Posted by Seth on December 14, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports | 
A visit to Hiroshima can be exhausting. Thank goodness for the island of Miyajima, just south of town, where a visit is rejuvenating and uplifting. It is a great counter to the emotional drain of the Peace Park in the center of town.
Miyajima is actually just a nickname for the island; it means "shrine island." The real name is Itsukushima and the island holds a long and storied history of religious significance. It was in 806 CE that a monk ascended the mountain on the island and established it as an ascetic site for the Shingon Buddhists. The island also has great significance in the Shinto religion as well, and the two have coexisted in an impressively symbiotic manner through the years. This is a great thing for visitors as the two present great sites to visit in a very condensed area.
Perhaps the most famous site on the island – and a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is the Itsukushima Shrine. Known mostly for its floating torii gate, the shrine complex is actually on stilts to help preserve the sanctity of the island. It doesn’t hurt that the stilts also keep the temples out of the water as the tides roll in, but the idea of keeping the commoners off the sacred soil is pretty nifty, too.
The temple itself includes a number of buildings, all lacquered in bright red, but the focus is the "floating" gate. It doesn’t really float; it is solidly planted in the ground just off-shore. But when the tide rolls in the base goes underwater and the visual is awesome. There are boats that offer tours of the gate, taking passengers out to see it up close. There is also a kayak rental shop on the island if you want to get up close on your own. Or, you can do what most tourists do and just take a photo from the shore, either inside the temple grounds or out. That’s what most the folks I saw were doing, including some incredibly cute kids dressed up in their finest.
The other main shrine complex on the island is the Daisho-In. For me this one was much more impressive. Maybe because it wasn’t packed wall-to-wall with tourists. Maybe because it seemed more dedicated to prayer. Or maybe just because I thought the architecture was more impressive. Likely a combination of all of the above. It was pretty awesome.
Just walk 5-10 minutes inland and uphill from the Itsukushima and you run right into the Daisho-In. The grounds are dotted with small prayer statues (hundreds of them and they all appear to be different) and there are a number of prayer wheels on the grounds. Some are on the stairs and others along the paths. All of them are said to bring great fortune to those who touch them as they visit.
There is also an impressive collection of prayer offerings at the shrine. The island is, for some reason, known for its wooden rice spatulas, and that is one of the main souvenirs that is on sale in the markets on the island. It is also apparently one of the more common prayer offering vehicles at the Daisho-In shrine. There were hundreds of them with prayers offered up on them. Some of the prayers were less traditional than others.
The town itself is supposedly maintained in "classical Edo-era" style but I didn’t see much evidence of that as I visited. It mostly seemed like a series of shops all selling basically the same trinkets or food options. And there were a ton of people crowding the area and trying to avoid having their snacks stolen by the local deer which are known for such shenanigans.
But snack options were yummy, including grilled oysters, a variety of street meats (including seafood) and some sort of potato thing wrapped in bacon and then grilled. Mostly delicious, all cheap and worth a try to provide nourishment as you’re wandering around the island. Oh, if you do go for a snack on the street buy your beer from the vending machines scattered about; way cheaper.
My trip was limited in time due to a pressing need to get back to the ferry to get back to the train to get back to the bus to get to the airport so I could take my flight on the 787. I missed the ropeway and the hike to the top of the island, known for great views of the surrounding area. I also missed seeing the island without the throngs of tourists, most of whom leave as afternoon turns into evening. Still, it was an awesome follow-up to the gravity of visiting the Peace Park; the two really do go hand in hand. Plus I got to ride the local train and a ferry as part of the deal, both of which were fun.
Read more from this Trip Report under the Dream2011 tag here.
Posted by Seth on December 13, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
August 6, 1945. In the blink of an eye the world had changed. Just a few hundred feet above Hiroshima, Japan, a bomb unlike any other ever used before detonated. The effects are still being felt today, nearly 70 years later. The tens of thousands who died immediately were, in many cases, the lucky ones, compared to those who suffered the after-effects in subsequent years. Today the city of Hiroshima has recovered rather impressively. But at its heart remains the shell of the one building left mostly standing when the bomb went off, a memorial to the dead and an eerie reminder of just how good we are at destroying ourselves.
