Straddling the dateline

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Our ten hour flight on Japan Airlines was one of the easiest flights I’ve ever had. We got to sit on the second floor (who knew??)and we were lavished from the start. Japanese airplane bathrooms provide the passengers with high-class lotions and aftershave, so you can amuse yourself for awhile playing with products and moisturizing thoroughly. Like British Air, each seat is equipped with its own personal television screen with lots of fun options, including the real time GPS map of our location, temperature, time in every imaginable time zone, etc. , and there is a supplemental bin near the window in which you can store all the books you thought you’d read before you got sucked into escapist action films. Accustomed to American flights on which you are barely fed, we had purchased food for the flight and dug in as soon as the seatbelt light dimmed, imagining it would be at least halfway through the journey before we were served. Our stewardess’ eyes widened markedly on her way by. She covered her smile and motioned to her colleague, who conspicuously pointed at us in surprise. They asked if we wanted to eat with them as well. Thus began a well-timed, almost constant flow of food and drink. We were given hot, moist washcloths with which to ready ourselves for dining, followed by tea and rice crackers. Japan Air eschews elephantine, boxy drink carts in favor of carrying a simple, porcelain tea pot. We were not even in country yet and I was already convinced of Japan’s superior engineering skills. With their graceful, elegant lacquer trays and teapots, the crew could easily maneuver and served all of us in record time. Soon after the tea service, we were served our hot Hindu non-vegetarian meals. We had scoured bloggers’ advice about superlative airfare cuisine, and many had recommended this option. However, when our food arrived, it was clear that the most local cuisine would have probably been the most intelligent choice. The girl to my left indulged in noodles and seaweed salad, rice and yummy chicken, fruit, and a delicate piece of chocolate ganache cake. Our Hindu option looked suspiciously like it had been prepared by a homesick British colonial using Indian ingredients to approximate his mother’s cooking. Our meal boasted white fish with tomato sauce, overcooked broccoli, peppers and potatoes seemingly prepared with a baby melon baller. We did also get very nice fruit, and it was just fine for airline food, but all the same, big surprise—even on an airplane, local=good. This meal was followed by movies aplenty, more tea, more snacks, and another light meal later. Ironically, despite all of our research and purported cultural sensitivity, we couldn’t seem to escape our national stereotypes. Even on a flight that served us almost continuously, we must have seemed ready to strap on our own personal feedbags until the official one arrived. No matter-we became objects of great amusement for our hosts, and our ten hour flight raced by amidst green tea, Hancock, and getting used to laughing at ourselves.

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Photos

uuhhh
Her apron has dirigibles and hot air balloons on it. I want one.

this is so cool
Our tray came with integrated heating devices to keep our dinner hot. yeow.

our friends.
they like to laugh at us.

Comments

[melina]

i coulda told you that
yes, air nippon is one of the very best!