Hotel staff said that with the holiday ending should leave plenty of time to get to my gate, but still a shorter amount of time than is recommended in the US. So efficient here and didn’t have to show ID, just can QR code at security and boarding. The automated baggage machine works well and the self-bag tags you don’t have to peel off a backing, just push the two ends together and it’s magic that they hold since not sticky to the touch. Since I had time I went up to the viewing desk that didn’t have a huge security fence up to obstruct photos.
Very cool, wish had been my plane and it was flying domestic routes
Kogane-iro no Buta “The Golden Hog” – the pork was definitely a perfect golden. Very tender with the right amount of fat. Even though this is my fifth time to Japan, I’m still amazed that airport food can be so amazing.
Didn’t expect to be back in Japan so soon but my dad wanted to go to Hokkaido for the first time to eat all their amazing seafood and needed a tour guide. No free flights in business and JAL/ANA were ridiculously expensive out of Seattle. I’d been wanting to try Starlux and it wasn’t too bad to fly them to Japan, I did use points to get to LA. I’ll be flying a different airline home. I was very impressed by Starlux, helped a lot by a very light load on the way to Taiwan, only seven other passengers, so had great service and a very quiet cabin. Didn’t really need the door close to add more privacy. The row in front of me and two behind were empty. Hope this startup airline becomes successful and looking forward to them adding flights to/from Seattle in August.
My favorite type of seat with lots of storage and privacy
Door for even more privacy
Very thick mattress pad, almost 1″, very comfortable
Two types of smoked salmon. Parsnip truffle soup with dehydrated apple
Wok Fried Ginger and Scallion Maine Lobster, stir fry noodles, chili garlic sauce Only available online preorder and was quite good but hard to eat with the pathetic butter knife without serrations
Beef noodle soup – best noodle dish I’ve had at 30,000′ ever. Broth very flavorful and a generous portion of beef, wish this had been the after departure meal to get to sleep faster.
Plain congee – this wasn’t good to me as it was more like slightly overooked rice with a bit of extra water unlike the Cantonese style I’m used too with much more liquid and longer cooked grains. Char siu pork and scallion fritters Stir fried snap peas, shiitake, red pepper Cantonese Soy Sauce braised chicken (this was my favorite item on the tray) The egg still had the shell on which was quite the surprise when I put one end in my mouth and bit down – the yolk was very firm so this is no bueno
Osaka in the middle of the night
Had a nice 4 hour layover in Starlux’s lounge opened a few months ago, not crowded unlike Eva since only two US flights and not many flights to other parts of Asia that early in the morning. The buffet was ok but the two out of three on demand dishes I got were good.
I was the only passenger in business for the short flight to Fukuoka, they closed the curtain after landing so I could get off without being crowded, good service and hope to fly them again.
Very nice meal although too much miso butter on the fish, I scraped half of it off, and the onigiri wasn’t tight enough and disintegrated when picked up with chopsticks, there was no spoon and just a very small 2 tine fruit fork that did nothing on grains of rice
Really wish JAL flew to Seattle from Haneda like ANA, the airport express train was an hour late, so doubling the travel time, due to a car being hit on the tracks. Thankfully we had plenty of buffer time and still had time to hit up the lounge and grab some food and even a shower for me which was welcome after walking around Tokyo all day. JAL swapped out the 787 for an older 767 but still had current biz class seats that had aisle access.
Underwhelming fish and chips
Redeemed by beef curry and restaurant worthy ginger pork in the lounge
I think this A380 mainly serves the Hawaiian routes
Japanese white wine and sake
Top row – L-R Grilled Black Cod – red konjac, deep fried prawn dumpling, simmered yuba roll, simmered eggplant, green beans, shimeji mushroom, duck meatball Sauteed Lotus Root – carrot, snow peas Bottom row – L-R Simmered Abalone – white radish, dashi sauce, hint of yuzu Chrysanthemum Petals & Snow Crab – vinegared sesame sauce Sliced Wagyu Beef – deep fried burdock, chrysanthemum, thickened soy sauce
Stewed Wagyu Beef Cheeks – Japanese mustard spinach, Grilled Salmon – maitake mushroom sauce, mitsuba Ren’s Special Curry Miso Soup – aosa seaweed, white leeks
Chocolate Tart
I think it was steamed snapperm was still full from dinner so just ate the fish
After almost four years of planning K and I are finally in Japan. We booked in November of 2019 to go in October 2020 and we all know why that didn’t happen. We then booked in November of 2021 to go in October of 2022 but in August when Japan wasn’t fully open to tourist, you had to be on at least a private guided tour, we cancelled and did a trip to Toronto, Quebec, and Boston instead. Our friends were more optimistic and didn’t cancel and were among the first tourists to have unfettered access to Japan, they got some great deals on luxurious hotels and no tourist. We booked in Nov 2022 and now sitting in the ANA lounge waiting for flight to Sapporo to start and 18 night adventure with NINE hotels. Yes I might be a bit crazy trying to see so much. I’m excited as while I’ve been to Japan three times for six weeks total, most of that time has been skiing. I’ve only had one night in Kyoto and I think four in Tokyo.
