My Japanese Trip Series 2025: A Trip to the Land Of The Rising Sun With Air Japan: SIN-NRT (Part 1)

 Welcome to my latest trip report on Air Japan! 

Photo: Arai118.100

Introduction 

My mother had always wanted to visit Japan to see how the country is like as she told me that the last time she was there was many years ago, in the 1980s. So when I told her that we should go, the decision was made and all I had to do is to do the planning. My Aunt was invited along and once she agreed, it was all about deciding on the dates. Initially I wanted to do one-way Zipair and the return flight with Air Japan but because Air Japan was having an airfare promotion, it was actually much cheaper to do a return flight with this airline. So I decided to book with Air Japan for both ways and flying with Zipair would be set to a later date. For the choices of cities to visit, we decided on 3, they are Tokyo (2 nights), Osaka (3 nights) and Kyoto (4 nights). We could have stay in Osaka for a week and visit Kyoto by doing a day trip or two but after some thoughts, I thought it may not be so bad to stay in different accommodation in both cities and I can do one more reviews on the accommodation. For Tokyo, I thought it would be nice to stay for a couple of nights to bring my mum and aunt to visit the popular shopping districts in this city before we fly over to Osaka. I chose ANA's flight to fly from Haneda to Osaka Itami as flying into this airport has always been in my must do list. 

After the few nights stay at Osaka, we would take the normal JR line train to Kyoto and from there after a few nights, we would take the Shinkansen train back to Tokyo Station where we travel directly to Narita Airport to catch our flight back to Singapore. 

Here is the map of our itinerary. In this Japanese trip series, I would share with you my travelling experience and if you have any enquires, please feel free to send me a message or leave a comment below. 

A summary of my trip

 SIN-NRT (Air Japan 787-8) (This Trip report)

HND-KIX (ANA 787-10) (Coming Up Soon) 

Osaka to Kyoto by JR line 

Kyoto to Tokyo by Shinkansen (Coming Up Soon)

Tokyo to Tokyo NRT by bus 

NRT-SIN (Air Japan 787-8) (Coming Up Soon)

Without further ado, let’s begin this trip report! 

About Air Japan 

Air Japan is a low-cost airline based in Tokyo Narita Airport, founded in 1990 as World Air Network before it was rebranded into Air Japan a decade later. However World Air Network suspended operation in 1995 before it returned in 2000 with the rebranding and operated services under ANA brand. This airline went through a merger and a few changes to its operation before finally being given the task to operate the Boeing 767 passenger and cargo fleet on behalf of ANA and later on in 2018, the Boeing 787 joined the Air Japan's fleet also operating on behalf for the parent airline. 

In 2023, ANA launched a low-cost medium haul route to operate along with Peach Aviation (merged with Vanilla Air) to operate flights on some of the high demand economy class routes such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon, Taipei and Honolulu. The airline decided on the Boeing 787-8 to be configured in an all-economy class cabin to compete with ZIPair  (this airline is a subsidiary of Japan Airlines). 

Currently operating a fleet of 2 Boeing 787-8 (JA801A and JA803A) in Air Japan's configuration and livery (324 seater), the airlines is flying them to 3 destinations: Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore. The airline has plans to operate up to 6 Boeing 787-8 by the end of 2025 (for now) and the other 4 aircraft would be transferred from the ANA airline (JA802A, JA804A, JA806A and JA807A). These 4 aircraft are still in a 2-class configuration operating ANA's regional routes for now and I strongly believe once the aircraft are due for the next C check, they should be transferring into Air Japan's fleet and would be converted into the 324-seater (one-class configuration) together with the regular maintanence check of the aircraft. (September 2025 update) 

The airline's network (September 2025)

Booking 

Air Japan has it's own website and since I am not a member of the ANA Mileage Club, I was not able to access the booking on ANA's website and everything have to be done on Air Japan's. 

For Air Japan's website, click here. (English version) 

Air Japan's website is clean and simple. I was able to navigate the website without issues, only thing is there are too many wordings during the booking process and I had to check carefully before I proceed on to the next part. Since I had to book for 3 persons, it took a bit longer to get everything sorted out. 

Other than that, I had no issues with the website, 

I paid for the highest tier airfare so was able to select my seat without making futher payment. I decided on seat 2A and 2K(on the return) for the extra legroom space. 

Seats 1B and 1C were under consideration but in the end it was better to be seated together since its 3 of us travelling. 

