Tokyo: The Long Way -- Part V

Part I: IAD-MUC in Lufthansa First Class

Part II: MUC-NRT in Lufthansa Business Class

Part III: Park Hyatt Tokyo

Part IV: Exploring Tokyo

Part V: NRT-DFW-DCA in American Airlines First Class

After an awesome few days in Tokyo, it was time to head home.  We took the Narita Express train back to the airport, which was one of the nicest trains I've ever seen.

Narita Express train seating

Narita Express train legroom

We arrived at the airport in no time and headed to security.  Security, as you'd expect, was painless at NRT.  The security "TSA" employees were extremely helpful and friendly.  They helped me with my bags and were just overall nice, nothing like the TSA in the US.

After clearing security, we headed to the Admirals Club.  The Admirals Club at NRT is a great lounge (obviously not as nice as the Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Munich, but still very nice).  Even though it was crowded, there was still plenty of seating and the WiFi was very fast.

NRT Admirals Club entrance

Admirals Club

Admirals Club

 

View from the lounge

Lounge snacks

Lounge snacks

Soda machine

 

Beer machine

They announced that our flight was boarding and we headed over to our gate.  Boarding was a complete zoo, and handled very poorly.

Things got a lot better once we got on the plane.  The flight attendants were extremely friendly and addressed everyone by name.  Also, I love American's first class seats.  They swivel, making it easy to relax in a lot of different positions.  There's three different positions you can swivel into: one for takeoff and landing, one for sleeping, and one for facing the desk and getting work done. 

Blankets, duvet, and pillow

Plenty of table space

Amenity kit

Menu

Mixed nuts and hummus

Smoked salmon and shrimp (not as good as caviar, but still good)

Salad

Beef fillet (tasted better than the Lufthansa steak)

Ice cream sundae

Pre-arrival meal - teriyaki chicken

The flight went by really fast, and before we knew it we were on the ground in Dallas.  Clearing customs took forever.  A bunch of other international flights got in at the same time, so even though we were one of the first to deplane we still had to wait in line for over an hour.

I had a few hours until our next flight, so I headed to the Admirals Club for a shower.  The shower room wasn't very clean, and there was a boarding pass in the toilet.

Shower room

Shower room

Shower room

Shower room

Shower room

Boarding pass in the toilet

The lounge was extremely crowded and the WiFi was pretty much unusable.  

  

Lounge speed test

Soon it was time for my final flight of the trip.  I boarded the flight and took my seat in first class.  It's always fun watching the commoners walk past you to their seat in economy.  They all stare at you with that look of jealously and hatred.

Also, I'm 98% sure I was sitting next to Steve Wozniak.  He looked just like him and he was reading a book about dragons.

First class legroom

Sitting at the gate at DFW

First class meal

The meal was really tasty.  Steve Wozniak didn't get any food.  He just got water.  Laaaaame.  I'd never deny free food. 

I watched a few really terrible sitcoms on the airplane TV, and in no time we were landing in DC.  Overall, it was a great trip and I can't wait for the next one.  Time to sign up for some more credit cards...