed seeing and traveling with me in First Class. Like me you probably enjoyed those Johnnie Walker Blues and the delicious meal on OZ 221. But we didn’t just fly halfway around the world simply to fly (though I’d be lying if I said I haven’t done just that before though on a much smaller scale). No we specifically flew to Tokyo on the way to Australia to have sushi, because flyerdude88 loves sushi.

Now initially my plan was to go and see the tuna auction at Tsukiji which occurs everyday except on Sunday or on public holidays. Unfortunately going to the fish market didn’t happen (though it did for our resident TR guru SFO777 so if you want pictures and a description of the actual auction check out his most recent TR). In order to get in the auction you need to line up no later than 330-345am (all times local) to receive one of 120 daily slots for the auction which starts at 5am. When I got in bed at midnight the thought of waking up in 3.5 hours was just too much to handle. Instead I set my alarm for 830am and figured I would wander over to the market itself (the actual wholesale market itself doesn't open until 9am).

As luck would have it I woke up at 430am fully refreshed, o I walked over to the market and got in line for Sushi Dai, a famous sushi restaurant that is located on the market grounds. Despite the early hour (5am by this point) the line was already ridiculously long. No worries, I have nothing else to do and this is why I stopped in Tokyo right? A short time later one of the sous chefs walked up and down the line and told us the wait from my section was 4.5 hours. I didn’t believe him – how in the world could it possibly be that long.

Well he was wrong. The wait wasn’t 4.5 hours, it was a more reasonable 4 hours (kidding – my legs are still sore nearly four weeks later from standing that long ):



No matter let’s get this show on the road. The guy in the front was the sushi chef for my portion of the counter:



Now for the sushi in the order it was served:





























Without a doubt the best sushi I’ve ever had. A couple of interesting things about the experience compared to sushi in the US. First, unlike in the US, sushi restaurants consist only of the counter with the chef(s) preparing sushi right in front of you. This limits seating to 10 - 15 depending on the size of the bar and explains why the wait was so long despite the line seemingly not that long (I’d estimate that 125 people were in front of me so roughly 15 people at a time spending 30 – 45 minutes eating and the wait adds up quickly). Second, the use of chopsticks is strictly optional. I was a bit concerned about having to use chopsticks before entering because my chopstick skills are mediocre at best. Before I left on this trip, I had watched a video my sister sent me which suggested that picking up sushi with your hands was acceptable and surely enough the Japanese patrons sitting on either side of me were using their hands so I did too (the last thing I needed was an embarrassing moment of dropping the sushi while trying to pick it up with chopsticks).

After sushi it was time to walk around the famed market and see the various wholesalers up close and personal. It turned out to be a really cool place to walk around. There were hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of seafood including large pieces of tuna (that they presumably bought earlier that morning).

A selection of pictures from walking around:











There were also some interesting carts being used by those working at the market to move product around. These carts had what looked like a giant barrel on the front and a flatbed in the back. They were operated metal that went around the barrel and it appeared that pulling the metal would cause the cart to move forward. There was also a brake pedal by the feet of the driver:



After all of that it was only 1015am and with check-out at noon I still had some time to walk around and see some more of the area. I headed over to Ginza Street and with the exception of the Japanese writing on the signs and a couple of Japanese-based stores on the street (such as the department store) I might as well have been on Fifth Avenue albeit a much cleaner one:





My iPod USB cord had stopped working so I stopped by the Apple store to pick up a new one. No surprise the store looked the same as every other Apple store in the world and the price was virtually the same as buying it in the US (~$19.80 including tax vs. $19 not including tax from the US Apple website):



There was one other stop I wanted to make before heading back to the hotel to checkout and head to the airport. When I researching things to do in Tokyo during the trip planning phase I came across an article that referenced Hidemi Sugino and his patisseries at his eponymous store. Apparently he makes a number of delicacies that you can’t even take out of the store because they must be eaten on the spot. Well fortunately his store is located at the far end of Ginza Street (right before a bridge) so I made the brief walk down to the store:



I didn’t have time to sit and eat so I walked over and selected two items that I could take back to the hotel with me and eat before checking out. One was a cappuccino and chocolate concoction while the other was sponge cake like topped with a fruit filling and actual fruit on the very top:



Both were delicious though I preferred the cappuccino and chocolate one. It tasted like a s’more though an expensive and more refined version of one.

With that it was time to head back to the hotel, checkout, head to the airport, and for us to take our first flight on an A380!

Last edited by Duke787; Apr 15, 2014 at 2:23 pm
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 2:13 pm
  #24  
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Originally Posted by Madone59
Great start to your TR, and great photos. I am looking forward to the rest. ^
Thanks! Apologies for those that are a bit blurry and not up to par with some other TRs, I was using my iPhone 5S which takes pretty good pictures but still falls a bit short of a proper camera

Originally Posted by jacobac00
Very nice TR so far. The first suite looks very impressive.
Thanks! Quite impressive - I wouldn't hesitate to fly it again. I think from just the physical suite standpoint it was my favorite First Class seat (NH F was old F - though I think I would really like new F since it has a similar feel and privacy features)

Originally Posted by yerffej201
nice tr!
Thanks!

