Moomba

Day 11 Pictures

Our wake up call was 6am this morning so that we could make the first of three train journeys for the day at 7am.
Yes you guessed it another bakery supplied breakfast on the train. The first trip was one and three quarter hours on the Kamome train again to Hakata. We changed here for the Shinkansen train to Shin-Osaka which was another two and three quarter hours down the line.
We grabbed yet another eat on the train lunch at Shin-Osaka station. We then boarded our final Shinkansen train bound for Tokyo which was just shy of three hours away. On the way we passed by Mt Fuji. Unfortunately the overcast and smoggy conditions made the search for Fuji a little frustrating.
On arrival into Tokyo station we walked to our hotel which was around 15 minutes away.

After settling in a few of us decided to make use of the last day of our JR rail pass and headed out to the Ginza area. We walked around the busy streets filled with people, cars and neon before locating a Yakitori restaurant for some food.
The restaurant was quite small and inhabited by mostly locals. We were not too sure if we were welcome or not as our host was a little gruff. Despite this we did enjoy a lovely dinner of food grilled on sticks in the Yakitori style.

We had tentatively arranged to meet others for a night cap at the bar atop the Mandarin Oriental hotel which was not far from our own. However when we arrived we could find no sign of the others. We did, however, find loos with a view and fabulous (expensive) cocktails and scrumptious desserts.
After feasting on cake and supping down a couple of cocktails we ventured out into the street.
We then got totally disorientated and headed in the complete opposite direction to our hotel. We eventually made out way back, with the assistance of a gesticulating taxi driver.


Day 11 Pictures

Moomba

Day 12 Pictures

Today we went on a walking tour of Tokyo led by our tour guide.
The first stop was the Tokyo stock exchange where the previous manic hand waving and gesticulating has been replaced by the calm and serenity of a full computerised exchange.

We then walked around the street to arrive at Mitsukoshi department store in order to watch the opening ritual. You could see as 10am approached several people arrived at the doors and bowed to the waiting customers. At the strike of 10 the doors were opened and the customer flooded in. All very precise and all very Japanese.

We then hopped the subway out to the Asakusa area. Here we visited the Sensoji temple and wandered around the many stalls and shops in the area.
The roof of the Sensoji was adorned with some fabulous paintings. After some free time to explore and purchase we met again to continue the walking tour.
This tour included a walk down what is known as ‘cooks street’. Along this street were many sellers of cookware and cooking related goods. This included shops that sold the plastic images of food and beverage that are seen adorning the window of many of the restaurants we saw in Japan. Some of these items were quite realistic and also came at a price.

We circled our way back to the area near Sensoji and stopped off at an Okonomiyaki restaurant for some lunch. This time we got to cook the food ourselves at the table.

It was time then for a bit of a meander down the Sumida River to the Shimbasi area of Tokyo where we entered the Hama Rikyu Gardens.

These stroll gardens were quite lovely and the sakura trees were still in bloom. In the middle of the gardens was a large pond set on the edge of which was a tea house. We stopped off for some more green tea, just to see if we could acquire a taste for it, and some sakura sweets.

Leaving the gardens behind us we ventured into the skyscraper jungle at the edge of the Ginza area. We crisscrossed our way through some back streets before arriving at the Kabuki theatre.

We queued up to watch one act of the performance and also purchased a translation device so we could make sense of the show. Kabuki is a much stylised form of acting and it was evident that certain moves or poses are integral to the art. People would applaud and cheer when an actor took a certain pose. The scene we saw was quite entertaining and we were very glad to have purchased the English commentary as we would have been lost without it. I am not sure I could sit through a whole play though as this one act was just on one hour in itself. The seating was not made for 6’ 2” people either.

Next up on this second last day of our tour was the Sony building in Ginza along with all the high tech gadgetry one could lay their hands on.

