VS901 NRT-LHR 21 MAY 14 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

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Well, after an amazing trip through Japan, 11 nights and stays in Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Hiroshima, it was time to think about returning home. We especially loved our time in the mountains of Hakone, where we stayed in a Ryokan (and dropped a serious wad of money on the local Yosegi wood craft including 2 secret boxes), and on Miyajima island off the coast of Hiroshima, where we also stayed in Ryokan. These 2 places were fantastic and gave us a much needed break from cities, Miyajima especially, although OH found the Kaiseki cuisine challenging and I had to eat much of his food. It was mostly fish, both raw and cooked or tofu, with vegetables and rice and with only one meat dish. On the last night in Miyajima our room maid had noted his aversion to fish and had the chef alter his meal, but he got tofu instead, and he hadn't told her he hated that as much as fish, lol! Hiroshima and the A-Bomb dome was harrowing and moving, but an experience we're both glad we had.

After a long day travelling on Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Tokyo we had our last night in Shinjuku which I can only describe as being like London's Leicester square / Soho / Chinatown, but with much more neon light! It was a great vibe and we had a wonderful tempura meal but couldn't stay out late due to an early start to catch the 06:51 N'EX to Narita, which was covered by our JR Passes.

We arrived at NRT shortly after 8am and by the time we rocked up at check-in it was around 08:20. We possibly might have been the first to arrive, I'm not sure, but the number of ground crew surprised me. One person greeting, one to check us in with 2 assisting with bags, and then other counters for PE and Y check-in, with assistants too. Check-in was a breeze and UC wasn't full as they were offering upgrades for cash at the desk. We were bowed off by every member of the crew as we left for security. I'd like to say I used the available time in the Clubhouse, but as we had about 16,000 yen left to spend we had to stop off at duty free to spend up, which was difficult when neither of us want booze or gadgets! Still we did, I bought last minute gifts and we bought some lovely Japanese sweeties including a box of green tea chocolate covered kitkats, and Tokyo banana - a delectable little sweet that Tokyoites seem to love.

We headed off to the clubhouse sometime around 09:10 with a warm greeting and informed they had a table waiting for us. Greeted with a nice refreshing non-alcoholic drink but I soon ordered champagne! The NRT CH is cute, compact and bijou! We'd not had breakfast so I ordered eggs Benedict and pancakes to follow, which was followed by some yoghurt and another glass of champoo of course! I think OH had a full breakfast. It was soon time to board and how wonderful that the gate is just next to the CH? Walked straight through priority lane and onto Lady Luck yet again.

Greeted warmly by a wonderfully camp FSM and great CC, got my champagne and got settled into 4 & 5K again between us. CC handed out sleep suits again, and I of course had my own.

I think pushback and take off were on time, but to be honest I was tired and in a champagne fog, hehe. CC were great, very friendly again and chatty, and service throughout was top notch. 173 pax and 16 CC, flight time 12 hours. FSM was less visible up the pointy end and seemed to be based mainly in the other cabins, but very busy and hands on.

Menu (nicked again so I could remember!)

Starters
Leek and potato soup.
Japanese appetiser - roasted beef slice, salmon tataki with julienne peppers and spicy mayo.
Warm breads as usual

Mains
Sautéed breast of chicken with honey coriander sauce, carrot, spinach and couscous.
Beef with yuzukosho sauce and mirin, Japanese rice, green beans, awa-fu, wheat guten with millet and miso soup.
Fettuccine with mushroom ragout, asparagus and cherry tomato.

Desert
Chocolate tart with mixed berry sauce.
Red bean mascarpone cheesecake with berries and green tea sauce.
Cheese and Port.

Graze menu
Cheeseburger
Udon noodle salad with sesame dressing
Sushi selection

I had the Japanese appetiser, which was delicious, wonderful tender rare beef, salmon tataki and dressing. I couldn't fault it. Followed by the beef dish which was also delicious. Tender beef again, looked like a steak which had been sliced and covered in a fab dressing, washed down with a nice glass of South African red Zinfandel. Chocolate tart delivered too! OH just had a cheeseburger.

I watched a couple of films, read a little, and tried to get some sleep - which this time evaded both of us. I went to the bar a couple of times but was on my own apart from occasional chats with CC. I ordered a cheeseburger from the graze menu which was quite tasty. Throughout the flight I had the odd glass of champagne, apart from hot chocolate before trying to sleep. On my last trip to the bar I wasn't really thirsty but the CC had some champagne she needed to get rid of or it would be poured away, so I of course had to finish the bottle for her

About 2 hours out of LHR afternoon tea was served, and I was hungry so availed myself of everything on the menu! Washed down with a good cup of coffee.

