• Siewch

Singapore & Tokyo | 2024

Family visit + my 14th and 15th Tokyo layovers. Read more
  • Trip start
    October 12, 2024

    Honolulu to Tokyo Narita

    October 12, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    All Nippon Airways NH183 | HNL/NRT
    Economy Class
    Airbus A380-800 | JA381J
    ATD/1125 | ATA/1413+1

    When I was planning this trip, I found a very reasonably priced Business Class fare on Malaysia Airlines from Narita to Singapore thanks to the weak yen. This in turn meant I needed to find my way to Narita to connect to and from the flights I had booked. Unfortunately, Japan Airlines, which is my go to carrier on this route, wasn't cheap for the days I needed to travel. So, I decided to book myself on ANA's A380 for the novelty factor.

    A little bit of background is in order here. ANA has a small (and I am sure suboptimal) fleet of only three A380s which they inherited from their acquisition of Skymark. They decided to dedicate these three jets to their Narita-Honolulu route and paint them in turtle liveries - one blue, one green, and one orange. I cannot imagine they are making a profit on these flights as the four engine A380 is expensive to operate and Tokyo-Honolulu is a leisure heavy route. Their utilization must also be poor as they have three aircraft dedicated to a twice daily service; I calculate their utilization per aircraft to be about 10 hours per day.

    Up until now, I had only flown once on the A380 (on Qantas) and I figured I should fly this A380 while I still could, as many airlines are retiring their A380 fleets prematurely due to poor operating economics.

    Arriving at HNL on Saturday, I spied my ride from a distance - I would be riding the blue turtle A380. The A380 is a very quiet and smooth ride, and I enjoyed my flight. I was pleasantly surprised to be served a very substantial meal with a main, an appetizer, salad, soba, fruit, ice cream, and a bread roll. In fact, I think this is the largest meal I have ever seen in Economy Class. Before arrival, we were served a snack box consisting of a tuna croissant, yoghurt, and a cookie. The flight was roughly 60% full in economy class.
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  • Narita Omotesando

    October 13, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    I had a seven hour layover before my flight to Kuala Lumpur that evening. I decided to spend my layover exploring Narita Town. In reality, though, I knew I only had about three hours of daylight to explore, so as soon as I cleared immigration, I headed to the Keisei station to take the local train to Narita.

    I arrived at Narita station just after 3pm. My plan was to make my way down the shopping street (also known as Omotesando), look at potential dinner venues en route, and make the most of the remaining daylight to explore the temple and the park next to it. As I walked down the hill, I made a mental note of the unagi restaurants as they are a specialty of the area. Along the way, I allowed myself a quick diversion to eat a soft serve ice cream.
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  • Naritasan Shinsho-ji

    October 13, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    My main sightseeing goal was to visit the Naritasan Shinsho-ji. The complex is situated at the end of the Omotesando, and it is a grand complex of about a dozen historic buildings, some of which are over a thousand years old. I explored some of the temple grounds, then I wandered into the Naritasan Park (see next post) before wandering back into the temple complex because I realized I missed a substantial part of it. The temple complex was spectacular, but the collection of buildings did seem a little disparate.

    I exited the temple complex a little past 5pm. As I walked back up the Omotesando, I realized to my dismay that the unagi restaurants I wanted to check out were closing for the day. I felt a little discouraged when all I could procure was a sweet potato snack. But, as I approached the train station, I noticed more bright lights. I ducked into a very local ramen place and had a morale boosting bowl of noodles before heading back to the airport.
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  • Tokyo Narita to Kuala Lumpur

    October 13, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Malaysia Airlines MH71 | NRT/KUL
    Business Class
    Airbus A330-300 | 9M-MTN
    ATD/2224 | ATA/0507+1
    Lounge: JAL First Class Lounge

    Returning to the airport after my ramen dinner, I made a beeline for the JAL First Class lounge where I took a shower. I then had a sushi snack before relaxing for a bit and then making my way to the gate.