On the last day of the tour we were supposed to go out for a big farewell feast. This had been brought forward to this day because the two Ukrainians on our tour were leaving Japan the next day.
We went to a place underneath some railway arches for a fabulous feast on tempura, fish, salad, shoshu, beer, sushi, sashimi, yakitori, you name it. It was great.
A quick walk around the corner and we were at another bar drinking more beer. Then the cake-a-holic (who had been on a reconnaissance mission whilst we were drinking) dragged us to a cake and coffee bar. After a caffeine and sugar fix we decided one more view from the top was in order. We made our way back to the Mandarin Oriental for more cocktails at the top of Tokyo.
We then back to the hotel said our goodbyes to our new Ukrainian friends and went to bed.

Day 12 Pictures

Moomba

Day 14 Pictures
Day 16 Pictures

Day 13

The official last day of the tour was free for us to do as we pleased in Tokyo and would normally have concluded with the feast.

After a very lazy start to the day we wandered around the area and ended up back in the Ginza are where we met a couple of our group for lunch. I am ashamed to say this was at a Wendy’s.

We then went to Itoya which is a store dedicated to paper and paper related activities such as calligraphy etc. We did some more shopping at the local Matsuya department store before wandering our back along the streets towards our hotel and our scheduled meeting with the tour guide. As we had feasted the night before we had arranged this evening to meet our guide for a quick drinks and say our farewells.

We had a farewell drink with the guide and said our goodbyes to him. Then it was on to Roppongi Hills to meet another two of our group for dinner.

Our last meal with the remaining members of the tour was Udon noodles and tempura prawns and was very tasty indeed.

Of course the reason why we ended up in Roppongi Hills was that our cake-a-holic had found out that the chef at one of the restaurants there had won some prize in a world cake competition or something or other. So it was after this meal that we also went for our last cake and coffee for the tour. After overdosing on our calorie intake for the day we grabbed cabs back to our hotel and our final farewells to our new friends.

As this was mainly a shopping day the camera didn't make it out the pouch today.

Day 14
This day was a cultural one for us. We checked out of our hotel and dropped our bags with the bell boy.
We then took the subway to Ueno and to the Tokyo National Museum.
After having lunch there and walking around three buildings in this mammoth complex for several hours looking at ancient Japanese artefacts we were quite tired.

We caught the subway back to Otemachi station to visit the Imperial Palace Gardens. These gardens were quite lovely and very expansive. There were many sakura along with many Azaleas and Rhododendrons of many colours.

We made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and a cab to our new hotel for the next two nights. We decided to end the trip with a bit of luxury and opted for a two night stay at the Westin Tokyo. It was very nice to be in a Heavenly bed again and the room had a fabulous view over Tokyo.

Day 15
My travelling companion decided to go to Tokyo Disney this day and meet up with three remaining tour members for a day of fun.

I decided to chill at the hotel and do some more shopping down in the Ginza area. I was ready to end my holiday at this stage a really just wanted to come back home to some normalcy.
I wandered around the Ginza visiting music stores and the like before heading back to Ebisu to grab some salad for dinner.

I forgot to take my camera with me this day so no pictures.

Day 16
Our last full day in Japan was pretty uneventful. After breakfast we headed back to explore the Roppongi Hills area. This was quite a disappointment. There were some shops and departments stores but nothing to really tempt us and it turned out to be a bit of a wasted day. We went back to Ebisu and grabbed a coffee and bought some sweets to take back to the UK for friends at work.

We then checked out at 4pm from our hotel and caught the bus to Narita. An hour later we arrived at Narita. I had already warned my travelling companion that officials board the bus as the bus gets to the airport grounds to check passports and to make sure that he had his to hand on the bus.

At T2 we found the bus stop for our hotel for the night, just outside of Narita airport. We caught the bus, checked in and ate an expensive, we have you captive and will charge accordingly, dinner at the hotel before retiring for one last night in Japan.

A few pictures of the Westin and the view are all I could manage this day.

Day 14 Pictures
Day 16 Pictures

Moomba

Day 17 Pictures

Breakfast was included in our room rate so we went down to the café to eat our monies worth before checking out at around 08:15 to catch the 08:20 bus to T1 at Narita airport. Just prior to catching the bus I bought a couple of packets of Green Tea flavoured KitKat to take back to the UK!

