Saturday, March 25, 2023

United Club NRT

ヤマダ電機センセイが着々と過去に向かってダムが決壊したかのように怒濤のコメ入れをしてくださっていますが… 
こちら、先週帰省した時の新鮮な記録で、毒者のみなさまに役立ちそうなので時系列を無視してお届けします。

3月23日、成田空港第一ターミナルのユナイテッド・クラブが再開していました。
今回は上階の、いずれポラリスラウンジに改装されると思われる VIP Club には招待されませんでした。

なので、そのまま奥へ進むと、こんな景色。
成田のユナイテッド・クラブを頻繁にご利用いただく皆様には見慣れた景色でしょうが…

やはり『』の屏風が無くなったままです!
経営難のために、どこかに売られていってしまったのでしょうか… とても残念です。

ここには以前、こんな屏風が置かれていました。
これは 2018 年に撮影したもの。いつもこの鯉に出逢うのが楽しみでした。

ちなみに、上階には『コンちゃん』がいます。WBCの2番打者ではありません。←まだ抜けない
コンちゃんは身売りされずにいるのか、確かめるのを忘れました… 無事だといいですが。

障子っぽい雰囲気の内装は、こんな感じです。
まだパンデミック前そのままで、少し安堵しました。

奥の方は、こうなっています。
この景色の立ち位置の右側に、シャワーブースの受付があります。チェックインカウンターで並んでヒマこいていたら、もうシャワーブースが開いていると聞いて、すかさずキオスクでチェックインしてきました。

まだユナイテッド・クラブそのものがガラガラな時に来たので、今日最初の利用者です。
もらったキーは1番。1番目のブースは初体験…。

でも内部はいつもと同じでした。
実際の見た目は、演色性の悪い LED のおかけでかなり黄色っぽく見えます。

思い切り色補正をかけて、違和感の無い程度にしてみています。

シャワーブースは、こちら。
これを写している背中のところに温度・湯量の調整があります。

まだ肌寒い3月末ですが、あんまり冷水になりませんでした。…氏ぬといけないから?

シャワー・アメニティはこのくらい。
シャンプーにコンディショナー、ボディジェルと乳液です。
AVEDA のパチもんでは?という、ミントとローズマリーの香りです。

シャワーを浴びて汗が引いたら… 窓際のソファへ。
ここがいつも一番人気ですが、まだひとつ空いていました。

荷物を置いてから、スナックコーナーへ突撃。

さぁ、メシや メシやぁ! メシはラウンジ荒らしの一番の楽しみやからなぁ!!
午後2時~3時頃のスナック類はこんな様子でした。以前より量も質も良くなっています
もっとも、以前というのはレッドカーペットクラブ時代で、かなり劣化していた時期かも。

温かいスナック類が充実していました。
洋風なものに加え、蒸し籠もあるし、焼きそばやカレーまでありました。

洋風の温かいスナックは、こちら。
ミートボールがある…。温野菜はあんまり美味しくなさそう。

蒸し籠の中は、こんなです。
海老焼売に普通の焼売、緑色の物体は多分美味しく無さそうな悪寒…。
もう、イイ感じに荒らされてきていました。

飲み物はあんまり変化無し。
ソーダ・ベンダーがスクリーン・タッチ式に変更されていました。

あと、やや驚きつつ、最後までもらおうかどうしようか悩んだのが、ここ。
ロゼの泡ワインが置いてありました!ユナイテッド・クラブでこのレベルは改善でしょう。

他にはサラダとか、フルーツとかも。
おいなりさんと太巻きもありました。

近くに座っている日本通のガイジンさんが「ベジタリアン・スシがあった!」ってはしゃいでた。

でわ、収穫結果をご紹介いたしましょう。
第壱回 収穫:コーク・ゼロシュガー、焼きそばにミートボール、焼売2種。

焼売は冷凍食品な風味。ミートボールはアメリカの平均点(つまり日本では失格?)
焼きそばのソースが「縁日の屋台の焼きそば」みたいな風味で、ハマりそうでした。

そして2回目。
第弐回 収穫:ジンジャーエール、オリーブ、サラミと生ハム、チーズ各種、星形せんべい

小さいけど、ウォッシュとブルーのソフトチーズがあったのには、少し感心。
オリーブは3色とも種を抜いてありました。手の入り方が、さすがニッポン。

3回目に、やっぱ試そう、と思って食べてみました。
第参回 収穫:トニックウォーター、カレー

JALカレーでも、ANAカレーでもなく、UALカレーです!!
感想:味はいい。ただし牛肉が散見される以外、具が入っていない。

ANAラウンジのカレーって暫く食べていないけど、UALカレーでもいいや。
ここに焼売を放り込んで食べるのもアリかも。ミートボールでもいいかも。

そうやってラウンジめしに舌鼓をうっているうちに、搭乗機がやってきました…。
やや遅れての到着ですが、成田ってテキパキ作業してあんまり遅延しないので、31 番ゲートへ向かいました。

