Haneda Airport

I've finally come to the end of the Japan food posts, and will conclude them with the largest greediest and cheapest (ie. free) meal we had all week - at Haneda Airport. With the opening of the new international terminal in Oct 2010, somehow travelling to Tokyo has become a lot less intimidating (30mins compared to 2hrs from Narita via the airport limousine bus) and less expensive (around 1500Yen per person - inclusive of a taxi ride to Hamamatsucho station - compared to 3000Y per person). And the terminal was lovely.


They had an Edo theme for the 4th floor of the terminal, which we browsed through after checking in. The replica of the Japanese shophouse - if you can call it that - was kitschy, but quite nicely done!
Plenty of shops and restaurants - some with queues too.


This one had quite a long line of people waiting outside

They had a youth/pop culture theme for the 5th floor - with burger joints, street fashion shops and an arcade as well.

Plus a Hello Kitty shop selling practically every item under the sun

Chocolates, candy, biscuits, yes. But Hello Kitty dried cuttlefish? Incredible.

They also have an outdoor roof garden where you can see the planes land and take off

After walking around outside, we decided to clear customs and go to the ANA Lounge for dinner. It was the nicest Star Alliance lounge I had ever been to - much better even than the Krisflyer Gold Lounge at Changi.

There was a lot of food on offer - sushi and other nibbly things in this corner.

Plus hot food - quite a good spread too.

What I got:

Broiled fish, pork and tofu from the hot selection, and a variety of different types of sushi.

Pickled burdock root and daikon with rice

Miso soup

The salad bar

Part of the light bites area - fruit, yogurt and sandwiches

They even had a noodle bar, with a selection of soba and udon

I tried the sansai udon - the noodles were pretty springy.

A drink dispenser with all types of soft drinks on tap. We didn't check out the different types of alcohol available in detail, but there was Asahi beer on tap, various wines and whiskies for the taking. They also had other canned soft drinks, including Pocari.

Clam chowder soup - they even had the salted crackers at the side

Curry rice

Dessert, which we had with our coffees
Each time I go to an airport lounge I'm painfully aware that my Krisflyer Gold status is going to expire this year with very little hope of retention...unfortunately that night I think I overcompensated for the impending loss - we were so stuffed we couldn't even manage lunch the following day. And that's it for Japan, over and out.