Bullet Trains, Planes and Automobiles

I have bit the bullet and i need to start somewhere. Lets start with a country famous for bullet… trains in Japan!

A large glass of something cold was poured on the 29th of June 2023 in anticipation of my biggest solo adventure yet. The suitcases were packed waiting in the hall way for an early start the following day. The morning of the 30th arrives bright and beautiful at half 5 for less than an hour journey up the M3 to London Heathrow T5. Thank you as always to my mother for the car ride and the tearful farewell.

British Airways and Iberia are the main users of T5 and today i was flying one of the flag carriers for the United Kingdom, British Airways. Travelling in their older style Business Class for long haul travel called Club World in a very controversial cabin. We’ll break down the BA styles and differences of cabins another day.

In June 2023 the Business Class check in was located at zones H and G. This was towards the furthest right hand side of the terminal next to the first class check in. Towards the end of 2023 this was moved to the opposite end of the terminal at A and B. I was greeted by the lovely blue carpet and was through check in and security sat in the lounge within 40 minutes.

BA don't quite roll out the red carpet for me, but i'll settle for blue!

A glass of Champagne later (maybe even 2!) i was heading off to duty free for some bits and to find my gate. It is worth mentioning at this point that i went from the A gates. If travelling from the A gates you need to catch a bus to the plane and take stairs up to the plane. If you need extra assistance mention it as it is a fair hike up and not for people who struggle.

The older style Club World seats are laid out in what is commonly referred to as a Ying-Yang arrangement. One person facing forwards and one person facing backwards. For the majority of the seats at the window this means climbing over the person in the aisle to get to the bathroom and in return the person in the aisle having the crew lean over them to give the person in the window something. There also seats in the middle of the aircraft which i would avoid at all costs if travelling solo. It is a seat of 4, 2 facing forwards and 2 facing backwards. The seats facing backwards being in the middle of the people facing forwards. Unless you enjoy being in a goldfish bowl, i would prefer to hop to Tokyo. These awkward seats can be avoided with just a little bit of forward planning, but irrespective of planning you’ll always be looking at someone during take off and landing. It is worth mentioning that none of the seats have much storage. If you need to take glasses off to sleep you have no where to put them and can get lodged in the seat controls. You are also unable to have any bags at your seat during take off and landing sitting anywhere in the older cabin.

With forward planning it means that if your aircraft is the 787-9 (more commonly referred to as The Dreamliner) you want to be in the first row of the smaller cabin on either side, or row 13 on either side of the aircraft. If specifically flying in to Haneda airport in Tokyo you want to be sat in row 1 or 13 on the left hand side of the plane for the best chance to see Mount Fuji from the air. Despite sitting in 13A, when it came to landing i didn’t see Fuji due to cloud.

Taking off about 25 minutes late, i was presented with a pre ordered G+T and a menu to decide my dinner. A second hint is when you travel BA from a UK airport always get the curry on the menu. It is always great and very tasty. I followed by own advice and ordered the vegetarian curry, it was delicious. I then had the Chocolate Pudding and despite not being the biggest chocolate fan, this wasn’t too heavy and just as tasty.

I am not the best person to discuss the BA entertainment system. I would much prefer to read a book, listen to music or even watch the inflight map. For the 5 minutes i look at the entertainment, i do know they have one of the largest collections in the sky and if you love TV and film you won’t be disappointed with any BA offering.

My flight number was BA007 and despite not having James Bond to serve up on a plate, the flight crew where excellent and did serve up great customer service. Always send in recommendations for the crew, it helps their career and gives great feedback.

Arriving on to stand at Tokyo Haneda airport at 07:35 am, 1st July 2023. I was one of the first people off the plane, and through a fantastic security experience, stood at luggage collection within half an hour. This was a fair walk from the gate to security and if you have mobility issues, make arrangements in advance. This would be my first example of Japanese efficiency and was only heightened at the luggage carousel where there was an individual making sure the suitcases was placed on the carousel with handle facing outwards. Much easier to grab for anyone and hope one day it’ll be introduced at Heathrow. Hey, no harm in having a dream is there!

Leaving baggage collection, as i was landing early in the morning i didn’t want to fight with the flawless Japanese metro system during the infamous rush hour with 2 suitcases. My hotel was close to the worlds busiest train station which for myself meant choosing an alternative which turned out to be excellent and i cannot recommend enough. This alternative is the Airport Limousine Bus and will be what i use for any future trips to Japan. Very reasonably priced at £7.00*. In Japanese yen it was 1400 Yen.

After exiting the airport through the lift and turning left, i was stood at the bus stop with a fair few other individuals and stood waiting for about 15 minutes. My luggage was tagged by a porter and taken to one side. What i was soon to learn is that everything doesn’t just run on time in Japan it is an insult if it is early or of it is late. The bus arrived in time for the suitcases to be loaded and for the passengers to take our seats and for the bus to depart precisely on time. The transfer took about 45 minutes from the airport to the hotel and took us through all the main areas of Tokyo. After landing from a long haul flight it was like landing on a different planet and was a feast for the eyes and the senses. It was at this stage i realised how hot it was going to be. Despite the cloud cover it was easily 35/95 degrees

The bus dropped me off right outside my hotel at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo. This was the first hotel in Tokyo that was open to foreigners and i was surprised to see all of the BA crew staying here too. This hotel was booked through British airways and if booking a flight and hotel together instead of having to pay for the flight up front you have until 8 weeks to pay for it all. This is true even if staying for 1 night using the hotel option. An under utilised resource in my opinion

.Walking through the glass front doors to stand beneath a beautiful crystal chandler, a lovely check in person came running shouting ‘I’ll carry i’ll carry” and dragged my suitcases away to only be seen in my room again. This was true every time i came back to the hotel, the reception staff would come running and bow. Such friendly individuals and incredibly welcoming. The hotel i cannot recommend enough, but a separate review will come.

Coming from the UK, there are no providers that give 4G or WIFI connectivity across the whole of the country unless you pay an arm and a leg. Prior to arrival in Japan, I had a wifi pack delivered to the hotel and was able to use once set up in my room 10 minutes later. As we go through our Japan trip i will explain about this a bit more.

As a first 36 hours goes on a 3 week trip i think that’s more than enough to contend with. Next time i’ll finish off the day and let you know about my time in Tokyo and the hotel

Take care, thank you for reading my ramblings and enjoy your travels.

Laura.

*Prices correct as of July 2023