That the building remains at all is something of a surprise. In part that is because it survived the explosion which was centered nearly directly above. But more because the Japanese were rather keen on razing the damaged structure shortly after the attack and clearing the space for reconstruction. Eventually the conservationists won out and the remains of the Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, now generally known as Genbaku, or A-bomb Dome, is now preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There’s more to the area than just the dome. While it is the iconic center of the Peace Park area there are a number of other memorials within a 10 minute walk. Some are dedicated to specific groups (students and children are most common) and there is also the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum at the south end of the walk which holds some incredible artifacts from that fateful day and other exhibits as well.
Among those artifacts are watches which stopped at the moment of impact. Even if their owners had survived the watches would not be able to change from that point in time with the gears seized up from the explosion.
There was also a tricycle and helmet that were the prized toys of a small child killed in the aftermath of the explosion. His father buried them with his son in a grave near their home. Only years later was the body dug up and moved to a proper cemetery and the bike taken out to be preserved.
There are many more pictures and exhibits in the museum, nearly all of which are heart-wrenching. It is an experience that is not to be missed (the admission was a trivial ¥50, approximately USD $0.60) but is is also an experience that is both humbling and awesome.
Between the museum and the Dome the Peace Park are any more memorials and even more stories. One of the more famous is that of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. As a child suffering from leukemia as a result of the bombing Sadako heard the tale of folding one thousand paper cranes and having that grant a wish. The ending of the story varies as to whether the full 1,000 were folded by Sadako or not but she died not long after starting the effort. Her story is now shared in schools the world over with folded paper cranes arriving nearly daily at the memorial site (approximately 9 tons annually). The cranes have become something of a symbol for the city (ANA used them in their local announcement of 787 service) and for peace around the world.
On the day of my visit there were a few different school groups who came to the site to offer up their cranes to the memorial. Each group had a small performance associated with the offering (I have no idea what they were singing, of course) and then quickly made way for the next group such that all had the opportunity to participate.
There is also the Cenotaph dedicated to the victims of the bombing. Regardless of nationality, names are added to the registry held in the stone chest that sits under the arched roof. The chest holds more than 221,000 names and bears the inscription (translated from the Japanese), “Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.”
There is a Peace Bell in the park as well. Every now and then the sound of the bell rings out over the area; it is often the only sound you’ll hear walking through unless a school group is near by. The bell is marked with a map of the world that ignores national boundaries. The strike point of the mounted log is an icon of the atom such that each time the bell tolls a statement is made opposing atomic weapons.
A visit to the Peace Park can be emotionally draining, to be certain. It definitely was for me. But absolutely, completely and totally worth it. I’m incredibly happy that I chose Hiroshima as the interloping city for my 787 Dreamliner adventure and that I got to have the experience. It is unparalleled.
Read more from this Trip Report under the Dream2011 tag here.
Posted by Seth on December 11, 2011 under Hotel, Review, Trip Reports |
As part of my quick run to Japan for a flight on ANA‘s 787 Dreamliner I found myself in need of a hotel quite close to Haneda airport. Normally I’d stay in a small room or pod hotel when in Tokyo (I’ve done a plywood box, too!) but with the subway not running 24×7 there I was concerned about getting out to the airport in time for a 6:45am departure and not spending a fortune on a taxi. There is a hotel at the terminal but the rates there for the nights I needed were rather steep; instead I found myself at the JAL City hotel, just a few minutes from the terminal.
Not being at the airport offered a few benefits over and above the lower rate. The hotel is located just a couple blocks from a subway station with a solid collection of restaurants and shops lining the path between the two. That made it quite easy for me to get a beer on arrival between the train and the hotel as well as dinner the one night I needed it.
It also meant that getting to and from the hotel was incredibly easy. The hotel offers a free shuttle but service from the international terminal wasn’t running when I arrived and I didn’t really want to wait around the second night after I returned from Hiroshima so I took the train both times coming in. With the subway running every 10 minutes or so and the fare at ¥300 (~$3.50) or less it was easy and cheap to just hop on the train.
As for the room, it was pretty much exactly what I expected from a "single" in Tokyo: SMALL. Enough room for me to dump my bag and sleep and even get into the bathroom but not much additional space for hanging out or relaxing. When I wanted to sit at the desk I found that the bed was quite close. Still, it was pretty much exactly what I needed for the nights I was there and only ~$120/night which was pretty good given the convenience of the location (the on-airport hotel was ~$250/night).
