Introduction
Seattle to San Jose
San Jose
San Jose to Narita
Narita to Hong Kong
Hong Kong Part 1
Hong Kong Part 2
Hong Kong Part 3
Hong Kong to Narita
Narita to Seattle
Conclusion
Getting down the steps at Narita Airport heading towards the bus allowed the best views of the aircraft around us and also meant that I was technically touching Japanese soil again! This time though I would sadly not get to stay and there was no 787 in my future. *sigh* I did what any true Avgeek would do and I jumped onboard the bus with my camera out and tried to get as many photos as I could!
The bus soon got way to crowded… way way way to crowded and after a little while it finally started to move on our mini ramp tour past the cargo gates where we pulled up, towards the Skyteam Pier at Terminal 2, where we would be dropped off just around the central point. Before getting off I noticed a special livery at the other end of the Terminal with a brief glimpse of a flower on an Aircraft and figuring that makes it something worth getting a photo of. I had one mission during my brief layover in Narita. Kit Kats! So this time my frankness towards others wasn’t because I was hungry it was because I wanted to get as much done as possible and get it over and done with quickly! I was in search of Wasabi kit kats but the first hurdle was security.
Seurity was excrutiatingly slow and Nao who had been behind us in the security queue had actually beat us to the exit. Dammit!!! They did the dumbest things and asked the silliest questions that made no sense and they repeated them over and over again for some reason. Meh whatever!
Once we were through security and on the other side of the glass barrier my first job was to secure my belongings safely (which I did) and then it was to get the WiFi going on my phone. But I did need to find out where I was going though at some stage. This was possible as there were banks of monitors directly outside the entrance and the funny thing was that as soon as we got to the monitor it flicked to Japanese from english for a bit. DOH! Once we got our gate info it was off in search of Kit Kats but what did we see first. Hello Kitty!!
One of the Eva Airways A330s that is painted in the Hello Kitty livery was just pushing back out of the terminal as we got there. Lots of photos and a couple of tweets later and I was hitting up the duty free shops trying to find the kit kats I wanted. Most of the places only had 3 flavours. Matcha, Sakura & Strawberry (these were the predicted flavours that I had been told) though I was adamant there would be wasabi somewhere. The majority of stores were only selling boxes of 10 for 1500 Yen all of the same flavour but I didn’t want that. I didn’t even really want 10 packets either. So I sucked it up and got on with the hunt. There was plenty of places to shop at.
I tried asking at a couple of them to see if they knew of anyone who might have it and I did get a tip off which was entirely accurate. Awesome! So with some kit kats in hand I was still hunting Wasabi flavoured and I had plenty of time to be able to find them but it meant I could not dawdle so I was walking as fast as I could through the terminal with all my gear. I managed to cover almost the entirety of the Star Alliance side of Terminal but by the end of the search I was wasabi kit kat empty but still had enough to keep most people happy. With a good portion of Yen leftover I could even get a couple of models from the flight home!
I left the search and head over to the Lounge but went to the wrong one first (though they did have a giant 787 in Star Alliance livery at the door) and headed back over to the lounge closest to the gates I needed to be at.
The lounge was pumping as it was the same time as we landed last time with the US bound flights departing, flights coming in from all over Asia so it was tough to find a seat. I was also trying to get one of two things for my flight. Either a seat in rows 1 or 2 or a blocked seat next to me. After getting nowhere with one staff member I gave up and headed elsewhere but she was there to block me off at the pass so that didn’t happen but I was assured the seat next to mine was blocked. So that was at least something.
I didn’t do to much in the lounge other than scarf down the cookies and the sushi the same as last time and just before I was about to walk out the lounge i was in the middle of grabbing a yoghurt (thinking I had time to eat it… I didn’t) and I hear a “What the hell are you doing here”. It was one of the fellow travellers who had flown out from SJC on the 787 with us and he had been staying in Tokyo for what was the same time as we were in Hong Kong. It was funny because out of the Avgeeks who went over to Tokyo, he was the only one going back on the same flight. All of us were returning on different flights. Nao was off to Los Angeles, Jason to New York and me home to Seattle. I bid my farewells and wished him a safe flight and scurried back to my gear before heading off to the gate to try my luck again at a seat.
