Foreword

For the previous articles, please see:

After holding it in for more than a month, Chestnut is back again... I’ve been really busy lately, and I’ve been carrying around this unspeakable frustration... furious enough to blow up!

This trip away from the United States was short to begin with, so the Japan itinerary had to be compressed as much as possible: landed on 8.2, and left on the morning of 8.7... It felt like it ended before I had even had a chance to really explore.

Happy times always pass too quickly. See you next time.

Airport Bus

Because the schedule was too tight, I forgot for several days to pre-book a bus ticket to the airport. Then when I tried to book one on the morning of 8.6, I found that only the early-morning 4 a.m. departure on 8.7 was left...

No choice—just grit my teeth and take it! I was the one who played too hard and forgot about it!

That’s basically what the bus interior looked like.

On the rack was a metal-can coffee bought from 7-11.

Honestly—Japanese 7-11 convenience stores have a ton of good food and drinks, while the U.S. 7-11... Chestnut has no comment!

Tried out the toilet on the airport bus—because of the car’s size limitations, the restroom space was extremely cramped.

PS: Having a toilet is already pretty good; at least it won’t let you die from holding it in!

A little treat for railfans at the very end—JR Central’s Ōi Rolling Stock Yard in the dawn light.

PS1: When Japan National Railways was split and privatized in 1987, the Tokaido Shinkansen was completely assigned to JR Central, bringing JR Central huge profits over the years.

PS2: Since the Tokaido Shinkansen belongs entirely to JR Central, JR Central’s reach extends all the way to Tokyo Station via the Shinkansen line (on conventional lines, JR Central’s territory only runs along the Tokaido Main Line west of Atami, and along the Gotemba Line north of Kozu).

HND Sakura Lounge at Haneda Airport

By the time we got to the airport, it was already daylight, but nobody was handling checked baggage yet.

First to have the boarding pass printed, then checked the luggage.

Security screening in Japan is much faster than in the U.S. After clearing security, you can head off to find the lounge.

It seems there’s no PPS benefit to milk here at HND, so I had to enter using my international boarding pass!

Chestnut’s standards have now dropped very low—anything that isn’t a full rabbit-food set is fine!

Looks like taiyaki?

That made me think of Moon Aya from Kanon again...

A little bit of food is enough; I wasn’t that hungry anyway.

Japan Airlines Boeing 767-300 Short-Haul Business Class Experience

After eating about enough, I left the lounge and headed to my gate.

Here’s Chestnut’s ride: a JAL 767-300... the last time I flew JAL’s 767-300 was back in 2010, which means nine years had already passed!

It was about time—boarding, boarding!

But come to think of it, this aircraft type doesn’t even have First Class, does it?

Chestnut’s seat.

Nine years ago, this business class seat looked pretty fashionable... nine years later, it really does look a bit shabby.

I have to say, you really are old!

A copy of Shukan Bunshun came along. The hallmark of Shukan Bunshun is—its cover is quite artsy and wholesome, while the content is extremely gossipy!

As a gossip magazine, Shukan Bunshun goes after all kinds of idol groups—from Onyanko Club to AKB48, they’ve all been hit by a Bunshun bomb!

Business class menu!

Takeoff—fold down the tray table and start charging my phone.

Since the equipment is already nine years old, the PTV screen is quite grainy, and the old-style touchscreen responds rather sluggishly.

But the content itself was pretty good—I even saw Your Name again.

Appetizer wine and peanuts.

Here comes the meal!

This is exactly what Chestnut said in an earlier post—when you compare people, you’ll die; when you compare goods, you’ll throw the inferior one away. Delta One’s Japanese Meal is simply incomparable to this!

At first Chestnut wondered why there was no rice, then saw it was wrapped in paper—three cylindrical rice rolls!

After-meal Häagen-Dazs, and it was actually a JAL limited edition too (there’s a JAL logo on the side of the package).

The four-hour short-haul flight was almost negligible.

In no time at all we arrived at PEK, and I, Han Shuhan, am back again!

The last time I entered through PEK was nine years ago in 2010 (entered through SHA in 2012; entered through TSN in 2018)...

Took the little train from T3-E to T3-C.

Nine years later, it feels like PEK’s airport facilities are starting to look old... Are they really old, or has Chestnut’s eye gotten more and more demanding?

Picked up the luggage at T3-C and pushed it through customs. That brings this trip to an end.

Conclusion

And so, Chestnut’s 2019 Japan trip comes to an end here.

Finally, I’ll close this post with a realization Chestnut came to after years of being a railfan (the mood turns dark again):

Don’t assume you’ll have another chance to come back. Many times, history simply won’t give you a second chance; and even if one day you do get to meet again, your experience will have changed a lot over time...

I have to say, JAL’s 767-300 really is getting old, and Chestnut probably won’t have another chance to fly it for a third time...

A farewell is often really a goodbye forever... さよなら...