We finish our tour of the Museum at 4.30pm. We could have gone to one of the other galleries, but even in air-conditioned rooms standing and moving slowly is still hard on the feet, so we decided to go to the café in Ueno Park, it is called 'Everyone's Café'!
Even after four days we are still amused by the detailed rules in all parts of Japanese life, this example talks about 'Annoying Acts', what is this heinous crime that annoys so many people - Skateboarding!
It being still warm and humid we decided to go for a refreshing drink and thought that a non-caffeinated version might be better for our hopes of sleeping on the plane tonight.
I opted for rosehip and hibiscus tea, note the t-bag disposal pot! I normally leave herbal teas in the cup when I drink them, as they don't seem to get stronger over time in the way normal tea does.
Drew opted for a pot of Fresh Herbal Tea, this had flavours of mint, coriander and rosemary and he found it delicious and refreshing
it was served with a pot of honey
Pikachu
Ueno Park Station is right next to the café, so we walked into the station and caught the train back to Tokyo Station arriving at 5.30pm. We walk through the underground shops in the station and Drew leads us to Character Street again, as he had missed the Pokémon store on our previous visit.
Drew treats himself to a Pikachu from the very large Pokémon selection in Tokyo Station as part of the end of holiday, let's hope he and Captain Jack don't come to blows on the flight home!
Back in the Shangri-La
We return to the hotel to pick up our luggage at 6pm. We sit in the air-conditioned lobby, which oddly we have not photographed before. It is a nice open space, with a reception desk and a boutique.
We also use their toilets for the last time before leaving to catch the train at 7pm.
Train to the Airport
We catch the JY train from Tokyo Station. Friday evening at Tokyo Station is a sight to see, a wall of people walking up from and and down to the platforms. We have no photos of the phenomenon as there isn't enough space to hold a mobile up, let alone a camera.
We buy the tickets (still cash only for this route) and then travel three stops on the Yamastote Line to the Monorail Station where we change. We catch the 7.30pm Monorail to Haneda International Airport for tonight's flight. The monorail is less busy than the city trains!
At the Airport
We arrive at the Airport at 8pm, four hours before the flight. They are not yet checking-in so we find a café and have a coffee while we wait.
The Emirates check-in opens at 8.30pm and we are checked-in with our baggage next to be seen in London. We are through security in no time and into the JAL business Lounge by 8.45pm. Time for some food, some photo uploading using their excellent Wi-Fi and plenty of sparkling water.
First Flight
Emirates Airline are an alliance partner of Qantas, so our return flights are part of the same booking as our outbound flights, just with a different airline.
At 11.30pm we are due to board our flight but because of a late crew arrival boarding doesn't begin until 12.05am.
The layout of the plane is different from the Qantas planes, but the facilities are as good, if not better, on the Emirates plane.
The seats in particular are very comfortable.
with a built in fridge unit, so you don't have to push the call button to get a drink. Given my preferences after I took the photo they swapped the alcohol and still water for sparkling - Perrier.
Drew was in seat 7G, next to me in 7D. The barrier here is a static one, so we may need to use the in-seat phones to chat - or lean over!!
The entertainment device is above the area which is used for storage when awake and is part of the bed when aslepp
Our Boeing 777-300 takes off at 12.40am and as soon as we are in the air pyjamas are offered. Well, to use the Emirates terminology, leisurewear are offered. Having experienced pyjamas on the earlier flights this holiday I got changed straight away, avoiding any queues after dinner.
The 'leisure wear' even had a hood? I'm not sure why, but it makes for a fun photo.
Supper
It was then time for food, tonight's meal is a single course supper, rather than dinner, but it is still excellent.
I had Chicken and porcini mushroom roll served with cafe de Paris butter, roasted potatoes, grilled red peppers and pumpkin. It was really yummy with the chicken retaining its moistness and the roasties being crisp and crunchy.
The dessert was a cheese board with biscuits. The cheeses were Danish Blue, Double gloucester and a garlic cream cheese.
Drew remembered to take photos of the food this time. He had a vegetable pappardelle pasta with smoked aubergine purée, roasted green pepper, pumpkin, tomato sauce and parmesan. He was very, very pleased with it.
Sleep
As with the previous flights the bed sets itself up with the push of a button. As soon as we had eaten I set the bed up and was asleep by 2.15am. I made one toilet call at 4.40am and awoke at 7.15am Saturday (Japan Time) which is 2.15am Dubai time and 11.15pm on Friday UK time. We have just under four hours to go when I awake, we are currently flying over Northern India having flown over Southern Japan, Hangzhou, Kunming, Chittagong, Kolkata and are now over Nagpur.
I get changed into my day clothes and set my phone up to listen to the episodes of the Archers I'd missed since my last flight on Monday night/Tuesday morning when I had caught up with the previous ones. Archers catch-up complete I then listened to the BBC podcast Newscast which I'd not hear since the 8th of September. Indeed, I've heard no news during this period. I've spent my time focusing on the the holiday, which is probably why I feel so relaxed. So have quite a bit of catching up to do.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served at 8.25am (Japan Time). We had made our choices for breakfast before going to sleep last night. This is done to give people as long a sleeping time as possible.
Given the success of my Japanese breakfast on Friday, I opted for that version again this morning.
