Jermyn

Sun, Snow and Sushi - One Week, OneWorld F Round The World (BA F, AA F, JL F-J-Y)


Intro

In the spring of 2104 my beloved US Airways Dividend Miles Program went through a major transition. As part of its integration with AA, out went Star Alliance and in came OneWorld.

Whilst I lamented the loss of NH, TG and OZ I was also delighted at the prospect of actually being able to access the award space of this new alliance’s top carriers. Where LH, LX and SQ all limit awards in their premium cabins, JL and CX would welcome my Dividend Miles with arms wide open.

The first OneWorld trip I booked with USDM was the rather delectable : QR vs QF F showdown.

Being UK based I’d never really been able to accumulate the AA miles necessary to exploit this most lucrative of spots on the award chart, *A carriers just don’t have the coverage in the Middle East.

However, I wanted more…


The Europe - North Asia sweet spot

….I wanted to get a 100k First Class award to North Asia on the go.
A very good friend of mine lives in Tokyo and I’ve already been to visit him on numerous occasions, thanks to all of you wonderful people who contribute to FT every day.

The Europe - North Asia spot on the USDM chart was always outrageously generous and NH and JL are permanently locked in a head to head race to the top when it comes to their premium cabins; a concept sadly lost on European and North American carriers.

Trying CX and JL long haul were major goals as soon as I heard USDM awards would be available on OW carriers. Given the fact that I’d already flown CX before, I gave priority to finding a route on JL. Availability from HND-LHR was there but the outbound was proving trickier.



The Scenic Route

With the integration of OneWorld inventory to US computer systems came a couple of glitches. Of course, where there’s a glitch there’s an opportunity. For the first month or so, US airways agents were able to book award flights on BA without the hideous fuel surcharges that had hitherto plagued TATL travel.

Up until this point I’d flown numerous carriers in F but never set foot in a premium BA cabin. This seemed like a good opportunity to judge first hand how bad our national flag carrier truly is

If I was going to fly BA F, it would have to be in the nose of a 747. I’ll always jump at the ever dwindling opportunity to fly in this most salubrious of surroundings. I also felt that flying the flagship NYLON route ex-LHR would give me a chance to experience BA at their best.


Once there I planned for an onward connection 23 hours after our Friday evening arrival.

How? Where to? A trip on the all new A321T American Airlines transcon to LAX.


There are multiple frequencies between New York and LA each day. I was planning on taking my girlfriend K along for this trip, award space to JFK from LHR was very easy to find, however it looked like we would have to take separate flights on the A321T - an hour apart - to get us to LA.


After 2 days in LA there was a JL flight to NRT with 2 free award seats in F.

Once in NRT we would connect onwards to our final destination, Niseko in the Hokkaido region of northern Japan. This required separate Avios and cash tickets, a negligible cost given the APD of Ł5. After snowboarding for 3 days K would fly on to PVG to spend some time with her folks; whereas I planned to fly home in JL F, ex-HND this time, sampling the new flagship JL F lounge on the way back to LHR.



Getting it ticketed

There were many things that made USDM a great program. Cheap and easy to acquire miles, some real sweet spots on the award chart and best of all, manual pricing of routes by agents who sported that truly magical combo of total suggestibility and a deep lack of geographical knowledge.

I had the perfect route all mapped out: flight numbers, times, fare codes for each airline’s F cabin, knowledge of the fact that JL needed to be saved down in a ‘different system’. After three attempts I finally found an agent who was willing to ticket this as a North Asia award because it only stopped over in the US and “that’s US airways’ home base”.

Round the World in First class for $1,400 worth of US airways miles plus taxes. Just for fun I checked the cash price for these flights in the cheapest non-flexible First fare buckets. $23,400.

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Part 1 : Concorde Room and LHR-JFK BA F (B744)
Part 2 : Andaz New York and JFK-LAX AA F (A321T)
Part 3 : Andaz West Hollywood and L.A.
Part 4 : LAX QF F Lounge
Part 5 : LAX-NRT JL F (77W)
Part 6 : Hilton Niseko
Part 7 : The Trip back to Tokyo, Dai-Ichi Seafort and the HND JL F Lounge
Part 8 : HND-LHR JL F (77W)

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If you like this TR then please check out my others.
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Finally, if you're not into my hundreds of cameraphone pics then check out my girlfriend's super slick fashion and travel site: www.euriental.com where you can get her perspective on our travels.

Jermyn

This trip started out like most other big trips. With a Christmas like inability to get to sleep the night before.

We’ve all been there, refreshing Awardwallet; picking seats; changing our minds and picking slightly different seats; looking at previous days’ flight paths trying to see which side will have the best view; looking through recent menus and of course reading Trip Reports here on FlyerTalk!

When the moment finally comes, when the folder is packed full of reservation print outs and loose foreign banknotes, the passport goes into your pocket and you finally get to wheel your luggage out of the front door - there’s no feeling like it in the World.

We got to LHR T5 3 hours before our flight to JFK. Looking around, it wasn’t immediately clear where the First Class check-in area was. We could have easily gone to one of the many empty business class check-in counters but we didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to get the ‘full experience’.

We soon spotted where we needed to go, tucked away in a distant corner of the terminal was the F Area. There was an empty greeting desk beyond which lay a series of counters. No seats or drinks here. Definitely not on a level footing with F services such as NH at NRT and TG at BKK.


We asked the agent checking us in to check our bags all the way to LAX but she had real trouble with this. She wasn’t able to look up our sabre PNRs herself so I had to get my trusty folder out and show her the printouts from AA. After 10 minutes and some help from a colleague she was able to print some tags. The first set of tags she printed still had JFK printed on them, luckily I spotted this and got her to reprint them with JFK//LAX. Not a great start.

Not wanting to waste any more time we quickly rushed over to security. Where we stumbled upon a faintly absurd scene.


Luckily the security process was quick and painless and we were soon ready to experience one of the coolest things about flying out of BA’s home turf. If you bear right immediately after security, you come to a doorway which leads straight into the Concorde Room, bypassing the labyrinthine gauntlet of shops one must navigate if making a left turn. (One of the few times in our hobby where making a right turn is a good thing!)

Rumour has it that BA pays the airport Ł1M a year for the privilege of having its F passengers bypass the shops. Apparently a second door and private security channel will now be built by the F check-in area, allowing entrance from the other side of the CCR and directly into the regular OW Emerald lounges.

Having a separate security channel will definitely help BA’s F to stand out as more of a premium experience.

At the entrance our boarding passes were checked and we were directed towards a reception desk where we were greeted and asked if it was our first time here. We said it was and were told where we could find the bar, terrace area, spa, cloakroom and restaurant.


We had pre-booked Spa treatments, one after another, so K went straight through the CCR to the Elemis Spa whilst I through the lounge, past the crowded bar and restaurant, into the terrace area.


Unfortunately it was a bit of an overcast morning so the whole lounge was quite dark, although the terrace at least got a little more light and was significantly less crowded.


I was quickly greeted by a server and brought the morning menu. I knew exactly what I wanted though and it was brought to me in a large flute LPGS is not my favourite prestige cuveé but it is certainly a notch above all other lounge offerings I’ve encountered, with the exception of the QR Al Mourjan Lounge in DOH, serving Krug.

