Tokyo Heatwave: SIN-HND-SIN on ANA 787-9 Dreamliner Premium Economy (NH842/843)

[yflyer]

My last meal of the trip was in a Kappo-style restaurant hidden in plain sight along a side street in Shibuya...



Where chefs prepared food and drink of your choice right before your eyes, across the counter from where you were seated.



Again, an all Japanese menu.



Thankfully I was there with yet another old friend and ex-colleague, one who had introduced me to so many wonderful dining experiences in Japan over the years, and tonight was no exception...



First up, a Shochu & soda...very refreshing!



Then a series of small plates...



Sashimi...



A small tower of roasted vegetables...



...and an unlikely combination of cheese and pickles....amazingly the flavours worked perfectly!



One of my favourite dishes that evening was a simple egg dish...just beautifully done...



Cooked fish on rice wrapped in fresh seawood...



Finally, whisky highballs, a Yamazaki for my friend, and a Hakushu for me...



What a wonderful way to end a visit to Tokyo!

[yflyer]

After dinner, I took the train to Haneda airport for my flight home.

My flight was ANA flight NH843, a 12.40am departure.



Fairly empty check in area at 10.20pm in the evening...



There was a manned business class check-in counter, but it was closed at the time I was there (I suspect that the counter would open in a few minutes time)...



I did a simple self-check-in using one of the kiosks...



The airside area was quite busy...



...with many eateries...



...and a foodcourt area...



There are 2 ANA lounges at Haneda. I chose the one closer to my boarding gate, but was was closed in the evening...



...so I trudged back through the terminal...



To the ANA lounge near gate 110.



As luck would have it, the departure gate for my flight, NH843, was changed to a gate right in front of this lounge, so it all turned out well.

[yflyer]

I headed into the lounge...



I thought I might like a shower, so took a queue number from the machine...



What??? 38 people waiting??? And a wait time of 260-300 minutes? Madness!



The lounge itself looked modern and stylish, in black and white tones...



Ample seating and lounging areas...



...with good airside views.



Folks tended to congregate in the middle sections of the long lounge. Areas in the further ends of the lounge were quite peaceful and uncrowded.



Bar style seating...



Daytime peak periods in the lounge must be quite busy, but in the late evening, with fewer departures, there was ample space available.

[yflyer]

There were very good dining options in the lounge...

The buffet area...



Dining area seating...



Cava and white wine...



A glass of Cava to start...



The liquor selection...



Apart from red wine, there was whisky from Suntory, although big name Japanese whisky labels were noticeably absent...

A few additional bottles in the fridge...



And necessary condiments like tobasco and lemon slices, not to mention chilled beer glasses...little touches that enhance the experience...



The sake and shochu selection...



Asahi beer...



Soft drinks (and mixers) on tap...

[yflyer]

On to the food...

The salad bar...



While JAL has their signature beef curry, ANA has their original chicken curry....



I could not resist a helping...



The buffet selection included ratatouille...



Pasta...



Deep fried chicken and french fries...



Meat patties...



Japanese Onigiri...





Sandwiches...

[yflyer]

And if all that wasn't enough, there was also a noodle bar...



...with noodles prepared to order...



Portions were petit...



..which meant I had space to sample both the udon and the ramen...



Bear in mind I had already eaten dinner in Shibuya before heading to the airport. After that feast in the lounge, I was well and truly stuffed.

I washed it all down with a G&T, before heading to my gate...



As for the shower, forget it...although at some point during the night (possibly while I was inflight) I got an SMS from the ANA lounge saying that the shower room was now ready for me...oh well...

[yflyer]

Boarding for NH843 was called at 12.20am...



This flight was also operated by ANA's 787-9 Dreamliner, the same equipment as my outbound SIN-HND flight a few days prior, with the same J product...



...in staggered 1-2-1 layout...



I settled into my seat in the Premium Economy cabin, laid out 2-3-2...



This time I was in the bulkhead aisle seat in the middle bank.

The first row bulkhead PEY seats had good legroom.



Seat recline was decent as well.



This is the view from the 2nd row of PEY seats. My preference for seating would be the first row, and not the 2nd row.

[yflyer]

To get to the bathrooms, you had to cross the first small Y cabin...



The Dreamliner bathrooms on ANA have a unique feature...



