Sunday 22nd March
Hong Kong to Fukuoka
The flight from Heathrow is scheduled to land at 07:40 - which it probably did, but we then spent about 20 minutes taxiing before reaching the terminal. We must have then spent another 20 minutes walking towards 'Transfers'.
The transfer for the flight to Fukuoka takes me a little by surprise in that it looks as if we have to pass through security again. Not wishing to find ourselves on the 'wrong side' of security I find a desk with someone who looks like she may be able to help. She asks for our passports and boarding cards (both legs were issued at Heathrow), and confirms we should join the enormous queue opposite her desk. We will need to show passports and boarding cards when we eventually get to the front of the queue, so I get them ready. Mine's there, but I cannot find Jo's. I can't understand it, they were both there a moment ago. Panic sets in... At which point, the lady I had asked about the queue comes rushing over to hand us Jo's passport and boarding card - what a relief!
I am probably being too harsh, the queue for security moved quite quickly, but it is always a pain to remember to take off one's watch, put phones, laptops, belts and in this case wallets and even handkerchiefs into a tray for scanning, and then remembering to pick them all up again.
Anyway, after getting through security we made our way to the Cathay Pacific Lounge. Cathay Pacific is based in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong airport being so large, there are three lounges. We eventually work out which gate we will need and head for the closest lounge to that gate.
We were given a warm welcome by one of the lounge staff who made sure we knew where everything was, and also mentioned that the lady doing the coffee had come 2nd in some 'barista competition'. We had had breakfast on the plane, so we didn't need much more that coffee. I mentioned to the 'coffee lady' that we had heard she was a real expert, not expecting what was coming next. She produced two amazing cappuccinos, one with a unicorn and the other with a lion sculpted in the froth. I couldn't help noting that all the other customers were getting the standard fir tree!
The flight from Hong Kong takes off at 11:05, and we are due to arrive at Fukuoka at 15:20.
The arrangement in the plane is much like the one from London to Hong Kong, although this one looks slightly newer, and because there is no overnight element the mattress and duvet are missing. Lunch is served, much like on the first leg, but I decide to forego the Champagne for a gin and tonic instead.
On arrival in Fukuoka I discover another, small, benefit of Business Class - one's luggage is unloaded first, although I think we squandered this advantage by not being quick enough to race to immigration. I had completed immigration 'papers' before leaving home and printed out a QR code; I don't think the Japanese were quite expecting this, as most others had their QR codes on phones (or not at all); the immigration officer did eventually manage to fold my paper QR code so his machine could read it. We were photographed and finger-printed and pretty efficiently we were in Japan!
We were greeted by a Trailfinders representative (actually EXO Travel who are Trailfinders agents in Japan), who handed us a little fabric bag with a couple of handkerchiefs and a small plastic wallet that contained all the tickets we would need for journeys booked by Trailfinders. She very carefully explained each ticket and got us to double-check. She then arranged for a taxi to take us to our hotel. Our first real contact with the extremely polite, extremely efficient Japanese way of doing things.
It was raining - this would be a continuing theme for travel days!
The greeting at our hotel, Ana Crowne Plaza, was equally welcoming, where we were given a small gift of a couple of origami 'sets' and what can only be described as two pot noodles! We were also handed our wi-fi hotspot and learnt how to say 'Thank you' in Japanese. ('Thank you very much' proved a step too far!) Fairly exhausted we went to our room.
Our room was not what I was expecting! Somewhere in our research I had learnt that Japanese hotel rooms were on the small side - this wasn't quite a pod, but it was pretty small. The bed was up against the wall on one side with very little room at the foot of the bed or on the other side. Getting both our two suitcases open on the floor at one time was tricky, But we managed. The bathroom (which had a bath much to Jo's relief) was equally small; with outstretched arms I could just touch all four walls. It also had a Japanese loo! Jo seemed reluctant to try all the facilities on offer, but the heated set was a huge success!
We decided to have dinner in the hotel. Our first stop was a bar on the ground floor, but that had little in the way of food and was about to close. (It wasn't late, possibly 7:00pm), but we had a drink and some nibbles. There was another 'dining room' on the ground floor, with what looked like a selection of food for sale in front of it. It seemed to be advertising a 'Steak Buffet', and after a lot of confusion, we decided we would give it a go. I can't be precise, but I think I had a small steak and some salad; I think it was a fixed price and one could have had as much as one liked, but after several Cathay Pacific meals I wasn't very hungry.
Off to bed...
