SIN-HND-NRT-LAX on SQ 777 Economy and SQ A380 Business Class

[yflyer]

Another excellent report! Much enjoyed reading it.

Thanks, SQflyergirl!

On another note, i must meet this SQflyergirl character. She seems interesting.

That she is!

[eminere™]

On the recommendation of a friend and fellow frequent flyer, I chose the Japanese “Hanakoireki” meal for dinner.

I must say, the use of cheap disposable chopsticks, takeaway-style sachets of garnishes, and the plastic sauce dipping cup detracts from the overall presentation of the meal (and is a tad low-brow for SQ J, no?).

The food otherwise looks great!

[eminere™]

I've only read to where you were starting off on your journey to NRT and felt compelled to post that this is another amazing, amazing trip report, as usual. Japanese cuisine is my favourite and seeing all your pictures is making me very hungry...

[SQflyergirl]

Another excellent report! Much enjoyed reading it.

On another note, i must meet this SQflyergirl character. She seems interesting.

[yflyer]

Final reflections on the first part of the trip?

- Both flights on SQ were great...

- Although SIN-HND was operated on older equipment (refitted 772) than SIN-NRT on SQ12 (A380), the convenience of landing at Haneda with much shorter travel time into Tokyo makes SIN-HND the preferred option for me.

- A380 Business Class on SQ12 NRT-LAX remains a superb product. Both the hard product (Fantastic ambience on the A380 upper deck in J) and cabin service were excellent.

- I found the rear upper deck J cabin to be very comfortable. I would want to book the last row 96 for my next trip, if those seats were available.

- The Japanese "Hanakoireki" meal service on on SQ12 is a nice change from the regular SQ J meal service, and I would recommend this to travellers flying this sector.

- I was very happy with the rooms and exec lounge at the Tokyo Marriott hotel. It is located in a part of Tokyo with a lot to explore, and is reasonably close to central Tokyo as well.

- There are many wonderful things to see out the airplane window, if one bothers to look! And having a proper camera with telephoto lens pays off when sitting at a window seat...

- And finally, I still have a lot to learn and explore about Japanese cuisine...a lot of wonderful food to be had in Tokyo!

I would spend the next day in LA before heading to San Francisco on an AA 738, and then head back to Singapore a week later on SQ1, flying their new 77WN equipment, with the latest cabin products, in the Y cabin, but that is for the part 2 and part 3 of this TR.

Thanks for reading!

[yflyer]

We deplaned at the Tom Bradley International Terminal...





…where we lucked out and arrived at a time when there was a lull in arrivals, and were quickly through immigration.

[yflyer]

On the next runway, 24L, an Asiana A380 was beginning it’s takeoff roll.



Our SQ A380 taxied to a stop, waiting for the Asiana A380 to take off before crossing runway 24L to reach the terminal. This put me in perfect position to take this picture…

[yflyer]

After tracking East for some time, we made a starboard turn for a landing at LAX towards the West…



The amazing A380 multi-segment ailerons in action…



One of LA’s busy freeways…



Smooth landing on runway 24R at LAX, one of two parallel runways on that side of the airport…

[yflyer]

And perhaps most iconic of all, we flew past the Hollywood sign nestled on Mount Lee, overlooking Hollywood…



The pilot did not announce this on the PA, but it was fairly easy to spot out of the left hand side windows if you knew where to look…

[yflyer]

By then, the cabin was being prepped for landing…



The suburbs and city of Los Angeles soon came into view…



Those on the left side were treated to views of the Getty Center, the campus of the Getty Museum and other properties of the Getty Trust, nestled on a hill just West of I-405.





Further on, pax who were observant could also see the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, immortalized on the cover of the Eagles’ Album Hotel California, as well as Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, with both these tree-lined boulevards clearly visible from the air.



The map below shows roughly the area in the picture above. The Beverly Hills Hotel is to the top right of the picture, along Sunset Boulevard, and just north of Rodeo Drive.

[yflyer]

We made landfall on the continental United States just south of San Jose, and continued southeast hugging the coast of California towards LAX.





From my left-side window seat, I could see the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in the distance…



I had my Olympus E-P2 camera with telephoto zoom lens with me on this trip…



By sheer luck, I captured this image of an aircraft (If I were to guess, it would be a United 787 or 767, but it is hard to tell), far in the distance, as it flew by, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background…



Full size pic here if anyone wants to try guessing what aircraft type that was...

I spent most of descent looking out the window at the rugged landscape below, at times paper-flat, other times hilly and mountainous…

[yflyer]

Breadrolls and croissants were offered, but these weren’t really necessary in the context of a Japanese breakfast…



I did appreciate the offer of a hot cup of coffee, though…

[yflyer]

The cabin crew began breakfast service…





Once again, I opted for the Japanese selection for breakfast…



Wooden chopsticks and chopstick rest…



Another feast lay within the bento box, served together with a clear soup and fragrant green tea…how would I ever go back to scrambled eggs and sausages?



The emphasis was on natural, subtle flavours…

[yflyer]

About 2 or so hours before arrival, the cabin was slowly brightened, and the cabin crew began preparing breakfast for those who indicated that they wanted to have it.





Hot towels..



Juices…



I could not resist raising my window shades for just an instant. It was a bright and sunny morning outside.



I headed to the bathroom to freshen up…



SQ may not offer a full amenity kit in J, but everything you need to freshen up is stocked in the bathrooms.

[yflyer]

I got up to flip the bed into bed mode…





I’ve always found this fully flat, and very wide, bed to be very comfortable to sleep on, and had no trouble sleeping for several hours on that flight. That said, I suspect my earlier dashi chazuke which I ate for lunch in NRT had a little caffeine in it so I remained awake longer than I usually do on longhaul flights…



The A380 upper deck is whisper silent, so I was grateful that there were no snorers around me. We were flying into daybreak, so shades were drawn down.



Some folks have said that the A380 upper deck cabin gets progressively colder the closer you get to the rear, but on this flight, the temperature was perfectly comfortable. I slept very soundly.