Soon enough K returned and I headed over to the Elemis Spa for a 15 minute ‘Aviator Facial’ (i.e. somebody applying moisturiser to your face for 15 minutes). The treatment rooms are all located around a central waiting area and are separated only by stained curtains. The therapist was very chatty and friendly but unfortunately the overall experience was a bit drab and sallow. The lighting was dim, corners on furniture were scuffed and frayed, even the clipboard and pen used to fill out a pre-treatment survey were broken. The pen was wrapped several times in sellotape to keep it attached to the string holding it to the clipboard.

The Elemis Spa at LHR T5 is considerably worse than the treatment area at the VS clubhouse in T3 (a J class facility). Its like comparing a Holiday Inn to a W.

After the Spa experience we made our way to the Dining Room where we were promptly met by a server and handed some menus.


The food was better than I was expecting and the duck in particular was delicious. At this point we didn’t have much time left so we headed to gate B35 to meet our ride for the day.

British Airways BA177
London Heathrow (LHR) - New York (JFK)
Boeing 747-400
Seat 1K
First Class

We were warmly greeted as we stepped aboard and directed to our seats. K was taken through a full tour of the features whilst I went about exploring by myself.


On the face of it the BA F seat has the same basic design as the Sicma Aero Cirrus and similar products as found on QR, CX, US, AA etc. However, the leather quality, glossy surfaces and brushed metal used give the cabin a very exclusive feel.

I would say that in terms of wow factor there are few products out there that compare. There are certainly more spacious seats but the nose of the 747 with the lamps and blue tinted electronic window blinds really looks special.


An Amenity kit was waiting for each of us on our seats. The BA F kit is unbranded but actually feels quite nice. The contents are decent too, although the deodorant stick just doesn't work. Nice idea but it crumbled to pieces pretty much instantly


After settling into our seats one of the FAs came over to introduce herself and ask if we would like anything to drink. I continued with the LPGS, of course


Having spotted that seat 1A was free I asked if K could move over there, the FA checked and said that the seat was indeed free and we could have it!


The feeling of privacy in the nose of the Queen of the Skies is absolute. The only thing in front of you is a cupboard. There is zero foot traffic. Hell, even the pilot is sitting behind you, about 6 feet above and behind you in fact. Best of all, the curvature of the fuselage means that you can see ahead of you. The feeling of exhilaration sitting in these seats; feeling the thrust of the engines, pushing this majestic beast into the skies as it takes off, is without equal.

Soon after take off the beep sounded releasing the FAs to begin the service. I switched to water for a quick burst of hydration pre-lunch. This was served with mixed nuts. I can't remember if they were warm or not and I know this is FT, I apologise. I'll do better next time.


The Menu was very comprehensive for a 7 hour flight. The wines are something that BA are particularly proud of.


The table setup on BA F is very good, the cutlery and china all have a heavy feel of quality to them and small details like the bread selection and butter presentation show that effort has been made to present a high level product.


There was a large selection of delicious looking (and smelling!) breads to choose from. I'm not usually a big carb guy but I made an exception for this


Next up was the spectacular starter. A mountain of sweet and succulent crabmeat flanked by an assortment of beautifully piped sauces. This was one of the best looking and tasting F dishes I've ever had. I honestly did not expect to be saying that about BA but there you have it.


This was followed by a fresh salad, I took the balsamic dressing on the side. Not groundbreaking but it was fresh, as described.


I subsequently did two unexpected things: 1. I stopped drinking champagne and switched to red wine - a very nice Chateau Destieux 2006. 2. Even stranger, I ordered beef on a BA flight. I think it may have been the effect of the booze, a sudden fit of bravery - despite the horror stories, I ordered it.

The result? Not bad at all. It was definitely more cooked than I'd prefer but then again I'm the kind of guy who orders steak "briefly passed through a warm room". In terms of flavour and texture I'd give this a 7/10. Will I ever be brave enough to order the beef in Club World? Well I'm finally trying BA J for the first time in October so I guess you'll have to wait and see

After all that I was quite full (I'd also managed to inhale some eggs Benedict in the CCR but hunger prevailed over photography), so I decided to forego the cheese and dessert.

The FA very kindly offered us some hand painted chocolates though and asked us to take as many as we wanted...


I ordered a double espresso with milk on the side, to go with my chocolates. K made the mistake of ordering a double macchiato. You may think that they're the same thing but I've had enough experience outside of major cities to know that ordering a macchiato can lead to some blank stares and confusion.

K's 'coffee' arrived in a huge mug. She'd been given a hot chocolate. I laughed... a lot. 5 minutes later an FA wandered over and asked if K's macchiato was ok because none of the cabin crew knew what a macchiato was. Here K made another mistake, she tried to describe it, "It's just an espresso with a little bit of milk". The FA apologised profusely and returned a few minutes later... with a massive hot milk, faintly stained by coffee.

K was also unlucky with her IFE, the screen was hanging out at a juanty angle and she had to jam it upright with a folded up napkin wedged between the screen and the table.

Oh well, at least the FAs left the box of chocolates behind!


Full of food and several glasses of champagne into the day, I decided to turn in for a bit of sleep. K beat me to the punch.


First I needed to get changed into something more comfortable.
The BA F PJs were indeed very comfortable and fit well. They aren't 'keepers' like the dark blue ones TG had for a while but still good for a flight.
There was no turndown service or mattress pad but the bed was well cushioned and reasonably spacious.


I soon bored of watching Birdman, to be honest I struggle watching films during the meal service, as I always like to take the headphones off to talk to the FAs and end up missing crucial bits of the plot line.

Speaking of headphones...


The BA F headphones were very low quality compared to the competition. They would be perfectly acceptable in J but in F you expect branded headphones with active noise cancelling technology and soft leather ear cups that feel good to wear.

Considering the fact that you get Bose noise cancelling headphones on AA in J, on the exact same route, you'd think BA would step things up a notch.

A shame really, as the lilting dulcet tones of Corey Taylor and his merry band of metal madmen suffered as a result.


After two hours of sleep I awoke, too excited about the fact I was on a plane to be able to sleep anymore.

One of the best things about sleeping on a plane is that instead of waking up to your alarm and the brash brightness of your mobile phone screen, you wake up to the gentle roar of jet engines and the majesty of nature.^


An FA noticed that I was awake and asked me if I'd like to have afternoon tea. I graciously accepted.


The FA noticed that I'd polished the scones off quite quickly and asked if I was still hungry. I opted to finish my afternoon tea with a Lamb slider with baba ghanoush and slaw. I left the bread and ate the rest, it was all simple and delicious. The lamb was even moderately spicy ^

Shortly after my table was cleared, the Captain made his announcement that we would soon commence our descent. We quickly had time to snap a selfie on the GoPro before packing our things away and changing, ready to disembark.


We landed at JFK on time, although we weren't quite ready for the weather given that it was supposed to be the first day of spring.

Conclusion

BAs F product is a bit odd. In some ways it is very good and in others it is wilfully bad.

