Pre-Trip
My parents have been suggesting a large trip over Christmas for the past several years, but we’ve never been able to get the plans nailed down with enough time for everyone to make plans. I thought that this year would be the same, even though in the spring/summer we were discussing a trip to Japan. The previous year we had waited until November to make our Christmas plans, and K and I had a great little trip to Montreal. However, since we were moving, we had to plan for flights and were a bit less flexible for last-minute scramble. With that in mind, we agreed on a drop-dead date for the plans at the end of August. If we hadn’t reached a decision by then, we would make our own plans. The end of August arrived with no decision, but we were going to Maine with my parents for Labor Day, and thought that we’d finalize everything there. To my great surprise, they were on board and ready to book! We found the best routings to take American flights on the way over, as one benefit of being AA Exec Plat was that I had some upgrades we could use on the way over to bump us from economy to business if the space opened up. At the time of booking, there wasn’t any availability, but I set up an alert and kept checking back.
It wasn’t until Christmas (two days before we were departing) that space opened up on K and I’s flight from DFW-NRT (to be added to the space on BOS-DFW that we already had upgraded). I got the alert, and immediately jumped up and called the AA Exec Plat line as fast as I could. Luckily the spaces were ours, Merry Christmas to us!
Long Day of Travel
The sun was hours from rising, and we had only gotten to bed a few hours earlier, when the alarm sounded. Neither of us really wanted to get up, but were both looking forward to the trip that lay ahead. The drive to the airport was a piece of cake as there were very few other cars on the road, and we arrived at the terminal ahead of schedule. I dropped K off with the bags, and drove out to my dad’s office in the seaport to park the car (which would be very handy when we returned and didn’t need to take a taxi home). Unfortunately, this is where I hit the first snag. Despite owning 5+ CharlieCards (the MBTA fare card), I’d managed to leave them all at home and therefore needed to buy a ticket (not a major inconvenience, but still a bit frustrating). To get from the office to the airport, I needed to take the Silver Line #1 bus. I’ve taken this route countless times, but for some reason I hopped onto a Silver Line #2 bus without a second thought. I realized my error far too late, and by then I was well off track. At the end of the line, I sheepishly asked the driver when he was returning back to the station where the routes diverged. Due to the light ridership and empty streets, there was still 15 minutes before he would be driving back. At this point I gave up and called an Uber, which arrived surprisingly quickly and got me to the airport in just a few minutes.
Not expecting much, we made our way to the AA Admirals Club post-breakfast for a little peace and quiet. The lounge was busier than expected, and after grabbing a glass of juice (really, AA step up your lounge game) we decided that we’d just wait by the gate since there wasn’t much time until boarding.
Our ride for the morning was an old 757 with the worn, but comfortable recliner chairs in first. Even though we’d already had a small breakfast, we decided to pick at what was offered. I was actually impressed with the omelet and potatoes, normally the eggs are rubbery and the potatoes dry but somehow also mushy at the same time. However this time both the eggs and potatoes were some of the best I’ve ever had on a plane. We passed the time reading (K) and watching a movie (me). About an hour later we started our descent into Dallas, and arrived about 10 min behind schedule.
Even with the delay, we were going to try for a stop at the lounge after taking the train to the D terminal. When we arrived, it was only about 20 min to boarding but we decided that we still had time to try the lounge. Walking by the gate I noticed that we seemed to be missing a plane… (cue ominous music). Being an OW Emerald flying internationally we were able to get into the “Flagship” dining room (which was completely empty when we arrived). Setting our stuff down we went to the little buffet and had just ordered drinks and grabbed our first little plate when I noticed I had a missed call from an 800 number. Turns out that was AA letting us know that our flight had been delayed by 4 hours. The only other occupant of the dining room was on a mileage run and was on the same flight to Tokyo, and we chatted briefly. The plane that we were supposed to take was newly reconfigured 777-200 with the B/E seats (which all face forward and are supposed to be much better than the forward/backward Zodiac seats from what I’d read online).
