Japan again - Summer 2023

[martin67]

Hi everybody,

 

finally, my next trip to Japan is coming up. Finally, after a long Corona break. Things have changed, you can't fly over Russia these days (well, wouldn't want to either 😀), fares gone up a lot, as you have to go over the pole or the southern route. We will fly on LOT Polish Airlines this time, wonder how they are. They're using a 787 Dreamliner, not so bad. Staying in Hachioji again with my Japanese part of the family. 

 

My last name (I took it from my wife) is Iwashima. Actually, there is a village with this name somewhere in the Nagano area. It has been a dream to take a picture on the railway station under the station sign... Think we will do this. Looking forward to drinking canned coffee from the vending machine, having a look at Tenshodo for a souvenir ot two, go plane spotting at Haneda Airport, and finally take a day out at Hasuda for some real trains. 

 

And the best, I will see my family and friends again!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Tony Galiani]

Have a great trip!

Please keep us posted - - I am collecting ideas from everyone's trip reports for my next visit to Japan.

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Martin,

 

sounds very fun, do keep us posted, great to get back to see friends and family in japan.

 

jeff

[railsquid]

19 hours ago, martin67 said:

finally, my next trip to Japan is coming up. Finally, after a long Corona break. Things have changed, you can't fly over Russia these days (well, wouldn't want to either 😀), fares gone up a lot, as you have to go over the pole or the southern route. We will fly on LOT Polish Airlines this time, wonder how they are. They're using a 787 Dreamliner, not so bad.

 

I flew that route on LOT last months, no particular complaints but also not particularly memorable. The entertainment system on the 787-8 was borderline unresponsive; the one on the 787-9 was fine. I think the cabin interior designer was given the brief "make it look like early 1990s British Airways". Food was mostly edible but "make it dry" appears to be the principle by which meat products are cooked (I don't recommend the beef). This was premium economy (bless corporate travel policy).

Edited June 26, 2023 by railsquid

[kuro68000]

The entertainment system is I think down to the airline to supply. Same with the seats. The aircraft has standard mounting points and wiring, but beyond that the airline provides its own hardware.

 

Of course the food is airline dependent too. I've noticed it varies considerably. Never flown with LOT but I have flown with Finair, and theirs was a bit dry.

 

ANA's entertainment is okay, but the food isn't really to my taste. They tried but I think the stuff they chose just tastes weird at altitude. BA is similar, but worse because it's British food. JAL was the best. They used to do Mos Burger stuff.

 

If you can, pick a seat as far forward as possible to avoid them running out of stuff before getting to you.

[railsquid]

1 hour ago, mojo said:

The entertainment system is I think down to the airline to supply. Same with the seats. The aircraft has standard mounting points and wiring, but beyond that the airline provides its own hardware.

 

Of course the food is airline dependent too. I've noticed it varies considerably.

 

Umm yeah, that's why I was describing the LOT setup having experienced it recently :). Seems they have both 787-8s and 787-9s servicing the Tokyo route, the only noticeable difference (that I remember) being the entertainment system. It was slightly weird because despite being relatively new, the seating looked and felt very old-fashioned.

 

The LOT 787-8 before departure at Narita:

LOT Boeing 787-800 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[Tony Galiani]

And pack your patience - - and maybe some snacks!

On our recent trips to Japan and Greece, 7 out of our 9 flights were delayed.  Twice we had to make the mad dash through the airport at Washington Dulles to make our connection as we had only a few minutes to make it.  Last Friday, the airline was holding the flight for us - but no one told us that until we staggered to the gate!

 

I talked to one of the flight attendants who told me she had had no problems with delayed flights until the start of the summer when she noticed more and more delayed flights.  Part of the issue we noticed was due to ATC and flight volumes - had to wait for landing and departing slots at both Athens and Haneda.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[kuro68000]

3 hours ago, railsquid said:

It was slightly weird because despite being relatively new, the seating looked and felt very old-fashioned.

 

They might have been reused from another aircraft. During the pandemic many airlines scrapped older aircraft earlier than expected, but kept things like the seats so that they could be fitted to new aircraft when the time came.

