Tokyo
Hyatt Regency Tokyo
As noted at the top I had found a nice cash rate at the HR Tokyo and applied an expiring DSU to move us to the Regency Suite. This proved particularly useful since by the time our travel occured I had fallen back down to Plat so the DSU provided us with lounge access. We were given a nice room on the same floor as the apparent Air France lounge (? anyone know anything about that)?

It was a nice room with sliding doors to separate the sleeping area from a nice sofa and living area. We also had a fairly large bathtub and shower and were provided with a bottle of wine and some nice nibbles as a complimentary welcome gift:

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Tokyo
First on the agenda was getting some sushi. The concierge recommended that we head to Asahi Sushi across the street in the Sumitomo building:

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It was a bit hazy but on a clear day I’m sure the view out of the window from the table would be spectacular:

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First some tea:

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The girlfriend got two salmon and two tuna rolls (first picture) while I went with the omakase:

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Much better than the sushi in Niseko though certainly not in the same league as the Sushi Iwa we’d have for lunch a couple of days later.

For the next couple of days we explored all over city. Here are a collection of photos from those days:

First up a tiramisu within a crepe!

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No visit to Tokyo is complete without stopping by Daiso:

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Meiji Shrine:

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And we stopped by the gardens on the grounds:

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Can’t resist Ben and Jerry’s even in Tokyo:

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A few other random pictures:

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And of course no visit would be complete without some top-notch sushi. This time I selected the very reasonably priced Sushi Iwa for lunch. My girlfriend went with the 10 piece while I went with the 13 piece. Skip ahead if this doesn’t interest you:

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Showtime:

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There really are baby shrimp on this one:

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The big clam was the only one I didn’t care for. The muscle was big and quite tough:

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And of course dessert:

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Overall it was a fantastic meal. I’d rate it just behind Yoshitake (although that was dinner and this was lunch) but still heads and shoulders above any other sushi I’ve had.

HND - HKG
The next morning we headed to HND for a ride on UD of the CX 744. This was my first time on the CX 744 and first time riding on the UD of any 744 (I had previously ridden in the nose on TG F back in 2014).

The first stop of course was the new CX J lounge at HND where I had to take advantage of the noodle bar, the beer machine, and a NAS Yamazaki:

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Our chariot for today’s ride down to HKG:

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First impressions of the cabin. Wow this is quite a tight fit - I wouldn’t want to be stuck in this seat for a flight over the Pacific or down to JNB. That being said for the hop to HKG it was more than sufficient:

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Now how about we start this journey off with a nice glass of champagne. Cheers:

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A short time later we were off the gate and heading towards HKG. I attempted to take a couple of Mt. Fuji pictures but alas they were a bit blurry so my apologies:

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Now on to more urgent matters like lunch. Today’s menu:

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First up the starters:

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I went with the chicken teriyaki. It was borderline disgusting - I’ve had better from the crappy Chinese restaurant around the corner from me. It left a sour taste in my mouth and instantly lowered my expectations for the CX F flight we’d be on a few days later (fears that ultimately proved accurate):

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And of course some cheese and Haagen Dazs to conclude things:

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The rest of the flight was uneventful and a short while later we touched down in HKG and made our way to the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong!

Hyatt Regency Hong Kong TST
Just like the HR Tokyo, I had used a DSU at the HR TST before dropping back to down to Platinum which allowed us to both have a suite and utilize the club lounge. While the lounge at the HR Tokyo was nothing special, the club at the HR TST was sufficient for dinner one night and provided pretty impressive views. Combined with the cellphone that could be linked to my phone to provide WiFi outside of the hotel, this was one of the best values I’ve gotten from a Hyatt property.

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First the room (1325):

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Mediocre view with a tiny bit of the Harbor poking out in the background:

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And the Club Lounge:

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Part of the evening set-up:

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Horrible view :p:

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Hong Kong:
With just two brief days to explore we did our best to hit some of the major tourist spots starting with a visit to the Avenue of the Stars:

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Of course we couldn’t resist having a good ole burger and fries for lunch to give us a taste of home as we got towards the end of a long trip:

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A bit of exploring near the Star Ferry dock:

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Next up a trip on the Star Ferry:

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Once we arrived on the other side we made our way over to Victoria Peak:

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On to the tram!

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(You can see the clouds starting to roll in):

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At the top!

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I quickly made my way out the door and was able to snap a decent picture of the view:

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Unfortunately the clouds rolled in almost as soon as I’d taken that first picture and the remainder of our time on top of VP looked like this:

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It was freezing so we grabbed Starbucks at the top and then headed back down and walked towards the MTR to get back to Kowloon/TST:

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After dinner we headed back to the Avenue of the Stars for the light show:

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Next up: The Wing and HKG - ORD on CX F!