As of this moment, Japan Air is my favorite
The first plane, from Barcelona to Amsterdam was actually owned by Iberia. Not great, but for flights under 4-5 hours who cares?!!
I mean, face it- it if's cheap enough and safe, I'd fly in a tin can. I have in fact on a number of occasions.

For longer flights of 8-12 hours you need a little bit of comfort so that you don't go completely mental.

Face it. It doesn't take much -free alcohol, a window seat and a meal that doesn't look like somthing the cat dragged in. (Nice staff helps too!!)

Japan Air

Flight 412 is a huge plane. We had to enter from 2 separate ramps to make loading faster. Upon arriving to my seat, I was pleasantly surprised with personal screens. I LOVE personal screens!! Of course I've only ever had them once before on the flight to Belgium the night grandma Betty died, but I didn't hold the screen responsible and have always secretly hoped to have one again. Thirteen international flights later I got my wish!!
Who says 13 is unlucky?!
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All in all, the flight went well. I'm well caught up now on all of the films that will come to New Zealand theatres in the next year.

I had a window seat and two empty seats next to me- or rather I would have, had not an old Japanese man with fly-away white hair taken the opportunity to upgrade his own seating arrangement. He slept his fill in the two seats (he DID ask first) often spilling over into mine, at which point I always elbowed him a bit, which he didn't seem to mind too terribly.

He was actually rather nice. Looked a bit like a Japanese Christopher Lloyd.

Sadly the airport was nothing special, but as we descended, I was able to see many "fires"billowing smoke which later turned out to be an industrial area. Gave a weird hazy red glow to everything.

As we landed, I thought the airport looked exactly like DFW -the same dry look, same towers and colors of a desert. Inside it had sort of a generic office feel, a bit like Singapore, only without color. (Singapore is all about burgandy carpets and eighties motel flower patterns). Everything grey, right down to the "artistic" Welcome to Japan display.

On the bullet train -Another travel first
"Japanese style toilets on trains...."

You may remember my shock at finding in Italia that although I had paid a thousand lira, there was no toilet in my WC. Naturally I thought it was missing or broken. Then I began to realize that in fact I had just paid that thousand lira to squat over a unisex porcelain flushable hole in the floor.

hmm.

Well, on the Shinkansen (bullet train) it's a bit different.

In the men's room there appeared to be a urinal on the far wall. Now, to make sure that nothing funny goes on, there's a window so that you may watch the back of the peeing man if you wish.

Hmm..walking on...womens...

"Welcome to Japanese style. Please hold on to bar for your own safety"

The room is about 1and 1/2 times the size of your average toilet on a plane. To the right in the far corner is a sink. To the left is a pedestal stage about 20 centimeters high (7 or 8 inches) with a pink urinal on its back so that you may squat AND have most of the splash caught by the bowl. In the corner is a bar to hang on to...