以上、結論として、成田ユナイテッド・クラブのラウンジめしは改善されていました。

9 comments:

  1. This is Yamada Denki Sensei who is commenting furiously, as if the dam has collapsed and is heading towards the past... Oh, I see that this time you used United Airlines instead of ANA for your return to Japan. Since this is such a fresh article, I'll leave my mark without ignoring the timeline. Leaving a trace on an article that no one has commented on yet feels like being the first skier on fresh powder snow in a ski resort, doesn't it?

    I heard that the United Club in Terminal 1 of Narita Airport has reopened. But the Polaris Lounge hasn't reopened yet, right? I remember in a previous article that you tried to avoid the United Club as much as possible because of its high population density. At least in SFO, you seemed to have favored the Centurion Lounge, right?

    For me, the United Club in Narita is uncharted territory, and I'm not likely to visit it in my lifetime. However, I remember the "Koi" screen that disappeared. It seems that it was sold somewhere due to financial difficulties, but was it really a masterpiece that could cover United's sales decline during the pandemic? (lol) I'm sure Kon-chan the fox was also sold... United is ruthless.

    Still, the interior with a shoji-like atmosphere was good as it was before the pandemic. Perhaps the interior was unsellable (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      First off, apologize in advance because I don’t think I can catch up all of your comments, which is now way over 40, by the departure of my next trip, when is coming Wednesday to fly over Istanbul again… I need more relaxations and massages to fix my twisted leg problems.

      Well… I still have to show my loyalties to United for flying 4 segments minimum even it’s not required for 3MM flyers. But the next trip to Japan, including Okayama by JR, will be first class by ANA plus green cars by JR.
      I have skied twice for my lifetime so far, therefore I can’t imagine your ‘powder snow’ expression, but it’s similar to the first ice skating after Zamboni shaved the rink, I guess…

      United Polaris® Lounge is still under the plan of its expansion to NRT. It supposed to be ready by Tokyo Olympic but everything became devastating by novel coronavirus. The upstairs used to be the GlobalFirst® Lounge but since first class has been discontinued, it became a ‘VIP Lounge’ for United’s selected customers like GS, or passengers/companies who spend a lot on United. I only invited once when I achieved 20 years of lounge membership.

      Talking about the Centurion Lounge, the one at SFO became a real zoo. Means, it’s unbelievably occupied, stuffed and there are so many restrictions. It looks everybody in SF Bay Area must have Amex Platinum. So, what I heard was; Amex widened the lounge space about double, restricted the number of companions to just one, and can enter within 3 hours prior to departure, etc. But the good news for you is; there is Centurion room or ‘corner’ for whom has black Amex. Buenos Aires lounge has the similar scheme but I feel it’s utterly embarrassing if all the ‘roommates’ are Centurion Card holders… If possible, let me try entering Centurion Lounge SFO on next Wednesday.

      In regards to the foldable screens of Koi and Kon-chan, United sadly sold them to someone for money. Since United had been acquired by Continental (sorry United for telling the truth), everything they pursuer is money which is a right thing for a company with opened stock to the public. However, at ex-United, everything they pursuer is benefit to employees because ex-United is; Of the Union, By the Union, For the Union… totally sad for passengers.

      I am looking forward the early completion of the upstairs to be Polaris Lounge NRT… so I can expect a bit better service including a dining room. If they serve this UAL Curry at their dining, I am more than happy to order it. …with meatballs and/or dim-sum together. (lol)

      Delete
  2. You replied to my comment in English, and I appreciate if you also try to answer my question and concern.

    Let me clarify that your previous comment about “fly over Istanbul again” was not meant to indicate that Istanbul is a layover or a connecting point, but was meant to indicate that Istanbul is a destination, right? I apologize if my wording was confusing.

    Please don't worry about not being able to respond to all of my comments. I understand that you have other tasks to attend to, and I do not expect you to reply to every message. And yes, you definitely need to take better care of your injured leg before your next trip.

    Regarding United, you have achieved 3MM flyer status, but is to fly at least 4 segments necessary to keep your 3MM status level? Or is it a general requirement for all MileagePlus members to maintain their lifetime membership status?