The lack of a proper F fast track is being addressed and that is a definite plus.
The CCR is too crowded, they need to expand it or add another.
There are a lot of seats in the F cabin but this isn't a huge deal, the finishes and ambience are very nice.
The IFE controls and headphones are in need of an update.
The food and beverage are borderline excellent but there is no caviar except for the shortest F route: Moscow. I personally prefer the money being spent on the rest of the ingredients but know that many F passengers disagree.
The lack of branding on the amenity kit, PJs and headphones gives the F product a generic, second rate feel.

Overall the experience was better than I was expecting. I was glad to be able to review BA F after having flown many of the airlines that it has been compared unfavourably against.

The hard product is certainly better than all of the OZ 747s and half of the TG F cabins. I also prefer it to QR's F on its A330s. The service is not highly polished though and certainly not up to the standard of SQ, NH and JL as for 'Western' service I think QF is still the one to beat although VS comes close.

The food and beverage were the big surprises. It seems that BA have turned something of a corner here. Both the CCR and onboard dining were more than acceptable as food one might find in a decent restaurant on the ground. If only they could get the rest of their lounges up to scratch...

Jermyn

Part 2 : Andaz New York and JFK-LAX AA F (A321T)

Since we were some of the first pax off the plane we were able to avoid the horrific queuing time that Y pax often experience at JFK. Nonetheless it was still at least half an hour before we cleared security and got to the luggage claim area.

Thankfully there were announcements explaining that connecting passengers have to collect their bags manually from them at a a connections counter. BA's check-in staff had forgotten to mention this to us.

As a result of schedule changes, we actually ended up with a 25hr layover (I love sneaky little victories like this ) but AA were happy to take the bags despite our next flight being more than a day away.

After this we called for an uber and within minutes we were headed outside, into the freezing cold, to meet our driver. The snow was really coming down.


As we were loading our bags K spotted a uniquely American scene, like something out of a movie, a convict in jumpsuit and full on chains being loaded into a van as what appeared to be air marshals and police officers, exchanged banter on the sidewalk.

You definitely don’t see this sort of thing in Europe.

The uber car was way nicer than what we get in London (almost always a Prius), otherwise we would have struggled with luggage and what turned out to be a pretty long drive to the Andaz Wall Street, the snow and rush hour traffic were conspiring to eat into our 25 hours!

We pulled up to the Andaz, on the corner of Wall and Water, at around 6:45pm. The blizzard was still in full force, so unloading of luggage was done with maximum haste. We rushed in and were met with a very busy, high ceilinged lobby.


The lobby was busy because it was the tail end of the Andaz’s daily 5-7pm happy hour. Which is particularly happy given that the alcohol is free.
When we made our way to the check-in counter the receptionist asked if we’d like to help ourselves to wine whilst we checked in. We did but one sip told us why it was free. This was box wine that had somehow made its way into a bottle. In Spain we mix wine of this quality level with coke, to make Kalimotxo.

We booked the room through tablet hotels which meant we got upgraded to a Large King from the standard King Room, we were also entitled to a 4pm checkout and any bottle of alcohol we wanted from the minibar. We were also told that all soft drinks and snacks from the minibar are free at Andaz hotels. ^

I had arranged to meet some friends at the hotel and we bumped into them as we made our way to the room. We arranged to meet them downstairs, in the regular bar with its (hopefully) normal tasting drinks.

This gave us a few minutes to photograph the room and get freshened up.



The unit could be rotated to either close or open the room up as well as enabling you access the minibar whilst brushing your teeth/ hair
On the right, as we entered was the wetroom, which featured both a standalone shower and a deep soaking tub with a view!


I quite like having a window into the bedroom from the bathroom, I still remember the first time I saw a design feature like this back in 2000 as a teenager staying in a hotel in Malaysia - sitting in a jacuzzi bath, opening the windows onto the bedroom, watching TV whilst enjoying an ice cold drink from the minibar. ^


Just as we were heading out to meet our friends in the bar, K said she was "feeling peckish". I love that you can just grab little snacks and not worry about the cost at Andaz hotels, it definitely makes you feel more at home.


I called my friends telling them to bring ice and glasses up with them. Given the size of the room the four of us had plenty of space to hang out and pre-game before heading out to dinner.
The Andaz Wall Street has huge rooms, a free minibar and 2 hours of free (slightly horrific) booze every day.
The staff are friendly and the rooms are cool and modern without emphasising style over substance.
The location is out of the way compared to some Midtown hotels but then again it's closer to everything south of Houston, including Battery Park, South Street Seaport, The Statue of Liberty and the Freedom Tower (and of course Wall Street!).

I probably wouldn't recommend it for a first time visitor spending 2 nights or less in the city, as they'd miss out on the unique buzz of stepping out of a Midtown hotel into the bustling streets of Manhattan. For a repeat visitor or somebody willing to split their stay between North and South Manhattan, I'd say this hotel should be near the very top of the list.



Dinner on our single night in NYC was at ABC Kitchen in Union Square. This is a lively, trendy restaurant and bar tucked away near Union Square. The food was fantastic (you can't really go wrong with any of Jean Georges Vongerichten's restaurants - trust me, I've been to all of them ) and the bar scene was super energetic. The room had an awesome energy to it, a perfect example of what makes New York so great.


When we woke up the following day we walked around Wall Street for a while before making our way to the Ground Zero memorial and One World Trade Centre.


We managed to walk up quite a hunger with our morning's sightseeing (along with an hour or two running around Century 21 looking for bargains!). Just as well because we were meeting our friends for lunch at a New York institution that requires a healthy appetite.


My recommendation: wait in line for a table, the counters are 4 deep at all times and an absolute er... clusterfluff.

The staff are fast talking, loud and slightly obnoxious. Let's be honest they're dealing with huge numbers of customers and barely have a moment to catch their thoughts, the atmosphere and energy is actually not too dissimilar to a trading floor.


Somewhat weighed down by the abundance of meat and ice cream in our stomachs we headed back to the Andaz to gather our things and catch our uber to JFK.

As luck would have it, not only did my flight get moved forward by an hour but K's got cancelled entirely, shifting her booking to the same flight as me. I've never seen a day in which 2 F award seats are available on the same A321T flight (which is understandable given the size of the F cabin), so things really worked out for us.

JFK

Once inside we saw lines of people snaking around in all directions. It wasn't exactly clear where the first class area was but eventually we found it. A surly woman was guarding a rope and barked "can I help you?" as we approached. We said we'd like to check in for our flight. She took a moment, looked at us and said "This is first class". "Thanks, we're in the right place then", I said. She didn't seem too happy about that. Oh well, AA staff do have a bit of a reputation, I guess its not entirely unwarranted.

In fairness though, the check-in AAgent was very friendly and went out of her way to explain where the priority line was and how exactly to find the Flagship lounge.

Unfortunately the fast track security situation was just as out of control in JFK as in LHR. Although in this case, the non-priority security line was way worse.

It would have been nice to have a dedicated channel for F passengers but then again there are airports like HKG that have no fast-track at all so I guess I can't complain.

AA Flagship First Class Lounge - JFK

The AA Flagship lounge was a drab and sorry little dive. In an alliance where CX and JL are constantly pushing things forward both in terms of onboard product as well as lounges; AA's offering in its home base, its 'Flagship', is utterly lamentable.

A single room, crammed with people with a bunch of sofas arranged in the style of a waiting room and a mediocre buffet at the far end. The sofa chairs felt cheap and rubbery, the carpet featured a pattern that you know was designed to hide dirt and the power sockets were garish and utilitarian.