We were able to select the meal choices for the flight and once the payment was made, we were ready for our trip. 

For now, only flights out of Tokyo Narita allow online check-in and you can do auto check-in at both Tokyo Narita and Bangkok BKK airport. So for flights depart from other airports, you need to turn up early to do the check-in at the manned airport counters, so remember to be there at least 2 hours before the check-in counters closed. Its recommended to check in to your flight at least half an hour before the counters closed. 

There are 3 types of fares, you choose the one that suits you the most. Personally I go for the Selected fare especially when travelling in a group as you won't have to worry about luggage allowance and seat assignment. Do note that this fare rules applies from 30th March 2025 to 26th March 2025. Only book if you are sure of the dates of departure and arrival as none of these fare types do not allow flight changes. 

A good variety of inflight meal is available and I highly suggest you to pre-order them to avoid disappointment. For those passengers sitting from row 1 to 9 would get complimentary beverages and if you like to order a 2nd meal, you may purchase them and alcoholic beverages can be purchased too during the flight. 

Photos of the inflight meal (Air Japan's website) 

Each of the meals will be served with a bottle of water. 

The price of the meal is very similar to Scoot's. 

On the day of departure

After meeting up with my Aunt at the Mrt Station, we hearded to the airport. The ride took about 15 minutes including the transfer of train at Taneh Merah MRT station. 

This is the view of the train station at the Terminal 2 departure hall. 

Air Japan flies out of terminal 2. 

Our check-in desk was located at row 1. 

As we arrived too early, we headed over to Mcdonald's for some bite. Mcdonald's is located at the arrival hall, Terminal 2. 

I ordered Big Mac and salad to come along with it. 

Once done, we made our way back to the row desk. The check-in counters are opened 3 hours before the departure time. No early check-in for this airline. 

We waited for about 10 minutes before the counters were opened.

Are you a fan of Air Japan's logo?

Japanese low cost carriers are usually strict about the carry on baggage rule and this airline is no exception. All of our carry-ons were weighed and we were given the tag to show that we are given the green light to carry them on board. 

The airline does not have its own boarding pass, so SATS version was used. 

This is the terminal 2 departure hall airside. 

At this time, it was considered to be a peak period as there were many departures happening close to midnight with a good bulk of flights heading over to Europe. 

I did a check on inbound aircraft and JA801A, one of the oldest Boeing 787 in service was on its way. 

There were a good number of flights departing to Japan including another Japanese low cost carrier, Peach. 

There is skytrain available to connect to other terminals at the airside. 

Feeling hungry? There are small eateries available but the prices are on a high end side, typical of Airport prices. 

On the floor above the departure hall, there is Mcdonald's, food court and airport lounges to check out. 

F58 was our assigned gate. 

The holding room. 

Time to board, my first sight of JA801A in Air Japan's livery. 

Time to go! 

Welcome on board JA801A!

My ride: JA801A 

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Transferred from ANA in April 2024 in new configuration

Configuration: Y324

Engines: 2 X Roll Royce Trent 1000 

First flight: September 2011

Age: 14 Years Old 

8th Boeing 787 in production

Built in Everett (PAE)

Flight route: SIN-NRT 

Miles: 3,324 

My seat: 2A (Photo: Aerolopa.com)

Date of departure: 8th August 2025

Airline: Air Japan 

Flight: NQ4

Route: SIN-NRT 

Aircraft: Boeing 787-8

Departure Terminal: 2 

Gate: F58 

Class: Economy 

Seat: 2A (Highly recommended) 

Load: 80% 

Flight time: Not Announced 

Actual Flight Time: 6 hours 36 minutes 

Schedule Departure: 0055

Boarding: 0024

Pushed Back: 0055

Take Off: 0110 

Schedule Arrival: 0840 

Actual Arrival: 0846

Departure Runway: 20C

Departure Weather: Partially Cloudy 

Arrival Terminal: 1 

Arrival Gate: 58

Arrival Runway: 34R

Arrival Weather: Partially Cloudy 

My flight experience 

We were one of the first to board as boarding was according to seat numbers and the first few rows get to board just after those that needed assistance to board the aircraft. Once on board, we were greeted by the lovely crew. It didn't take long for us to settle down and how much I enjoyed the legroom space. The seat is quite comfortable but blanket and pillow are not provided. The flight crew didnt make any announcement until later part of the flight to update us on our flight arrival and he mentioned something about delay in arrival. It was quite difficult to catch what he was saying due to the volume of the speaker. However for the cabin crew's announcement, the sound was just fine. 

