10/19/2006 at 11:16 AM
Tags: Jaunted Field Trips, Japan Field Trip, WiFi, ANA (all tags)
Jaunted editor Davie Kaufmann is currently touring Japan. All this week, we'll be running stories from her Jaunted Field Trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. Have something you absolutely need to know about Japan? Just ask.Sorry to disappoint, guys, but I didn't come out of my trip the wifi master of Japan. I only sought it out for work, and ended up having to banish myself to LAN hell for the duration of my travels because of sketch WiFi connections. Wires? What are those?
I happen to be typing this from my flight home--it's pitch black and I'm one of the only passengers awake--and yeah, it's a tad ironic that the best WiFi I've found was on my way out, on a plane in mid-flight no less. The free
ANA wifi has been a joy, as back in Narita, it was going for ¥500 for 24 hours. Contrast that with the ghastly dinosaur-fi in the lobby of the
Ritz-Carlton Osaka: ¥1000 for ONE HOUR! Their LAN was something like ¥1995 for 24 hours. Truly bizarre.
If I was back there and not up here, perhaps I'd return to
Cafe Pause, where Skipper of the Grids Jean Snow is gallery manager, and the complimentary WiFi apparently flows free. In Osaka, I would try heading for
Aprecio, which is open 24 hours, although I haven't been able to determine whether or not they've got WiFi in addition to the computer kiosks.
WiFi samurais of Japan weigh in. Let us know where to go for free Internets in the comments below.
[Photo:
x180]
by djk
10/10/2006 at 5:05 PM
Tags: Jaunted Field Trips, Japan Field Trip, ANA, Airlines, Liveblogging (all tags)
Jaunted editor Davie Kaufmann will be updating this mid-air live blog throughout her long flight, so check back! Better yet, say "hi" to Davie in the comments.
Greetings from
All Nippon Airways flight 009, with service from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to Japan's Narita Airport. Yes, we're on our way to Tokyo and the Connexion service on our flight is
FREE!
1:50 PM EST: First impressions of the economy cabin are good. Leg room: decent. Flight attendants: nice. Water: tasty. Unidentifiable snack (pictured): not trying it. Internet connection: generally strong with only one lag so far. We're pretty much positive that our opinions of the seating will change once we've been on here for 10 hours (it's only been about 1 hour; total flight time is 14), but for now, all is good. Check back here later for more updates.
4:19 PM EST: The internet connection has slowed down a bit, but for $0, it ain't half bad. Passed on the meal, but it seemed edible. AVOD works great, but we don't like the movies--lots of Sandra Bullock and family stuff. Lost all our yen in video blackjack. Also, that special time has come when economy pax start jolting their seats back, thus propping up the laptop to type gets harder. Time for a nap!
8:45 PM EST: TWO Ambien and still, just a few winks here and there. I gave the man in the seat next to me a name: Paul. Paul's knee is totally invading my space, but I refuse to say anything, because I feel bad that he has the middle seat. As for whoever in front of me has their seat reclined, that's another story. Like, where are the margaritas, dude? Is this Club Med Airways? Lessons learned: I am the nicest person you can possibly sit next to on a long haul; you want to sit next to me. I, however, do not under any circumstances want to sit next to you.
12:06 AM EST: Screaming baby count: 1 (muffled). Snacks consumed so far: 1 almond from new, still otherwise unidentifiable mix. Yen lost on video blackjack: too much to count. Jimmy Buffett in front of me has eased up a bit, and Paul is just a doll as always. I feel at one with my fellow passengers...very calm bunch we are. With about two hours left, I'm ready to say this is way more pleasant than I expected. I did a 10 hour flight from Vienna to JFK on Austrian that was WAY WORSE.
1:04 AM EST: Someone turn on the AC! It's WARM! This is the most conservatively air conditioned flight I have ever been on.
5:30 AM EST: Not on the flight anymore. Made it from Narita into the city with great ease. ANA gets an A-/B+ for its economy product. Too bad Connexion is going the way of the Dodo (for now, at least). Seeing as I fasted on the plane, I'm due for a snack. Time for nourishment like only my beloved North Asian convenience stores can provide. Sayonara.
by djk
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