K and I sat for a while reminiscing over the time we spent at The Wing in HKG, comparing the cabanas with deep soaking tubs, restaurant and champagne bar to this lounge. Let's be honest though, the CCR is leagues ahead of this too.

We made the decision to head over to the gate just as boarding was being called, rather than our usual trick of waiting until the final call. This meant that I had plenty of time to photograph our graceful bird for this afternoon's flight to Los Angeles.

American Airlines AA181
New York (JFK) - Los Angeles (LAX)
Airbus A321T
Seat 2A
First Class

As soon as we stepped onto the plane we knew that we were in for a great flight. The lead FA was absolutely on top of his game. He was friendly, engaging and very welcoming. He was one of the most genuinely warm and sincere FAs I've ever encountered.

He was clearly very happy to be working with such a fantastic hard product and his pride shone through in his work.

With only ten seats, arranged in a 1-1 configuration, this is a truly unique cabin. The reverse herringbone seats are very similar to those that we'd previously experienced on BR and CX J although the colour scheme used by AA is a lot more neutral.


At the time we took the flight AA wasn't serving champagne on its Flagship transcon route, in First class. This meant that I had to go for my trusty backup drink for my PDB: G&T.


Once we'd reached our cruising altitude the FA came round to take food orders. K and I were totally stuffed from our lunch at Katz's so we asked if we could maybe have a salad later on.

He told us that this was absolutely no problem and that he would keep the drinks flowing in the meantime to help us work up an appetite. ^
So I had free flowing G&Ts and a huge number of entertainment options to explore. Not a bad position to be in!

I settled down with another G&T and some uncensored entertainment. There's nothing worse than being on an Asian carrier and seeing obscure plotholes develop and dialogue cease to flow as the result of censorship.

After watching a movie I was beginning to get a little hungry, so I called over the FA and ordered the Thai grilled chicken appetiser. He was delighted that I had chosen to eat something and immediately sprung into action setting the table for me.

As it was a cold dish it came out really quickly.


Given the portion size and the fact that the dish wasn't particularly satisfying, I took the FA up on his offer of a salad, hoping that this would prove the Thai chicken to be a fluke.


The main checkmark for the F&B was the espresso machine though. I was able to order double espressos throughout the flight, which tasted great.

Conclusion

The FA totally made this flight for me. He really made it his mission to ensure that we had the best experience possible.
For a flight of this length the seat is exceptional, as is the entertainment system.
The lack of champagne was strange and I'm glad this has been sorted. The food needs some serious work if this product is really going to stand out as THE premium transcon experience. I've not flown it myself but the seat and food do look better on Jet Blue Mint class.

I'm glad I tried this product but don't feel the need to rush back to it, given that there are direct options to LAX from LHR.

Jermyn

Our flight arrived into L.A. at around 9pm. Hoping to get to our hotel as soon as possible, we tried uber. Unfortunately there were no basic uber cars, only uber black - I've since learned that they've been actively blocked from serving LAX, although the situation is quite fluid.

So, we ended up taking a massive towncar to the Andaz West Hollywood. The ride was super comfortable and the driver was very friendly and provided bottled water. For around $50 the value actually wasn't too bad.

An interesting turn of events: our bags had disappeared and we were told by an AAgent that they would be arriving sometime the following day. Quite why this would happen, given that we'd checked them in over a day in advance, I couldn't understand.

I've never had luggage go missing before and this was particularly annoying given that we were dressed for a New York blizzard.

Still, one quick call to Amex confirmed that we were entitled to claim Ł300 (around $450 at the time) each for clothing and toiletries if our bags were delayed by over 3 hours. Given the time of day, we'd have to wait until the following morning to go shopping...


Given the late hour of our arrival, the lobby was much quieter than in Wall Street. We were greeted and asked to take a seat as well as being offered a glass of wine to drink during check-in.


I made this booking directly with Hyatt and was informed that we'd been upgraded to a Strip view room as a result of my Platinum HGP status. There is a real difference between the regular rooms round the back and those with a strip view. Back in the days when this hotel was branded as a Hyatt House (and more commonly known as the Riot House due to the rock and roll debauchery that took place within its confines) it had balconies on all the strip view rooms. Axl Rose once barbecued steaks and threw them to fans below but this didn't bother management as much as the frequent defenestration of TVs that happened here.

With the refurb and name change the balconies were shut off and incorporated into the strip view rooms, thereby adding an additional sitting room with floor to ceiling windows onto the bedrooms.


With the curtain at the far end of the room drawn (or if you had a room round the back) you'd be disappointed paying 5* hotel prices for this room.

However, once you pulled the curtain back:


After freshening up we made our way along the strip, looking for some dinner. Foursquare suggested one place which is very close to the Andaz, saying that it had some of the best Mexican food in the area.


After dinner and a couple of margaritas we made our way back to the Andaz for some much deserved rest. Jet lag being what it is, I awoke at 6am the next morning, super alert and awake.

I let K sleep whilst I headed to the lobby for complimentary coffee and snacks.


I took a cup up for K who was semi-awake. However, the pastry I brought up was the major incentive she needed to get out of bed.

Whilst she got ready I sat in the living room area and called AA and Amex to confirm that we 100% definitely weren't about to get our bags and that we could go ahead and start buying replacement clothes.


We'd arranged to meet a friend of ours for Sunday Brunch at the Polo Lounge so didn't have much time to shop. We literally had 3 hours to spend $450 each. Our destination: The Grove.

We chose it because it has a farmers market which opens before the regular shops on a Sunday, where we could get breakfast and be there ready to go as soon as the shops opened.


Aside from the slight complication at LAX, uber works fantastically in LA. The best thing? Whilst we were there they were trialling a service called UberPool where you can offer to share your ride with somebody else, whether or not you end up sharing: the cost of your ride gets capped at $5!!!

Heading back and forth to our hotel paying 5 bucks for taxis, arms loaded with brand new clothes was pretty damn cool.

We managed to make it to the Beverly Hills Hotel just in time to meet our friend in the Lobby. She were staying at the hotel, which was a world away from our accommodation. It is a Hollywood institution and more country club than rock n roll. Rumour has it that many of the biggest movie deals in Hollywood history have been done in the very same Polo Lounge where we were about to have brunch.


After our brunch the sun properly came out for the first time since we'd left London. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to check out the Andaz's famous rooftop pool.


One of the things I was most excited about on this trip was having dinner at Animal. Its a restaurant that specialises in meat, particularly offal.

This is clearly one of the top places to eat in LA right now. Countless people turned up whilst we waited for our table and they were all turned away. We ended up having to wait for nearly 40 minutes after our allotted time and others appeared to be waiting longer.

The staff were in a little over their heads but man, the food was seriously good. Like unbelievably lick the plate clean good. I can taste it now looking through these images. If any of you are doing and ex-DUB HNL and are wondering whether to stop in LA, the answer is yes. Eating at Animal is worth the trip alone.



Our final morning in la la land.

We were both up early so took the opportunity to pack our stuff and make the most of our last few hours in LA before our 1pm flight to Tokyo Narita.

This started with a couple of cups of coffee and then a trip to the rooftop for some early morning photography.



