Friday 24 January 2025 CBR-SYD-HND
So off we went, to catch our many-times-rescheduled flight (I bet there's a German word for that!) CBR-SYD to connect to tonight's QF25. It's going to be a long day.
We ordered an Uber XL, which turned up promptly and was indeed XL - all our bags fitted in with the skis stacked on the top. Easy check in, and as confirmed by kind people on this forum, our bags were checked all the way to HND despite the separate PNRs. The check in clerk offered to link the two bookings, and said it would make things easier for us. Leaping ahead, it really did because when I checked in from Sapporo, our bags were tagged all the way to Canberra and we didn't have to do a separate check in for the separate SYD-CBR leg - it was all done in one check in on the JAL site. Amazing. But I digress.
Easy security, quiet business lounge, a couple of coffees and soon we were on a totally packed QF802 (B737 which in itself in not very common for the CBR-SYD route). Easy flight. Straight onto the transfer bus with no wait. Immigration and Security both very quiet at that time of day, and we whizzed through very quickly and at 1155 entered our home away from home for the next 9 hrs, the Qantas First Lounge.
Holy Grail - two spa bookings were available at 1230, if we wanted them. Oh yes please we chorused and so we grabbed a quick drink and headed off for 20 minutes of "dream aligner" pampering massage with hot rocks. Felt very zen when I emerged from the spa. Asked about the possibility of a window table, as Mr Seat 0A really likes to watch all the take offs and landings, but there were none, so as we had time, we asked to be waitlisted. No problem.
We headed down to the big windows and snagged a couple of the lounge chairs looking out over the tarmac.
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Did some final trip admin, like advising credit cards of our travel plans and filling out a family declaration for Visit Japan Web. Hey presto, our window table was free, so we toddled off for a leisurely lunch.
View from the restaurant
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Summer menu
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We shared a salt and pepper squid. It was very good today - crispy coating and extremely tender to the bite. Had a second plate it was so good. Next I had the steamed snapper, which was also very good - so good I forgot to take a photo until it was nearly all gone 
. Mr Seat 0A tried the brisket and said it was OK - but I didn't get a photo. The I ordered, as I always do, the signature pavlova, which I love, love, love. He ordered the tiramisu and immediately had orderer's remorse. The Tiramisu was not good - he said it had a funny texture and the presentation was dreadful - just a big spoonful of it slopped onto a plate. So after a couple of bites, he requested a pavlova and was happy as a clam with his new selection. I'm still not drinking much alcohol post-chemo - it tastes weird, so I had a mocktail (House Lemonade), which I enjoyed. He had the cab sav, which he said was good. We lingered for a while and ordered coffee and lingered for a bit longer.
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By the time we finished, it was after 1600, so the day is passing by quite nicely.
Back to our seats by the window and set about charging some devices, while Mr Seat 0A did some emails etc and I did a cram course on my katakana and kanji focusing on check in/out of hotel, ordering food and using a convenience store. I have been so slack this year with my Japanese for some reason (maybe chemo hangover?). I just have not been able to get motivated to work on it like I wanted to, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it came back in my cram session. Before we knew it, it was 1830, and time for dinner.
We both looked at each other and said, all but simultaneously - "I don't think I could fit dinner in!" So we decided to eat on the plane. Had a coffee and read a book for a bit and very soon boarding was called. I cannot believe how quickly that time passed. There are worse ways to spend a day, that's for sure.
Boarding for QF25 was effective, with Group Boarding being strictly enforced. We were both in Group 1 and a couple in front of us and another bloke just behind us were both bounced as they were not Group 1.
On the plane, I still wasn't really hungry, so I had a cheese plate and fruit platter and then slept through the night.
