Konnichiwa! LH F (via FRA FCT & a 911) to Japan for Sakura. Back home via Shanghai.
May 17, 2017, 8:49 am
#76
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 405
More! More! More!
Wife and I just booked flights to Japan for this coming January. We are debating on switching it to Mid April or May (can't do beginning of April due to tax season) to see the cherry blossoms. But those crowds are making me want to keep the winter trip lol
Wife and I just booked flights to Japan for this coming January. We are debating on switching it to Mid April or May (can't do beginning of April due to tax season) to see the cherry blossoms. But those crowds are making me want to keep the winter trip lol
May 18, 2017, 4:37 am
#77
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
Programs: Disillusioned Cent
Posts: 1,880
Gorgeous pictures, esp from Aman and Nobu. I loved the Christo joke :-)
I've never seen a chocolate shoe. Is Afternoon Tea similar to British tea or is it a Japanese tea with non-Japanese savory and sweets?
How much time did you have Inbetween Aman and Nobu - I felt full just looking at the afternoon tea pictures :-)
I've never seen a chocolate shoe. Is Afternoon Tea similar to British tea or is it a Japanese tea with non-Japanese savory and sweets?
How much time did you have Inbetween Aman and Nobu - I felt full just looking at the afternoon tea pictures :-)
The Aman Afternoon Tea is indeed quite similar to British tea, but on the creative side (the chocolate shoe was tasty...)
We had a full three hours in between Aman & Nobu, more than enough in my book...
Cherry blossom season in Japan is indeed quite unique and memorable, you should book those flights!
They have great chefs in Japan. 40 years ago I had the best Stroganoff at the Palace Hotel I believe it was called.
I want to go back to Japan. I was told to go in April for the Pinus Festival outside Tokyo that takes place on the first Saturday or Sunday of April and the Geisha Festivals in Kyoto. They show them on YouTube.
Your pictures make me want to go back.
I want to go back to Japan. I was told to go in April for the Pinus Festival outside Tokyo that takes place on the first Saturday or Sunday of April and the Geisha Festivals in Kyoto. They show them on YouTube.
Your pictures make me want to go back.
. I was tempted to give the Aman a try, but entry-level rooms north of 1000 USD made me reconsider.
More! More! More!
Wife and I just booked flights to Japan for this coming January. We are debating on switching it to Mid April or May (can't do beginning of April due to tax season) to see the cherry blossoms. But those crowds are making me want to keep the winter trip lol
Wife and I just booked flights to Japan for this coming January. We are debating on switching it to Mid April or May (can't do beginning of April due to tax season) to see the cherry blossoms. But those crowds are making me want to keep the winter trip lol
It is entirely possible to enjoy the cherry blossom experience without the crowds, but it involves rising at 5AM. A friend of mine strongly recommended this to me but for some reason I never heard the alarm clock...
Update: the next installment will be online tomorrow.
May 18, 2017, 2:15 pm
#80
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: United Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 988
Those dishes at Nobu look delicious. I'm heading back to Tokyo in July and don't have much planned other than returning to Dons de la Nature, ramen, and some whisky hunting. I may have to mirror some of your dining choices again
May 19, 2017, 12:57 am
#81
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
Programs: Disillusioned Cent
Posts: 1,880
I didn't even know about the Cigar Room at Nobu, but thanks for giving me a good excuse to go back...
Yes, one can never get enough of Sakura indeed.
Please be patient as there will of course be a picture of the LH FCT Duck (Easter '17 Edition), but it's still a few installments away...
chongl, looking forward to the report already...
May 19, 2017, 2:53 am
#82
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: MAN
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 500
It was 20 years since my visit to Nobu Tokyo (for shame!) so I guess it must have changed. If memory serves, as you entered, there was a bar to the left, a waiting area straight ahead with the climate controlled cigar "vault" to the right of that. To get to the main seating area you had to walk around the vault. You would have noticed if it was still there. We were guests of Nobu and were seated on a table next to Takeshi Kitano, who was hilarious, then taken back to the waiting area for brandy and our choice of cigar. It was some evening I can tell you.