    For your next trip to Japan, you are indeed planning to travel in ANA's first class and JR's Green Cars. I’d like to suggest you to try the GranClass if you have a chance while I know Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen don’t have the Class. I have already made my travel arrangements using GranClass and am looking forward to my upcoming journey to Toyama in June. If you share your experiences and insights about train travel in Japan, I'm sure they will be helpful to other travelers.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Sorry if this figure is somehow incorrect but I am feeling I’m playing “Whac–a-Mole” at a game parlor…

      Recently, in January, Istanbul was the transferring point for visiting Athens. However, Turkish Airlines disconnect my connecting flight... the connection IST-ATH is departing 17 hours prior to the first segment SFO-IST!? I called 1K® desk to fix it, but they couldn’t because those were Star Alliance award flights. After all, I upset and have changed my final destinations from ATH to IST.
      Then… voila! it is a direct flight between SFO and IST with lots of good foods and services, the destination has more friends, mustached daddies and grandpas which I love, or something beyond if possible. I reconfirmed I really prefer Istanbul to Athens…

      The minimum 4 segments requirement on United is only applied to the member who didn’t achieve certain million miler statuses. However, the achievement indicator on the web is really annoying until I finish 4 segments, so it’s easy for me to take 4 times paid on United, so did I.

      For me, The Shinkansen trains are only Nozomi, Hikari or Kodama. Other versions, by JR East or someone else, are ‘wannabes’ therefore no such thing GranClass on Shinkansen.
      The best part of Shink is their “impossible-to-eat-icecream” sold by… still Nihon Shokudo? By whomever it is, I do like ice cream in Shink, and so sad dining/buffet cars are now missing, or no unagi bento is served around Hamamatsu.

      Sorry folks. In Japan, Airline means ANA, and Shinkansen means Tokaido-Sanyo, nothing else for me. But this policy would be easily changing if I took GranClass to Hakodate-Hokuto or Kanazawa. (lol)

      Delete
  3. Hahaha, that's a very you-ish (??) accurate(?) expression. It does feel like playing "Whac-a-Mole" at a game center... If I were you, I would feel the same way, because a reader like me randomly comment on your articles as he pleases, so it must be quite a challenge for you to deal with him like moles (lol).

    I see, you actually used Istanbul as a connecting point to visit Athens recently. However, Turkish Airlines disconnected your IST-ATH connecting flight... it departs 17 hours before the first segment SFO-IST? So if you tried to use that connecting flight, you would have to wait until the next day, seven hours later? Then that cannot be called a connecting flight. You tried to fix it, but you couldn't because it was a Star Alliance award flight, and according to your recent post, you were losing interest in Athens, so you changed your final destination from ATH to IST and got lucky?

    By the way, there are two direct flights per day between SFO and IST? Californians, led by LAX, seem to travel to various parts of the world. It's fortunate for you, who travels the world, to live in California. Turkish Airlines seems to have a lot of delicious in-flight meals and great services, judging from your previous articles, and there are many people and facilities you like (lol) in Istanbul, so I also reconfirmed that Istanbul is more suitable for you than Athens.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Just FYI – the word “game-center” is a taboo word when I was working at headquarter of Sega. We had to call them Amusement Parlor or Game Arcade…

      The random posting of the comments are okay. I can follow by Google’s records, but usually those random, unwanted, unnecessary and unrelated comments are being posted once a week or less. Chronologically backward several comments per a day is a bit tougher to follow. (lol)

      I think the communication between United and Turkish are not so smooth… every time when I tried to modify flights by Turkish, even code-shared ones, it takes extra waiting time when I call 1K desk, and I cannot fix it by myself via online. Modern technology still doesn’t work well when the conversations/communications are between Christianity-established and Islamic countries…

      Turkish Airlines is the biggest air carriers if we compare those by destinations. And San Francisco is a city/area where has well diverted races in the States. Therefore, flying routes like SFO-IST-[somewhere around the world] are highly demanded (the highest demands are Eastern Indians), and twice daily flights in summer are essential.
      However, TK finally reduced the flights in winter season in this year!! As a result, they simply put me on the next day’s flight without any info… Fortunately, I use “Flighty” app which is always monitoring the flight changes all over the world, so I got noticed from Flighty app that flight modification, then I could book one more night at Crowne Plaza Istanbul.

