As I write this after I have left Japan, I can’t help but think what a wonderful start this trip was. I hadn’t been back to Asia in year, six to be exact. Many of my friends had said that much of Singapore had changed, and I honestly could not imagine the differences until I got here. However, Japan was always a place that was close to my heart, and it made me incredibly happy to return. Tip: Look into doing a “multi-city trip” when booking tickets, especially with the layover in a transfer city. Considering that we had to transfer in Narita anyway, I thought to do a 4-day extension. It only ended up to be an extra $140 from the round-trip ticket to Singapore!
Our first blessing came at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport. One of the most busiest airports in the world, it now has a new international terminal. We initially had a transfer in Los Angeles which required us to be at the airport at 7am in the morning. However, Delta had overbooked all L.A. flights that day and the attendant asked us if we were willing to wait 4 more hours and give up our L.A. leg of the trip. The tradeoff was a direct flight to Narita…on business class. Thank you Jesus!
If you haven’t flown on business class before, I pray that you do at some point in your life. But more importantly, I hope that you get to do it on a long international flight, like one to Asia. I honestly will find it incredibly difficult to go back, but I think that God prepared this way for us as we hit Japan pretty hard once we got there. And when I say “hard” I mean, we toured and sight-saw on our own in full force from dawn to dusk, literally.
The thing that I appreciate most about flying business class is not the meals but the bed. It is most truly…a bed. The seat can recline completely into a 180-degree flatbed which makes it incredibly easy to sleep. In addition, the seats are more spacious and individualized. Moreover, they give you two Westin hotel pillows as well as a Westin twin comforter. A comforter. I have never felt so snuggled and comfortable on a plane in my life!
The meal plan on business class is really extensive. Admittedly, the best part is having all these choices but more importantly, all the water and snacks that you could want. Even if the food is not to your liking (which is really difficult to do because it seriously is on a different level compared to economy), you have seriously so many drinks to guzzle, there’s no way that you could be starving at any point in time. I actually got to eat Morbier cheese on this flight!
shrimp appetizer
entree 1: pork
entree 2: black cod
It’s definitely something to work toward to. I have a friend who is trying to save up as many miles on Delta as possible so that him and his wife will be able to do their “around the world” travel ticket on business class. It’s over 200k miles, but if they can afford to take the time off to go around the world, I applaud them.
Keep tuned in for more of my adventures to Asia!
R/g
Rammiegirl 2.0 
Looks like a great trip. Keep those posts coming, Vera! 🙂 Oh, and the black cod looks delicious and special.
It was! I’ve found that the Japanese like to use black cod quite frequently. Super tasty and not that fishy compared to sea bass. xox*
I’ve never flown in business class, but it sounds so fancy and actually comfortable! The food looks fancy too! Looking forward to reading more about your adventures 🙂
this was my second time I believe? Both times were upgrades because the connecting flights were overbooked so it was easier for them to upgrade someone than to rebook another person for a different flight that could also possibly be overbooked as well. Definitely a blessing as it is too expensive to buy!