Making the best of the situation we ordered a few more round of drinks and then headed out into the main part of the lounge which was much more spacious and open. Sitting by the windows we (really just me) passed the next 2ish hours plane spotting. I had been keeping tabs on my parents’ flight (from LAX) and where they stood on the upgrade list. Just prior to their boarding, I saw the marvelous check marks appear next to their names. With that, we were 4 for 4 on SWUs clearing for the trip, and all sitting up front for the way over. Finishing up one last drink we decided to move to “The Club,” a lounge on the Priority Pass network that I have access to. It was a little walk, but we made it pretty quickly. The space was broken up into multiple smaller lounges for different airlines or 3rd party operators. There wasn’t much space, but they did have some food and self-service wine and beer. Having had a few in the AA lounge, we skipped those and instead pre-hydrated with some water.
Finally it was time to board and we made our way down the jetway. Turning the corner to our seats I was not pleased to see that we had the Zodiac seats! K ended up being backwards, and we both had 3-point seatbelts due to the angle of the seat. The main complaint people have about the seats (other than facing backwards), is that most seats are connected to the one behind it, and it is very easy to transfer movement from one to another and disturb another passenger (or be disturbed).
Dinner (what should have been lunch) was served quickly after leveling off. I started with Champagne and the usual ramekin of nuts, though the glass was a United Airlines one, and the nuts were noticeably missing pistachios.
The first course was a bento box with a five different little dishes, including a chicken dish, smoked salmon, snow crab, scallops, and duck and shrimp. The chicken was ok, but for some reason was served with fish roe which didn’t really add anything. The smoked salmon and snow crab were both pretty great for American Airlines food. I found the scallops a little under seasoned, but still tasty, and while the duck and shrimp were good, they were served with some fish roe which was pure salt.
Next was grilled yellowtail (the best option I was left with). As expected, the fish was dry, veggies and fish bland, and the rice slightly sub par. The best part of the meal were the pickles.
As on all AA flights, dessert was an ice cream sundae, which I usually enjoy. This time however, the ice cream was incredibly gritty and not very good, and it was picked up unfinished. Having finished the meal, it was time to sit back and relax with some movies and a few drinks. I noticed that what others had said about the seat were true, and I would be jostled every few minutes as the guy behind me moved around a lot. Soon the shaking subsided, but unfortunately it wasn’t for a great reason. As it turned out, he had been sick… all over the floor behind his seat (and the crew had closed off one of the bathrooms as a result). As part of the cleanup effort, towels and such were spread over the floor, and the galley light was left on for the majority of the flight.
I couldn’t sleep much, and ended up watching Suicide Squad (worse than expected), War Dogs (pretty good), Jason Bourne (good), Snowden (good and creepy), and the Mechanic (as expected). During my moving binge, I decided to order a snack of soba and sake. The noodles came quickly, and then a few minutes later some sake. Then, several minutes after that, another small bottle of sake. It was explained to me that the first one was actually the economy sake, and the second, the business class. The crew seemed on the young side (not sure if it was because it of the holidays?) and there was a feeling of uncertainty about some aspects of service.
As the movies progressed we closed the gap towards Tokyo, and soon it was time for breakfast. On the menu was beef with rice in a soy-based sauce. It was the best meal I had aboard, and the chocolate cake served for dessert was also very good. K hadn’t been feeling great, and had spent the majority of the flight sleeping, but also commented that she didn’t really like the seat either.
Deplaning in Narita, it was very clear that we were among the last people to arrive before the airport shut down for the night. There was no line at immigration and our bags were in the first five or so to come out. Making our way through customs (again, no line), we headed to the bus counter to get tickets for the ride downtown. Standing at the counter, the whole building started to shake slightly, and the staff started calling out that it was an earthquake. Even with the little bit of chaos, we were still able to buy tickets for the 9:45pm bus at 9:42! Unfortunately, this meant that we didn’t have time to grab cash before jumping on the bus.
Looking at the tickets, I realized that we had been given the wrong destination, but we were already underway. This meant that instead of Tokyo Station (one of the main train stations in the city), we would be arriving at the Tokyo Air Terminal. Luckily it wasn’t really much further from the hotel, and there was an ATM. We were quickly able to hail a taxi to the hotel. K and I had stayed at the Park Hotel in Tokyo almost 4 years ago when we were on our world tour, and it was just as nice as we remembered. Once we got to the room it was time for a shower and sleep.
