JAL to Tokyo in Y: Ramen, Whale and a Run around the Imperial Palace

[yflyer]

Hot on the heels of a very enjoyable vacation to Osaka and Kyoto last December, I headed to Tokyo for a short work trip in early February.

This time, I flew JAL, and on this trip, for some unknown reason (OK…maybe for known reasons…), my colleagues and friends there figured out that I was quite keen on food, so they brought me to a few interesting places to eat.

My outbound flight was JL36 to Haneda – a 10pm departure. The last time I flew JAL to Haneda, it was on JL38, a flight which departs after midnight. Was there a difference in service formats on these two flights, leaving just hours apart? Yes, for one thing, on JL36, passengers get dinner, whereas on the later JL38, you were just served a small snack after take-off, followed by full breakfast prior to arrival. More on the flight itself later in this TR.

Check-in at T1 was very smooth, with no queues.



Airside, there is also a priority lane for the security check to enter the holding room.

[yflyer]

JAL’s flights from Singapore are operated by Boeing 767-300 series aircraft, with winglets and the latest Business and Economy products.



I wish JAL would go back to 787’s on this route…JAL’s Dreamliners have an ultra-spacious 2-4-2 Y layout, and are the only 787’s I want to fly in Y these days. Almost every other airline has their 787’s configured in a masochistic 3-3-3, which has all but killed my enthusiasm for the Dreamliner.

But JAL’s 767s are very good too – probably the nicest 767’s I have flown.

This is the 767 J cabin, with JAL’s latest international business class product. This is a staggered 1-2-1 layout…



The window seats are alternately close to the window or aisle…





Aisle seats are similarly staggered. Seat width is not great…not all that different from Y, but the seat reclines fully flat.





Overall, J cabin ambience looks fine.



Not a match for SQ’s ultra-wide longhaul J products, but with the caveat that I have not experienced this JAL product inflight, I think I would prefer JAL’s staggered J layout to SQ’s current regional J, which is configured in 2-2-2 pairs.

[yflyer]

Back in my comfort zone, i.e. the economy cabin, this is in standard 2-3-2 layout, with JAL’s newest Y product. The overhead bins are 777-style, which makes the cabin look more spacious than early generation 767 overhead bins.

There is a smallish front Y cabin...



...and a very large second Y cabin which extends to the rear of the plane...





Overall, these are comfortable seats, although they are on the firm side. Recline and seat pitch are decent if not outstanding. Only the seat back reclines, the seat cushion does not pivot forward.





IFE is state of the art…widescreen AVOD, although the entertainment selections are slightly limited compared to what SQ and other airlines offer.



There is a USB charging port, and A/C power with a universal socket (Which fits UK 3 pin, US 2 pin etc).

Headphones are the headband type, with the standard headphone mini-plug (Much better than SQ’s hopeless earbuds, which are very poor quality).



The best seats in Y are the front emex row…with massive legroom….



Each seat comes with a fabric pillow and blanket.



Flight time today was about 6 hours…

[yflyer]

Cabin service began with hot towels…



The beverage menu was a card in the seat pocket…



There was no pre-dinner drink service…service commenced with dinner.

No dinner menu was handed out, and I can't remember whether there was a choice of main or not (I suspect there wasn't). I was served chicken and rice.…



Two starters: a ham and cheese salad, as well as a small portion of soba…very generous…



The main was very tasty as well.



A cup of steaming hot miso soup to accompany your meal…this really hit the spot!



Behind the meal cart came the bar/beverage cart. There was white/red wine available in small bottles, as well as soft drinks. I opted for sake to accompany my meal.



Fruit for dessert…



Towards the end of dinner service the cabin crew, all very gracious and attentive, came round with coffee and tea.



This was an excellent Y dinner.

When I flew JL38 some time back, I recall thinking that the meal offering on that flight, a breakfast service, could have been more generous. No such thoughts on this flight: my dinner on JL36 exceeded expectations.

[yflyer]

After dinner, I asked for a glass of whisky on the rocks.



This came with a small pack of assorted rice crackers.