They all come with electronic "washlets" i.e. water sprays!

[yflyer]

Back in my seat before take-off, the cabin crew came round to offer amenities such as eye masks, toothbrushes and ear plugs...



After take-off a snack pack was offered...



This comprised 2 different types of snack, as well as a bottle of water. I suspect this is also what Y pax received.



I asked the cabin crew for a G&T, and it was served to me in a paper cup (But at least it came with a lemon slice)...



I reclined my seat to rest and slept fairly soundly for what seemed like several hours...

[yflyer]

Prior to landing, a full breakfast was served. There were 2 choices, a Western breakfast and a Japanese breakfast.



I picked the Japanese breakfast.



This looked quite appetising...



...with cut fruit...



...two starters...



...and a generously sized main...



My only reservation was that breakfast was served quite early, just over 2 hours prior to departure, which really cut into the amount of sleep you had on this 7 hour sector.

[yflyer]

Final approach...



On the ground and Singapore, and off the plane right on schedule, just after 6.40am in the morning...



We deplaned into T1, which was quite busy that morning...



No queues at arrival immigration...



The newly renovated arrival area at T1...



At that hour in the morning, before 7am, the Jewel waterfall was not on...



Still it was great to be home!

Overall a good flight, with the PEY seat making a difference (Compared to Y) in terms of getting a good night's sleep on this red-eye. It was definitely worth shelling out the extra cash for PEY on this red-eye sector, as I would definitely have had more difficulty sleeping or resting if I was in Y.

That said, there really wasn't much difference between PEY and Y on ANA apart from the seat. Wonder why ANA don't try to differentiate their PEY catering from their Y catering more. SQ is guilty of this too: SQ's PEY catering is basically Y catering. By contrast, airlines such as QF go all out to provide differentiated catering in their PEY cabin -- more on that coming up in an upcoming TR!

[yflyer]

Final reflections...

By now I've flown SQ, ANA and JAL to Haneda. All 3 are top airlines. My most memorable experiences have been on JAL: I find JAL's Y catering to be some of the best out there, and JAL's Dreamliner Y cabin is laid out in a comfy 2-4-2. Even JAL's 767 Y product is pretty decent. SQ is of course SQ, and I've always enjoyed my flights to and from Japan on SQ very much: the cabin crew are great, and SQ's catering on Japan sectors seems a cut above other sectors in quality. As for ANA, I would say their PEY is about on par with PEY on SQ's A350 PEY, but not as nice as SQ's A380 PEY, and ANA's PEY catering concept= is uninspiring (Paper cups, even for wine and cocktails? Come on!). So while I would happily fly all 3 of these airlines to and from Japan, there are distinct differences in the products they offer.

As for Tokyo, I think there will always be something new to discover on trips there -- it is truly one of the world's great cities. Yes I revisited old favourites, like Ichiran Ramen, but I can't wait to head back there again, and meet up with my local friends, and then leave it entirely in their hands as to where to go for a drink or a meal!

As for getting around Tokyo, I did my entire trip without ever getting into a car or taxi. I got around everywhere by public transport -- very easy with Google Maps and a transit card (Pasmo or Suica - your choice!). Tokyo also remains a very runnable city, heatwave or not!

Thanks for reading!

[SQ218]

Great read as always yfler. Thanks for sharing.

FYI, The sales of Suica and Pasmo has been suspended due to chip shortage, but you can load them to your iphone. However topping the card can be troublesome if you don't have the right credit cards.

[yflyer]

Great read as always yfler. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks very much for reading, SQ218!

FYI, The sales of Suica and Pasmo has been suspended due to chip shortage, but you can load them to your iphone. However topping the card can be troublesome if you don't have the right credit cards.

Ah...that explains the signs in the stations! I was wondering why it seemed difficult to buy new cards. I still had a Suica and a Pasmo from previous pre-COVID trips, and one of the miraculously still had sufficient balance for the train from Haneda to Shibuya. After that, I topped up the cards for further use. It was nice to know the cards were still valid a couple of years since I bought them. I should hang on to them!

[SQ218]

It was nice to know the cards were still valid a couple of years since I bought them. I should hang on to them!

It is valid for 10 years from last use. Next time you go and use it. It extends another 10 years from your last tap off.