After that we took an uber over to Hollywood boulevard for some good old fashioned sightseeing.



Our time in LA was all too brief. Still we got to see the sights, eat all kinds of delicious food, drinks some awesome cocktails and go on a shopping spree courtesy of Amex (and the baggage hAAndlers).

The Andaz was a great hotel for our purposes, in a city the size of LA location is really important and for me The Strip is where it's at. Next time though, I might spring for the Chateau...

Jermyn

Part 4 : LAX QF F Lounge

The drive to the airport was fairly eventful. It was the first time we actually had to share our ride when requesting Uber Pool but this was no big deal.

The driver was the first female Uber driver I've ever had. She was also a hot Brazilian model and actress. Seriously. It turns out that driving Ubers has become a preferred profession for those looking to make it big in Hollywood. When you're a server you have flexibility but you can't always run away at the last minute for an audition. Uber, it transpires, is the perfect fit for LA.

The guy we were pooling with was also pretty interesting. A fellow Brit, he was also an actor and was on his way to an audition in the area near LAX. As a huge fan of 2D fighting games I was pretty stoked to hear that he also wrote and starred in the Netflix series Streetfighter : Assasin's Fist. I made sure to watch it as soon as I got back. Whilst it is no Kung Fury, it's still pretty good

Anyway. We got to LAX with no problems at all. For all I've heard about LA traffic it really was never an issue during our stay. We were dropped at the AA domestic terminal as we needed to go and check on the status of our missing bags.

It turns out that they had arrived a day before us rather than being scheduled to arrive a day after. The AAgent looking at the baggage system had misunderstood why our bags weren't on the carousel when we first arrived. Oh well, we were reunited with the bags, safe and sound, with the AAgent's incompetence netting us $900 of new clothes, so no complaint from us

The walk to the TBIT was quick and simple, we were checked in and made our way through fast track security in no time at all.

Whilst I was tempted to check out the OW business lounge with its fireplace and 'food trucks' I figured that we should take a look at the F lounge, seeing as we had the option.


As you can see, there was plenty of space and absolutely nobody in the lounge around midday. The carpet has that same dizzying effect as the one used in the QF F lounges in SYD and MEL. I remember reading that this was done deliberately although I'm not exactly sure why.

We took a seat in the dining area and were quickly greeted by a server who brought us some menus.


Given that we were planning on having an enormous amount of food and drink on our 12 hour flight to Tokyo, we took it easy and just ordered a couple of things.


After our food we made some coffees and settled down in the maroon relaxation chairs by the windows.

Jermyn

Part 5 : LAX-NRT JL F (77W)

JAL 61
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Duration: 11hr
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 1K (First Class)


We made our way to the plane with about 30 minutes to go before scheduled departure. Usually I leave it even later to get on the plane. However nice the cabin is, it isn't going to be as spacious as the lounge!

In this instance though I was eager to see the sunshine one last time before heading off to the snowy North of Japan.


We were warmly greeted at the door and shown to our seats on opposite sides of the cabin. Bizarrely JL blocks half the seats in its F cabin before check-in so we were left with no option. Kamara was in 2A and I was in 1K. This meant that in order to talk to each other we would have to walk through the galley each time.

I asked the FA if we she could ask one of the Japanese gentlemen in 1A or 2K if they wouldn't mind swapping. She either didn't understand what I was asking for or was embarrassed to ask them. So we just left it and headed our separate ways.


The JL F seat is a big, sturdy leather armchair. It is quite firm with a softer top layer which makes it very pleasant for sitting and lounging. The seat cushion was made of memory foam and was ridiculously comfortable.

My first impression of the seat was that it looked good but also quite generic. I think it would have been better if JL had added more Japanese touches. They also should have moved away from the sanitised look of the white plastic, either by employing different interior colour scheme entirely or at least by framing the windows in the way that BA does. It may sound strange to say this but for me, the best F products change the interior of the plane so much that the normal shape of the fuselage is almost entirely obscured. This is a great way of differentiating F from J. In terms of its peers I'd say that JL F is most similar to TG F on the A380 albeit with higher quality finishes.

Having said all that the seat is very comfortable and private, which is more important than aesthetics when you have to spend half a day sitting in it.


Before I could even begin exploring the seat an FA came over with a bottle of Salon Blanc de Blancs 2002. Given that this is the most expensive champagne regularly served in First Class on any airline I was very curious to see how good it was.

Personally I prefer PR Winston Churchill but otherwise Salon is right at the top of the list of champagnes I've tried. At double the price of the Churchill I don't think I'll be popping down to Berry Brothers for a bottle any time soon though

At this point I decided to pop the window shades up and enjoy that Californian sunshine one last time, as well as a close up view of the SQ A380 at the gate next to us.


After finishing my first glass of Salon I indulged in one of my favourite pursuits (aside from drinking top shelf champagne): childlike exploration and photography of a new aircraft seat.


A couple of minutes into my exploration an FA approached with an amenity kit and a top up for my PDB.


The amenity kit is Loewe branded. Being half Spanish I'm very familiar with this brand and was delighted to see it in this context. For those of you that don't know it, it is often described as the Spanish Hermes and like Hermes their silk ties and leather goods are of the highest quality. Sometimes airlines just take generic items and license the branding, I'm happy to report though that the JL Loewe corduroy kit bag feels soft and sturdy and has a cleverly designed zipper system which allows it to be stored horizontally or hung vertically in the shower. It is one of the few amenity kits that I've kept and used regularly since first receiving it.

In fact, in terms of design and quality, this is the nicest amenity kit I've ever seen.

In addition to the main kit I was handed a Shiseido Men skincare box.


After my quick play with the amenity kit I turned my attention to the amazing view out of the windows.


Up until this point, my best ever in-flight dining experience was on ANA First Class so I was very excited to see how its major domestic rival would compare. A look through the menu showed that I was likely to be in for a real treat.


I didn't even make it to the food portion of the voluminous menu before an FA appeared with an amuse bouche and a fresh glass of Salon.


Honestly the three mouthfuls were all very similar, doughy base with an indeterminate paste on top (one of which also had caviar). This was certainly not a patch on the NH F amuse bouche I had experienced a year earlier.

Still, I was excited to see what awaited me in the main act of the meal.


As the FA came over to set my table I asked if it would be possible for K to come and join me. The ottoman on JL is full length so there is plenty of room for two people to dine together.


My first course was the caviar, from the Western menu. K opted to wait and just have the Japanese courses.

I like that JL gives you an entire tin to yourself although the caviar wasn't particularly special. The mouthfeel was a little soft and you couldn't really feel the individual eggs bursting in your mouth like you do with higher quality caviar.

I thought the little garnish boat looked good though and provided condiments in measured and appropriate quantities. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a perfectly cut disc of potato in lieu of a third blini.

Since the caviar is on the Western menu I was brought a full set of Western cutlery, beautifully presented:


I was expecting a plastic or mother of pearl spoon for the caviar but one wasn't offered. I therefore committed an act of sacrilege and used a metal teaspoon to eat the caviar with.

After the caviar was cleared the FA returned with a tray full of small dishes. Our Japanese starter.