The other particularly interesting part of this hotel stay was that I needed to have some laundry done. I was on the road for 10 days with only a small backpack so the laundry day wasn’t really a surprise. In fact it was a planned part of the itinerary. And I think my clothes may have had a better time at the hotel than I did. They were certainly more pampered. The five shirts and pair of jeans I had cleaned came back individually wrapped in plastic. Then wrapped in a bow. Then stacked and wrapped again. Oh, and the shirts had wax paper or something like that folded inside to keep them wrinkle free. And it definitely worked. The clothes traveled quite well for the second half of the trip despite being jammed in the same backpack as the first half.
Overall I have no regrets about the stay. And if I find myself in a similar situation – late arrival or early departure from HND – I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again. Lacking that time sensitivity I’d head into town, but that’s not always an option.
Read more from this Trip Report under the Dream2011 tag here.
Posted by Seth on November 9, 2011 under Flying, Trip Reports |
When booking my flight from Tokyo‘s Haneda airport to Hiroshima to position for my 787 Dreamliner trip I really wanted to book the 7:50am departure. It is a quite civilized time to fly and wouldn’t require waking up at a ridiculous hour to get to the airport. Alas, the inventory I needed for my Japan Pass wasn’t available so I booked the 6:50am flight. The early flight is early, but that was the only viable option for getting to Hiroshima with enough time to see the city and also get the 787 flight. So that’s what I booked.
Haneda is a great airport and I got there quite quickly from the JAL City Haneda hotel (more on that later, I hope) and was hanging out in the lounge prior to flight. The lounge was nice enough, though no food so I ambled back out into the terminal to see about grabbing some breakfast prior to the flight. That’s when I noticed one of the agents behind the counter writing on a large white board. The flight was oversold. Given that I was at the airport an hour earlier than I wanted to be anyways I was happy to volunteer.
The process of volunteering was not as simple as it is in the USA, mostly because I do not speak the language. With some gestures and pointing at the board and my boarding pass I managed to get the point across and the agents asked me to wait to see what would happen. It turns out that they did need me as a volunteer. Woohoo!
There were a number of interesting things about the process. For one, the compensation offer was either cash or points in ANA‘s Mileage Club loyalty program. The offer was JPY 10,000 (~$130) or 7,500 points which is a pretty high valuation for the points. Lacking any use for the points I chose the cash.
After making that choice I realized that there were still a lot of ways this could go wrong. If they needed to mail me a voucher or if they issued a check I was going to have trouble actually collecting on the offer. Much to my surprise, however, that turned out to not be an issue. The comp was paid out at the gate. In cash!
The entire process was incredibly civilized and polite; no real surprise there given that I was in Japan where that sort of thing is taken quite seriously. In the end the JPY 10,000 was about the amount I had paid for the one-way segment and I got the comp in cash which meant it actually had decent value to me. Of course, I didn’t convert it back to dollars so I’ll have to spend it to actually see the value, but that’s just another excuse to head back to Japan, something I don’t need much encouragement for anyways.
Read more from this Trip Report under the Dream2011 tag here.
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Tags: 787, ANA, Dream2011, Dreamliner, Flying, frequent flyer, Hiroshima, Japan, points, Tokyo, Trip Report
Posted by Seth on November 3, 2011 under Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
It was day three of scheduled commercial service for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by ANA, and I was on board. No, it was not the actual inaugural flight, but I still managed to get there within the first week of operations and I could not be more excited about the experience. It was awesome. That’s not to say that everything about the aircraft is perfect, but the experience certainly was.
My flight on the Dreamliner was from Hiroshima to Tokyo‘s Haneda airport. The trip is only about 400 miles and the total time in the air was just over one hour so it wasn’t really sufficient to try out everything on board, especially the effects of the higher pressurization (though I don’t recall my ears popping like usual, but I’m also not great at noticing that because it happens so often) and the more moist cabin air, but I still managed to put it through the paces as best I could.
Boarding was quick and efficient, as expected from the Japanese. Still, they allotted an extra 5 minutes to the process as they knew this was a special experience. There was something of a crush of gate lice to the self-boarding gates as they announced that boarding was available. Fortunately my Star Alliance Gold status (and being the big, ugly American) got me towards the front of the crush and on reasonably early in the process.
