Opening note: please read all the way to the end and let Chestnut’s famous sayings thoroughly brainwash you!

I’m guessing everyone has been waiting a long time for the next installment, so let’s pick up where we left off:

Chestnut’s 2019 Return-to-America Trip Part I: China Eastern A321 Economy (PEK-KIX)

KIX JAL Sakura Lounge Review

After clearing security, it was very easy to find the entrance to the Sakura Lounge!

Since the China Eastern counter at PEK couldn’t print the boarding pass for the second segment, I just went straight to the front desk at the JAL Sakura Lounge and had it printed there.

I answered No to all three questions, and the staff handed Chestnut the boarding pass!

After getting the boarding pass, I washed my hands first and then started looking for food.

A look inside the lounge.

This was the rabbit-food section.

This side had a bit more substantial food.

The food spread was actually pretty solid!

I spotted: コーヒー

The one on top was a pork cutlet sandwich.

What was that sakura mochi on the bottom? Let’s grab one and try it!

One bite in and I realized: this sakura mochi was sweet, with red bean paste inside...

Walking Around the Terminal

After eating and drinking my fill, staying cooped up in the lounge the whole time was kind of boring, so I went out for a walk.

Smoking room!

A classic green pay phone. I remember spotting one of these in Tokyo too!

Then I wandered into the duty-free shops.

What did I just see? Soft On Demand (SOD)?

Just like DMM, those who know, know...

In the end, I bought a Tescom hair dryer.

And then, at the airport Uniqlo duty-free shop, I found this gem—a Super Mario design from the UT series.

But... something about the price looked a little off. Why were there only kids’ sizes? Nothing in Chestnut’s size... so sad!

I don’t really dare buy this kind of collection item anymore.

For one thing, it’s too expensive; for another, it’s a pain to move with later on!

JAL 787-9 Business Class Review

It was about time, so I headed to the gate, which was Gate 39.

And this was Chestnut’s ride: a JAL 787-9.

Honestly speaking, in Chestnut’s eyes, the 787 really isn’t that big...

Boarding time! Gogogo—rushed right in at the first opportunity!

So this was the seat. To be honest, it looked like it had less space than the A350 Delta One Business seat I flew before.

A look at the Safety Card: this business class seat was called the third-generation Sky Suite.

Wifi was expensive! 18.8USD for the whole flight, aaaaah!

And this kind of spending counts as consumptive spending—it violates neither Chestnut’s First Law of Frugality nor Chestnut’s Second Law of Frugality (for those two laws, see the plug at the end).

Since it wasn’t necessary, I just skipped it.

As Chestnut always says: if I disappear for the whole flight, don’t any of you bother me!

Takeoff, with Osaka Bay under the sunset.

Chestnut’s seat was on the far right in the first row!

A shot of the 787 cabin door.

Struck a pose for a selfie—probably won’t get another chance to sit in this seat again for N years!

Opened up the amenity kit to take a look.

That was everything inside.

Compared with the photos posted online by the big-name reviewers, it definitely felt like the size had been getting smaller and smaller...

Once again, that proves one of Chestnut’s famous sayings: a lot of things just get worse the more they’re changed!

Dinner arrived.

Quite refined and tasty, actually.

As for what that crane on the left was for, the next picture has the answer!

It was a chopstick rest!

Dessert after the meal.

The lavatory at the front of JAL 787-9 Business Class even had a toilet with a water-spray bidet function.

Everyone was resting, and once Chestnut got back to the seat, it was straight to sleep.

When I woke up, there were still more than two hours left before landing.

Time for some coffee to wake up, plus an order of curry rice to fill up! I already knew full well that once we got to LAX TBIT, CBP would be serving up the usual long immigration lines!

JL60 approaching Los Angeles and descending.

You can see Downtown LA in the distance.

LAX Terminal B.

I spotted a Hong Kong Airlines A350 and an Air China 777.

After deplaning, we took the pedestrian bridge to CBP.

The final result was exactly as expected: the CBP experience at LAX TBIT was simply unbearable, and it took nearly two hours in line to clear immigration!

Then I had to rush out to pick up my luggage; the suitcase had already gone around the carousel N times...

Summary

This post recounts Lizi's journey flying Japan Airlines 787-9 business class from KIX to LAX. Back then, he redeemed 115,000 AF miles plus Tax&Fee and went all out just for the chance to experience this.

If you think that's expensive, Lizi would probably respond with a few of his own "Lizi quotes":

  • Never forget your original intention — getting to fly Business was exactly why I started this miles-and-points game in the first place! If I can't redeem the ticket I actually want, I'd rather sit on the points forever than settle for something else!
  • Go straight for the big move — after holding back for N years, wasn't this exactly what it was all for?!
  • Many times, don't assume you'll get a second chance! Sometimes saying goodbye really means never seeing it again... さよなら... If you don't redeem it this time, history may never give you another chance!

Closing Pitch No. 1 — The Two Core Cheapskate Laws

Introducing the two core cheapskate laws:
Cheapskate Law #1: Spend as little money as possible.
Cheapskate Law #2: When you absolutely have to spend money, try to spend it on things where you can recover the cost later, or even come out ahead.

Closing Pitch No. 2 — Quote-Based Brainwashing

1. The ultimate Chinese endurance expert! Outlast the opponent!
2. (As a cheapskate) grab it and run.
3. (Don't ask too many questions.) If the system recognizes it, that's all that matters.
4. You actually trust customer service? What's the point when they just make things up? Does the system recognize it? If the system doesn't recognize it later and you go back to customer service, they'll just give you a completely different answer and try every excuse to brush you off.
5. What can you do to me? What you can do on me?
6. A lot of the time, the root of the problem is that you didn't hit hard enough the first time, so the problem comes back.
Haven't you heard the Yang Family Generals stories? If Yang Qilang had just smashed Pan Renmei to death at the city gate, would there have been all that later mess about the seven sons and eight tigers charging into Youzhou, Dalang dying in place of the Song king, Erlang in place of Zhao Defang, and finally old General Yang Jiye killing himself at Li Ling's Stele?
Just solve the problem directly with the equivalent of blowing up the bunker with a nuclear bomb.
7. The moment your opponent slips up, counterattack in one wave and finish them off directly (don't give either your opponent or the referee any chance) — like during 文の革, stomp them with billions of feet so they can never get back up again!
8. Go straight for the big move!
9. Belly black counter-evidence!
10. Never forget your original intention!
11. I have no ability to absorb risk — like an old Nintendo FC character, I don't even have a health bar; by the code's logic, one bullet and I'm done for.
12. As a rule, all kinds of things just get worse the more they're changed. As the saying goes: the old cat sleeps on the roof, one generation passes it to the next; the Yangtze's later waves push the earlier ones aside, and even weasels give birth to little hedgehogs — each generation is worse than the last!
13. One realization from many years as a car enthusiast: many times, don't assume you'll get a second chance! Sometimes saying goodbye really means never seeing it again... さよなら...