If you've been following this blog, you may have noticed that I've run out of experiences to write about recently. Well that drought is about to end, because I just came back from another holiday to Japan! This time around I planned my itinerary with more of a focus toward central Japan, staying in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Toyama, the latter city situated north on the Sea of Japan. And to mix it up, I invited my grandmother to come along as well. She was the one who accompanied me on my first visit to Japan eight years ago, so I thought I would return the favour this time around.
In all my previous experiences of flying to and from Japan, I had used United Airlines' (and Continental, before they merged) direct flights between Newark and Narita airports. Not being able to reasonably afford Business class or Polaris or whatever they're calling it, I eventually started using their Premium Economy section, which it turns out is nothing more than a regular coach seat with a few extra inches of leg space. However, this time around, I wanted a change. There is a recent trend of airlines offering "premium economy" seats which are actually upgraded in various ways to provide a middle ground between coach and business classes. United has not yet embraced this trend (although they plan to introduce this over the next few years, as "United Premium Plus"; more information:
(English)), but one airline that has is Japan Airlines.
From where I live, the closest airport that JAL flies to directly is New York's JFK Airport, and that was a whole new can of worms to open, let me tell you. We hired a personal driver to take us there, which was nice but expensive. We had nice traffic conditions going to the airport for departure, but returning was another story. Our driver hit two major traffic jams heading up, leaving us at the airport for two hours after landing. But enough about that. Our Premium Economy tickets came with free use of JAL's airport lounges (at JFK, they share a lounge with Air France). Having never experienced one of these before, that was a pleasant surprise! The lounges offered a selection of light food, drinks and Wi-Fi, all free with admission. There were shower rooms in addition to the restrooms, and in the case of Haneda, free lockers for safeguarding your carry-ons when you go out into the terminal for shopping or other tasks.
Now for the actual flight experience. Our flight had four classes. First Class and Business Class both offered individually-walled suites with lie-flat seats. Seats in the basic Economy section, meanwhile, have improved length and width compared to other airlines, with a seat pitch of 84cm / 33 in, and widths of 46cm / 18.5 in. But that's not what I came for. That would be the Premium Economy section, as shown above. Premium Economy seats on Japan Airlines are similar to the Green Car class on JR trains, in terms of seat size and amenities. They're arranged 2+4+2 across, as opposed to 3+3+3 in coach. Seat pitch is 107cm / 42 in, and width is 48cm / 18.9 in. The seats recline, not all the way flat, but considerably more so than normal seats. They do this by sliding forward instead of leaning back, so as not to disturb the person sitting behind you. In addition, there are leg rests you can pop up from the front of your seat, and footrests you can pull down from the seat in front.
In all sections, every seat had its own personal entertainment console, controlled by a touch screen and a separate remote. The selection of movies, mostly dominated by American and Japanese films, was reasonably up-to-date, with offerings on my flight including
Black Panther,
Justice League, and
Star Wars: The Last Jedi. One curiosity which struck me was that a lot of the movies were subtitled, usually in Japanese and occasionally in other languages like Chinese or Indonesian. After all, this is an airline based in Japan, so it's fair to assume their first interest is passengers from that home country. You can't change that, but you can choose which of the language voice-tracks you'd like to listen to. Besides, it was fun to read Japanese subtitles along with the English dialogue, in case I might pick up on any of the former. Passengers can also purchase use of Wi-Fi internet services, ranging from US$10 for one hour to $19 for the whole flight. As surprised as I was by the relatively reasonable price, I did not need it, so I can't vouch for or against the speed or reliability of this service. Other useful additions include power outlets, USB ports, and specialised drink-bottle compartments for each seat.
The Economy and Premium meals, of which there were two and a half on our flights, tend towards casual dishes that are popular in Japan. Of the choices that were offered, I went with the pork-cutlet curry (shown above) on my first flight, and fried chicken and eggs on rice for the second. As someone who generally does not bother with airline food (as I admit to being a picky eater ^^;), I actually found these to be quite delicious! One touch I especially appreciated was that the different dishes (main course, salads, dessert, etc.) were presented in individual containers, a standard practise of traditional Japanese cuisine.
For the second in-flight meal, JAL likes to collaborate with various Japanese restaurant brands. On previous occasions, for example, they have worked with Mos Burger to bring hamburgers to passengers. This time around, we got chicken-soba noodles, courtesy of the Michelin-starred noodle restaurant
Tsuta. Unlike regular soba noodles, these were not made using buckwheat flour; in fact, I would say these were closer to ramen in that regard. The soy sauce and the other toppings, including chicken and menma (bamboo slices), were all kept in separate compartments, so you could mix in just whatever you like. I also found these to my liking, although with how oily the sauce made them, I was afraid I might get sick from eating too much of them. ^^;
The flight from New York to Tokyo lasted 14 hours, while the one going the other way lasted under 13 hours. I did not manage much sleep; only a single our on the flight back, and boy did that leave me conked out! But for such a long flight, I was pleased with the service. The flight attendants walked by every so often to offer various drinks; usually coffee, but also green tea or JAL's self-made kiwi soft drink. All in all, they came across as very nice, welcoming, and professional. In fact, I don't think I'd ever wish to use United to fly to Japan ever again... although we'll see how their Premium Plus thing works out. In the meantime, I'll help you navigate to and from my new port of call, Haneda Airport, next time on Sekai Ichi!
