View of the Tarmac

This time, I arrived at Haneda from Seoul Gimpo and will transfer here for my flight to New York. After completing the transfer procedures including security screening, I headed to the departure lounge.

It was a clear and sunny day with beautiful blue skies. You can see a Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300ER on the tarmac.

Shower Room

I visited the ANA Suite Lounge. Having just arrived from Seoul and with a long-haul flight to New York ahead, I took a shower in the lounge's shower room.

Sweets and Ham

Breakfast buffet at the ANA Suite Lounge. This is the sweets and ham section:

Bread Corner

This is the bread section:

Snack Corner

Snacks and light bites:

Alcohol Corner

Meal I Had

This is the breakfast I enjoyed:

Croque-Monsieur

A close-up of the croque-monsieur.

A hot sandwich with ham and cheese, topped with cheese as well. Even in Paris, there aren’t many places that serve croque-monsieur.

Gate

As the boarding time approached, I headed to the gate. Since I had arrived from Gimpo and had about 1 hour and 40 minutes for the transfer, the time passed in the blink of an eye.

Priority Boarding

Boarding began with First Class and Business Class passengers.

Korean Air Aircraft

Next to our gate was a Korean Air Airbus A330.

Eevee Special Livery Aircraft

The aircraft for the New York flight that day was specially painted with Eevee, a character from the role-playing game series Pokémon. It was a Boeing 777-300ER, and only one aircraft on this route had this special livery. It looked absolutely adorable.

Pokémon Livery

This is the rear side of the aircraft. Eevee evolves into various forms, and those evolved characters were illustrated on the plane.

Boarding Door

The boarding door featured large star decorations. Inside the cabin, Eevee plushies were displayed, and cabin crew offered to let passengers hold them if they wished.

Private Wide Seat with Door

This is the window-side seat 16C that I had that day. It’s a “The Room” type seat—an extra-wide seat with a door, offering excellent privacy. On top of that, it's spacious. The side table is located on the window side, not on the sitting side, which I found convenient.

Amenities

These are the provided amenities:

Neighboring Seat

This is the seat next to mine. Fortunately, it was unoccupied, which made the space feel especially open and comfortable for me.

Bar Counter

Since I was seated right in front of the third emergency exit row, the Business Class bar counter and galley were located just behind me.

Welcome Drink

Orange juice and sparkling wine were served as welcome drinks, brought over on a tray.

Seat Screen

This is the personal screen—an impressively large 24-inch 4K monitor. It displays the flight route to New York.

Taxiing to Runway

We were taxiing from the parking spot to the runway. A Boeing 767-300ER was parked next to us. Since it has winglets, it indicates it's for international service. Those without winglets are typically for domestic flights.

Around the Seat

Next to the personal screen was a small cabinet. After takeoff, I used it to store items like my boarding pass, smartphone, and hand cream.

Space Between Window and Seat

There was a small space between the seat and the window wall, just enough to place a small bag.

Mt. Fuji on the Horizon

After taking off from Haneda, Mt. Fuji appeared on the horizon. The flight path first goes southeast toward Kisarazu on the Boso Peninsula before making a sharp V-turn toward the Kashima Sea. After that V-turn, Mt. Fuji could be seen far in the distance on the left-hand side.

Menu and Towel

This is the menu and the hot towel.

Champagne

During the champagne service, the flight attendant showed me the bottle—it was Castelnau.

The crew's apron features a special livery design themed after the "Pokémon" aircraft. The pattern is of a Poké Ball, an item used in the game to catch and carry Pokémon.

Amuse-Bouche and Champagne

This is the amuse-bouche and pre-meal drink. The napkin is also part of the special Pokémon-themed design. While chatting with the flight attendant, they offered to give me a set of Eevee napkins as a souvenir. I declined, but Pokémon fans would probably love it.

Appetizer and Bread

Here is the appetizer:

Main Course

This is the main dish:

Steak

Close-up of the wagyu steak.

The taste was simply incredible—likely due to the quality of the meat. It was thick and very tender.

The side dish seemed to be a gratin-style potato.

Red Wine

This is the red wine: Château Souverain from California.

Cheese and Dessert

Cheese and a bavarois dessert served after the meal.

After the First Meal

The first meal service concluded about 2.5 hours after takeoff, just past the Kamchatka Peninsula.It used to take about 3.5 hours to finish meals on flights like this.

Drink After Waking Up

After some sleep, I had a couple of drinks:

Cans used to be served, but they seem to have stopped doing that—possibly a cost-saving measure.

Mid-Flight Snack

Eevee Mascot

Before the pre-landing meal, I borrowed this plush and took a picture of it placed near the galley behind my seat.

Eevee Plush

Then I moved the plush to the side table of the empty seat next to mine and took another photo.

Pre-Landing Meal

As I was enjoying the plush, it was already about 1.5 to 2 hours before arrival in New York.

Japanese Sake

During the pre-landing meal, I had some Japanese sake:

Pre-Landing Meal

This was the second meal:

Chicken Risotto

A close-up of the main dish—risotto with grilled chicken. It was topped with a shiitake mushroom, which had a satisfying texture and flavor. I assume it was locally sourced in Japan.

Approaching the Airport

The screen on my seat shows "23 minutes to destination." We are now on final approach to New York JFK Airport.

Long Island

We’ve reached New York’s Long Island. JFK Airport is located in the western part of Long Island, in the borough of Queens. We’re almost ready to land.

Arriving at the Terminal

This is just before arriving at the terminal. There’s an Air Canada aircraft next to us.

1964 New York World’s Fair

A poster is displayed commemorating the 1964 World’s Fair held in New York, themed "Peace Through Understanding." The "Unisphere," a globe-shaped monument, was its symbolic centerpiece.

Arrival Lobby

This is the arrival lobby of Terminal 7.

To the Train Station

After arriving at the arrival lobby on the first floor, I made my way to the train station.

Christmas Tree

There was a Christmas tree in the departure lobby.

Airlines Using Terminal 7

To reach the Long Island Rail Road station, I stepped outside the departure lobby. There was a sign showing the airlines operating at Terminal 7.

Terminal 7

This is Terminal 7, used by ANA. It used to display United Airlines and British Airways logos, but British Airways has since moved to Terminal 8. As of December 2023, the terminal signage now features Alaska Airlines and “Terminal 7.”

Korean Air Cargo Terminal

To get to Jamaica Station, I took the AirTrain from the airport to the Long Island Rail Road. From the train, I saw the Korean Air cargo terminal.

American Airlines Facility

This appears to be a maintenance or operations facility for American Airlines.

Platform

I'm taking the subway to Manhattan. I came to Jamaica Station from JFK Airport via the AirTrain, and I'm transferring here to the subway. Arriving at the subway platform, I can definitely feel that I’m in New York. There are all kinds of people here—people you wouldn’t typically see in Japan.

Subway Map

This is the subway map. After transferring to the subway at Jamaica Station, it takes about 45 minutes to get to Midtown, 56th Street.

Subway

About to board the subway here.

56th Street & Lexington Avenue

I’ve arrived in Manhattan. I believe this is 56th Street and Lexington Avenue.

Midtown

This is the area around the subway station in Midtown.

Skyscrapers

A view of Manhattan’s skyscrapers.