Exploring Tokyo with the Parents
Our first day in Tokyo we were up before the alarm, and got ready to meet my parents down in the lobby. Originally our plan was to grab some Starbucks and onigiri, but the parents decided that they wanted to do the hotel breakfast instead. After breakfast, we needed to go to the train station to exchange our receipts for the Japan Rail Passes that would take us around over the next week. We didn’t take the most direct route, and may have gotten slightly lost, but the detour took us by some very nice gardens and parks. We’d all spent so much time sitting on the plane that it was nice to stretch our legs.
The rail pass office was busy but very efficient, and it didn’t take long before we were able to get the passes and make reservations for the following day to Kyoto. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get seats together, rather a 2-1-1 arrangement across two cars. K and I would take the solo seats (and K’s seat ended up being right in front of my parents).
Departing Tokyo Station we set off for the Imperial Palace and gardens. Along the way we stopped at a Family Mart for something to drink and a quick snack (gotta enjoy as much of the awesome Japanese snack game as possible). There were some benches not too far away, so we broke some social norms and had a snack outside. The downside to this was that there are no trashcans, so we had to hang on to our garbage for a while until we found the next bin.
Unfortunately (and something that we probably should have checked beforehand), the gardens and palace were closed for the holidays. There were some areas to walk around outside of the walls, so we took a leisurely stroll. Regrouping to discuss our options, we decided that our next destination should be the Tokyo Sky Tree.
A short walk and train ride later and we found ourselves waiting in line to get a ticket that would later let us wait in line to get the actual tickets… go figure. We had about 90 minutes between our first line and when we could get into the real line, which gave us time to explore the mall at the base of the tower (as well as get lunch). There were so many small shops, everything from florists to clothing to souvenirs. Window shopping only, we made our rounds before heading for the food section.
Five years earlier K and I (along with two friends) had walked through this hallway of restaurants and I’d grabbed some very tasty takoyaki (basically octopus dough balls). Finding the same spot, it was time for lunch. We split two large orders topped with eel sauce, mayo, and shaved bonito. The takoyaki was piping hot and just as tasty as I’d remembered (though this time they didn’t come with Sky Tree skewers).
The entire mall area was super crowded, and we navigated the crowds while killing the time until our turn to wait in line.
One nice thing about lines in Japan are that they are very well organized and move at a consistent pace. Even though there was a whole sea of people ahead of us, it was only about 10-15 minutes before we were able to buy tickets and get into the elevator that would take us 450 meters into the air.
Reaching the top, we made our way down to the lower upper level by way of a spiral ramp enclosed in glass. On the sun side it was almost unbearably hot, so we sought the refuge of shade. There were also small portions of the floor made of glass where you could see all the way down. The view of Tokyo was pretty amazing, though it was a bit hazy so we couldn’t see as far as one would on a clear day.
After walking around for a while, we decided it was time to head out, We made our way back to the elevator for the long ride back to the earth’s surface.
Asakusa was our next destination so we jumped on a train. None of us were expecting a full Amtrak style train for our 5 minute ride, but we took our seats for the quick trip. Asakusa was bustling with a street market, and a variety of enticing aromas wafted from a number of the stalls. First on the menu were some cookie/cakes stuffed with red bean paste. Those were followed with sweet and savory deep fried fritters.
Re-energized, we made our way through the crowd towards the beautiful temple.
Having walked all the way through the temple and surrounding areas, we were getting ready for some relaxation and made our way back to the hotel for a nap before dinner.
My parents had found a yakitori joint near Shimbashi, but after walking around and checking Google, we were unable to find it (which mirrored K and I’s experience years earlier). They found another yakitori restaurant, and we headed down to the basement dining room. We were clearly the only non-Japanese people there, and despite the cigarette smoke laden air, we were going to give it a shot.
My parents wanted to get a salad, but didn’t realize until it arrived that it was covered with tiny dried fish (I ended up eating most of the fish). For our first round of yakitori, we ordered tails, skin, gizzards (instead of liver due to a communication issue), breast with plum paste, cartilage (not great and super crunchy, other than myself, only K was willing to give it a try), and breast with onion. Most of the food was good, not as amazing as other yakitori that we’ve had, but still worth a second round, especially with another round of super cold beer. We needed to get another order of tails, along with some pork ribs, chicken with onions, meatballs, and “chicken that pickled with liquor,” which was served on metal dish a la chilis fajitas. Our second round of food was much better than the first, especially the pickled liquor chicken. Calling it a night, we headed back to the hotel and crashed.
Cheers,
-N
Have Wine Key, Will Travel 