Airbus A350XWB - Go Buy One

Airbus has a new website out promoting the A350 XWB.  The first one is being assembled and flight testing should start next year.  It looks like a great jet to fly and United has some early orders placed.  I'm excited.

A319 - A Smaller Sibling of the A350

ANA 777-300 Business Class Flight Tokyo to LAX

After my amazing stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, it was time to return home.  The Narita Express was on time and check in was a breeze.  Narita airport (NRT) has some great duty free stores and I was excited to check them out.  Unfortunately, the strong Yen took all the fun out of duty shopping in Tokyo.  If it were 100:1, the prices would be great, but at 80:1 I didn’t find any deals.  I did spend my leftover money on some Hello Kitty stuff for my niece, she liked it.  

ANA 777-300 NRT-LAX

After shopping, I went lounge hopping.  First stop was the United Club.  The lounge is huge, bigger than any in the USA.  They had lots of yummy sushi (for a westerner) and a draught beer machine that pours a perfect pint.  Next up, thanks to Priority Pass form the Palladium Card, was the Korean Air lounge.  It was small and nicely decorated, good liquor, but limited food items.  Finally I visited the ANA business class lounge.  I might have been the only westerner in the place.  The lounge is large and had some good views of the field.  The snacks were more Japanese in focus, but I still enjoyed a few sushi rolls and beer.

ANA Business Class Lounge Tokyo - NRT

United Club Tokyo - NRT

I left the lounge in time to make it to the gate before boarding started.  I was really excited to fly the 777-300 (my first trip on the stretched model), fly with ANA (first time in their care), and experience a new business class (new to me and the world).  I was such an excited nerd; I even wore a Boeing t-shirt.  The seats are great.  They are in an offset staggered layout, so no one is next to you.  It feels very private and is exceptionally quiet.  The seat is a little narrow and maybe 5’10’’ long when flat.  I’m 5’10’’ so it felt a little cramped.  I was also the tallest person I saw, so I guess these were designed with the home market in mind.  The TV is large and had a good selection of movies, more than enough to keep me entertained over the Pacific.  ANA doesn’t hand out amenity kits, but has slippers waiting at your seat.  There is a basket of goodies at the small lounge in the rear of business class with eye masks, ear plugs, lotions, and a few other items.  A fun observation is the lavatories have a built in bidet system like on Japanese toilets (I didn’t try it out).  Every seat in business class was booked, but it didn't feel crowded.

ANA 777-300 Business Class Seat

ANA 777-300 business Class Flat Seat

Forward Business Class Cabin ANA 777-300

ANA 777 Business Class Leg Room

ANA Business Class Seat Storage Area

The meal and drink service started shortly after takeoff.  I opted for the western meal and a martini.  The meal was very good, but the steak was outstanding.   After the meal service ends, flight attendants won’t come by unless you ring the call button (a different method than US carriers), but they are quick to respond and friendly (again, different from US carriers).  There is a list of meals and snacks available any time on demand.  I went for a breakfast cheese burger instead of the omelet.  I also got a cheese plate to add some Roquefort cheese to the burger and try to replicate the best burger ever at The Spotted Pig in New York.  It still didn’t compare, but was still good.

ANA Business Class Western Appetizers

Delightful Steak Tender and Tasty 

Fun and Tasty Parfait Dessert 

Roquefort Cheese Snack - ANA Business Class

ANA Cheese Burger Snack, Add Some Roquefort

Once on the ground at LAX, it was a lengthy taxi to the gate, then a breeze through customs (the American citizen line was fast at least).  An earlier flight to Denver was boarding, so added my name to standby and grabbed a quick bourbon and Coke at the United Club.  I went back to the gate and waited.  I was the only standby to clear and got an exit row seat.  I was happy to trade first class for 3 fewer hours at LAX.

ANA Boeing 777-300 First Class

Here is a picture of the new ANA first class suites on the 777-300.  They exist in real life, but not for miles redemption so this was the only view I had.  The seat looked huge and every one was booked too.

ANA 777-300 First Class Seat

Good Chase Credit Card Sign Up Bonus

I am NOT compensated by Chase for this post.  

I don't want to be one of those bloggers that pushes credit cards ad nauseum to try and make a buck.  I just thought this is a good deal worth sharing.  

