Wednesday
After a short stay in the city-state, it was back to Changi for a pre-dawn flight to NRT. For over 2 years, I managed to stay clear of morning flights ex-SIN. I didn't have the luxury of choice today, which explains my presence at Terminal 2 at a rather ungodly hour of 0350, exactly 2 hours before departure.
The first rays of sunlight were still 3 hours away, but Changi was already abuzz with activity. An IndiGo flight to Chennai has a similarly obscene departure time, followed by the usual bank of flights to other regional destinations.
I quickly found the NH counters where I was immediately approached by a Japanese-speaking queue minder who escorted me to the First Class counter.
A polite agent confirmed my final destination of LAX and quickly processed my check-in. As I was filling out the paperwork for a US-bound foreigner, I was told that I'd be the only one in F for the SIN-NRT segment.
It's far too early for such news. It was 4am, and moments like this only ever happen in my dreams. After confirming with the agent that I was very much awake, I was grinning from ear to ear. The last time I had a solo ride in F was back in 2013, albeit on a short hop to HKG on SQ.
The agent then went on to mention that I was actually among the last of the passengers to check-in despite arriving 2 hours before departure. It seems most of my fellow passengers had started queuing at 2am, before the counters even opened. Cheaper than spending another night at the hotel, I suppose
New boarding passes for both SIN-NRT and NRT-LAX segments were printed, although I already had the SIN-NRT one printed by SQ the day before. Despite the less-than-desirable departure time, this is the only NH flight that offers convenient connections to the afternoon bank of North American flights at NRT.
Immigration took less than a minute, and I headed straight for the SQ lounge.
The desks were unmanned, which I found rather strange. After waiting for a minute I was quite tempted to invite myself inside. A moment later, a Japanese lounge dragon came running from the Business side, apologizing profusely as she scanned my boarding pass. After being informed that no boarding calls would be made, I made my way to the First Class section.
The lounge shares the same decor with its T3 counterpart. I still prefer the latter with its higher ceilings.
There was a decent selection of hot food, but I wasn't hungry. I've never enjoyed SQ's lounge food anyway, apart from those served in The Private Room at T3, which is the airline's equivalent of the Concorde Room.
I made myself a cup of Earl Grey and spent my entire stay texting my friends in LA as we made plans for the weekend.
At about 0515 the same Japanese lounge dragon came over and informed me that it was boarding time. So much for the "no boarding calls" policy, I suppose
Boarding was at gate E26 which was quite a walk from the lounge. It's just 2 gates away from Terminal 1.
Boarding was well underway when I arrived. I was invited to "board immediately to ensure a timely departure". Okay then...
The entry to the door 1 jetway, marked "First Class", was roped off. The ground staff pointed to door 2, so I just assumed they were using only 1 jetway, although I did find it very strange for SIN.
Flight: NH802
Dep: Singapore 0550
Arr: Tokyo-Narita 1400
Aircraft: B777-300ER J
Seat: 2K
A warm Japanese greeting at the door marked the start of my NH experience. As I crossed the mini Business cabin into my sanctuary at the front end of the plane, I was greeted by no less than 3 FAs.
There are tons of trip reports on FlyerTalk with better pictures and more detailed explanations of the NH "Square" F seat, so I'll spare you the details you've probably read about a dozen times. The lack of decent lighting, coupled with my substandard photography skills make for disappointing pictures, so I do hope you'd excuse me for that.
One of the FAs from the J cabin came up to me and said "Sorry to keep you waiting as I will get your flight attendant to be with you shortly."
She then hurried towards the front and disappeared into the galley. I heard a loud gasp, presumably from the surprised FA who was waiting for me at door 1L. The seemingly stunned FA came over and bowed as she apologized for not noticing me earlier. I told her it was really no big deal, but my reassurances did little to dispel her apologetic look.
She introduced herself as Kimura, and offered me a drink which was promptly delivered.
A pair of slippers were waiting at the seat along with a shoe horn.
I was rather curious to see what amenities NH would offer on this 7 hour intra-Asia flight. I was a bit surprised when Kimura returned with a pair of pajamas, although this was pretty much a day flight.
More importantly, an amenity kit was provided. Sadly, Rimowa was replaced by Samsonite. I was looking forward to adding an NH kit to my collection of LH, BR and TG ones, but I guess it's just not meant to be.
On the bright side, the contents were of decent quality.
Kimura then came over with a tray of even more amenities. After realizing I was about to take a picture, Kimura quickly rearranged a few items, as if the presentation wasn't neat enough to begin with.
Some basic items were expected, such as toothbrushes, earplugs and socks. What I found surprising were things like "leg refreshing sheet' and "sleep support fragrance". Only the Japanese are capable of such creativity ^
She encouraged me to take as many items as I wanted. I was, after all, the only one in the cabin. I still had to exercise some self-restraint, though. If I had my way I wouldn't even have spared the flower.