The soy milk jelly was quite interesting but the seafood all seemed quite chewy, the abalone in particular. The crab was a little sinewy and the sea bream was dry. I was pretty disappointed to be honest. I was expecting better. One thing I really liked though were the chopsticks. The were made of cedar wood, the smell of the wood made for a very pleasant sensation whilst eating. Being wooden also made them great for gripping slippery food items, much better than plastic or metal chopsticks.


The sea-bream sashimi style was the best fish course of the meal. It was fresh with a clear taste and firm texture. Unfortunately the squid and potato; shrimp and vegetables; duck roll and smoked salmon rolls were all bland and lacking in flavour.


The main course was quite good. The rice, being the only freshly cooked component of the meal, tasted fantastic. I particularly liked the subtle chicken flavour.

The sablefish was a little overcooked but had a great umami taste.


K had been drinking the Queen of Blue Royal Tea throughout the meal and I actually switched from champagne midway through as well.

The tea has a wonderful and complex flavour and is bottled like wine. It retails for an astronomical amount. I can actually see why. It is really, really nice. I have a flight on JL F coming up soon and I think I may be looking forward to drinking this more than the Salon


I think we actually managed to drink 3 or 4 bottles between us on this flight, I was certainly more hydrated than on my usual flights when I drink a similar amount of Krug!

After finishing the meal I changed into my PJs. I was offered L at first, this seems to be the default "foreigner size" when in Japan. The trousers were like a ludicrous set of pirate pantaloons. The FA gladly switched them for a full set of M PJs.

At this stage she also asked whether I preferred a firm or soft bed.

The JL F trousers are very high quality and have a thick and comfortable waistband. The top is way too thick in my opinion, great for a set of winter PJs but not so good for an airplane cabin. I just wore a thin t-shirt instead.


I should mention though that I didn't find the cabin too hot. A lot of people complain about this on JL but I found the cabin no different than any other major carrier. Maybe they have the thick PJ tops so people who like it hot can have it their way, whilst the rest of us have things at a more moderate room temperature.

I came back to my seat to find the bed made.


JL has quite an extensive movie selection. In fact I'm not usually one to complain about IFE quality. As long as the system is responsive and there are at least one or two decent movies, I'm happy.

It's great that BA, AA, SQ etc. all have tons of full series available, as well as movies but it doesn't bother me too much when the likes of TG, JL and NH don't. On an 11 hour flight there's really only time to watch two or maybe three movies after you've factored in time eating, drinking and sleeping. Plus I'll often use the time to catch up on some reading.

There is no formal second meal on JL flights but the snack selection is very extensive.


With less than two hours to go before touching down in Narita, I decided to freshen up and change out of my PJs in preparation for our 5pm arrival.

Of course, after almost a full 30 hours without sleep I would require some assistance to make it through the rest of the day.



Conclusion

The hard product on JL is very comfortable but also a little spartan feeling. The seat and bed are superior to BA F but the styling and finishes are not.

The food was a big disappointment, at least when it came to the main omakase meal. The freshly cooked rice was great though and the beverage selection is second to none (and equalled only by NH F in my experience).

The crew were competent but not particularly warm, they didn't provide what I would call luxurious service. I keep coming back to NH as a point of reference but their crew were much more friendly and proactive. Unfortunately the seating problem at the beginning set the tone. Funnily enough after we got off the plane K told me that her PJs had been taken away from her (as others on FT have reported) whereas I came away with two sets: one L and one M! Perhaps this was the result of being 8/8 in F.

As always though, I find it better to reserve judgement, particularly on matters of soft product, until having a larger sample size. I was very curious to see how my return HND-LHR flight was going to pan out...

Jermyn

Part 6 : Hilton Niseko

After arriving in NRT we only had an hour or so before our domestic flight to CTS. The transfer to the domestic terminal was very simple and efficient.

We made our way to the lounge and met up with my old friend Mr M, who was waiting for us outside. Although we had bought J seats (I love how JL actually brands them as "J" rather than business ) for an extra 1000JPY (about $8) this doesn't come with lounge access.

Since we were transferring from international F we had no trouble guesting him in though.

I definitely wouldn't be making my way to the airport early to use the domestic lounge but it was nice to have a place to catch up and have coffee for 20 minutes or so before our flight.



I remember being given water. Then I guess this happened:


Once at CTS we rushed to a convenience store to grab some provisions for our 2 hour shuttle bus to the Hilton Niseko.

Hilton Niseko

We arrived at the grand illuminated entrance of the Hilton just after midnight. K ran ahead to check us in whilst Mr M and I took care of the bags. I had a feeling there wouldn't be many check-in counters open at this time to process everybody on the bus. Given that this leg of the trip had begun at around 10am on Monday, when we left the Andaz in West Hollywood, and it was now almost quarter past Wednesday - I was ready to get to the room asap.


The lobby was pretty empty when we arrived. If this had been a European ski hotel there would be loads of hammered people wandering around, making noise, ready to feel like hell on the slopes a few hours later.

In Japan it seems like people actually go skiing to enjoy a wholesome outdoor holiday of sport and healthy food. How odd

I booked us a triple room during the January sale so this only worked out at $30 each for a hotel located on the slopes, right next to the gondola.

Check-in was very quick and efficient. My HHonors Gold status was acknowledged and a late 4pm check-out offered, I asked for 6pm, given that we were booked on an evening flight back - no problem.

We were handed some slope maps, a list of restaurants with opening times and keys to our room.

Triple Room

I didn't get any pics of the tiny bathroom, sorry!
Given that we were in Japan we didn't use the shower at all, opting instead to don our Yukatas (lightweight kimonos) and head to the Onsen (natural outdoor hot springs) instead.


I tell you what, nothing beats sitting outside in a hot spring, looking up at the stars, surrounded by snow after a long day of travel.

I obviously didn't get any pics in the onsen but here's a stock pic to give you an idea.


We couldn't see anything out of the windows when we arrived so it was a fantastic surprise to wake up to this view!

Breakfast

After a quick dip in the onsen we put on our snow gear and made our way to the breakfast buffet at the Hilton's Yotei restaurant, named for Mt Yotei the volcanic dominator of the local skyline.


If you were to ask me what my favourite meal is, I would't even hesitate: Asian hotel buffet breakfast. I still remember the first time I saw a hotel breakfast spread in a Marriott in Malaysia, at the age of 13. My jaw nearly hit the floor. Noodles, dim sum, fresh tropical fruit, an omelette chef, full english breakfast meats, endless coffee - I was in heaven. Little did I realise that this was absolutely standard practice.^

Seeing as we'd be doing tons of exercise to work up an appetite and Hokkaido is famed as the source of the best food in Japan, you can imagine how psyched I was for this!


The Yotei restaurant is beautifully bathed in natural light and has a phenomenal panoramic view of Mt Yotei and the surrounding countryside. As soon as you enter, before you've even sat down, you are both relaxed and totally awake - ready to take on the day.

The service was excellent, every day our coffees would be waiting for us on the table before we'd even had a chance to fill our first plate of food.


The food was excellent and I was glad to see that there was always some daily variety. Whilst you can see that I mainly went for Japanese food, there were also loads of European continental options as well as bacon, pancakes and even spaghetti bolognese!