Before departure, we were told to position our headrest to the original position, this is new to me, I guess they want the children or shorter people to be able view in front just in case of emergency. Anyway after take off, the crew came around to confirm us about our meal selection and I used this opportunity to ask whether the crew can serve us our beverage at that time and let us have our meal later during the flight preferably just before arrival. Thankfully our request was granted. For the majority of the flight, we were able to grab some sleep and when we were all awake, we had a couple of hours left to go. We managed to have our meals at breakfast time, just nice for us to get ready for our adventure in Tokyo.

We touched down late at Tokyo Narita, I presumed that happened was due to the heavy traffic at the airport as the weather in Tokyo was absolutely fine. In fact for the flight, there were little bumps and considering this flight happened during monsoon season, it was great to be able to enjoy another smooth flight. This was my 3rd time on ANA/Air Japan's Boeing 787-8. My previous flights were on JA815A and JA808A and they are still currently operating on ANA's routes. As for this aircraft, JA801A, it was transferred and reconfigured into Air Japan's specification and right now it is about 14 years old, the oldest in commercial service so far. ANA was the first operator to operate the this aircraft but yet you can't tell the age from the interior as it was well maintained but considering that it went for a retrofit, it shouldn't be a surprised of its newer cabin interior. My mum was surprised when I told her how old this aircraft was. 

Economy Class 

Air Japan configured this aircraft with 324 Safran Z110i slimline seats configured in a 3-3-3 configuration. Each seat comes with an adjustable headrest, retractable table, retractable cup holder and a USB-A and USB C sockets. The overhead light and cabin crew call buttons can be found on the seat back. 

- 32 inches of legroom space (Most seats)

- Seat width of 17.1 inches

Seat map of the aircraft (Photo: Aerolopa.com)

Economy Class photos 

This is the last row of the first cabin 

The economy class seat quality is one of the better ones in the market in my opinion.

Legroom space is 32 inches. 

The last row of the economy class seat in front of the lavatory may have limited recline. 

The front cabin was filled up quite fast so I had to photograph these photos pretty quickly. 

The rear view of the first cabin of the economy class. 

The window seat just behind my assigned seat. 

Another view of the cabin 

Mood lighting was used during the flight 

The cabin was in the standard lighting. 

The view from my seat during sleeping time. 

The best seat in the aircraft? Seat 2A and 2K - plenty of legroom space as there is no seat in front. 

Due to the front part of the aircraft curving in (as shown below), there isn't space to place a seat in front of row 2 therefore there are only 2 seats for row 1. This curve design of the aircraft (in front and the rear) is for aerodynamic performance. This design is mandatory so that it can adhere to safety regulations for emergency evacuation. 

This also applies to the rear part of the aircraft. 

This is seat 2A. Whoever sits here get to enjoy views from both windows. For the 1st window, it is aligned slightly behind seat 1B so the question is who control the window, I guess it has to be the seat 2A passenger. This question would depends if the crew locks the window, if they do, then none of the passengers would get to control the window electronic shadow. 

For this flight, the crew gave us free access to use it anytime so when the sky had brighten up after waking up, I turned off the dimmed window mode to enjoy the view.  

The safety card and useful information literature for the passengers of seat 2A and 2F are placed in the literature holder of the seat besides them. (2B and 2E) 

More photos of the seat 

For my mum and aunt, they find the legroom space to be adequate and seat to be comfortable. 

I was able to stretch my legs out comfortable. 

Literature holder 

There is enough space to place your belongings underneath the seat in front of you. 

Adjustable headrest 

Retractable bi-foldable tray table

On this fully opened up tray table, there is a small support for your device to place on it so that you can enjoy your show while enjoying a meal. 

This is how it looks like.

There is no Inflight Entertainment screen installed on Air Japan's high density configured aircraft. 

Retractable drink holder is available. 

The standard size tray table  

USB A and C charging ports 

Cabin crew call and reading light buttons 

For passengers sitting at 2A and 2F, the usb charging ports are located just below the seat. 

View of the aisle from my seat. 

Lavatory

Standard door 

There is even a window inside this lavatory. 

The lavatory is quite spacious.

There is also instructions to warn passengers of what not to do in the lavatory. 

What's provided for each passenger?

Disposal Bag 

Safety Card 

Wi-Fi Guide 

Special instructions 

Inflight menu 

This is for those who wishes to buy onboard. 