    Once on board, Audrey and her team warmly welcomed me and they provided excellent service during the flight. I had a good sleep before arrival into a cloudy Kuala Lumpur.
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  • Kuala Lumpur to Singapore

    October 14, 2024 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Malaysia Airlines | MH 601
    Business Class
    Boeing 737-800 | 9M-MXT
    ATD/0745 | ATA/0852
    Lounge: Platinum Lounge, Satellite Terminal

    Arriving into KUL a little past 5am, I made my way to the Platinum Lounge - Malaysia Airlines' lounge for OneWorld Emeralds - for my 2.5 hour layover.

    The Platinum Lounge is very quiet and it was a nice, relaxing space. However, there were two major design issues. The first was lack of universal power sockets and USB outlets. The second was there were only three toilet/shower stalls, and no additional toilets apart from the showers. There was a constant line of people waiting to use the toilets.

    I took a shower after a short wait. After my shower, I waited a few minutes for the dining room to open at 6am, at which time I had a nasi lemak and teh tarik. After eating, I relaxed for a bit before making my way to the gate.

    The flight to Singapore was quick and pleasant. We had a choice or murtabak or a tuna sandwich. I am always amazed that Malaysia Airlines manages to serve a hot snack on this short flight.
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  • Peranakan Museum

    October 16, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    I visited the Peranakan Museum with my mother and sister. There was a special exhibit at the museum featuring three women batik stylists from Indonesia. At the exhibit, we also had a chance to digitally generate a batik style based on our preferences, and we were each given a souvenir bookmark of our preferred batik.

    Apart from batik, we also admired the intricate arts and crafts on display, in particular ornate beadwork known as manik kusut, which my mother used to make when her eyesight was better.

    This was a very worthwhile excursion for me as I am half Peranakan. I really enjoyed learning a little bit more about my heritage.
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  • Rifle Range Nature Park

    October 16, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    When I was young, I used to cycle to Rifle Range Road, lock the bike, and hike around the area. The area has since been turned into a nature park and is part of the island wide park connector network.

    I explored the area one afternoon. It was a pleasant walk, but a tad overly curated. The walk ended in a viewpoint at the top of a cliff that used to be part of a quarry. After that, I walked back to my mother’s condo on the rail corridor.
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  • Former Ford Factory

    October 18, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    The former Ford Factory is a preserved art deco building located next to my mother's condo. It is the site where General Percival surrendered Singapore to General Yamashita in 1942, and it currently houses artifacts related to the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent occupation of Singapore by Japan.

    I had visited this museum previously and this time I took my mother there. I was a little nervous about whether this visit would bring up too many bad memories for her (she was a child during the Japanese occupation) but I also felt it might be healthy for her to view the exhibits and talk about her childhood. She recalled some unpleasant memories like her family's retreat from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore as the Japanese advanced down the Malay Peninsula, seeing Japanese troops stick bayonets into mattresses in case there were people hiding inside the mattresses, and seeing a man hanging from a tree. Food was also short and she recalled having to line up for hours for rations. But, interspersed with this were less negative memories such how she spent the last of her Japanese currency (they called it "banana money" because there were bananas on the notes) before the British returned. As it turned out, she ran to the nearest store and spent the last of her banana money on preserved plums.

    All in all, this was a good excursion and I think it was healthy for my mother to talk about her childhood during a traumatic time for Singapore.
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  • Bukit Timah Hill

    October 18, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    I went on one of my usual hikes up Singapore's tallest peak - all 163 meters of it. This time round, I stuck with the service road instead of taking the side trails because I figured the trails would be muddy or slippery with the recent heavy rain.Read more

  • Singapore to Kuala Lumpur

    October 18, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Malaysia Airlines MH608 | SIN/KUL
    Business Class
    Boeing 737-800 | 9M-MXW
    ATD/1830 | ATA/1935
    Lounge : SATS Premier Lounge

    My sister and mother accompanied me to the airport. We wandered around Jewel viewing the waterfall and indoor garden for a while, and then I made my way to Terminal 2 for my flight. I made a quick pitstop at the lounge for a small bowl of laksa before heading to the gate. I declined the inflight snack on this short flight.Read more

  • Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo Narita

    October 19, 2024 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Malaysia Airlines MH88 | KUL/NRT
    Business Class
    Airbus A350-900 | 9M-MAC
    ATD/2332 | ATA/0721+1
    Lounge: Malaysia Airlines Platinum Lounge

    Another great flight with Malaysia Airlines. My only complaint was that they woke us up for breakfast 2.5 hours before arrival, which is way too early. I even managed another 1.5 hours sleep after eating.