Once again the passport check was done prior to entering Narita airport grounds and after brief stop at Terminal 2 we were deposited at Terminal 1.

On entering the terminal we saw what could best be described as a sea of people with what looked like the semblance of queues here and there.

At NRT everyone has to have their checked bags put through x-ray machines prior to checking in. We found what we hoped was the line to the BA check-in desks entry point and waited. As we got nearer the front we heard the security official asking if there were any First or Business class travellers. We walked forward and he placed our checked bags through the machine and waived us through. We grabbed our bags and went over to the First desk.

This was occupied and there was a couple waiting before us. The desk quickly became free and the couple approached and immediately started to complain about the debacle that was the queue process prior to the x-ray machine. After their rant they were finally checked in and were on their way.

We approached the desk and handed over our passports.
We were issued with our BPs and given an invite and instructions on how to get to the North West Airlines Lounge.

The last time I travelled through Narita T1 there was a BA lounge but it seems it is no longer. I assumed this was in preparation for BA to move over to T2 to be with the other One World carriers. I asked the agent if she knew when the move was going to be. She said they had no idea as to when it would be.

We moved off and I headed to security and immigrations whilst my friend went shopping.

Security was a breeze but immigrations was about a ten minute wait and of course I joined the slowest moving queue.
On exiting the immigrations area I noted that the BA gate was to the right in one satellite whilst the NW club was to the left in another satellite.

I made my way down to the club noticing that the sign outside said that all BA First and Business and OW Elites were welcome.

I was warmly greeted by the agents and made my way into the lounge. There are great views from floor to ceiling windows over the tarmac and to my luck the active take off runway. There was quite a lot of seating, free wifi and snack foods along with hot and cold beverages including beer and hard liquor. I did not spy any champagne though. Also quite strange was the fact that I could not find any mixers for the spirits they had on offer.

My travelling companion finally arrived after his visit to the duty free shops. A couple of drinks later we decided to head to the gate which was a good ten minutes walk away.

When we got to the gate as sign stated that boarding would commence at 10:30. We were about five minutes early and just lingered in the area until the appointed time. Above me I could here sounds of construction work going on. This is the area where the CX, AA and BA lounges used to be.

At 10:30 they commenced boarding and there was a separate line for First, Business and Elites.


Flight BA6 NRT-LHR Seat 1A
Departure time: 10:55
Date: April 15, 2007
Aircraft: 747-400 G-BNLK

We were soon on board through door 1, noticing that yet again this was a new Club World fitted plane, and after stowing my bag I awaited the taking of my jacket and my first glass of champagne. Eventually both of these happened without the usual dish of nuts though.
The cabin was once again full with many op-ups as when checking in the day before there were still 6 unassigned seats.
Amenity kits and pyjamas were handed out and yet again no slippers were forthcoming. Come on BA get your bloody act together. If you say there is going to be this wonderful new service and you don’t deliver you just hack off your customers.

Just prior to take off there was a mini hail storm over my seat as the air-conditioning attempted to deal with quite a muggy day at Narita.

Push back was just after 11 am for our 10:55 departure.

After take off canapés were once again delivered to our seats along with another glass of champagne. This time though there were no chopsticks given out to eat the greasy, messy food with. The small napkin given was hardly adequate for the clean up job either.
Menus were given out and we were instructed that we could any of the items at any time as there was plenty of food on board. If we didn’t like anything just to say so and we could try another.

I slipped into the PJs to avoid any unnecessary spills on clothes that can happen on these flights. On the way back from the lav the captain announced that Mt Fuji could be seen on the left of the aircraft.

My lunch order was taken.