Business Class Cabin
Nothing really to say here; looks pretty comfy but this also is not their premium long-haul configuration so I’m not too worried about it.
Economy Cabin
There has been a bit of concern since Seat Guru published their guide to the seat map of the aircraft about the seat width in coach. The 2-4-2 layout (which really is more like 2-2-2-2 without an aisle in the middle) lends itself to a very generous seat width yet the reports on the site show the width as a hip-crushing 16.5". Good news, folks. That data is just plain wrong. The bulkhead rows, where the tray tables are in the arm rest, have the narrower width but the rest of the aircraft has a quite generous 18.5" or more width. The seats are quite roomy.
Seat recline is an interesting change from a typical airplane configuration. The seat back doesn’t actually move. Instead the seat-bottom slides forward about three inches and the back slides down a bit, creating the same effect as reclining. But it does so without imposing the seat on the passenger behind you. This sucks if you have long legs and also want to recline as you’re basically stuck but it is great for folks (like me) who hate having someone reclined into you.
The AVOD system is pretty nice, with 9" screens in coach. That’s about as big as you can get being so close to the screen and still be able to watch comfortably. There is a seat-to-seat messaging system and the screens can be used either as touch screens or with the controller. I was rather unimpressed with the music and video selections; no movies (though maybe because the flight was too short) and only a couple dozen short video programs plus maybe a dozen CDs for music. I hope that’s just because they don’t have the content fully loaded and not because it is going to be such a paltry offering going forward.
I’m also a big fan of the built-in cup holder in the tray table. They have two, one if it is open and one if it is closed, meaning that you can use the tray table for a laptop or other purposes and still have somewhere to stow a drink. Definitely a nice touch.
And then there is the mood lighting. Lots of fun there. The flight attendants were playing with this feature a bit, particularly during boarding and de-planing. It is fun, but I’m not sure it adds much value to the in-flight experience. It does demonstrate the ability to control the lighting levels to a very granular level, which I suppose is a very useful thing.
The windows are HUGE. It was a night flight so I’m not sure how much this really matters, but they were noticeably larger than on older aircraft. We’ll have to see what the net effects of this are in the long term but it certainly was nice. The electronic dimmers on the windows were a bit sluggish to react but they behaved exactly as advertised in the end. Again, a night flight made it hard to really evaluate the impact of this but it was certainly neat.
In the lav
The Japanese and their toilets. Touchless flushing (it puts down the seat, too!) and bidet functions (designed by Toto) are built in to the toilets. There’s also a window in the lav by 3L (though not at 3R). I do like a lav window.
It isn’t perfect
OK, maybe my expectations are just too high. Still, like one of the notes in a review offered up by Kerwin I noticed a few quirks in the flight. It was VERY quiet at cruise, and I was sitting just aft of the wing so I should’ve had engine noise to some extent if there was much. During the flight there wasn’t. That said, the mechanical noises surrounding the operation of the flaps and other wing control surfaces were pretty loud. Again, maybe just because I was sitting basically on top of them, but Kerwin noticed it, too.
There was also a strange "whine" going on throughout the flight. It was very high pitched – like an old tube TV going bad – and I have no idea if others noticed it or not. It kept going even after the engines were shut down upon arrival so I’m guessing it has to do with the electrical power plant on board. No matter what, it was pretty annoying. Not enough to ruin the experience, but if it really is like that going forward I can see it being a problem for me flying on this aircraft.
Finally, the new overhead bins, while well designed for baggage, are not particularly well configured for an adult to climb in. I’m thoroughly disappointed in that development.
It was a great day and a great trip. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back on board soon.
Oh, and if you want to check out the pre-flight safety video it is here:
Read more from this Trip Report under the Dream2011 tag here.
Tags: 787, ANA, Boeing, Dream2011, Dreamliner, Hiroshima, Japan, Photos, review, Star Alliance, Tokyo, video
Posted by Seth on November 3, 2011 under Flying, Trip Reports |
I landed at Tokyo‘s Haneda airport about two hours ago having just flown in on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Hiroshima. The experience was quite spectacular, though not everything about the aircraft was perfect.
That said, it is very late and I’ve been up for near 20 hours now today and the adrenaline is finally wearing off so putting together a full post with coherent thoughts simply isn’t going to happen. Instead I’ve decided to post this teaser with just a few of the many, many photos I shot throughout the day.
