The Hardest Part of Traveling... Is Getting There

DAY -> ORD -> HND -> HAN

Yesterday, we flew out of O’hare in Chicago, USA (ORD) to Tokyo International Airport, Haneda (HND), on All Nippon Airways (ANA). Just WOW. Never have I ever had such a good experience while flying international (or domestic for that matter, LOL). Japan, in general, is one of the more forward-thinking societies, constantly thinking how best to utilize and allocate available resources for the most proper allocation thereof.

All Nippon Airways Flight to Tokyo

Firstly, check out this plane. Very stately. Super thought this was a pretty cool shot so he snapped one out the window just to the left of our seats in the airport. As we boarded and got to our seats, you would have thought we were flying business class, but really, we were just flying economy. The amount of leg room was twice what I am normally used to, the overall cleanliness from appearance was off the charts, and they even gave you a nice headset for listening to music or watching movies. Not just a cheap-o pair of throwaways that won’t even stay in your ears when you hit a patch of turbulence. Oh, and not to mention, a hermetically sealed pillow and blanket for the long flight ahead.

The flight attendants were all Japanese women, dressed to impress in their kimono-like attire. Nothing but respect – Sumimasen!!

Sumimasen is the all-encompassing word in Japanese ranging from thank you, to greetings, to excuse me – learn this one if you ever go to Japan as an FYI.

We took off and not even 15 minutes later we were being handed hot steamed towelettes for our hands and face. Much needed. 10 minutes later, the beverage chart was around. I had myself this fancy Japanese beer.

Premium Japanese Beer

Honestly, it was probably one of the better beers I have ever had up there with one of my sentimental favorites – The Jamaican brewed Red Stripe. So much so, that 10 minutes later when the first meal came around, I had myself another! By the way – free of charge. The meals were actually pretty decent for alleged “airplane food.” I was planning to fast a while to try to reset my digestive system to help with the jet lag, but when I saw the options – Shrimp Sauteed Curry or Beef Stroganoff – I couldn’t’ help but go for the Shrimp curry, which also came with an assortment of side dishes as well. Yum.

Irie Japanese Airplane Meal

Quick side note on the topic of Red Stripe. If you haven’t already, check out my recent JAHMin Reggaesteem Poem – A Red Stripe Edition. I’m sure you all, at least on reggaesteem, are well aware of my sentimental connections with the island of Jamaica.

I hadn’t even finished my meal (I eat rather quickly, or so I thought), and the beautiful Japanese flight attendants were back around handing out mini-ice creams. Not just any ice cream either, they were passing out some high quality Haagen-dazs. Talk about some special treatment! And, this was all within the first hour and a half of the flight. I could go on and on, but I think you guys get the point. There’s nothing like flying in class, especially when the flight is 14 hours long.

Vanilla Haagen-Dazs

As my dad always says, “the hardest part about traveling… is getting there.” All Nippon Airways, however, made this phrase a little less true.

Disclaimer:

I will be continually promoting the ReggaeSteem tribe over the course of this trip, even if the content is not directly related to Jamaican/Caribbean content. I will refrain from using #reggaesteem and #jahm tags, of course, unless the content directly pertains. @super-irie and I will be searching out any irie shops or food joints when at all possible to post about on reggaesteem.io. The point is to get as many eyes outside of ReggaeSteem on the project as possible. We have a lot of irie stuff out n about already and plenty more that you won't want to miss.

If you haven't already, come join Us on ReggaeSteem today!

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@conradsuperb's onboarding project to help newcomers from the Caribbean get a 'head start', if you want a free JAHM delegation click HERE

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Respect,

@conradsuperb