The Journey Home - Japan August 2016 Trip

September 1, 2016

Today we started our journey home to Toronto. We started from Sapporo and flew to Haneda (Tokyo) tonight. We are staying the night at Haneda and the really journey starts tomorrow. We are taking JAL Business class to Singapore, Etihad Business to Abu Dhabi, and then Etihad Apartments (First) to New York where we transfer to American airlines for our final leg. It will be an exciting adventure, and a long one. Catch up on the main trip here.

Royal Park Hotel

We are staying the night at the Royal Park Hotel which is attached to the actual Haneda airport. It is a nice modern Japanese hotel, by Japanese I mean small, and very convenient.

We basically check out tomorrow and we are at the check in desk. You can't get better than that.

September 1, 2016 10:05 EST

Observation Deck at Haneda

Another observation deck! I can't love this country any more.

September 1, 2016 19:14 EST

First meal of many... in JAL Sakura Lounge

Eggs and awesome hash brown sticks. And not pictured, some beef Japanese curry.

September 1, 2016 20:08 EST

And it begins.

Leaving Japan on the JAL 777 in Business class. This flight is just over 7 hours long. These seats have only been around since August 4, 2016. We are excited to try them out. Some may call them cramped but I love the cozy feeling. Like I'm in my own space.

September 1, 2016 22:16 EST

To Start

Cold green tea and plum wine and soda. I was surprised that the Japanese crackers come packaged. A little ramekin is normally something you expect on a flight like this.

September 1, 2016 23:40 EST

JAL Lunch

The appetizer was two rolls and a white fish salad. I'm not normally a huge fish fan but it was tasty, they gave a lot of fish so I only ate half of it. The rolls were delicious and warm. The steak was great. Wagyu beef was filled with flavour. For plane food it was really tasty.

September 2, 2016 00:05 EST

First Leg Almost Over

We have an hour left of this flight until we reach Singapore. I enjoyed my flight, I watched a few movies and did a few hours of work. The wifi was spotty for a bit and we asked to have them restart the satellite and that seemed to fix it. I was able to do work with no issue so that was great. Brad on the other hand had a very valid complaint. The seats interlock each other, when reclining flat my seat was low. So much so I could be laying down with my tray out. Well his seat when reclined was designed to be high. This way when he is laying flat the section where his feet went was actually above mine. Think of a weave. It sounds conplex but it allows them to fit more seats in... but Brad was unable put down his tray when he was reclined at all. It also meant that when he slept he was more exposed then I was.

September 2, 2016 04:38 EST

We are done with Singapore

After a trip to a crappy lounge in SIN and a quick shower, we are heading to our gate again. Onto the next leg on a Etihad 787. This one is business class and is another 7 hour flight.

September 2, 2016 06:50 EST

Second Leg Over

We are currently sitting in the Abu Dhabi airport. We are eating again... it's all included so why not have some eggs. It is breakfast time somewhere. The flight in Business on Etihad was good. I actually thought the service was a little lacking. We both had empty glasses sitting next to us for the majority of the flight. I found the staff friendly but not what I expected as far as service goes. The seat/bed was comfortable, so much so I slept the last two hours only to be awoken by the landing announcement. The Abu Dhabi airport isn't as grand as Dubai or at least where we have been. The First Class lounge is quiet and nice. We have massages booked followed by a shower. All included of course. So we'll see how that goes.

September 2, 2016 16:07 EST

Second Lounge of the Night

So flying to the US, the Abu Dhabi airport has US pre clearance. So technically we are already cleared customs and we are in the US. All the customs agents were American and there is a picture of Obama on the wall. Also, they stamped our passport which is kind of fun since we never get US stamps when travelling to the US.

September 2, 2016 18:00 EST

The prettiest hummus I have ever seen.

To be found in the US lounge.

September 2, 2016 18:04 EST

This article is in the category: Travel.