LUNCH

STARTERS

Mark Edwards’ lobster ceviche

Wild mushroom risotto with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and truffle infused olive oil

Akadashi miso soup with nameko mushrooms, fried bean curd and chives
Or
Sweetcorn soup with cheese croutons

Fresh salad leaves with your choice of balsamic vinaigrette or mustard, chive and yoghurt dressing

MAIN

Mark Edwards’ balsamic teriyaki beef with Japanese rice, asparagus, shitake mushroom and hijiki seaweed

Poached sea bass with Champagne and dill sauce

Paisarn Cheewinsiriwat’s green chicken curry with lime and lemon grass jasmine rice, bok-choy and cucumber relish

Confit of duck and foi gras on French beans with a bitter orange dressing

DESSERT

Mark Edwards’ goma macadamia nut chocolate with fruit brochette and shichimi caramel ice cream

Seville orange and almond tart with crème anglaise

CHEESE PLATE

A selection of cheese

A basket of fresh fruit or Japanese fruit plate

SNACKS

Bacon roll served with tomato ketchup

Penne pasta with your choice of tomato and basil sauce or cheese and chive sauce

Duchy of Cornwall biscuits

A selection of cheese and fruit

A basket containing a selection of sweet and savoury treats is available between meals

WINE LIST

CHAMPAGNE

Champagne Perrier Joulet Belle Epoque 1999

WHITE WINE

Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote Bouguerots, 2004, Domaine William Fevre

Sancerre La Chapelle des Augustins 2005, Henri Bourgeois

Vasse Felix Adams Road Chardonnay 2004

RED WINE

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre 1995, Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Julien

Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir 2005, Santa Lucia Highlands

Yalumba The Signature Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2001

DESSERT WINE

Bonnezeaux 2003, Chateau de Fesles, Loire Valley

Warre’s 1998 Colheita Port


I settled back playing with the new AVOD and sipping champagne until my lunch began to appear.
It was quite interesting watching the two up front do their job. The purser work the FK side of the cabin and the other FA worked the AE side. It was also quite interesting to see how much they differed in how they did the job.

I started with the Wild mushroom risotto which was quite delicious and followed up with a salad. I asked for the Vasse Felix wine that was not available on the outbound and was pleased to find they had it on board today.

Next up, encouraged by the purser’s ‘if you don’t like it you can change it’ speech I opted for the sea bass and I was not disappointed.
I also went for cheese and fruit rather than a dessert on this flight.

Drink top ups and offers of rolls were all generous and I was fully sated by the time I had finished this meal.

I wasn’t sleepy on this flight and spent my time watching and listening to items on the AVOD, reading or doing the sudoku in the newspaper. Again I was less than thrilled with the choice on the AVOD system. I spent a lot of time listening to my own music on my computer whilst writing up some of these reports.

Mid flight I asked for some peppermint tea which was delivered in a small pot.
There were some great views over Sweden on the way back to London.
Around two hours out of London a Light Meal was offered.

LIGHT MEAL

STARTERS

Classic smoked salmon

Tomato, rocket, roast red onion and marinated feta salad

French salad leaves with French dressing

MAIN

Grilled lamb on colcannon potatoes and rosemary jus

Grilled salmon teriyaki

Three cheese tortellini with artichokes in tomato and basil sauce

DESSERT

Lemon tart with caramelised lemon zest

FRUIT

A basket of fresh fruit

SNACKS

Afternoon tea sandwiches

Scones served with clotted cream and strawberry jam

Thai-style marinated chicken brochettes with coriander salad

Duchy of Cornwall biscuits

A basket containing a selection of sweet and savoury treats is available between meals


My FA came and asked me if I was hungry and I agreed it was time for more food. I started with the Tomato and Rocket salad that when it arrived seemed distinctly shy on Rocket. That is there was no Rocket at all just a couple of leaves of other green stuff.

I decided to accompany this meal with the Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon which was just to my liking.

My main for this ‘light meal’ was the lamb which was quite delicious indeed.

When tempted with the dessert by the FA I decided what the hell as I didn’t have any after the earlier meal. Well that is how I justified it to myself!
The lemon tart was quite nice especially when accompanied by a glass or two of the dessert wine.