It is at times like this that HHonors gold really shines. It has definitely had a meaningful impact on how I travel. Had we paid for breakfast it would nearly have doubled the price of our stay

After breakfast K spent the morning doing snowboard lessons whilst Mr M and I headed off in search of inventive ways to hurt ourselves.


The slopes at Niseko are incredibly well maintained and it was particularly good to be able to ski this late into the season (early April). There were numerous snow parks as well, I was amazed at how good some of the Japanese kids were, hitting 360s into railslides like it was nothing.

Lunch

There were a few different lunch options on the mountain but unfortunately none with outdoor seating. The Japanese don't really seem to like sitting outdoors to eat, something which I really enjoy in the Alps. There's nothing like coming back from a ski holiday with an awesome tan accumulated over a number of long lunches

There were a few cafeteria style places dotted around but my absolute favourite spot was an old blue roofed shack hidden next to the Hirafu gondola.

The centre of the shack had an open fire with metal rails around it, where people hung their glove and hats, getting them warm and toasty whilst they ate.

We hung our things up, dumped our googles and coats at a table and headed to the counter to order. The man taking our order must have been, no word of a lie, at least 85 years old. He was awesome. The food coming out of his kitchen was the best I've ever had on the slopes... by a long way. $12 gets you this:


One day we came back to the hotel for lunch but weren't hungry enough to go for a full buffet (and didn't much fancy tearing down the backcountry with two pounds of fish in our stomachs) so we checked out a noodle bar in the food village by the hotel.

The food village is about 50m from the back entrance of the hotel and features numerous horrifically overpriced restaurants specialising in the local Hokkaido seafood (we're talking $100 per person to share one crab). This place was the only one we saw that looked reasonable. It turned out to be pretty great.


I'd wanted to try Hokkaido Ramen ever since seeing Anthony Bourdain talk about it on No Reservations. The Ramen noodles are topped with local shellfish (always crab, in this case prawns and scallops too), the equally famous Hokkaido sweetcorn and finally a large lump of Hokkaido butter (again, dairy being something for which this region of Japan is renowned). They were utterly fantastic.

At the end of a long day on the slopes this was a great spot to grab a coffee before taking the bus back to the Hilton. Although the Hilton is right on the slopes, the final run leading up to it is really long and winding. By 5pm when the snow has become slushy it is impossible to get to the end without unclipping your board and walking.


After our end of day coffees our daily ritual involved dropping all of our gear at the concierge. The Hilton has a really efficient system for storing and drying your equipment.

We would then order a round of boozy coffees by the fire in the lobby bar.


Most of the bars had a happy hour from 5-7pm. Other than the lobby bar our favourite was the casual Ezo pub. The place was open until 4am and was the closest thing to an apres ski bar as we know them back in Europe. Also they had an awesome selection of 90s rock music.


Pre-dinner, we would watch the sunset from our room and then enjoy a visit to the onsen.

Dinner

For our first dinner we tried to find some reasonably priced food at the food village but failed. Slightly deflated, we headed back to the Hilton and braced ourselves for something expensive and terrible.

Lucky for us, the food was neither.

Whilst certainly not cheap, at roughly $80 the sushi chef's omakase (tasting menu) at Rera was plentiful, fresh and absolutely delicious.

I really enjoyed this quiet and relaxing pace of life. After a tough day smashing the slopes; sitting down for drinks followed by a long soak in an outdoor spring and then a delicious meal in a calm and elegant room were fantastic. Definitely a million miles from my usual hectic life in London.

On our final night we decided to take the shuttle to a nearby hotel, The Green Leaf Niseko Village. This was a really nice hotel, in more of a small boutique style right in the middle of the action in the main town of Niseko.


At an all you can eat buffet, much like in my day to day life, my rule is this: no extraneous carbs.

I'd taken quite a shining to Hokkaido crabs and scallops, so my meal consisted of this:


Repeated 5 times.

Summary

The Hilton Niseko is a fantastic resort hotel with numerous food and drink establishments, a great outdoor hot spring and a privileged position next to one of the main ski lifts. The service is excellent and the atmosphere is very relaxing. HHonors benefits were recognised and the hotel delivered a 6pm checkout, over and above their requirements as well as a beautiful in-room amenity at check-in.

As somebody with tattoos I was also happy that the Hilton exercised some common sense and did not forbid people with tattoos from using the onsen (the Conrad and Park Hyatt in Tokyo both indulge in this silly anachronism despite being large hotels with a sizeable international clientele).

I would not hesitate to return to the Hilton Niseko and would absolutely recommend visiting if you have plans to travel to Northern Japan. If you've never considered skiing in Japan I hope you'll all be inspired to look into it. All told this trip was signficantly better value than an equivalent trip in Europe and the snow conditions, food and service were all world class. Skiing in Hokkaido can also be easily combined with a visit to see the cherry blossoms in Tokyo/ Kyoto.

I was sad to leave Niseko behind but all this travelling was starting to make me quite tired.


It was time to start heading home. Although there's still a bit of a twist to come in this tale.

Jermyn

Part 7 : The Trip back to Tokyo, Dai-Ichi Seafort and the HND JL F Lounge

After our late checkout from the Hilton Niseko we were lucky enough to end up with a private minibus as opposed to the large coach that we had taken on our journey into Niseko. I guess the hotel has a good amount of flexibility wth its vehicles and adapts the size to meet the demand.

We had a row each and took advantage of the space to get some sleep.

Our flight to HND was the last of the day, unfortunately it seemed like the middle aged Japanese businessman in front of us at the F check-in had made full use of the day to do nothing other than drink endless sake bombs.

He was slurring, dribbling, shouting and trying to reach for the female check-in agent. His unfortunate subordinate had to try and control him as best he could. It was like the younger guy was an apologetic butler with a besuited, rabid octopus in tow.

After that farcical check-in, my request to check my snowboard and suitcase all the way to LHR was handled with relative ease.
It does happen... very rarely. For this flight we found ourselves Y. However, the fact that I was connecting in F meant that we were given an exit row to ourselves.


The flight was only about 60% full and boarding was completed quickly and efficiently (as tends to be the case in Japan). I once again dozed off and before I knew it we had arrived at HND.

I love flying into HND as it is so close to the city centre. It only takes around $5 and 20 minutes to get into town.


As my flight home was early the next day I picked a hotel that was located on the monorail line. The Dai Ichi Seafort. I liked that the rooms had bayviews, seemed modern and weren't ludicrously small like some of the absolutely silly cupboards people sometimes have the misfortune of inhabiting in Tokyo.

Dai Ichi Seafort Hotel

We made our way through the darkened monorail station, past a series of deserted shops and a ubiquitous (and still open) convenience store.


We arrived at the front desk at around quarter to midnight. We were ready to just collapse into bed and get some sleep after a long day of skiing, snowmobiling and travelling.

Unfortunately the hotel check-in staff had other ideas. We were asked to pay a supplement because there were two of us staying and they had been told by the OTA that there would only be one person. I spent some time on the phone in a hellish hold queue, got routed to some call centre in the Philippines and wasn't able to get a straight answer.

I was about to give up after the line went dead but then I saw that the manager was now making some phone calls. After another half hour he finally relented and just said "ok". "Room is ok for two, please".

I'm not sure whether the phone calls he made were even real, or if he was just saving face. Still we got to the room and finally fell into the sweet embrace of slumber.