Originally Posted by Digital01
Excellent start to your first TR (I'm planning my first one - well I've attempted to start them in the past but never got around to making a post - err, my first successful TR in a little under 2 months too!). Definitely feel like we are traveling a long with you. Look forward to the rest of your travels!
Thanks! I never realized how much effort it took to post one of these things until I started this - especially getting all the pictures in. Thankfully a lot of the text was written while I was traveling (up through the CA J + NH F flights) so that makes things a bit easier

Originally Posted by Chalkie
A great TR. Have really enjoyed reading it.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by canolakid
am sitting in the aforementioned Asiana lounge (biz side) as I read your TR- thinking it looks like my grandma's rec room but with an expresso machine.
Keep on writing.
Thanks! How does the biz side compare? I can't imagine it's all that different than the F side

Originally Posted by tycosiao
Me like your writing style. Me in 1K, that made me smile.

Nice seeing another 'young' FTer!
Thanksf! Yeah I thought that was a good one ^!

Originally Posted by Moomba
Nice start. Looking forward to the remaining installments. Did they provide instructions on how to eat the Bibimbap? Did the menu really state Udong?

The Sir Winston is nice but I have still to find a champagne that beats the Comtes De Champagne from Taittinger.
Thanks! Whoops thank you for pointing that out - it definitely did not say "udong" that was meant to be "udon." As for the bibimbap, they didn't provide any instructions on eating it - they asked if I wanted chopsticks or real silverware and that was it (and I went with the real silverware to be safe though there were chopsticks on the tray in case I wanted to be adventurous)
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Old Apr 15, 2014, 6:53 pm
  #25  
 
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Good TR so far... Sushi Dai is a great choice although I don't think I would wait 4 hours personally, but if it's your first time and you have time to burn then it's worth it. The Courtyard Marriott looks underwhelming, good thing you didn't have to pay for it

I'm definitely looking forward to the Thai segments, since F redemption between HKG and SYD is so cheap using UA miles and is something I'd like to do at some point
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 2:09 am
  #26  
 
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Great TR so far. Looking forward to the rest.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 9:17 am
  #27  
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Loving the TR so far, looks like you are having a great time.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 9:52 am
  #28  
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ANA First Class Lounge – Satellite 4
This looks familiar, I’m pretty sure we were just at Narita Airport 14 hours ago (no that’s not a typo we literally went into Tokyo for 14 hours in total).

CRAPPPPPPPPPPPPP WHERE’S MY PHONE. I left it on the bus. Mr. Narita Airport Limo Bus worker is there any way you can get it? I’m going to Bangkok in 4 hours and I won’t be back in Tokyo for 3 weeks. Come back in 40 minutes? Okay.

40 minutes later

THANK YOU KARMA. Yes that’s my phone with a DC Smartrip in the case. Much appreciated.

Okay whew now where were we, oh right let’s go check-in for the this flight, they even has a special section for us Royal First Class passengers to check-in:



All set? Oh I like the look of this boarding pass with the giant “F” on it:


There’s no Thai lounge here but it’s okay, as a result of our First Class ticket we have access to ANA’s Suite (First Class) Lounge in Satellite 4 right above gate 46 where we’ll board our flight to Bangkok.

Nice plane-spotting here though this lounge is facing the wrong way to see the tarmac (oh hey there UA 772– it’s been so nice not taking you all trip):



Oh hey there UA 747 (not the one that was also going to BKK – from a quick check of FlightAware I found out this 747 had just landed from HNL):



Before we get too comfortable I think it’s time for a shower after that busy morning running around Tokyo

You know what that means; it’s time for another shower review

Cleanliness: 7/10 – It was clean but unlike in Seoul there was no pre-entry prep. That’s not to say there it wasn’t clean because it was but I wouldn’t have eaten anything off the floor



Toilet: 4/10 – Come on ANA this thing is pathetic compared to the one in Seoul. I’m beginning to think that from a toilet perspective things on this trip peaked way too soon



Shower: 3/10 – Well the actual shower started fine but the shower head was a bit low so I loosened the screw so I could raise it. One problem, the screw piece broke, so the shower head went from a bit too low to useable by no one but a child. This is what it must feel like to be 6’10 using regular sized showers.



Shower Amenities: N/A – No Pert Plus or Old Spice and nothing else crazy that warrants mentioning.

Overall Rating: 4/10 – Nothing that positive about this shower experience except the fact that the water pressure was good. Otherwise it was a bit of a disastrous shower experience, I’d rather shower at the LAX AC.

That was refreshing. Oh and look here a massage chair I could use a quick rest in the massage chair. Hmm this is a problem – the remote is entirely in Japanese. No problem press enough buttons and eventually it’ll turn on right?



Now we’ve still got about 2 hours to kill so let’s have a look around the lounge. It looks like they have a pretty decent selection of food here though we’ll be feasting on the flight so maybe just a couple of the chocolates in there:



Even better they have this cool beer machine here where we can just put in our glass and press the button and it fills it up perfectly:



Before we head to the gate, let me just take a quick picture of the plane taking us down to BKK today, we’ve actually got a pretty good view of it from up here:



Enough of that – let’s head to the gate!
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 10:12 am
  #29  
 
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Another amazing round of photos! That sushi looks too fresh (if such a thing is possible!). Plus I like it when people trying out F do not take anything for granted and just enjoy the experience without any expectations.
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Old Apr 16, 2014, 2:50 pm
  #30  
 
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Good report.

Sushi Dai is great, I only had to wait 2 hours, and thought that was about the right amount of time.

Glad your phone was returned. Somehow I think the chances of that happening in Japan are much higher than had you lost it in DC

Looking forward to my first time in OZ F Suite (on the A380!) in October.
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