May 19, 2017, 5:22 am
#83
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
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Posts: 1,880
It was 20 years since my visit to Nobu Tokyo (for shame!) so I guess it must have changed. If memory serves, as you entered, there was a bar to the left, a waiting area straight ahead with the climate controlled cigar "vault" to the right of that. To get to the main seating area you had to walk around the vault. You would have noticed if it was still there. We were guests of Nobu and were seated on a table next to Takeshi Kitano, who was hilarious, then taken back to the waiting area for brandy and our choice of cigar. It was some evening I can tell you.
Sounds like you had an epic evening, rosensfole...
May 19, 2017, 6:20 am
#85
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
Programs: Disillusioned Cent
Posts: 1,880
May 19, 2017, 6:31 am
#86
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
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Posts: 11,521
"Overseen by", "Restaurant of 3 star chef" etc. In many cases this sister properties have not really much in common with the original. Of course their are excemptions....
May 19, 2017, 6:42 am
#87
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I'm usually also very cautious when it comes to restaurants of that category but in this case the fact that it is located within the Peninsula managed to convince me to try it. The food wasn't bad as such, it was just pretty bland and very expensive. What was really curious though was the fact that we were the only guests (whereas all other Pen restaurants were at least half full that evening as I later found out.)
May 19, 2017, 6:56 am
#88
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: MAN
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 500
Shame though, some of the class has gone as a result. Robert De Niro kept his personal cigar stash in that vault, especially the Cuban ones he wasn't allowed in the US.
May 19, 2017, 7:11 am
#89
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
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Posts: 1,880
I've just looked at some pictures... and you're right. The comfy chairs and vault have been replaced by a screen and lots of extra dining tables added, doubling the size of the dining space.
Shame though, some of the class has gone as a result. Robert De Niro kept his personal cigar stash in that vault, especially the Cuban ones he wasn't allowed in the US.
Shame though, some of the class has gone as a result. Robert De Niro kept his personal cigar stash in that vault, especially the Cuban ones he wasn't allowed in the US.
Fortunately the rest of the Nobu experience is still pretty much intact. It can't rival with my favourite Nobu in the world (on Lanai/Hawaii) but it's still very good.
May 19, 2017, 9:01 am
#90
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
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Posts: 1,880
One of the many things I liked about breakfast at the Horizon Club: certain items were organic and regionally sourced.
On our last day in Tokyo we decided to explore colourful and quirky Akihabara, a district in central Tokyo that is famous for its many electronics shops. In more recent years, Akihabara has gained recognition as the center of Japan's otaku (diehard fan) culture with many shops and establishments devoted to anime and manga.
Gamer's paradise.
This game was the most action I could handle.
To lower my adrenalin levels we then visited the Yasukuni shrine.
Another example that the Swiss and the Japanese must share common DNA: they take recycling very seriously.
The nearby war museum was unfortunately about to close, but the kid in me loved these two bad boys...
Now that looks healthy.
On our last evening at the Horizon Club lounge I focused on drinks.
The hotel's Japanese restaurant Nadaman features sushi and teppanyaki counters as well as kaiseki, with private dining rooms. We opted for a semi-private (6 seats) teppanyaki room which we shared with just two other guests.
Magician at work.
If you could still talk I bet you would tell me stories about Mozart, massages and beer...
Bon appétit!
Up Next: JAL First Class to Osaka & first impressions of St Regis Osaka
On our last day in Tokyo we decided to explore colourful and quirky Akihabara, a district in central Tokyo that is famous for its many electronics shops. In more recent years, Akihabara has gained recognition as the center of Japan's otaku (diehard fan) culture with many shops and establishments devoted to anime and manga.
Gamer's paradise.
This game was the most action I could handle.
To lower my adrenalin levels we then visited the Yasukuni shrine.
Another example that the Swiss and the Japanese must share common DNA: they take recycling very seriously.
The nearby war museum was unfortunately about to close, but the kid in me loved these two bad boys...
Now that looks healthy.
On our last evening at the Horizon Club lounge I focused on drinks.
The hotel's Japanese restaurant Nadaman features sushi and teppanyaki counters as well as kaiseki, with private dining rooms. We opted for a semi-private (6 seats) teppanyaki room which we shared with just two other guests.
Magician at work.
If you could still talk I bet you would tell me stories about Mozart, massages and beer...
Bon appétit!
Up Next: JAL First Class to Osaka & first impressions of St Regis Osaka
Last edited by JohnRain; May 19, 2017 at 9:17 am