All Nippon Airways – NH1078
Tokyo Narita to Seattle Tacoma
1725-1055
Boeing 777-300ER (JA781A)
Business Class: Seat 3A
Boarding: 1658 (Gate 51)
Push Back: 1732
Take Off Roll: 1800 (Runway 16R)
Top of Descent: 1000
Touch Down: 1018 (Runway 34L)
Shut Down: 1027 (Gate S11)
I was sweet out of luck and this time they explained that the seats in Rows 1 and 2 on this aircraft are only for the very top tier elites of ANA Mileage Club and if you are not one of them then you don’t sit anywhere there at all. So if there are none on the flight, then no one sits there. As soon as I was told this I was ushered into the queue and I was first in line! Score. Boarding was called after the Special assistance people were pre boarded. The boarding gate was pretty empty so I had a feeling this flight was going to be fairly light on people. Which would be interesting at least.
I was escorted to board by one of the cuter gate staff and soon was thanked for flying ANA and pointed in the direction of the aircraft. I was first onboard and when I got to my seat I could see the First class seats just the other side of the curtain. I figured one last chance to get a seat up there and asked the cabin crew who said they would see and come back to me. They couldn’t do it so it was my seat that I was stuck in. What I did not realise up till now was that in the mini cabin I was in of 2 rows of Business there was only a total of 2 of us!
Loads were super light and again we boarded quickly but pushed back way late. It’s funny the way this seems to happen but in places like Narita and Hong Kong the schedules are super padded because of the taxi time on the ground because the airports are just so huge! By the time we pushed back I was hoping that the special scheme I had seen just before leaving the lounge was still going to be there and thankfully it was. I had scored another special on this trip! It was the ANA panda! I managed to get a nice picture out of the dozen I took as we were taxied backwards out of the horseshoe area we were in.
By the time we had finally got underway I was starting to get tired but was happily snapping away at all the good stuff we passed, again missing an aeroflot but the best few shots were as we got closer to the runway. There was a JAL 787 in line for take off (probably heading to either Singapore or Boston) and it was fun timing the Beacon as usual (still possible even with my little camera) and a nice long line of ANA behind us (missed the shot of the ANA Dash 8).
When it was our turn for take off the roar of the GE90s was great and we were airborne much earlier than I expected to be and within 10 minutes we were well out of Japanese waters. Past Narita and climbing to cruise altitude. There was so many crew on this flight so little amount of people that I felt like I had a first class service anyway! I deferred my meal for a couple of hours and had a chat with one of the crew about Kit Kats while I was sorting stuff out and then got stuck into some work.
This is where this flight gets super boring. All I did was either work or eat. Nothing eventful was happening as most of the other passengers ate as soon as they could and tried to get to sleep. I never sleep anyway and considering we would be touching down around 10 or 11 it meant I might as well just suck it up and stay awake. The flight time looked much shorter than it should have been (probably due to tail winds) and the time flew by.
I was fawned over by the staff even before my meal service as I was offered drinks and snacks constantly. they were always there to make sure I was looked over. So although this was the older business seat, I still had phenomenal service! I couldn’t believe the luck I was having. Almost a private cabin with staff waiting on me hand and foot.
I had pushed back my dinner till around 8pm Japan time and then figured I would wind down my work about 15 minutes before that, borrow some pyjamas and then sit back and relax for my meal and then get back to work after that. Just before the meal the duty free was offered and I used up all the remaining Yen I had from my leftover HKD and had to throw in 1 USD to get what I wanted. So be it!
Dinner was served!!! This was the meal I had really been looking forward to. I had never flown ANA long haul out of Japan till now. I had flown into Japan and flown short haul out of Japan but never the longer US flights departing. I was reassured that the Japanese meal out of Narita was the option so that is what I went with! All I can say is WOW! I had no real idea what order to eat it all in. All I know is that it was damn tasty!
I ate the meal in the lonely cabin as it was darkened by then so people could sleep. Stuff it! The Amouse Bouche was tasty, the starters all amazing and the main just freaking good. I had never really enjoyed eel till now! if I could get it like that at home, I would take it! I was going to enjoy this flight as after this weekend it is into training mode, trying to get my leg fixed and back to running full speed again!