The cabin crew than distributed snacks (A piece of cake)…



…and duty free sales…



That was the extent of inflight service for this sector. For the rest of the flight, pax were left to rest, or explore the IFE or surf internet via wifi.

There was a fairly up-to-date movie selection available…



Including Spectre, the latest installment of the James Bond franchise....



..with Daniel Craig as Bond…



Picture and audio quality were very good.

Inflight wifi was charged by time (And not by data volume…thumbs up to JAL). Pricing was not very cheap, though.





As it was a red-eye, I did not sign up for wifi. If it was a daytime flight, I probably would have.

[yflyer]

One interesting TV program was a feature about an apprentice Japanese chef’s stint at Kikunoi in Osaka…



This program caught my interest as Chef Yoshihiro Murata is on SIA’s culinary panel…



Kikunoi looks like an amazing, if very exclusive, restaurant…







Cabin ambience in the front Y cabin…



And the main Y cabin…



The 767 is noticeably narrower than the 777 or A330, but the 2-3-2 layout meant that the cabin felt spacious and not at all congested.

No amenity kits were handed out, but there were toothbrushes in the bathrooms.



We landed on time in Haneda in the early morning. Overall a very comfortable experience.

[yflyer]

I took the train from Haneda to my hotel, the ANA Intercontinental. This involved changing from the train service to the Tokyo subway (With different tickets for rail and subway). While not seamless, this was a very straightforward trip (helped along with Google Maps).



Haneda is quite near central Tokyo. While a taxi would not have been too expensive, the rail system is great and also very inexpensive.

The ANA Intercontinental Tokyo is a high-rise hotel very centrally located, a short subway ride from Shibuya, and just a few kilometers from the Imperial Palace.



Rooms in this hotel are very good too…











There was a piece of bamboo in the cupboard with the label “Japanese Traditional Foot Massager” which worked quite well for this purpose, too!

[yflyer]

During the week, in between work and meetings, my colleagues and friends brought me for lunch and dinner.

One of our first stops was a restaurant specialising in soba. One soba variation I had never tried before was this one: cold soba which was eaten by dipping it in a bowl of piping hot and concentrated duck broth, with duck meat…this was absolutely delicious…



And after you had the soba, you could add hot soba water (The stock leftover after cooking the soba) into the concentrated duck broth to turn it into a delicious soup. This was a simple, yet very delicious lunch.

And for dinner, a couple of friends brought me to a restaurant, Neboke, which specialised in cuisine from Kochi prefecture, which they termed “Tosa cuisine”.



A small starter hinted at what was to come.



“What’s that?” I asked…

“Whale”, my friend replied…

This restaurant specialised in “Kue” fish…otherwise known as longtooth grouper…a local delicacy…



We ate this tender fish, with a subtle yet distinctive flavour, sashimi style…

A procession of other dishes appeared…seared bonito, fish cake…



…and then this…whale sashimi…



I’ll not comment on the broader issue of consumption of whale meat. There are so many potential culinary battlegrounds where debates rage on about what we, as citizens of earth, should or should not eat: sharks’ fins, foie gras,…the list goes on, but tonight, I was the guest, and my hosts were keen to showcase their culinary heritage. I took a bite…delicious…not all that different from other kinds of sashimi…it tasted rich and smooth…



Our last course was an unusual rice course, similar to sushi but wrapped in a kind of vegetable leaf.



Sake to accompany the meal…



A wonderful dinner…

[yflyer]

And on another day, after yet another intense meeting, my colleagues brought me to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant specialising in unagi, or eel…



An unassuming, homely place, with no menus, just cardboard signs with a list of dishes available that day…



The food itself, though, was superb…

As starters, we had eel innards on a stick…



…followed by eel heads, bones and all…



…it was unclear whether or not the bones could be eaten…I never got a straight answer from my companions…but with enough chewing every part of the eel head was edible…

And then the unagi on rice…



…delicious! Tender, flavourful unagi, with a sweet, rich gravy, on rice…a simple dish, but one that really hit the spot.