Instructions on how the airline's WiFi system on this airline works. 

Inflight Entertainment (WiFi - Chargable) 

Only wifi is available. 

This is the charges, the currency is in Singapore dollars. 

Inflight meals 

Oyakodon Charcoal Grilled Chicken 

Sushi Box (My option)

Salmon Teriyaki Donburi 

I was handled a cup of apple juice with a cover just in case of turbulence. 

I chose apple juice for my beverage. 

Window view photos (Take off to Landing) 

We took off smoothly into the busy sky. 

After many hours, we woke up in this beautiful weather. 

We started descent into Tokyo. 

A few more turns and we were on final approach into Tokyo Narita. 

This is Tokyo Narita Airport! We flew passed the airport to make a U-turn so that we could land on runway 34R. 

We were lucky to be able to capture this good view of the airport. 

Sorry for the poor quality photos as the light was facing against my direction.

After the turn, we were on final approach onto runway 34R. 

We touched down smoothly. 

After minutes of taxiing, we reached our gate. 

My flight summary 

Welcome to Tokyo Narita Airport! 

Thanks for the ride, JA801A!

It took about 15 minutes of walk to get to the main concourse. 

The last time I was at this airport was in 2019 where I transit here from Singapore to San Francisco and the opposite direction. 

This is Peach's Airbus A320neo. 

ANA's Airbus A380 in sight. So far it is only deployed to is Honolulu. 

Checking which carousel to go to, B2 is the one. 

After collecting our luggages, we went to the Narita Airport Limousine bus ticket counter to book 3 tickets to Tokyo Station. This is the more expensive bus fare compared to the Airport Bus Tokyo-NRT which cost 1,500 yen per person. For the Limousine bus fare, it costs 3,100 yen per person. 

The fastest way to get to Tokyo Station would be to take the JR line Narita Express and that would cost about 3,100 yen. 

This is the landside (arrival hall). 

We made our way to the boarding berth 10 to wait for our bus. The information is provided on our bus ticket so be sure to be there about 5 minutes before the departure time as they are very particular about punctuality. 

We were waiting for the 1025 a.m bus. 

These are the airlines that operate out of Tokyo Narita Airport. 

On this ticket, the seat is assigned to you. 

The legroom space on this bus is good. Luggage would be stored at the luggage compartment on the bus. The bus conductor will issue the luggage tag and you need to show the driver the tag in order to claim it back after the ride. 

Leaving Tokyo Narita! 

The motorcars have to stop at this junction to allow the trains to cross. 

The residents living near the railway track must have gotten used to the noise. 

Here comes the passing by train! 

Welcome to Tokyo! We had a good walk with our luggages to our accommodation. 

Hope you enjoy this review. 

My ratings 

Airline Website/Mobile App: 3/5

Airport Experience (SIN Terminal 2): 4/5 

Inflight Service: 4/5

Seat Comfort: 5/5

Inflight Entertainment: 3/5 (Wifi is Chargable) 

Cabin Ambiance: 5/5

Seat Condition: 5/5

Cleanliness: 5/5

InFlight Meal/Beverage: 5/5

Punctuality: 4/5 (Slightly late)

Overall Rating: 42/50

Percentage: 84%

Conclusion 

The flight timing may not be ideal to some because of the arrival time as most check-in timing at accommodation is in the afternoon but because for the sake of trying out this airline, I had to do some planning to ensure that my mum and aunt were not too exhausted by the time we reached our accommodation. However for the return flight timing, it was ok. 

For the money spent, I thought it was worth every penny. The seats were comfortable especially my assigned seat was marvellous for the extra legroom space. With the availability of the wifi, you could get some work done and also the airline offers a good variety of beverages and hot meals. We were satisfied with the quality and lastly for the amenities provided by the airline, I thought it is valued for money. The cabin crew were nice and helpful and the fact there were flexible about serving our meal later during the flight has made feel grateful. Overall, we were happy with the service on board. 

Only thing risky about flying with this airline at this time was the airline operating only 2 aircraft on 3 routes and if one of them breaks down and encounter some issues, that could been delays and flight cancellation is a strong possibility. Fortunately, we didn't have to find out. 

I will do an overview of this airline in the return flight (Part 2: NRT-SIN), coming up soon. 

Next Trip Report: Flying ANA's Domestic Flight from Tokyo Haneda to Osaka Itami Airport. 

Have a good one! 

Charles 

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