Cheese and fruit came before dessert and the parfaits they serve out of Japan are indeed yummy. The fresh coffee I was served with it was followed by several cups and I was fully satisfied. The meal had gone so well I didn’t realise the movie I was watching was almost over and I just went back to working and watched the time roll by. The trip report getting more and more finished the longer the time went on. I got up a couple of times to keep myself awake and to grab a drink from the mini bar set up they had, but other than that I worked in silence.
As we started to track past the Alaskan coast way off in the distance the crew I think were getting a little bored as they came up to me to check on me a few times just in case I needed anything. Awfully nice of them! With such an empty flight they probably wanted something to do. I figured I would eat my pre arrival meal about 2 hours or so out as they shut it all off about 90 minutes out. I was going to skip the meals they had on offer and instead go for 2 of the snacks Ramen and the “cheese burger” just to see what they are like.
First up though I would get my stuff sorted out as I had what looked like a trail of destruction at my seat and to pack away the laptop as I had been working on it by then for almost 6 hours! With my mess all cleaned up and out of the way, I asked for the ramen which was a signature item from a very famous outlet in Japan. It came out pretty soon after and damn was it good! I loved it! Though the bowl was not that big it was perfect snack size and had it been a much longer flight, It would have been perfect for a mid flight snack.
The burger though… hrmmmm. The bacon was floppy (best way to describe it), the bun though was perfectly soft and a good snack size burger. It looked so much like you would expect a fast food burger to look. The kicker that made it unique was that it was served with Tartare Sauce. Yep I made sure to try it in case it was a Japanese thing and it wasn’t half bad. Almost like Mayo but that little bit of extra tang. Kind of made it pretty tasty!
Soon after this I started to watch the world go by and read my book a bit. One of the crew came around to offer me something else from the menu and I gave in and ordered some ice cream! What the hell! It was rock solid so I let it sit there and melt as much as possible. The ice cream did eventually melt enough that I could try and eat it.
As we started to get closer to that hour time frame and I needed to put my ear plugs in anyway, I set about getting back into my civvies. The Pyjamas on ANA were so good! I wanted to keep them so badly. I even asked but they again said no 🙁 I wish I could find a way to get a pair. They are extremely comfortable! After settling back into my seat and packing up all my gear I was sitting there watching out the window and next thing I know I am drifting in and out. This was not a good thing!
I woke up somewhere in final descent over Everett/Mt Vernon and pretty soon out the window I could see Lake Washington. Totally missed the top of the descent and the seat belt signs going on. Crazy! The cabin crew returned my jacket and soon enough we were tracking for final approach into SeaTac. We were heading into the 34s and I was expecting to land on 34R since it was where the heavies usually land. Not today though we ended up on 34L and that meant a nice long taxi back to the gates.
Even though it had been an amazing flight, I was happy to be home, yet I didn’t want it to end. The crew had been so good! One thing I was looking forward to was just how good it would be to clear immigration at Seattle. The flight home had been pretty empty with only 12 in Business and I asked the Chief Cabin Crew member, when I was speaking with her at the end of the flight, and she said there was only 60 people total!
We had pulled up at the S gates (which is where the immigration facilities are) and it was a quick offload and I was last out of the forward J cabin. But this meant that I was 5th off the aircraft! Can’t complain about that. Immigration was empty and the only people ahead of me were the other Japanese men from the flight ahead of me. Easy as! I waited longer at the immigration desk than I did in line to get to the desk. They asked me what “food” i had brought in and rather than explain the kit kats, I just pulled them out of the bag. It got weird looks and when I got to customs after my bag came out (mere moments after arriving) I got the same weird looks. Love it!
I missed the train from the S gates since I couldn’t really run, but the next one was a minute or two after it luckily. Off the train, up the escalators and since I already had my bag in tow, I was straight up to the parking shuttle point. Plane to parking garage in 30 minutes. Freaking WIN!!! Normally its that off a domestic flight, off International that is unreal! Pretty soon I was at Wally Park picking up the truck and then before leaving I spied one last special shot. Star Alliance United 737 sitting at one of the A gates right next to the parking garage. Good way to end what had been a fantastic journey!
RT @bigmalx: New Post.. Come Get it – Trip Report – ANA Ambassador: Narita to Seattle: http://t.co/uQ5e9TRavO #ANASJC
@bigmalx Excellent trip report, I can’t wait to try out this airline in a couple of months time.