      As a stache-fetish, Istanbul is better than Athens. Both old guys have thick black mustaches but Turkish are more friendlier and easygoing. The advantage of Athens is higher rate of English speakers, but I can overcome that issues by “body language.” (lol)

      Delete
  4. Regarding my random comments, you pointed out in your previous message, I was thinking about changing my name from "Yamada Denki" to "Mole Living inside Your Blog", but perhaps "Metastasis with Unknown Origin" would be more appropriate? It sounds more like a doctor's name. Or maybe behaving in such an uneducated way is more like a ヤブ医者? (lol) Let's try to avoid as much as possible random and unnecessary comments without relevance.

    Is it time to depart for Istanbul soon? I wish you a safe journey.

    I wonder why the word "game center" was taboo. It seems like a familiar word in Japan, but maybe it feels cheap? To me, "Game Arcade" sounds fine, but "Amusement Parlor" gives me a kind of pachinko parlor vibe and feels even cheaper. But I guess it doesn't matter since it's related to your past work experience. (lol)

    It's unfortunate that the communication between United Airlines and Turkish Airlines is not so smooth, as it dilutes the meaning of being in the same alliance. It's a sad reality, even though we live in a world that is so interconnected through the internet, that even seasoned travelers like yourself cannot modify flights online, despite the religious divide.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      My blog is already under severe metastasis, Level IV, unstoppable, incurable, no hope. You may through your spoon right away. Amen. (lol)

      My better-half-san will be leaving to China tomorrow, and I am visiting Istanbul next day. Out studio staffs will be taking care of five little hungry tigers and leopards that I am feeling guilty. But I will be certainly having fan in Istanbul♪
      This time, because of the availability of business class of TK flights, I bought SFO-SEA first class then connecting to IST by TK flight. But fortunately, I found a nonstop return flight at midday departure so the return will be the same as previous two visits on 77W.

      “Game center” is a Japanese English and the shortened word ゲーセン is the word Sega doesn’t appreciate. In the States we call it “Game Parlor” commonly, and Sega of Japan somehow prefers it and follows it. Now, they sold their arcade business so no one cares. *sigh*

      I don’t know why but Turkish Airline’s reservation system is very buggy… how can I connect the flight which departs prior to the first one? Or why they didn’t inform me before/after they cancel the original flight? I am lucky I subscribe an app “Flighty” which monitors all of my flights, and informing any modifications – timeframes, aircrafts, rate of early/delayed arrivals, etc. I am not recommending everybody for purchase Flighty because the subscription is relatively expensive, so if someone flies over 20 segments a year, it’ll be fruitful.
      However, even Flighty is monitoring my flights and Seat Expert is monitoring the availabilities of my most favorite seats, I am checking thru my itineraries almost everyday when I’m not traveling abroad. I already learned the basic idea that in United States, we cannot trust anybody else. And that’s the reason why we use credit cards and personal checks, or carrying guns in some states… hope Japan doesn’t follow this situation Amen.

      Delete
  5. As of March 28th, you wrote, "My blog is already under severe metastasis, Level IV, unstoppable, incurable, no hope," and now it's already mid-June, but it seems that the situation hasn't improved at all. Well, let's throw the spoon again. Amen! (lol)

    Hmm, so in America, it's called a "Game Parlor" instead of a "Game Center." From my understanding, for the average adult Japanese male, "Parlor" usually refers to a pachinko or pachi-slot establishment. There are various theories as to why pachinko and pachi-slot places are called "Parlor," but it seems that the term originated from the meaning of "conversation room" or "place of relaxation" associated with the word "Parlor."
    In pachinko parlors and pachi-slot establishments, people concentrate on the machines in front of them without engaging in “conversations,” and especially since they are immersed in the ups and downs of winning and losing, it is highly questionable whether they are truly finding “relaxation” in those places. However, it came to be called a "Parlor."

    In addition to pachinko and pachi-slot parlors, the term "Parlor" is also used in the names of coffee shops or other establishments as places of relaxation in Japan. However, personally, when it comes to pachinko parlors, I feel that calling them "Halls" rather than "Parlors" suits them better without adding a slightly sophisticated touch.

    So Sega has withdrawn from the arcade business, I see. About a quarter of a century ago, when Ito-Yokado opened in Okayama, Sega's game center also opened and was quite lively. However, later on, AEON Mall Okayama opened between Okayama Station and Ito-Yokado. This store is the first urban-style shopping center in the AEON Mall chain and serves as the flagship store for AEON Mall in western Japan. Ito-Yokado, due to declining sales after the opening of AEON Mall Okayama, closed its doors, and Sega's game center met the same fate. I used to take my young children there to play, so Sega's withdrawal left me with a tinge of nostalgia.

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