A full post will be coming after I’ve slept a few hours, so either late tonight back in the USA or tomorrow; either way it’ll be tomorrow here in Japan. Enjoy the pictures.
Read more from this Trip Report under the Dream2011 tag here.
Posted by Seth on October 20, 2011 under frequent flyer, News, points |
Airlines appear to have virtually no limits when it comes to identifying new ways to give out points in their loyalty programs. Early on it was other travel partners where the program synergies made sense to offer the rewards. Then it was credit cards and then retail partners. Next up on the list: Social Media outlets.
Because we have small resources and we want to manage our costs effectively we have picked social media as a new strategy to promote the brand and market the services we have. – Tero Taskila, CEO of Estonian Air
Estonian Air has teamed up with SimpliFlying to create a new marketing effort focused on Facebook and similar platforms.
People are being rewarded not just for flying the airline but really for being advocates. So whether or not you are flying Estonian Air you can be rewarded for example by sharing tips on flying or taking part in quizzes or polls on Facebook. You will earn points that are then translated into virtual rewards like badges as well as real world rewards like Amazon gift vouchers…or even free flights if you can accumulate enough points. – Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying
The potential on this front is tremendous, particularly given the relatively low costs of creating the loyalty schemes in this manner. The cost to produce the rewards – especially the virtual ones – is nearly nil relative to the brand publicity produced. Of course, there is also the potential for abuse and for brand exhaustion should some folks become seen as shills rather than as providing honest opinion about the products, but that is something only time will bear out as a result.
In a similar vein, JAL and TripAdvisor have teamed up in Japan to provide points for JAL Mileage Bank members who create reviews on the TripAdvisor site. The program is limited only to members who live in Japan and it is limited to only 300 points per month, but it is a similar approach to building brand loyalty through social media channels.
Definitely some interesting developments on this front.
Posted by Seth on September 25, 2011 under News |
ANA took delivery of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner today, marking a major milestone in the project’s lifecycle. Boeing has been working on the Dreamliner for more than 7 years and the initial delivery today with the signing of paperwork is the first step in a three day long celebration for Boeing, ANA and the global aviation community.
After today’s contract signing there will be a ceremonial delivery of the aircraft "keys" on Monday. The airline will fly the plane back to Japan on Tuesday.
Today’s events come a few years after the original predictions. While this delivery is a huge event and most folks are excited there are still a number of folks not so ecstatic about the delivery. According to some sources the project horribly over budget and unlikely to ever be a profitable aircraft for the manufacturer. Plus there are concerns that the plane actually is not ready for service but it was delivered anyways. The article published in today’s Seattle Times is pretty brutal on the overall project, detailing cost overruns, project delays and other issues that have plagued the development and construction of the new airframe.
Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said the 787 team is "on track" to make the delivery.
But an experienced mechanic working on No. 8 believes that jet simply isn’t ready for service. The engineer who flew test flights fears it won’t immediately meet the standard of reliability required by ANA.
The senior engineer, however, dismissed such "bugs" as normal in any new program. "They won’t be nearly as bad as they were for the original 747."
The good news for me is that ANA has the aircraft now. I just hope the reliability issues are not such that I miss my opportunity to fly on it in a few weeks during the first week of scheduled operations.
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Photo from the Boeing Company flickr stream
Posted by Seth on September 8, 2011 under Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run, points |
With the Boeing 787 Dreamliner entering service in the next few weeks I’ve been quite excited about the opportunity to fly on it. Seats on the inaugural flight – from Tokyo to Hong Kong – are being auctioned off for charity and I’m quite certain I don’t have the scratch to make that work. Plus the dates for that flight wouldn’t work in my schedule. But thanks to a great sale fare from Seattle to China I’ve found a way to make it happen at a reasonable price.
The plan moved from the day dreaming phase to potentially real a couple weeks ago when a sale fare popped up between Seattle and Beijing. The timing on that deal was a bit tough – it only worked on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and had a 3-night minimum stay – but I had a few days at the end of October/beginning of November where it could fit in my schedule and the $400ish price tag was hard to complain about. At that point I was pretty much ready to go to China for a few days and wasn’t thinking much about the 787 options.
