July 5th



I slept in that morning and I had my final breakfast at the Hilton Tokyo lounge.

I had already sent my suitcase to my next hotel via Yamato. So I had the challenge of fitting all my other clothing in a single backpack! Meanwhile the front desk called my room as I’d already gone past check out time.



I took the Yamanote line from Shinjuku to Shinaagawa. And then changed to Keikyu train to Haneda - which was surprisingly busy! But the escalator and then cross platform interchange was very convenient.

I arrived at JAL’s domestic checkin. I had no luggage so proceeded through security which was virtually empty. Once I was airside I struggled to find the JAL lounges! I even asked JAL staff who sent me in different directions, one who tried to send me to a credit card lounge.



Eventually I returned landside and found the JAL first class checkin. And from there went through the security into the lounge precinct.

The Diamond Premier lounge was not bad. The furnishings inside were beautiful, and I was able to get a seat looking onto the tarmac.



The food offerings were limited but good quality for domestic. I particularly liked the caramel popcorn.



I also enjoyed the massage chair, which was in a private room separated from the rest of the lounge.










Boarding the plane, I was surprised to see the A350 domestic F cabin had all the window shades down, creating a rather dimly lit environment. I also was impressed that JAL could board a full A350 in just 20 minutes! Many European airlines struggle to board an A319 in that time.



The leather seating was very comfortable. Though on such a short flight, with meal service included the recline seemed almost unnecessary.





After takeoff I enjoyed looking back at Haneda from the air.


A meal was served at 4pm, not sure whether to call it lunch or dinner? It was cold but very refreshing in the summer humidity. There were deep fried prawns and chicken, and a “Chinese cold noodle” dish. Dessert was a biscuit sandwich, that while small was very tasty.

took a photo of the JAL crane logo onboard, and one of the flight attendants thanked me for doing so!



As we approached CTS I also had a nice view of the airport runways.




And after landing the aerobridge was connected to the plane quite quickly.



At the airport train station there were long queues for the ticket machines. So I instead just used my suica and obtained an unreserved seat. Since the train was crowded I transferred at Shin-Sapporo and continued on the Tozai subway line.




I was staying at the Sosei Hotel, part of Accor’s MGallery collection. I experienced some culture shock in the check in process. It was a long process. Initially I handed my passport to the front desk agent. She offered me a welcome drink (icy and with crushed strawberries inside) and a refrigerated Lindt chocolate.



She added “you have a delivery”, which I confirmed was my luggage and that was brought up to my room.



The hotel didn’t have an executive lounge but instead the bar offered afternoon tea and later canapés in the late afternoon/early evening.

I had a ginger ale and prawn cocktail. The bartender asked me why I had come to Sapporo and I told him “to escape the heat in Tokyo”. He exclaimed “me too!”. He also asked if I was doing anything this evening, to which I asked him for suggestions. “Don’t ask me, I just arrived!” He eventually suggested I go to the local park, and sit on the bench.

My room felt quite quirky, particularly the furniture.

I then went to the nearest 7-eleven to pick up some onigiri for dinner.