 

Looking at Flight Radar they seem to be going south of Ukraine, over Kazakhstan and China, and then back the same way. Interesting that they don't go over Canada like ANA does going from Japan to Europe. I guess it's further enough to make it not worth it when starting in Eastern Europe. You get better internet connectivity that way, speaking of in-flight entertainment. ANA go so far north that you lose it for quite a bit of the flight. I guess whoever provides it doesn't have satellites at that inclination.

[martin67]

Not worried at all, actually it's good to fly again after a long Corona break. As for the seats, the older the better. A few years ago we went to Bulgaria on a really vintage exAlitalia MD82 (Bulgarian Air Charter). So cool, those thick and soft seats with ashtrays in the arm rests and plenty of space, retro feeling, like my old 740 Volvo wagon. 

 

The food quality differs from the departure airports, outbound MUC is always pretty good, CDG also. The catering from NRT/HND is not bad either, but there's a difference. Although, the best airline lunch I ever had was on EVA on the HND-TSA-HND route (Hello Kitty A330). We tried to book EVA from MUC via TPE to HND, but this turned out to be too expensive for a family of three. So we got stuck on LOT, never flew with them, but I'll see. Most important, which brands of beer they have....

 

Don't need internet on the flight, I will try to sleep as much as I can, and watch a movie or two. Think it's my 16th trip to Japan, so this is nothing new to me.

 

Anyway, I will post some pictures when I'm back....

 

Martin

Edited June 26, 2023 by martin67

[martin67]

Two more days to come, Saturday night we're leaving! So lookong forward to be back in Japan again.

 

Martin

[cteno4]

Enjoy Martin! Please lots of pictures so we can vicariously enjoy your trip!

 

have fun

 

jeff

[chadbag]

Remember that a lot of airline food is dependent on the contractor caterers at the airport you start at.  For airlines home hubs etc they may have their own kitchens and caterers but at remote places they buy the food from caterers at that location -- even if they specify the menu you get what that caterer can provide.

 

The only "bad" airline food I've had was on Air France.  Not saying everything else is "good", just not "bad."  And the AF wasn't really bad.  But it was French (so weird "gourmet" stuff like fancy duck recipes), and made as airline food by lowest price contractors/bidders. etc.  Cross those together and the results is not happy.  (Last time was around 2000 so it may have changed -- my 2020 Europe trip via Air France got covid-cancelled).

 

Everything else I've had has been ok.  Some weird stuff -- especially Japanese or Korean airlines trying to do gourmet fusion -- but all edible and interesting.  None of it to die for or be a reason to choose that airline.

 

Actually some of the better stuff I've had was on Sabena (RIP).  Down to earth anti-French food.

 

[kuro68000]

You can look up what ANA offer on their website: https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/travel-information/meals/

 

They don't have the December menu but it will be similar to this one: https://www.ana.co.jp/int/inflight/guide/pdf/202309/lhr_hnd_y_202309_m.pdf

 

"Flavour Sauce" pretty much sums up the problem. At that altitude your taste buds don't work properly, so everything tastes like bland mush unless you pile on strong flavours. But then the flavouring tastes weird anyway.

 

Check out the special meals though. They "quick and light meal" offers a nice sandwich at no extra cost. It's also quicker to eat, and the website isn't very clear but it sort of implies that you can have it away from the normal meal time too. That seems ideal to me, I prefer room temperature food on the flight, and it's looking like I might not be able to get a COVID booster this year so I'm very keen to avoid unmasking for a longer meal while everyone else is chomping away. I'm thinking of getting some UV lights too, but a set of 4 is $400 that I'd rather avoid for just a couple of flights a year. ANA has dropped their masking requirement though so I'm worried that even FFP3 might not be adequate on a 13.5 hour flight.

 

Anyway, my point is have a look at the alternatives your airline offers. They might not be as comprehensive as ANA (they seem to cater to every possible allergy, religious requirement, type of vegetarian, and coronaphobe) but you may find some of the alternatives are batter than the default meals.

[martin67]

Hi all,

 

returned home last friday from a rather turbulent trip. I will post a trip report shortly, still sorting all the hundreds of pictures from my camera and mobile phone.

 

Martin