Then someone mentioned that the fare also permitted a stopover in Tokyo in either direction for only $100 more, Now it was getting interesting. I could get in a trip to China and a stop in Tokyo during the first week the 787 is supposed to be flying. Now the planning started to get interesting. I ticketed the Seattle – Beijing – Tokyo – Seattle flights and then started researching the 787 options.
Yikes!
I really, really, REALLY didn’t expect the fare to be so high. That was definitely putting a wrinkle in this master plan of mine. I found that I could get a one-way award ticket for only 6,000 points on the outbound flight to Hiroshima, saving $400, but the return flight was still full price. That was going to sting.
Fortunately, however, both ANA and JAL offer up Japan Air Pass tickets in conjunction with their alliance partners. These passes allow you to assemble domestic Japan flight segments in conjunction with an international itinerary at a much more reasonable rate. The Star Alliance version prices at ¥10,000 per segment, plus ¥50,000 in taxes per segment. Even better, the ¥50,000 ¥5,000 tax is not paid on any segment which is within 24 hours of the international arrival or departure. Since my total time in Tokyo is barely 40 hours it turns out that both of my domestic segments are within that threshold. All of a sudden I had hope for a quite reasonably priced adventure.
The challenge was not over yet, however. The Japan Air Pass on ANA requires inventory in the M fare bucket. This is a mid-level bucket on ANA so not impossible to find. In fact five of the seven outbound flights had the M bucket as an option for the day I was in town. Of course the one I wanted (the most reasonably timed flight in the morning) did not. Neither did the 787 flight from Haneda to Hiroshima. And for the return segment the Hiroshima to Haneda flight was also missing the appropriate inventory. Back to the drawing board. Sortof.
While considering whether paying the $400 was back to a viable approach for me I also figured that maybe I’d get lucky and that maybe the M inventory would open up. I set up an alert to watch that fare bucket and hoped that the email would come soon. Somewhat to my surprise, it did! A quick call to the folks at United Airlines (the Japan Pass is booked through the airline operating the intercontinental flight) and I had my seats reserved. It was going to take a few days for the rate desk to price it out but the seats were mine.
I called back a few days later as instructed and got the good news. That $800 plane ticket was mine for only $264.40. That’s 66% off. Woo hoo!
Sure, there is always the chance of an aircraft swap. And the day starts WAY too early so that I can also spend a few hours touristing about in Hiroshima. But overall I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity and about the price point at which I got everything put together. I’m also impressed that I finally found one of the regional passes where the fare makes sense. I guess there is a first time for everything.
A special thanks to the friends who suggested looking in to the Japan Air Pass option. Most excellent advice indeed.
Tags: 787, ANA, award, Beijing, Boeing, China, Dream2011, Dreamliner, frequent flyer, Hiroshima, Hong Kong, JAL, Japan, points
Posted by Seth on July 24, 2011 under Dining, Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports |
Every time I board a long-haul flight with a ticket for a premium cabin seat my expectations are high. When it is a flight in Continental‘s BusinessFirst cabin those expectations might be (probably irrationally) even higher. I’ve had a number of great BF experiences and when I used my last system-wide upgrade to confirm into my favorite seat on that plane – 8E – I had pretty high expectations. I suppose it is no surprise that they were not met given that setup. Still, it was a bit disappointing.
Don’t get me wrong – the seat was still just as awesome as I expected. The foot-well in the bulkhead rows is notably larger than that of the other rows and that makes a big difference for a taller passenger. And the overall seat + IFE experience was top-notch, giving me time to watch a few movies interspersed amongst some naps to pass the time.
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| The difference in the foot-well space in the bulkhead and other rows in the new BusinessFirst seats is noticeable for taller passengers. |
Dinner was a typical multi-course affair. The appetizer and salad were fine, though not particularly special. I was somewhat impressed that the flight attendant took care of one of the nearby passengers and his request for more of the garlic bread even before the service got into full swing but that level of service didn’t extend very far.
For the main courses there was no misSteak™ on the menu. This made my choice a bit harder. I decided against the pork chop and went with the salmon instead. I got what I deserved: a somewhat overcooked piece of salmon.
The cheese course was, as always, pretty if not particularly flavorful.
And apparently I consumed my ice cream sundae so fast that I forgot to take a photo of it. So that’s a good sign, I suppose.
