randomwisdom.com

Well I made it back to America for Christmas. I got up at 7:30am, missed the bus to Sendai (which didn't stop for me, that bastard) and took a taxi to Furukawa instead. Then I took the bullet train from there all the way into Ueno (Tokyo) and mailed my New Year's cards before hopping on the Keisei line train and arriving at the airport about 2 hours before my flight.

This time I flew ANA instead of United. The latter is the standard U.S. carrier flying Boeing 747-400's between Tokyo and Los Angeles, and the former is the standard Japanese carrier flying the newer 777. Since both airlines are part of something called "Star Alliance", the tickets are the same price either way, so I asked specifically for the ANA flight.

Obviously the 777 is better in terms of legroom and movies (played on demand from a seatback screen in front of you, rather than on a big projector with people getting up to use the restroom every 20 seconds). But ANA completely trounces United on the service front, too. The food, far from being the typical unappetizing airline fare, was superb. While United usually gives you the standard dry and tasteless "chicken or beef", for dinner ANA served juicy sukiyaki with good rice and fresh vegetables with Haagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert, and a breakfast of yogurt and canned fruit with sausage and hotcakes-- with honest-to-God maple syrup. It probably cost them five bucks extra per customer, but the difference in quality was remarkable. Also, the serving staff were pleasant and efficient throughout the entire flight, and showed courtesy in seemingly minor ways. One that comes to mind is the obligatory "duty free" round about halfway through the flight. Usually about half the passengers are trying to get to sleep around this time, including myself; while the United staff obnoxiously bawls "DUTY FREE! DUTY FREE!" at the top of their lungs, the ANA staff showed enough discretion to say it quietly. As icing on the cake, and I know I shouldn't say this, they were also young and beautiful. It makes a difference whether you want to admit it or not. The combination of ANA's delicious food, better service, and more comfortable airplane makes the United flight look like a big cattle car. C'mon, United, you're making America look bad.

Customs folks were on the ball today, and I got my baggage quickly, giving me plenty of time to recheck it at the Southwest counter and claim my boarding pass... about four hours before boarding. Ugh. So I read a book for awhile but the fatigue was starting to kick in and I couldn't concentrate. A very tall older gentleman came up and started talking to me about the history of the Pacific theatre in World War II. Since I had plenty of time to kill I listened, and actually learned a couple things from a fellow traveler.

Finally got home about 5pm after 20 something hours of travel. We went to a local Mexican restaurant and then visited my grandparents before coming back home. I'm exhausted, and so I think I'm going to sleep now before I collapse on the keyboard.