Flying to Japan: My Honest Experience from Toronto via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific

Have you ever wondered what will the experiences you’ll actually get on a long distance flight? I definitely have experience in person and watched flight videos. Whenever I watch flight videos, I usually wanted too see checking in process to seat space, and to what menu options are usually available. In today’s globalized world, many of us are able to fly everywhere, from Paris to London, to Japan and Korea, especially with social media showing us the beauty these places have to capture.

In this blog post, I flew from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) with a layover in Hong Kong (HKG) during my September 2023 trip to Japan. It was a long journey, but I documented most of them, from takeoff to dining, and wanted to post about what actually the experience was like. This is a 2023 oldie but a good reminder to compare what the differences were then versus now.

Flight Itinerary Overview

Initial Plans: YYZ to NRT (with layover in HKG), then NRT to HKG, and finally HKG to YYZ, all using Cathay Pacific Airways. For this blog post I will mostly be covering the first flight, which is YYZ to NRT.

• Airline: Cathay Pacific Airways
• Route: Toronto (YYZ) → Hong Kong (HKG) → Tokyo Narita (NRT)
• Total flight time: 19 hours 55 minutes (including 4 hours 5 minutes layover, total = 24 hours travel time)
• Class: Economy
• Aircraft: Airbus A350-1000 (YYZ-HKG), Boeing 777-300 (HKG-NRT)

The Long Haul: Toronto to Hong Kong (CX829)

Flight Details: Late September 2023 @ 1:40 AM to @ 5:00 AM plus 1 day (15 hours 20 minutes)
Aircraft: Airbus A350-1000

Pre-Flight Reality Check

Keep in mind this was an overnight flight, so I had to leave the evening prior to catch it. Even though you might feel like you’re “losing” a day of travel since Asia is typically many hours ahead of Canada, the time difference means it actually takes more planning days to get ready.

At the airport, I noticed many passengers taking this flight were similar to me – doing layovers in Hong Kong. Many were of Asian descent visiting their hometowns somewhere in Asia. For me, it was a visit to Japan before seeing relatives in Hong Kong. That is why I noticed that people were speaking different Chinese dialects and different languages beyond Cantonese, which was interesting given Hong Kong’s connection. It was a big airplane that carries many people with many different destinations.

Seat Comfort and Space

The economy seating was surprisingly spacious, at least for someone petite in height like me. I had lots of legroom. Although for the width, it was just enough for what I’d describe as a person who usually wear a medium to large women’s Canadian shirt size. It was adequate but not luxurious.

Service Quality

The cabin crew was noticeably more polite and were much younger in age wise than what I’ve experienced with Air Canada when travelling to Hong Kong, and the food quality was significantly better. At first, everything was clean, but as the flight progressed, things got messier like the washroom area got so gross, even I don’t want to go in, but needed to at some point as it was very long flight. In addition, many passengers were feeling sick as I heard many people coughing and seeing few people taking their antibiotics medication (orange bottles).

The Meal Etiquette Incident

Here’s where things got interesting and not in a good way. As anyone with flying experience knows, you need to straighten your seat during meal times. I was seated near the end as there were not many seats left by the time I booked the flight and am naturally a slow eater. While some passengers finished their meals quickly, the person in front of me kept reclining their seat fully backward way before the flight attendants collected the trays, despite my polite requests with the flight attendant’s assistance as ones never confronted without someone’s assistance in this situation as it may escalate the worst as I have to sit there for a long time before landing as the flight was fully booked and it was hard to change seat at that point in time.

This person’s attention span seemed to be about less than a minute before they’d recline again, I reminded you all that it wasn’t the time for tray collection. I eventually had to call the flight attendant the second time because I couldn’t help it. Once all plates were returned, they immediately laid back fully, which was fine since the meal was over.

But it got me thinking, if I was an elderly, how much harder would it be to stand up to use the washroom with someone fully reclined in front of me? Anyways, it can’t help it as it is the very right of the passenger to be able to fully reclined the seat. It really depends on how lucky you are with your flight neighbours and their basic meal etiquette awareness.

The Food Experience

Meal #1: Potato salad with roasted beef and gherkin bread and butter, Italian herbed chicken with marinara sauce, mixed vegetables and mashed potato, Milanese vanilla gelato, Ghirardelli milk chocolate with caramel, and Coke.

Meal #2: Scrambled eggs with cheddar, pork sausage, tomato, fried potatoes, fresh seasonal fruit, fruit yogurt, bread and butter, and apple juice.

The Hong Kong Layover Experience

It was my first time back in Hong Kong in a really long time. Even though I was in the airport as it was a reminder that I genuinely missed the airport’s cleanliness. The washrooms felt consistently cleaner, and there were more food options to choose from.

Sadly, I arrived in Hong Kong very early that there were not many places that early. I quickly went to the 24-hour McDonald’s to get a Filet-O-Fish after landing, which I hadn’t eaten in ages. I was surprise that it was pack with people. Even though we do have McDonald’s here in Canada, it was just right in taste when I first arrived in the morning. In Hong Kong Airport McDonald’s, it cost around $14 HKD as of October 2023, which is significantly cheaper than the prices in Toronto. Apart from going there, we could also witness the view directly without having to go out or access any lounges.

Finding the transit gate here is typically challenging since the airport is quite large. As I was walking and looking around the Hong Kong airport, a lingering thought came in, thinking of how I missed the cleanliness of the airport and the convenience of 7-Eleven.

The Final Leg: Hong Kong to Tokyo (CX504)

Flight Details: Late September 2023 @ 9:05 AM to 2:30 PM (4 hours 25 minutes)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300

The Meal: Fried noodles with chicken, bread, strawberry yogurt, and assorted fruits.

This shorter flight was quite straightforward and comfortable after the long flight from Toronto. In addition, there were less passengers travelling to Tokyo on a Thursday morning.

Arrival in Japan: First Impressions

Immigration and customs took a couple of hours, which felt long after such a journey. Fortunately, I had completed the electronic customs forms, which helped speed things up.

Stepping into Tokyo was eye-opening, so different from both Hong Kong and Canada. Everyone was incredibly polite, and the food was fabulous. There were many things to see and experience right from the airport.

Final Reflections and Tips

Would I fly this route again? Absolutely. If I had the budget to fly business class, I would definitely do so for the extra space and fewer interruptions from inconsiderate passengers for a long haul of flight.

Tips for first-time flyers on this route:

• Bring your own reusable water bottle – it’s a long haul and you’ll get thirsty
• Pack layers for temperature changes between flights and airports
• Download entertainment since 19+ hours is a long time

Overall, Cathay Pacific provided a solid long-haul experience with better food and service than my previous Canadian carrier experiences when travelling to Hong Kong from Canada. This route via Hong Kong adds travel time, but offers a nice break and glimpse into another culture. Just hope you get seated near considerate passengers that can make or break a long flight experience or book a more premium seat for much enjoyable flight if you have a budget.