Soon enough it was time to head back to the lavatory and back into my clothes and ready myself for landing. We landed a little early IIRC but had to wait for our gate to become free before eventually pulling up.

It was yet another OK flight in F with BA. We were never addressed by name (except at the NW lounge in NRT) and the FAs did their job but did not make it all memorable.
It was a long walk to immigrations and I was caught at the IRIS machine for about 5 minutes whilst a family of 5 attempted to get their 8-10 year olds to use the machine successfully.

I knew this didn’t really matter much as being BA the wait for our bags would be far longer than any delay caught at immigrations.

True enough the baggage hall was a complete zoo and there were several announcements for passengers awaiting bags from other flights that they would be out soon. Around 40 minutes in the hall and the bags off the NRT flight started to appear. Our bags were out within another five minutes after many, many bags without priority tags popped out before them.

We ventured out into the arrivals hall and I said goodbye to my friend and he headed off to his home and I headed off to the HEX and my home (eventually – but that is another story).

Day 17 Pictures

AJLondon

Super stuff as always Moomba. ^

erdehoff

Wow! Yet another wonderfully detailed report. I have a sudden urge to visit Japan! Really enjoyed tagging along with you in cyberspace. Great pictures, too!

Steady-EDI

Well, I finally made it to the end of this fabulously detailed and immensely enjoyable TR ^ Although I've visited both Tokyo (twice) and Kyoto, I've yet to have the pleasure of really getting out and about in this country, for example using the trains the way you did. I now feel a definite need to do so!

Many thanks for sharing this trip. You have some excellent photos there, and I dread to think how much work went into preparing them all.

PhilH

Wow, another great report Moomba, thanks for sharing it with us ^ .

I was having my first, brief experience of Japan only a week or so before you arrived and it is definitely somewhere that I'd like to go back to - maybe a summer 2008 job!

Jenbel

Great report... but can't believe you ate the lamb

OliviaM

Now that was a trip so well illustrated. I could imagine how you must have enjoyed those great days Moomba.

jacob_m

Finally found the time to read through your Japan report.

Another great report Moomba!! ^ Well done! Great pics as well!
Japan is one of my favourite countries and I have visited many of the places myself such as Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima.

Btw, I don't know if you've realised it, but you have a really excellent photo of central Stockholm taken during the NRT-LHR flight.
You can clearly see the main railway station for example on the bottom left and next to it by the water the city hall where the Noble Prize dinner is held.
Quite amazing from 30,000 feet!!

Moomba

Thanks jacob_m I was wondering if it was Stockholm but could not identify any features that I recognised.

SteffiJA

Hi!

Thank you so much for sharing this!

Yes, I know it was a few years ago now, but it still looks amazing.

We are off to Japan in 2 weeks time, but only in BA Club World (still cant afford F!).

Here is what we have planned (well roughly, it could change as we go).
Any advice would be more than welcome!

Day 1-4 - Tokyo
Day 5-11 - Kyoto / Nara / Uji
Day 12-14 - Osaka and Kobe
Day 15 - Okayama and Kurashiki
Day 16-17 - Hiroshima and Miyajima
Day 17-21 - Tokyo

Thanks again for the report and pictures!

Steffi

Moomba

Well look what pops up out of the blue. I am glad that old reports are still being read on this forum it makes it all the more worthwhile.

As to your trip I see you have allocated a lot of time in the Kyoto region. Wise move I must say. I love Kyoto and it is my favourite part of Japan (of the places I have visited so far). The temple at Nara is a sight to behold in its sheer size. I haven't visited all the places you have on your list but it looks like you have a good balance and time to spend in each place.

If I may make a recommendation (if you are a walker) of a great book I have been working my way through a bit at a time on each visit.

Exploring Kyoto: On foot in the Ancient Capital by Judith Clancy

Also why not have a poke around the Japan forum in FT as you might find some more ideas there.

Enjoy your visit to Japan.

SteffiJA

Have just ordered that book: seems like a great read.

Thanks for all the info: I will try a trip report when i get back.

Steffi