Transfer from the Langham Place hotel to the airport took well under an hour by MTR and Airport Express.
Checkin was quick and efficient, and in fact, they processed all three consecutive flights, all the way back home to YUL.
I first went to the United RCC. This is a fairly spacious lounge, and featured all sorts of food and drink.
Out of curiosity, I then walked over to the other side of the terminal wing to the Thai lounge. This was very crowded compared to the RCC. Despite the fact that I was technically on an "F" ticket, and this particular segment did not have "F", they did not let me into the "F" seating area, claiming it was closed. It wasn't, of course, as there were a few people sitting there. I have no problem with not being allowed in because of the class I was flying in, but there's no need to lie to me.
Wishful thinking:
Soon it was time to leave, and so I made the short walk over to the departure gate. There was a considerable line at Y, but none at the J counter.
The short-haul business class is comfortable enough, but not spectacular compared to First, of course.
A mini bottle of champagne was served along with a nice-looking bag of rice crackers as an appetizer.
The meal was underwhelming, with the salmon served with some brown/gray gooey sauce.
Arrival at NRT was a bit early. At immigration there were no questions, but at customs, they saw I had only a carry-on, and asked whether I was on a business trip. I must have been very tired, but I heard "business", thought J class, and said yes. After they carefully checked my passport for entry stamps for various dubious places, they let me go.