I applied for the Chase Ink Bold card this week to grab the $500 bonus on the card after spending $3,000.  I have enough United miles for now and cash is still more versatile.  If you don't think you have a business, you're wrong.  Firstname Lastname Consulting (or Photography/Racing/etc.) is a Sole Proprietor business with your SSN as the tax ID.  No fee for the first year and no reason to keep it a second.

https://www.chase.com/online/business-credit-cards/ink-business-credit-cards.htm

Happy Travel Daydreams

Park Hyatt Tokyo Review and Tourist Views on Tokyo

As part of my new ‘travel without doing any actual research’ initiative, I’ve been basing my plans on tourist cards, with good success, and movies, with limited success.  I decided to base my trip to Tokyo on Lost In Translation, it’s a good movie (on Netflix) and a much better depiction of modern Tokyo than Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo or MacArthur.  I had done a little research in 2011 when I booked a $700 round trip on United.  The earthquake struck the morning I was scheduled to depart, so my plans were put on hold while my Yen appreciated. 

Room With A View, Room 4303

Many scenes in Lost In Translation are set at the Park Hyatt Tokyo so, with some help from my dad’s Hyatt points, I booked a room.  This turned out to be an excellent idea.  The Park Hyatt is one of the best hotels, if not the best, I’ve ever visited.  The rooms are large (huge by Japanese standards) and the service is impeccable.  There is standard twice daily housekeeping and they even fill up the ice bucket (with Scotch bar quality ice cubes too).  The staff was very courteous and the facilities top notch.  I asked for a room with a view facing the city and got a room on the 43^rd floor so I could do my Lost In Translation picture.

Park Hyatt Tokyo Two Queen Bed Room

Park Hyatt Tokyo Bathroom Tub

My Toilet's Control Panel

Tokyo is like New York, just without a grid system.  It’s big, expensive, most people don’t speak English well, and disgustingly hot in the summer.  It has a great skyline, a few parks and temples, and the gardens at the Imperial Palace.   The gardens are my favorite place in Tokyo.  They are large, immaculately maintained, and free.  They are beautiful and relaxing.  I just sat on a bench for 20 minutes at one point and just watched the world go by.  I loved it.

Tsukiji Fish Market - Long Lines and High Prices

Imperial Palace Gardens Tokyo

Imperial Palace Gardens and Tokyo Skyline

Tokyo Skyline

It's best not to play 'guess what sound this made?' or 'what sea creature was this?' while eating in Japan.  I was a little adventurous on my flight to Tokyo and enjoyed the eel and other odd things served.  Once on the ground, I was much less daring.  I went to McDonald’s twice.  I did try some street food and it was good and looked like chicken.  I also went to the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.  I had one of my top three burgers (and by far most expensive) ever.  I got there before the band started and enjoyed the sun set.  

New York Bar Cheese Burger  ~$60

New York Bar - Park Hyatt Tokyo

Mega McMuffin - It's Amazing

I'm Not Sure What It Is, But It's Only Y500

I really liked the new buildings and unique modern architecture of Tokyo, so enjoy a few more pictures.

Park Hyatt Tokyo - Floors 39 to 52

Sun Rise in the Land of the Rising Sun

Fun Travel Brochures

I enjoy receiving mail, even what most people would consider junk mail, so this post might not be for everyone.  My favorite types of mail get me day dreaming about something, and nothing does it better than a travel brochure.  Here are some links to sign up for some great brochures: 

• Intrepid (affordable):  Register an account with Intrepid Travel to gain access to free trips, contests, newsletters and more today!
• Travoca (crazy expensive):  http://www.travcoa.com/about-us/request-a-brochure
• Austin-Lehman (normal expensive): http://www.austinlehman.com/request-a-catalog-pages-621.php
• Norther Norway:  http://www.visitnorway.com/us/Brochures/Catalogue-us/
• Iceland:  http://www.icelandtouristboard.com/index.php?page=orderform
• Butterfield & Robinson (pricey): http://www.butterfield.com/our-brochure/request-a-brochure/

So Many Destinations, So Little Time

Yes, some of those tour companies are ridiculously expensive.  The point of reading their brochures is to inspire and create new ideas, not to plunk down $10K on a week long trip.

Clear Airport Security Line Promotion Sale Code

CLEAR is running a promotion for a 6 month membership for $29.  CLEAR is the airport security lane fast lane pass that works at DEN, SFO, DFW, and MCO.  I like it because I can count on it taking less than 2 minutes for the ID check.  DEN's TSA is especially bad, taking anywhere from 2 minutes to 20 minutes to check IDs and you can never plan on when the short times are, so I would have to show up expecting the full 20 minutes if I didn't use CLEAR.  The TSA experience is still slow, but this removes one touch point and 20 minutes of variability. 

CLEAR Promotion Details