On another occasion, my colleagues brought me for lunch at their local sushi joint…



…just another sushi joint? Far from it. Apart from the conveyer belt variety, anyone who deems to call himself a sushi chef in Tokyo holds himself to very high standards – and so do his customers.

While this was not ultra-expensive, or ultra-exclusive, the quality of the sushi was superb.



Everything tasted fresh, perfect proportions of fish and rice, and all of it beautifully presented as well. This was wonderful sushi, and I savoured every piece…

[yflyer]

On one of the last meals of my visit to Tokyo, I also visited Ichiran Ramen. With the memories of lunch at the Osaka branch of Ichiran last year still fresh, I decided that I had to try Ichiran in Tokyo. There was a branch in Shibuya, just a stone’s throw from Tower Records Tokyo, one of the best music/CD stores in the world.

I took a short subway ride from the ANA Intercontinental to Shibuya and walked across the iconic Shibuya crosswalk to to the restaurant, where to my dismay I saw a queue leading out of the restaurant onto the sidewalk…this was such a popular place!



The queue inched along, and I eventually got a place about 20 or so minutes after I began queuing. Ichiran has a unique service concept…some may say it is no-frills or even dehumanizing…I saw it as just a very efficient way to deliver great ramen. This restaurant is an introvert’s dream…

You order from a machine -- no different from many other Japanese ramen shops, but that is where similarities with regular restaurants ends...



You wait for one of the many dining booths to become available. There is an electronic board to indicate when a table becomes available…



While waiting for your seat, you fill up a sheet with your ramen preferences (An English language sheet is available on request)…



You head into your booth…it is just you and your ramen, although the booth partitions can be folded up if you are dining with companions…



There is a passage running between the row of booths, and your ramen is delivered through the small window in front of your booth…that is the extent of your interaction with the service staff.

But what a wonderful bowl of ramen it is…



The ramen has wonderful texture, and the broth is simply outstanding…rich and tasty, with a spicy sauce which you can adjust (or omit) depending on your appetite for a chilli kick.





I also opted for a bowl of rice to have with the remaining ramen stock.



As in Osaka, this was a wonderful meal. Be warned: this ramen is addictive. The stuff is so tasty I headed there for dinner again the next day. Also planning to head there the next time I am in Tokyo!

[yflyer]

The ANA Intercontinental is less than 2km away from the Tokyo Imperial Palace. On the last day of my trip, I headed there for a run.

I passed the National Diet on the way to the Imperial Palace…





The Palace itself has a narrow footpath around it which is very popular with both runners and walkers.



The route around the Palace was beautiful and scenic, made all the more pleasant by the cool weather and bright sunshine…







That said, I thought that the stone wall and moat around Osaka Castle was even more impressive than Tokyo.



The main difference between the castles in Osaka and Tokyo is, of course, that Osaka Castle is now a public park and museum, completely open to the public, whereas Tokyo is still a functioning Imperial Palace, with a security detail on duty and clearly demarcated go/no-go zones.

That point was driven forcefully home, when I went past the stone bollards, and began jogging along the gravel pathway towards the Palace itself, where tourists by the busload were milling around.

As I approached, uniformed security personnel turned their attention to me and sternly admonished me: “No jogging!”. I waved ok and turned round and headed back down the path I came, back to the perimeter, at a slower pace. Another security person repeated loudly, almost shouting, “NO JOGGING!”.

I walked the remaining way to the perimeter.

So it was ok for tourists to walk up close, but folks in sports attire, going at any pace faster than a walk, were not allowed.

Maybe I was showing disrepect, maybe they felt it was rude. In retrospect, perhaps if there were many joggers going right up to the Palace, the stately atmosphere would have been ruined. In any case I did as I was instructed, and walked back to the footpath to continue my run. I do know that I have run right outside the fence at Buckingham Palace in London many times, and no security personnel have paid me any notice.

So running towards the Palace grounds along the main walkway was not allowed, but going around the perimeter was ok. And this was what quite a number of other people were doing. I wasn’t going to let that slightly unpleasant episode ruin my day, and I continued my very scenic circuit of the Palace along the footpath.



