ANA First Class JFK-NRT
At T-50, I headed out to the concourse to explore and head over to Gate 5.
Dated terminal makes it pretty cramped in most areas.
ANA 1009
JFK-NRT
777-300
6:05P-9:00P+1
June 29, 2013
Seat 2K
Semi cattle call boarding call with some pre-boards and then First, Business and NH/*A elites.
When the FA greeting pax saw my F BP, she walked me over to another FA who escorted me 20 feet and handed me off to one of the First Class FAs who escorted me to 2K. EF showed F6 and sure enough, there was one other pax in the cabin today. As he was in 1A, it indeed seemed like a charter.
Very soothing and attractive cabin, but not sure about the suites. The wall blocking one window takes getting used to. Tough to see out without leaning forward. But once in the air, you can't see anything anyway and the wall does provide deflected lighting and eliminate the harshness of direct suniight.
The seat itself is quite comfortable, even after 12 hours... much softer and more comfy than the LX seat, which is downright uncomfortable by comparison.
Time to settle in and explore my home for the next 13 1/2 hours. But first a glass of champagne.
The glass had been poured but I'm going to say that it was indeed Krug.
The Rimowa amenity kit features a lot of useless (to a guy or at least this guy) stuff...
The lack of a direct window view in a window seat takes getting used to. At times, the walls on both sides make it feel a little claustrophobic. There are lots of little storage compartments, although a few in the strange category. On the other hand, there is a nice tray storage cabinet under the foot rest and TV. The position of the power outlet is inconvenient and annoyingly right by your elbow. The two side suite lights are very bright, don't dim and are strictly on or off. They are so harsh and so wide angled that I couldn't use them. And the single overhead "reading" light is not strong enough for much of anything, plus shines on your head and not the work space unless your seat is in the upright takeoff/landing position. IMO, not in the same league as Cathay, Korean or Lufthansa New First.
The suite comes with a very comfy pillow and beautiful blanket, PJs, slippers and a sweater!
The tray table is solid and slides nicely in and out at perfect dining and work level.
Despite an almost on time push back, lots of taxi and wait time is normal at this time of day at JFK as we joined the conga line.
Right behind new and gorgeous AA 77W. Unfortunately, that would be the one which apparently offers Russian roulette "will I really keep my F seat" to anyone on a mileage award seat.
Unlike US airlines, the captain turned the seat belt sign off within 3 minutes of wheels up.
Shortly after take-off, our wonderful crew began an amazing dinner for just the two of us on tonight's flight.
With the first order of business, closing the curtain and keeping those annoying J pax out. LOL.
Hot scented towel.
Followed by an impressive bound menu.
And my usual G&T (Bombay Sapphire) and a delicious amuse bouche.
I inquired on my FA about the different kinds of sake. She explained a few and suggested a taste test. Great idea.
Now well lubricated with a G&T and double sakes, it was time to get serious about dinner. The menu was a little confusing as I wasn't aware that the first half is NRT-JFK and second half a totally different JFK-NRT menu. Then again, it might have been the alcohol as the menu had small tabs. I enjoy Japanese food and indeed one of our favorite Denver restaurants is wonderful Izakaya Den (with a Zagat 27 rating). But I'm not very adventurous. And definitely draw the line at eating something that looks back at me. 
I was actually relieved when my FA directed me to the correct pages as I was really having trouble thinking about salt cured fish entrails, sea urchin, big fin reef squid and simmered eggplant which were thankfully on the NRT-JFK menu.
Duh...
Tonight's JFK-NRT menu...
And the most important part of any meal..
I opted for the multi-course Kaiseki menu, most of which was truly delicious.
But first, the caviar of course.
Elegant place setting...
And the next glass of my own entire bottle of Krug.
Showtime...
Sakizuke:
Boiled bok choy and grilled scallop in seafood broth
Zensai:
Grilled squid with egg yolk
Simmered ivory shell in soy-based sauce
Northern shrimp dressed with smelt roe
Smoked duck
Fishcake with sweet corn
Asparagus and bacon roll
Pickled red turnip
Nimonowan:
Ice fish wrapped in bean curd crepe
Japanese white wheat vermicelli
Otsukuri:
Quick-seared tilapia
Quick-poached jumbo shrimp
A little more Krug and sake...
As if I hadn't had enough...
Kobachi:
Deep-fried shrimp fishcake with grated daikon radish
Sunomomo
Quick-seared beef with sesame and ponzu citron soy sauce
Shushai
Steamed flounder stuffed with savory egg and vegetable patty in rich seafood broth
Onboard-steamed rice (Toyoma Yumegokochi), miso soup and assorted Japanese pickles
For dessert:
Warm chocolate mochi cake with ice cream and green tea sauce.
A selection of fresh seasonal fruit...
And green tea and bon-bons...
OMG. I think I'll survive for a while. 
Now back to the movie. IFE is passable but with a limited selection of Western movies.
Better than the LH selections but nowhere near the amazing CX, SQ or EK IFE options, or even LX.
Watched Parker, action packed movie with Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez.
Our FA had earlier prepared my bed across the aisle in 2G, so I changed into my PJs and dozed off. Nothing beats the LH 744 bed but it was still reasonably comfortable and I slept for about 4 hours.
With a little over 4 hours to go, back over to 2K and editing pics... from 375 down to 120 or so. 
Our wonderful FA continued to check in periodically for water refills and nibbles.
With a beautiful sunset in the west.
At about T-90, I decided to have the Petite Japanese Snack.
Including the most amazingly fresh and moist Grilled Chilean sea bass with citron soy sauce...
And a few dishes that were not quite as yummy.
We touched down 30 minutes early and parked at the gate 51 a few minutes later. What a wonderful inflight experience. Flawless service, gracious and attentive without being overbearing. And good enough overcome most hard product issues. I would definitely fly ANA again. On the other hand, ANA's ground support for First Class pax is pretty much non-existent. Although we deplaned first with out FA's holding other pax until the two F pax deplaned, we were on our own once we left the airplane. No priority lanes. No priority anything. Although it wasn't that big a deal tonight as with only a handful of pax in line tonight, customs was easy and I was in the arrivals area 10 minutes after deplaning.