Long Weekend in Nagoya - CX Redemption
 

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It is very difficult to redeem a ticket to a major tourism destination such as Japan on a long weekend unless I redeemed a year in advance. Otherwise, the next best bet would be at the last minute when they release seats that went unsold. I was lucky to have grabbed one such last-minute seat with my Avios 2 days before departure.

Today's flight was one of a few that had its own set of counters in Aisle A. Guess the regular aisles were too busy as there was barely a line at all for me. The agent asked whether I had a return flight, to which I replied no, then whether I lived in Japan. She then went away for a little bit, then returned and reminded me if Japan's immigration authorities demanded return flight information, then I would need to purchase a ticket on the spot upon arrival.

I had hoped to return my return flight when I reached Japan as Cathay had not released an Economy Class seat for the afternoon flight I liked. However, this possible snafu with immigration did unnerve me a little, although I had no problems getting my boarding pass for today's flight.

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Following the friendly reminder, I logged online at the Travelers' Lounge and booked myself a Business Class seat on the afternoon return. Meanwhile, I wondered whether Economy Class was really that full that not even a last-minute seat would be released less than a week before departure?

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I got comfortable with my window seat at the back of the plane. Today, I ride the new Economy Class. We pushed back on-time and took a short taxi to position for take-off towards the west.

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Construction of the mid-field terminal is well under-way. I had hoped for an eastward take-off to capture aerials of Hong Kong Island with my right window seat. By that time of day, the sun would be glaring at the left windows.

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A massive bridge connecting Zhuhai and Macau with Hong Kong is currently under construction. Notice the artificial island futher afield as well as the bridge pylons taking shape.

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The new Economy seat has a lot of neat features. The TV screen is now touch-screen, while there is a small pouch below to store your phone, passport, and other small gadgets. A cup holder unfolds below so you don't need to open the table at all. Economy Class appeared full today, and the crew came by offering Japanese newspapers.

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I was happy with my ginger ale - 2nd favourite drink in the sky after Cathay Delight.

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We crossed Taiwan from southwest to northeast.

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While the mountains were imposing, I turned my attention to dinner being served. This beef rice meal was disproportionately skewed to rice, but the beef portion was not too small and actually tasted quite good.

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After dinner, I watched the sunset and the clouds thicken above the East Asia Sea. We skirted south of the Japanese coast and then turned north for landing after a 180-degree turn. There was some moisture in the air but not too many bumps along the way. A light drizzle greeted my arrival at Chubu.

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Immigration did not have any problems or questions about my return flight. They got my fingerprints and stamped my passport with no issues. Since I did not have any checked bags, I headed straight out towards the train station, and got myself a reserved seat on the expensive express train into the city. I could have waited an extra 10 minutes for a slower train and save 350 yen, but I didn't want to get to the hotel too late tonight.

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The full report is on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/flightreports.htm

So how was your stay in Nagoya?

NIce pics! Thanks

Nagoya is not a very big tourist destination in Japan, somewhat eclipsed by nearby Kyoto and Osaka. It's a very industrial city, equivalent to a Detroit but without all the abandonment. Toyota is based here, so it is essentially a car town.

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More : http://www.globalphotos.org/nagoya.htm

Very cool:cool:.