Soon it was time to land and we arrived at LHR on time, disembarked and were quickly through immigration and back on home turf, but facing a trip across London and train back to Lincolnshire. Being the obsessive I am I had allowed for delays and booked our train home at just after 19:00 so we had about an hour and a half to kill at Kings Cross. If only they had luggage lockers like they do in all Japanese train stations, we could have perhaps wandered further afield. Although I don't know how practical that would have been as we had 2 cases, 2 backpacks and an extra bag we'd taken to fill with shopping!

Anyway, we arrived home safe and tired after a total of about 27 hours without sleep so slept very well on our return, and I had a few days before returning to work. We both loved our trip but OH has said he doesn't want to see rice or noodles for a good few weeks!

Can't wait for our next UC flight to BOS in October.

Exhausted but happy. That's how I feel reading it!

Superb TR. Makes me want to dig out the diary.......

We have all been waiting for your return report and it hasn't disappointed
I have always fancied a trip to Japan but am rather apprehensive of travelling independently , due to the language , and not too sure if I want to be constrained by following a group tour. You make everything sound pretty straight forward
Love Boston though!

Brilliant, another great TR. Thanks for all the detail again.
8 days till our travels...

Lol @Marshy, you do make me smile.

Hazban, the language is not a barrier at all as the Japanese are very patient, will try and communicate with you and it's part of the fun, even those who don't speak English like to try. In the main tourist businesses such as transport and accommodation many will have English. And believe me they will very much appreciate any attempt to speak Japanese, even if it's a hello or "eigo ga hanasemasu ka?" (Do you speak English).

We didn't do a group tour though, there were plenty of those (every westerner we met was on an IJT Tour of some kind). We chose one of their independent self guided tours, added to it and then tweaked it. Apart from having a day guide in Tokyo and Kyoto and knowing what days we had to move on to the next location, everything else was up to us. The bonus was that all accommodation was pre booked and paid, the transport was included, including airport transfers, and the detailed info they provided was excellent, including suggestions for which trains to take, but the freedom to do what we want. That made our travel easy and stress free. The booklets they provided with our itinerary, addresses etc were also bilingual, so I could just show it to someone if we got lost. We were very impressed.

Oh, and the takuhaibin, the luggage forwarding service they have in Japan, was fantastic. We just took what we needed for our short stays in the mountains and on the island, and sent our cases onto the cities where they were waiting when we arrived at our hotels. Brilliant!

Hazban ,just to second Bretty's thoughts my brother ( Nessy), mother ( DL the Elder) and myself visited Japan completely unaided. We hired a car for much of the trip ( something that most Westerners don't do) and had a simply wonderful time .
We made some gaffes but the Japanese people were so genuinely helpful ( despite most of those we encountered speaking little English) that it added to the whole experience.
DL

Another brilliant piece of TR ! Thanks for that !

Sounds like you had a great trip followed by another great flight john ,thanks for posting

i second what bretty said about the language. a few simple words and phrases will make all the difference, eg:
"latte wo onegai shimasu"
please may i have a latte. add "mochi kaeri" to take out

"kore wo onegai shimasu"
please may i have this (perhaps pointing to something on a menu)

and one more:
"kaado de harau koto ga dekimasu ka"
can i pay by card?
like bretty says people will go out of their way to help and especially in tokyo quite a few shop assistants especially the younger ones will be able to speak a bit.
if you want to know how to order an americano with hazelnut syrup let me know lol

Thanks for the very informative trip reports. They have certainly wetted our appetite for our Japan trip next year.

Did yoy go on the Bullet Trains?

[buns]

Brettty

Thanks for the very imformative TR

I can now see why you are going back as the Country certainly has caught your imagination.

buns

reading your TR really makes me want to go back.cant wait.
we will definitely use the takuhaibin service next time. it looks and sounds really good.
your tour company sounds very good!!

As I live in Japan (16 years now), I was browsing NRT>LHR reports (the only VA route I regularly fly) and in yours Bretty, I saw "Tokyo Banana"....Yes, a very popular treat for my family whenever I return home from Japan. My 9-year old niece is particularly partial. Glad you enjoyed Japan.

As I live in Japan (16 years now), I was browsing NRT>LHR reports (the only VA route I regularly fly) and in yours Bretty, I saw "Tokyo Banana"....Yes, a very popular treat for my family whenever I return home from Japan. My 9-year old niece is particularly partial. Glad you enjoyed Japan.

Thanks, we loved it so much we're returning next spring. We brought so many sweeties back including delicious filled cakes from Miyajima and sweets from Kyoto. Then on our last visit to London we discovered a Japanese bakery / sweet shop across the road from Fortnum and Mason. That turned into an expensive visit! (but no Tokyo Banana).