This was a Kaiseki bento with: Mountain vegetables with dashi and soy soup; Vam soup with okra and red radish; Grilled yellowtail teriyaki with tamagoyakı, simmered hijiki and steamed Japanese rice with sesame seeds and miso soup with non, tofu and leeks; Pickled radish and shibazuke Wintermelon and pumpkin happo broth with green beans, carrot and ginkgo nut sauce; Inaniwa and green tea udon noodles with soba sauce, braised shrimps, ginger, grated yam and seaweed. Every morsel was delicious and eating with chopsticks on a moving plane is not as hard as I thought it might have been.
This is how it arrived
and this is what was in the box
Drew opted for a more traditional breakfast of cheese and chive scrambled egg served with grilled chicken sausages, tomato ragout and sautéed spinach with a Croissant and Fresh Fruit
His breakfast finished with a selection of Luxury Chocolates. He gave me a row for not accepting these and handing them over. I'd turned them down after my delicious Japanese breakfast. I'll remember to pass them on to Drew next time!!
Dubai
We land at 6.00am Dubai time (11am Tokyo Time; 3am UK Time). A business class bus takes us passengers to the terminal before other passengers get off. I see now the answer to something that had puzzled me at the time the flight was booked. I couldn't see the option to change planes in Dubai, but it is clear that they offer a short-transfer for business class that is not available to other passengers. The transfer flight we are targeting is at 7.45am, non-business passengers would need to wait until a 9.45am plane. We arrive at the B terminal at 6.25am and go through security checks before catching a internal train to terminal A. Arriving there at 6.40am.
Second Flight
We walk to gate A22 for the flight to London and almost as soon as we arrive boarding begins promptly at 7am and we are onboard at 7.15am.
As this is a double decker plane (EK001 is a A380-800) we are sitting upstairs
First and Business being the only two classes on the upper level, Economy is downstairs. This makes settling in much quicker as unlike the single story planes we don't have a lot of people trotting past us going to economy.
I'm in seat 7E
Drew and I are beside each other again, but this plane has an automated divider, so we can talk to each other or block each other.
Our two screens are closer together than in the last plane.
The plane takes off at 8.10am local time, 5.10am UK time. During the flight Drew watches Godzilla v Kong while I continue to catch-up with news via Newscast on the BBC Sounds app .
Breakfast
Breakfast, our second, is served at 9am Dubai time (6am UK time). It is a lovely selection of fruit and a croissant.
Drew had the full breakfast which included oatmeal and chia in coconut milk served with mango compote and toasted hazelnuts, as well as the Seasonal fruit served with fresh juice and yoghurt and a Croissant
During the flight we were able to walk to the galley a few blocks further back and select snacks, sandwiches and fruit at our discretion. We weren't greedy and only went back for additional food twice or three times.
Lunch
At 9.40am UK time (12.40 Dubai time) we were served lunch. It began with a plate of olives and a selection of salted nuts: Macadamia, Cashew, Almonds and Peanuts.
Drew's starter was a Lentil soup with toasted Arabic bread, croutons and lemon with a side salad and bread.
I had chosen the mezze, which was also served with the salad and bread. They even allowed me to taste both the Focaccia and Garlic Roll. It turned out that my Mezze also had puffed arabic bread with it, so I wasn't short of bread!! The mezze was houmous, rabouleh, kisir, soslu patlican and lamb kibbeh. Like many arabic dishes the rich olive oil and sharp lemon flavours accompany each of the dishes so, so well.
For mains Drew opted for Lamb quzi with hashwa, this is Lamb cutlets served with Gulf-style sauce and biryani rice, garnished with fried cashew nuts
I choose the Grilled beef tenderloin served with mushroom and veal jus, potato gratin and sautéed green beans with veal bacon strips. The tenderloin was so tender it fell apart in the mouth. It was an interesting juxtaposition of British (well French really) food and the arabic food of the starter course.
My meal was completed by an amazingly delicious cheese board with Mimolette, Brie and Belvoir Stilton as the cheeses. All three are cheeses I'd have chosen for a cheese board of my own making, so it was wonderful to be offered them here.
As the flight continues Drew watches some more films orders a mocktail, which are available throughout the flight and I carry on listening to BBC Sounds podcasts, having caught up with Newscast I am now listening to Americast and Ukrainecast alternately.
Heathrow
We land at Heathrow at 12.20pm, right on time. As usual we taxied for a while and arrived at the gate at 12.30pm (8.30pm Tokyo Time) exactly 24 hours since we checked in last night!! Thank heavens for the sleep we managed overnight, the cost of business class was worth it for the good sleep, and arriving at Heathrow refreshed not ragged, alone.
We went through passport control and then collected our luggage at 12.55pm.
Due to doubt about the timings and not knowing how long it would take to get our luggage we didn't book the 1.30pm direct coach to London, but the 3.30pm, so we have some time to wait before our return journey to Cardiff. We spend the time reading at the Black Sheep Coffee Shop in the Heathrow Coach Station.
The coach leaves at 3.30pm and stops at Newport and then drops us at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff at 6.25pm.
We walk across to Greyfriars Road where we catch the 7pm (running 15 minutes late) 132 for the trip home. Arriving at 7.45pm. The end of a very long day's journey, but a thoroughly enjoyable holiday.