1K, third time having it. Very private and while dated compared to other airlines or I presume ANA’s new The Room it’s still quite good and enjoyed not seeing other passengers.
Marinated three kinds mushrooms Duck and Cheese canape
Zensai – roast beef with ponzu sauce, grilled squid with potato and spicy fish roe, boiled erynggi in soy sauce, simmer cherry tomato in wine sauce Kobachi – cheese tofu Otsukuri – seared tuna salad with ginger dressing
Steamed halibut in ginger sauce, pickles, miso
Blueberry cheesecake
Kobachi – marinated spinach and shimeji mushroom Shusai – grilled goldstripe amberjack with saiko miso
Had plenty of time to try a few more lounges before departing. I knew the Singapore Air lounge would be better than the EVA lounge so took my coworkers there for a few drinks and food before heading to three more, incl EVA’s just to make sure.
Miracle Lounge – chicken noodle, the chicken rice I had when got to BKK was way better even though it’s the same chicken. Broth didn’t have much flavor.
Air France lounge
Various filled pastries – I grabbed two types of chicken and an apple. They were fine
I was impressed to get a hot meal and a cold beer on the short flight to Siem Reap. While the chicken curry wasn’t great it’s still appreciated on a puddle jumper and fairly cheap ticket. The cold beer hit the spot. Sadly the were storms on the flight back to no meal or drink service.
Thankfully no issues on my Seattle to Taipei flight on EVA like last year and got my preferred seat, first true window so feels the most private. I pre-ordered all three meals on the two flights and the two heading to Taipei were much better than on the way to Bangkok which was surprising since the food leaving Taipei usually better. I really liked the pork belly bao, the bun was fried mantou and paired nicely with a slightly sweet congee. It was very cool to awake as we flew over cloudless Japan and see the lights of Kyoto and Osaka, Tokyo was sadly on the other side of the plane as we flew past. As much as I love EVA, their lounge in Taipei leaves something to be desired, while there is a lot of different food most of it isn’t very appetizing and they have a very small selection of booze. Had enough time before the Bangkok flight that walked to terminal 1 to use my Priority Pass benefit to get a free meal which was a lot better. The beef cheek dish was tender but not as flavorful as a blackbean sauce should be.
Chilean Seabass – pancetta
Pork Belly Bun – congee, mixed vegetables
Kyoto
Osaka
Empty lounge at 5:15 AM
Beef Noodle Soup and sides – used my Priority Pass to get for free as the lounge food not the best
The main reason I went to the Middle East to get home was to try Q-Suites, one of the top business class products. If it hadn’t been for my stellar experience on Turkish flying to Casablanca I’d agree but other than the food and flight attendants my expectations weren’t met. It started with having to wait 30 min after check in for my ski bag to be picked up by security since there is no large item drop off, the ground staff couldn’t do much for me which was annoying. Then the lounge was super crowded and there is only self-service coffee machine and a few pastries. There are two restaurants and you need to get on the waiting list, I went to the deli since it was a shorter line and had a falafel wrap that was as dry as the desert and chugged a glass of red wine even though it was 6:30am before making the long walk to my gate. I tried to pay for the upgrade to the 1st class lounge before getting to the airport since it was offered in Moroccan currency and cheaper than paying at the lounge, ultimately glad I didn’t as only had 40 min after the check-in delay.
Needed tzatziki
Gulf Porsche is the best livery of all time
I had the first rear-facing seat on the starboard side in the 2nd business class section. They layout was better than the suite on Turkish with the console in a better location but the entertainment was lacking. There were no movies worth watching that I hadn’t already seen and the moving map had no customization on view/data and had 50% notices like praying in seat or notify a FA if feel ill.
Seat controls in a better place to not hit accidentally and great storage in the little shelf
Lots of storage in the armrest next to seat
Plenty of room to stretch out. Sheet and another pillowcase added after take off
787
777
A380
A330
Shortly after take off my 12hrs of eating commenced. Since it was an 8am departure I didn’t really sleep, just two 30min naps, and just watched shows on my tablet, sadly there were no new movies on their system that I wanted to watch which was another disappointment, and podcast. So I was bored and ate every few hours and drank at least 1.5 bottles of the Chateau Batailley 2015. I did get up to stretch a lot and had a good conversation with a few of the flight attendants.
Mango Yoghurt
Qatari Breakfast – foul, balaleet, scrambled egg with Arabic spice and tomato
Chicken Katsu Burger – curry flavor. My favorite meal on the flight
So I went really far East to get home, I got a really good deal on Qatar Airways with a free layover to have 30 hours in Doha. I was excited that they switched the flight to Doha from Qatar to Royal Air Maroc as the seats are better but everything else was much worse. Even though I was booked through Qatar and it’s a codeshare flight they followed their baggage rules and had to pay for my ski bag even though it was within the standard 2 pieces afforded to business class and well within the weight limit. The food was also not much better than economy and lukewarm at best. Flight attendants were lazy, or perhaps mindful to keep things sanitary, and most of the dishes still had plastic wrap or foil over them that I had to remove.
Same seat as Air Canada
Foie gras and fig chutney on gingerbread | salmon with sesame crust | feta tartlet with zucchini
Random Eating Adventures 
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