Still, there were a few misses in the service that made the overall experience less than stellar. The drink service was slow on the refills, somewhat surprisingly for a flight with 30% of the cabin empty, and there were a number of requests made that weren’t filled. None significant enough at the time to be an issue but overall the pattern was such that it was apparent the crew wasn’t really in to actually providing service on this particular flight.
Breakfast time – served well after noon in the arrival time zone – was the real service miss that defined the flight for me. Given the choice between cereal and eggs I actually asked what the cereal was. Apparently this was an insult to the flight attendant taking my order; things went downhill from there. I ultimately did choose the Corn Flakes as my breakfast as when they were thrown down on my tray table I realized that apparently asking what the cereal option would be was a bad idea.
I also was somewhat excited for a cinnamon roll as part of my breakfast. When they didn’t show up in the basket I jokingly noted that they must not have been loaded on the flight. About 5 minutes later a plate with two of them, minus the frosting, was tossed on my tray table. Not good to skip confirming whether I wanted them or not. Pretty awful the way they were presented.
Overall the flight was fine. It really probably doesn’t deserve real complaints. Still, there were enough little things gone wrong that it bugged me. The service was definitely not up to the standards that I generally expect from a Continental BusinessFirst crew; definitely worse than my prior experience flying Hong Kong to Newark two months prior.
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Tags: Continental, Dining, in flight, Japan, Newark, Photos, review, Tokyo, Trip Report, TYO2011, upgrade
Posted by Seth on July 23, 2011 under Dining, Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
Trips to Tokyo are, for the most part, all about the food. At least they are for me. It starts with a visit to Tsukiji. There really is nothing finer. Whether you go for the fancy places, a yeoman’s shop or just pick a random stall with a line in front, odds of getting a great meal are incredibly high. This particular trip included a couple different bits at Tsukiji, in addition to the joy of walking the market, that were quite delicious.
As I meandered through the aisles outside the market early on a Saturday morning, lost while trying to find my way to the main entrance of the auction area, I happened upon a number of stalls offering up food stuffs. One in particular caught my eye, with a variety of bun-looking options on offer. I wanted to see the auctions, however, so I kept walking right past. I regretted that decision almost immediately from the moment I did so but I justified it with the higher purpose of getting to the auction. About five minutes later I realized that I was too late and too lost; the auctions were not to be this particular morning. Fortunately I was not yet far enough removed from the bun shop that I could not find my way back.
I retraced my steps and eventually found myself staring down what appeared at first glance as sweet buns of some sort. I could not have been more wrong, nor more happy about the mistake. It turns out that the buns were actually mostly scallops (I think, possibly some other similar seafood) and what appeared to be a sweet glaze wrapping them was actually bacon. It was like a little bit of heaven came down from above and ended up in a fried ball that I could buy for ¥250 (~$3 USD).
While taking advantage of the sustenance provided by the fried ball of goodness I wandered the stalls of Tsukiji, enjoying pretty much everything I saw. And then it was time for a real breakfast. I spent a bit of time – quite a bit too much, really – surveying the options and deciding upon the shop at which I’d be having my sushi breakfast. At the "basic" price point all good and the prices are generally similar. Eventually I chose one that wasn’t so crowded there was a line out the door but also not completely empty. I have no idea what the name was or if I could find it again. But the meal I got was pretty darn good. Not as good as the "upscale" place I went on my last trip a couple years ago but still quite tasty.
My last meal in town (other than the yakitori that deservedly gets its own post) was a lunch with an ex-pat who now lives just outside of town and who graciously agreed to come in on a Saturday and meet up for lunch. I probably should’ve paid more attention to where we went as I have no idea if I could find it again. After reviewing the menu and still not really knowing what the options were I chose one of the set plate lunches for ¥1000 and hoped for the best. I think I did pretty well.
The main course was some chicken over rice with an egg on top. Mixed together, along with some of the chili pepper they put on the side, it was quite tasty. There was also a shooter of a soup broth, some seaweed, pickled something and a gooey green tea dessert that probably isn’t something I’d try again. Still, the meal overall was rather good and quite reasonably priced for the amount and quality of the food.
Knowing that meals like these can be found at reasonable prices all over town, despite Tokyo’s reputation as exceedingly expensive, makes it easy for me to want to go back. After all, with a cheap fare, a cheap room and cheap meals it is possible to soak up quite a lot of the Tokyo experience without breaking the bank.
And when the experience is this delicious that is a glorious thing.
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