At this point I bade farewell to K as she was nesting a trip to visit her family in Shanghai, into her US Airways itinerary. She took the monorail back to HND, whilst I decided to risk heading in to Marunouchi to see some cherry blossoms.


I'm actually kind of proud of the fact that I managed to make it all the way to Tokyo but was so busy and have been lucky enough to visit so many times (thanks to FT!), that I had completely forgotten about the cherry blossoms. It was only when checking out in Niseko that we were asked if we planned to see them during our remaining time in Japan.

Given that it was only 4 hours until wheels up I really had to rush to make it to Hibiya park for a morning power stroll and some very brisk Hanami (blossom watching).


Still, it was worth it. I would have been kind of sad to transit through one of my favourite cities in the World without at least setting foot in one of the busier central areas. In a way airport and peripheral hotels are kind of sad places, they represent a lack of time, lost opportunity. I guess Dai-Ichi at least had nice views and an impressive lobby. Then there are places like the Hyatt at Incheon which is just superb and so far from the city that it kind of makes sense.

Generally though, if I can squeeze in at least 2 or 3 hours in a city I'll jump at the chance, rather than spending time at the lounge.

This day was no general day. It was my first chance to check out JL's new F lounge at HND and I was pretty excited, to say the least!


The main floor of the departures area was absolutely rammed with people at 9am but this was a bright, energetic kind of busy, rather than an oppressive crush you might get elsewhere.

I love the sweeping design of the roof of the terminal building, you feel like you're making your way through a majestic hommage to man's airborne endeavours, rather than a utilitarian transport shed (here's looking at you LTN).

Given that I already had my F boarding pass, issued at CTS, I was able to beat the crowds and breeze straight through priority security.

JAL First Class Lounge - Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)

Conclusion

This lounge is all about luxury and quality. Total comfort with zero bling. I absolutely loved the RED suite. One of my other big passions outside of planes is shoes, so having the John Lobb concession there was a real treat!

The lounge has enough varied environments that you really feel like you're on a journey whilst you're there. Your interest is piqued and a childlike urge to explore takes over.

Right now, this is probably my favourite lounge in the world. Is is so much more intimate than the cavernous TG F BKK, CCR, CX F Wing and QR Al Mourjan. It is way more fun than QF F at LAX and resoundingly beats the bland little NH F lounge at NRT and OZ F at ICN. Also, it goes without saying that this wipes the floor with any American legacy carrier's lounge offerings. The only lounge that captures a similar feeling, with a similar eye to design and F&B quality is the VS Clubhouse at LHR T3.

I'd recommend getting to the airport early to experience the JL F lounge at HND in full and plan to do so myself when I'm there in one week's time

Jermyn

Part 8 : HND-LHR JL F (77W)

After a wonderful time in the F Lounge, it was time to step aboard yet another 12+ hour flight on JL F. Life can be tough sometimes

JAL JL41
Tokyo Haneda (HND) - London Heathrow (LHR)
Boeing 777-300ER
Seat 2A (3/8)
First Class

I was very warmly welcomed at the door to the plane and escorted to my seat. I chose 2A this time as opposed to 1K on the outbound. Whilst I guess there is a certain amount of cachet from having seat number 1, I prefer having the wall behind me and being able to see the whole cabin, rather than being at the front, near the galley and lavs.

I could immediately tell that this was going to be a good flight. I was served by the cabin supervisor (you can tell them apart from the rest of the crew because they wear badass dove grey uniforms) and she was just 100% on top of her game. I was also one of only 3 pax in the F cabin, this can be a mixed blessing. Sometimes it means the crew have a lot more time to dedicate to the pax that they have, other times it means they put their feet up and relax, given the fact that there are less people to serve.

I had a strong feeling this would be a case of the former, given Japanese standards of professionalism and in particular the finesse with which the CSM went about her job. Lucky for me, I was right

As I took my seat I was brought a refreshing towel and asked if I would like something to drink pre-departure. I asked for champagne. "We have Salon champagne, it's really good. Do you know it?". This kind of pride in the product shone through in every interaction.

There are few sounds in this world as magnificent as the sound of a champagne cork popping. My pavlovian response was instantly triggered, seconds later the CSM emerged from the galley to show me the bottle and effortlessly poured me a glass of its effervescent, straw coloured contents.

Conclusion

This flight was incredibly different to the experience ex-LAX. Almost every single aspect was better. The HND lounge resoundingly beats QF in LAX. The cabin was less than half full so I had space for a separate bed and seat. The catering out of Japan was also inordinately superior to the ex-LAX catering. Although I still think my experience on NH F ex-NRT last year was superior, this was incredibly close. Ex-LAX the JL offering wasn't much better than BA F.

Finally the service: it was absurdly good. This made the biggest difference of all, the CSM was super engaging and conversational. She had fun looking through pics on my GoPro and was eager to pose for the shot for the TR. She went out of her way to explain all the aspects of the food and drink. I didn't just eat a meal, I came away learning a little more about Japanese culture. In fact, once the meal was finished she came over with a duty free bag and handed it to me. "A gift for you. The cedar chopsticks that you liked. I hope you'll be able to enjoy eating with them at home". I really do. Every time I use them and smell the aroma of the cedarwood, the memories of this fantastic flight come flooding back.

Overall this was one of my favourite trips ever. I tried several new products, visited some of my closest friends in NY and Japan, took K to finally see LA (a place she'd been dreaming of visiting for years) and took a trans-Pacific flight for the first time, crossing the international date line.

With this RTW completed in a single week, I finally felt like a real Flyertalker. This is not the kind of thing that normal people do. Thankfully, we're not normal people

***

Thank you so much to all of you who've read this far. These trip reports are enormously time consuming but ultimately, massively worthwhile.

Keep sending over the PM's, questions and comments here as well as Instagram. FT is an awesome community and I'm always touched when I hear that somebody has been inspired to visit a particular place after reading my TRs. Likewise I've been hugely inspired by all of you who contribute to this forum.

I'm off on another huge trip next week but will have the beginning of the next TR up by then. It's going to be a good one!

DTS

Just checked your girl's Instagram, very fancy...and, ok, killer abs.

lesamuel

Looks like a great trip! What did you think of Hokkaido in the winter? I just returned from Japan (writing my TR now actually) and went to Hokkaido during the summer, which was beautiful. Did you visit Yoichi, Otaru, Sapporo, Jozankei, etc? Interested to see what those places are like in the winter.

roadwarrier

Looking forward to the rest. This made me giggle:

mad_atta

Yes! Another Jermyn classic in the making.

Glad to hear you're still putting USDM to good use. I briefly became a member in order to make use of another very sweet spot: flying between Australasia and Palau in J for 30K miles round trip. I needed to get back to Australia from NZ, so for about $600 per ticket (utilising one of their frequent 100% bonuses for buying miles) I flew BHE-WLG-AKL-PVG-ICN-ROR//ROR-ICN-SYD in J. A sweet deal made even sweeter by the knowledge that a revenue one way ticket BHE-SYD in Y on AirNZ would have cost $300+. And I remember only too well the complete geographic hopelessness of the USDM agents, bless 'em.

PoincianaKings

Yes!!! Another fantastic TR is on the way. I cannot wait.

bmrisko

Good stuff as always!