We have been excited to try Japan Airlines in First Class for some time. When we visited Japan in 2014 we were lucky enough to score two seats in First Class on ANA, JAL’s chief competitor. So this was going to be an opportunity to compare and contrast. Regardless of airline, Japanese inflight service is legendary. And we weren’t disappointed by JAL.
The cabin seats eight in a 1-2-1 layout across two rows. Today’s flight was full in First. I was seated in 2K and Jeff was across the cabin in 2A. While a little dated the suite was entirely comfortable and very functional – lots of well placed cubbies for the stuff you want around you on a 13+ hour flight.
A delightful surprise was this handout:
Pretty much limited to texting and email but a nice surprise.
Now for the meal! When flying to/from Asia it’s customary that you get a choice between the “Japanese Menu” (or whatever country you’re flying to/from) and the “Western Menu” which are meal choices that align more closely with Western palates. Because the Western Menu wasn’t anything particularly special, we’ll only share the Japanese Menu here.
First the full menu.
The kickoff was the “Kozara” (from above).
This was followed by “Owan”, a clear broth with chicken meatballs.
Next up was “Mokuzuke”, colorful seafood with plum jelly which was also served with the “Azukebache” or egg tofu with salmon roe.
Jeff substituted the next course, which was a beef course, with a simmered black cod with black soy sauce.
Last course! Red beans in a sweet syrup with a sugary cookie.
One truly notable item in the service was the Queen of Blue tea. The leaves are Oriental Beauty, a much-loved luxury Taiwanese tea said to have been named by Queen Victoria in the age of The British Empire. The distinctive sweet taste and fruity fragrance of this popular tea is thanks to a little green insect called a planthopper. When the planthopper bites the young tea leaves, it starts a chemical process which gives this tea its distinctive gentle, sweet aroma. Once a year, in the summer months, the fresh insect-bitten leaves are carefully plucked by hand and processed to produce this precious tea.
Queen of Blue is available in four grades: deluxe, grand, imperial, and premium. The deluxe grade is served in the first-class cabin of all Japan Airlines international flights and has won the Gold Quality Award at the Belgian Monde Selection for three consecutive years.
It can run well over $100 per bottle and is served in a wine glass like so.
And honestly you can taste the difference. It has an incredibly pure, clean taste to it. It may not be worth the price, but one of the fun things about traveling this way is the ability to sample things you might not otherwise sample. It’s how we learned to love caviar. Hah.
After 13 hours of pampering we arrived at Narita for our connection to Seoul. Naturally we beelined for the Lounge to relax and shower.
See you in Seoul!
