I awoke on my last day in Japan at 06:30 on Thursday morning. Since I was flying west, this was equivalent to 22:30 the previous night, and I would be effectively staying up for 24 hours. I checked out of Aizuya Inn for the last time, and walked to Minami-Senju, getting the familiar route to Tokyo station.
Joban line, 0723 Minami-Senju to Ueno
Yamanote line, c0740 Ueno to Tokyo
At Tokyo station, I went to the ticket desk to reserve a seat for the Narita Express at 08:00. By this stage it was 07:50, and while it was a bit tight I knew I could make it. By the time I got to a window it was 07:54, and the guy, who didn't speak any English, indicated that I needed 15 minutes to get to the platform. I knew I didn't, and I wanted to be in the airport good and early given I wasn't sure what I'd have to do with my booking given that I'd had to change it over the phone. But he insisted, and so he gave me a reservation for the next Narita Express at 08:30.
Fed up, I headed directly for the Narita Express platforms anyway, and sure enough I was at platform 4 for 07:59, and the 08:00 train still waiting. I showed one of the platform staff my seat reservation, and they waved me on to the train, saying "change it on board". So I got on, and stood for about 20 minutes waiting for the conductor; I said "I think I may have got the wrong train", to which he responded with an understanding "Ah!", tapped at his machine, and said "Find an empty seat, and sit down".
I understand why the guy at the ticket desk thought it was a bit tight, and I wish I'd known enough Japanese to insist that I could have made it. I do think 15 minutes is far too long to walk through the station to get to the Narita Express platforms, though; and he can't have been saying that you can't make reservations less than 15 minutes before departure, because that's simply not true (I'd done it three times previously!). I guess he was only doing his job, and it all worked out alright in the end; still, it was the only black mark against an otherwise perfect operation by the Japanese Railways.
Narita Express #11, 0800 Tokyo to Narita T1, arr 0901
Having eaten some breakfast on the train, I headed to departures to check in for my flight. ANA had introduced self check-in machines for the first time at Narita that morning; while there was a bit of a queue to check in, it all seemed to be going very smoothly, and I used the machine without any problem at all. (I bet you if it had been Heathrow it would have been an absolute nightmare on the first day!)
What's more, the machine coped with my altered booking without any hassle whatsoever; I got a printed receipt of the changed intinerary with my boarding card, but other than that it was completely normal. I headed through security and immigration to the gate, where I found myself in the same part of Narita that I'd used three weeks earlier (on Day 2) while connecting to Beijing. I even used the same computer to check my emails.
All of ANA's boarding gates at Narita are pretty close together: on the way from London to Beijing, I arrived at gate 55, and departed from gate 54; arriving in Tokyo from Beijing I arrived at gate 56; and I left Tokyo to head home from gate 57. I had originally been booked on a Virgin Atlantic flight on Saturday (VS901), on an ANA codeshare, which would have meant flying home on an A340; as it was, however, I was in another ANA Boeing 777:
Flight NH201: 1135 Tokyo Narita T1S to Heathrow T3 arr 1600
Operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA), using a Boeing 777
Pushback 1137, wheels-up 1159, wheels-down 1535, on stand 1547
NH201 ranks as one of the best flights I have ever been on, even if it was a bit confusing. We took off, and they served lunch. After that, they turned the cabin lights down and let us sleep (even though it was broad daylight outside). About three hours before landing, they woke us up, and served... lunch.
The first lunch was again two options: the 'western' option was a classic seafood chowder, but not being a fan of seafood I went for the more 'Japanese' option of a pork cutlet with rice. It was nice, but it was glazed in a strange, gloopy, brown sauce which was quite sweet, and burnt in places. Again there was some sort of inedible salad with it, as well as a few pieces of fruit for dessert. It wasn't the worst meal I've had on an aeroplane, but it wasn't the best either. The second lunch, served over western Sweden, was much better, if lacking in quantity: it consisted of a burger, which was excellent if a little small, a creme caramel, and some kind of salad.
I had a right-hand window seat, and the views were stunning. Not only was Japan fairly clear for the climbout - in which I got some good views of Niigata, on the northern coast of Japan - but the views of Sweden and Denmark were pretty good too. The pièce de resistance, though, was the approach to Heathrow: we flew in a standard Lambourne approach to 27R, with no circling. While this is a perfectly standard route, I hadn't flown it before, and it was a beautifully clear day over London, with very little cloud or haze to block the view.
We came in near enough due west over north London, just south of (and roughly parallel to) the M25, turning in a sweeping left turn through 135 degrees over NW London (roughly Edgware or Potters Bar), headed south-east, and then did a sweeping right turn through 135 degrees just east of Tower Bridge. I got some stunning views of central London, particularly of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, but also of the City, of St Pancras and King's Cross, of Buckingham Palace, and of Hyde Park.
We landed 25 minutes ahead of schedule, and arrived on stand in Terminal 3 in good time. I instantly knew I was back in England: not only did one of the escalators not work, but there was an interminable walk from the gate to immigration and baggage reclaim. (Both Beijing Capital and Tokyo Narita airports were very efficient, despite being huge.) Nevertheless, I made it through immigration, retrieved my bag (which was waiting for me), and exited the arrivals hall four minutes after booked arrival time. Pretty damn good for Heathrow.
I walked with my bag to Terminal 1 to catch my connection over to Belfast. As it turned out I could perhaps have made an earlier flight, but I didn't want to risk it, so I ended up with three hours in Terminal 1 to kill. Annoyingly in all the WH Smith outlets in the terminal I couldn't find a single copy of Private Eye or Rail, so I had to make do with less interesting reading material for the flight home.
I checked in, used the internet to check my emails and catch up with a few people, and eventually headed through security. Once I was through to the huge departures hall, I looked around a bit before getting a pizza in one of the restaurants, which was really good; I hadn't realised just how hungry I'd been since getting off the flight.
Flight BD92: 1935 London Heathrow T1 to Belfast City, arr 2055
Operated by British Midland International (BMI), using an Airbus A319
Pushback 1947, wheels-up 2001, wheels-down 2052, on stand 2055
My flight ended up boarding ten minutes late, due to a late inbound, but we got away very promptly and made our take-off slot. I discovered on board that, in rearranging my flight, I had ended up in flexible economy, and so I could have some free food - which was somewhat superfluous after the big pizza. I had some shortbread and a drink, and went to the toilet. While in the toilet the captain announced "ladies and gentlemen, we'll shortly be commencing our descent..."; it took me a moment to remember that this was a short-haul flight!
I met my dad at the airport, and we went straight to my granny's house. It was good to be home, and I am very glad I got home in time for my grandpa's funeral on the Saturday. While that, in some ways, tarnished the memory of the holiday, the timing could have been a lot worse, and sacrificing two days' holiday for the sake of being able to say goodbye to my grandpa was a sacrifice well worth making.
No comments:
Post a Comment