As soon as I stepped onboard, I was greeted by a smiling lady, who checked my boarding pass and escorted me to my seat 2K. JAL First Class is a little old school, but the seats are extremely comfortable, and with no one in the middle seats, very private. Today only 4 of the 8 seats were occupied, so a good crew : pax ratio.
Waiting at my seat was an amenity kit, a fancy Shiseido wash set, headphones, a cleaning wipe, plus slippers and menu.
The menu was in a big leather folder. Menus and drinks lists are available to everyone online.
https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/en/inter/service/first/meal/
I think the other three passengers were Japanese, so I was the only
gaijen in the cabin. One of the crew spoke better English than the other, so came to introduce herself and the team in First Class, as well as offer me a drink.
Views over the Bay Area were fantastic on departure
Good news, to me at least. Strong headwinds today meant that today’s flight would be just under 12 hours, about an hour longer than normal. Plenty of time to enjoy First Class.
Farewell North America
I had preordered the Japanese meal in advance. However, I asked if I could have the caviar off the Western menu to start. This wasn’t a problem.
I also went with another glass of champagne. As has been publisided on FT before, JL is a bit cheap with their champagne. They advertise the very swish Salon 2013 on flights out of Japan, and the less fancy, but still very nice Billecart Salmon Cuvée Louis Salmon 2008 inbound. However, they apparently only load one bottle per flight. Thankfully it seemed I was the only one drinking today, so no need for rationing.
The caviar was served plain, so I asked for some bread to accompany. Simple but delicious
Time to start the real meal. First off, the appetisers
Soup
Sashimi course
The main course beef. I wasn’t sure what chirashi rice was, so was offered both that and the steamed rice.
Dessert, the only bit of the meal that was disappointing, but at least it was a fresh, lowish calorie end!
Green tea
I’d heard good things about the Royal Blue Tea, “Queen of Blue”. I like cold green teas, but this was a little bitter for my taste
Overall it was a fantastic meal. So much food, and really excellent quality. Very good service from the friendly crew too.
One more thing to finish the experience...a glass of the Hibiki Blenders Choice. I’m normally a rum drinker, but there’s none onboard, so this will do.
The crew offered to make up the empty middle seat into a bed
I had a bit of a nap, before waking up for a trip to the facilities. Bidet onboard
Snack area
Cointreau is the best flying drink
The mid-flight snack menu (well, part of it)
The noodles
And the pork rice bowl
With ninety minutes to run to Tokyo, the lights started coming on, and the crew swung into action with the pre-arrival meal.
The Japanese option
I start with the caviar again – they seem to have plentiful supplies!
Elegant, simple, tasty
Self-warming face masks were handed out before top of descent
The cabin ready for landing
Half an hour behind schedule we touch down into Haneda
The tiny galley responsible so so much good food
Thankfully we seem to have landed in a lull in the arrivals, and after a quick covid doc check, I was at immigration, bag claimed, and down to the train station to top up my PASMO card, and then onto the train. Plane to train was only 20 minutes, so top marks for an easy arrival process.
My tag festooned luggage
So overall I was very impressed with the JAL First Class experience. Other than the extremely lacklustre ground experience in SFO, everything onboard was excellent.
Next up, 10 days in Japan.
Winter onsen paradise
Kyushu Shinkansen
Battleship Island, Gunkanjima