    Malaysia Airlines' Business Class hard product isn't industry leading, but it had the basics right. I cannot wait to experience them again after they retrofit their widebodies with new seats.
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  • Narita Round II

    October 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    My plan for this layover was to visit the Museum of Aeronautical Sciences and Sora No Yu onsen, both located just southeast of the airport. However, my flight arrived early, and I unexpectedly cleared immigration in no time, which left me in the arrivals hall with more than two hours to spare before the 10am opening time for both the museum and the onsen.

    I didn't want to wait in the arrivals hall for two hours, so I decided to hop onto the train to Narita - which is west of the airport - in the hope that the sweet potato street food stalls may be open. I snacked at one of them on my earlier layover and I was hooked.

    When I reached the omotesando in Narita, it was clear that the sweet potato stalls were not open. But, the sky was a brilliant blue and so I decided to revisit the temple to take some photos. They turned out very nicely.

    After about an hour, I headed back to the station to take the 9.40am bus to the aeronautical museum.
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  • Museum of Aeronautical Sciences

    October 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    I took the 9.40am bus from the JR train station bound for Narita Airport. The bus took a scenic drive along the western perimeter of the airport before depositing me at the museum just after their opening time.

    The museum turned out to be a fun little detour and a great way to spend two hours or so. The first exhibition hall displayed a B747 classic wingtip, a cross section of a B747 (the last time I saw something like this was at the Bangkok Aircraft Graveyard!), and a display on how a jet engine works. The second floor was dedicated to Narita Airport. The fourth floor featured a restaurant with runway views, and the top floor was set up to resemble a control tower, also with a view of the airport. There, I saw 9M-MAC, which had transported me to Narita as MH88, takeoff on its return journey to Kuala Lumpur as MH89.

    Outside the museum building is a small field with a number of aircraft and helicopters on display.
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  • Narita Peace Pagoda

    October 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    While I was at the viewing platform of the Museum of Aeronautical Sciences, a white stupa on the next lot caught my eye. I popped in there while waiting for the bus to take me to the onsen. When I got to the stupa, my suspicions were confirmed: this stupa is built in the Sri Lankan style. I learned that it is called the Narita Peace Pagoda, and it is a symbol of the fragile truce between the local population and Narita airport.

    After visiting this pagoda, I took the local bus to Sora No Yu onsen nearby.
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  • Tokyo Narita to Honolulu

    October 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Hawaiian Airlines HA822 | NRT/HNL
    Business Class
    Airbus A330-200 | N388HA Nahiku
    ATD/1944 | ATA/0759
    Lounge: Sakura Lounge

    I used miles to book this flight. Unfortunately, I could not check in online.

    I returned to Narita Airport after a relaxing couple of hours at Sora No Yu onsen. Arriving at the check in counters, I saw a very long queue for check in. It looked as if no one could check in online. Thankfully, the Business Class counter did not have much of a queue and I got processed relatively quickly. As it turned out, I had to fill in a form by hand. If this was the reason why online check in was not allowed, then it is an easy fix which would avoid a lot of annoyance.

    The flight itself was fine. I appreciated the speed at which Hawaiian served the main meal; I was fast asleep a little over an hour after takeoff! They also served a small breakfast 90 minutes before arrival which I really appreciated. The hard product, though, is far from industry leading. I hope to have an opportunity to try their new B787 Business Class when they join the OneWorld alliance.
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    Trip end
    October 20, 2024