I completed one circuit around the Palace, and retraced my steps back to the hotel, for a total of just under 9km.



An invigorating, and very beautiful run. But remember: run around, not towards, the Palace!

[yflyer]

That evening, I caught the hotel shuttle bus to Haneda airport.



Check-in was smooth, and queues at security were short.



I was in the airside area very quickly. I checked out the duty free. As some friends of mine had also noted, there were almost no bottles of Japanese whisky available in the duty free shops in the airport.

Demand for Japanese whisky has shot up so much in recent times. As recently as 2 years ago, you could get a very decent selection of Japanese whisky (Suntory, Nikka etc) in the duty free shops in Haneda. At the duty free store that evening, there was practically none available.

On the bright side, I was aware of this minor whisky crisis, and had earlier picked up a few bottles of Yamazaki 12-Year and Hibiki 17-year at the Yamaya liquor store in Shibuya, at prices less than half what you would pay in Singapore, even after factoring the Singapore liquor duty that you declare and pay using the self-service customs machines on arrival in Changi. You even get your tax deduction right there if you present your foreign passport. The whisky is then sealed in plastic bags, with a tax form that has to be stamped by customs in Haneda. I put the bottles in my checked luggage. And when I presented the tax form to customs after security, he took it without requesting to see the whisky (Which was on its way into the cargo area by then...).

I headed to the JAL Sakura Skyview Lounge (Covered here) before boarding my flight.

Equipment for this flight, JL35, was a 763, the same as my outbound flight.

Flight time was 6 hours and 35 minutes…



As the departure time for this flight was 12.05am, service after take-off consisted of drinks and a snack.

I asked for a gin & tonic, and this came very nicely mixed, with ice and lemon.



A couple of hours prior to arrival, cabin lights were turned on and breakfast was served.

[yflyer]

This was a full hot breakfast, and quite possibly was the best Y breakfast I have ever had on a plane…



Apart from cut fruit, there were two different appetisers, both very fine…



The main course which was a miracle of flavour and composition…how did the catering team at JAL manage to put so much into one casserole, and still ensure that each item tasted so good?



There was a full omelette, a sausage, beans in tomato and diced vegetables done ratatouille-style, on a bed of fluffy yellow rice. A marvel.



It even came with a sheet of paper under the stiff aluminium foil cover, presumably to ensure the ingredients didn’t stick to the aluminum.



And inside the omelette, a soft creamy filling…tastier than many omelettes I have been served in hotels on the ground! How did they manage that?



Full marks for JAL’s breakfast! And maybe bonus credit too!

Coffee and tea, served in paper cups…



Beer and wine were also available, although I am not sure how many takers there were, given that this was early in the morning…



We made our final approach and landing into Changi just as dawn was breaking…





Overall an excellent flight on JL from HND to SIN, well up to the standards set on my outbound sector.

[yflyer]

Final thoughts?

Tokyo is always an amazing place to visit, and every time I go there I discover something new. There are also so many options when choosing flights to Tokyo, and JAL has a very competitive offering on this sector. Of course so does SQ.

How does SQ compare on Japanese sectors?

I would still rate SQ’s newer Y products on the A380 / A330 and 77W’s superior to JAL, but JAL’s new 767 Y is better than SQ’s refurbished 777’s.

In terms of catering, SQ offers more choices than JAL, with a more international menu, but my impression from these flights is that JAL’s Y catering matches, and maybe even pips, SQ. Certainly the western breakfast on JAL is better than anything I have had on SQ or any other carrier for that matter.

So we are spoilt for choice for flights from Singapore to Tokyo. SQ does a great job, and as you can see from this TR, so does JAL. I’ve not flown ANA, but that is also on my list of carriers to try in the near future.

Thanks for reading!

[CarbonMan]

Next time you head to Tokyo, do consider trying out the 1-star Michelin Ramen - Tsuta.

They open at 11am but they start giving out queue numbers at 7.30am (to get a seat for lunchtime). The last time I went, they had already run out of queue numbers for the day by noon. Has to be one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants around - for under 1,000 yen.

An excellent TR again, yflyer!