One can take the bus, train, or a taxi to town. I ended up with the bus.
Bus
Research (Googling) said there were shared-taxi services to town, and that the number 615 bus would take me to near Hilton. After getting some cash, and a SIM card, I approached the Airport Taxi Yellow Line counter. There was another shared-taxi counter next to it but the attendent wasn't there. The cost to town was €29.9, I think, but just under €30. The next car was in 30 minutes. I asked the gentleman where I could get the bus to town and he said it's just outside.
There seemed to be many bus stops. I wandered a bit and found the sign for the stop which included the #615. There was an automated ticketing machine. Chose English as the language and purchased a ticket to town for €5.5 with my credit card.
Bus Ticket
There were a few people there and I asked a gentleman if he was in the queue. He told me there wasn't really a queue for this or that bus. When the bus arrives, people just get on. After a minute or two, the #615 rolled up and we all piled on in an orderly fashion. One can buy a ticket onboard from the driver with cash and quite a few people did that.
Thanks to my working cellphone with a working data SIM card, I kept checking Google Map. My destination was Hakaniemi subway stop. Feeling that I was close to where I was supposed to get off, I told the driver that I was looking to get off at Hakaniemi and would he please let me when I was supposed to get off. He patiently pointed out that my stop was the second one from then. I thanked him and got off a few meters from the McDonald's Hakaniemi. The hotel was about 250 meters from there. The bus departed the airport at 15:15 and I got off at 16:00.
One can also take the train from the airport to the Central Railway Station for the same €5.5. For me, I would then have to catch the tram, or subway back to Hakaniemi, the nearest tram/subway stop to Hilton.
Epilogue
There were signs at the exit of the aiport building pointing to ground transportation. But one needed to know where to find the stop for Bus 615.
Date: 2016/11/04 Flight: JL413 Aircraft/Registration: 787-8/JA836J Class: Business (award travel) Seat: JAL SKY SUITE 787
Prologue
Redeemed 85,000 JAL miles for a return NaRiTa/HELlsinki trip on business class. Booking award-travel with JAL is a bit of a pain. In fact booking ordinary travels on their website is a bit of a pain. The dates of this trip was determined by the award travel availability.
Pre-boarding
Business class check-in counters were free of passengers. I had one bag to check and was done in less than 5 minutes.
As a JGC member, I was allowed to use the priority, JAL-only security line. But then, there weren't many other people so it didn't make much of a difference.
After clearing immigration (on the south end of the terminal,) I happened to be facing the Sakura Lounge.
The layout hasn't changed since my last visit here bout 2 years go; it's a bit inconvenient. After checking in at the reception counter, the business class lounge is to the right. One needs to go down a flight of escalators to the main sitting area. For food, one needs to go back up a level, back the the level where the entrance was.
The lounge was busy. They had a sign erected at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the dining area saying it was crowded up there. Fortunately, I didn't have problems find a seat for a sit-down breakfast.
JAL NRT Lounge Breakfast Menu
The food on offer was the same as those in Haneda. There weren't a lot of varieties but both Western and Japanese items were on offer and more than sufficient for a fast and hot breakfast. The fresh-salad bar was a nice touch. With the exception of the down-and-up split levels, it was an excellent lounge.
On Board
Plastic Welcome
Starters
Once seated, orange juice or champagne were offered. Too bad it came in a plastic cup. It took a while for the flight attendant to realize I had a jacket for them to store. In fact, I had to specifically ask her to store it for me.
The business class cabin was a little more than 1/2 full. I had a window seat, which afforded me great privacy. The "JAL Sky Suite" on this 787-8 seemed to be less claustrophobic than the ones on 777-300ER. It's a good business class seat, and I think this type is unique to JAL.
The IFE, including the selection of movies were OK. Choices leaned heavily towards Western (a la Hollywood) and Japanese tastes, with very limited non-Japan Asian choices. It's a shame that the IFEs didn't have external camera views. The controller is touch-screen. As with anything touch-screens, after heavy use, the screens tend to be finicky. Before take-off, I had trouble selecting the language. It would automatically jump all over the place. The problem went away after take off though. Must have something to with on-ground power source.
Meals
Western
The first meal was served about an hour after take-off. I chose the Western meal. The appetizers and salad were were fresh and tasty. Had the wagyu (和牛) steak as the main dish. It was a very nicely done medium. As it was a western meal, it came with bread. But I'd requested and got steam rice.
After the first meal, "Anytime You Wish" meals could be ordered up to 2 hours before landing. It said on the menu that those were available up to 1.5 hours before landing. But on this particular flight, 2 hours before landing. These meals, as well as drinks are ordered via the IFE controller.
Fumiko's Japanese Set Plate
Around 3 hours before landing, I ordered the "Fumiko's Japanese Set Plate." After half an hour, no food. I rang for the flight attendant who returned after a minute and said they had not received my order. She didn't say it out loud but cast doubt on my ability to order the meal. To prove my ability, I demonstrated to her who I had ordered and ordered the same thing for the second time. She agreed that that was the right way to do it. A few minutes later, the chief purser came around to apologize and said that they had actually received my first order but due to a system freeze or whatever reason, they had 'overlooked' my order. She never explained exactly what happened but apologized again for the delay. In the end, the meal was delivered 30 minutes after I'd ordered it. The delicious meal made up for the hassle.
Service
Crane
Other than the welcome drink in the plastic cup, and the anytime-meal delay, service was good. Little details were like the origami crane in the bathroom was nice.
Arrival
Due to construction work at Vantaa, the flight had to park in an open-spot. Though refreshing to step into the -2°C air, it was a shame to have to walk down the rickety stairs and onto the transfer bus. It was especially troublesome for those with children and or bigger carry-ons.
Epilogue
Total flight time was 9 hours and 22 minutes. Time flew by.
There are many ways to get out to Narita. It's a hassle to get to the bus and/or train stations with bags.
I live within 10 km of Haneda. A taxi ride to Haneda (approx ¥4,500) then the "Limousine Bus" (¥3,100) is an option, total cost of less than ¥8,000.
Uber charges a flat rate of ¥27,000 from any of the 23 区 (wards) to Narita airport. For me in Ota-ku, that is more than the ¥21,000 (+ expressway tolls) charged by MK Tokyo.
Booking on the internet got me a ¥1,000 discount. The expressway tolls ended up being ¥2,800. The total cost was ¥22,800.
I have used MK Tokyo quite a few times to and from Narita. The fact that I could book a ride in advance and have them pick me up at a specific time is infinitely better than Uber. I like MK Tokyo because their drivers are great and the cars are luxurious. For this particular ride, I got to ride in a Mercedes S300h. Previously, I had ridden in Lexus, BMW 7-series cars.
My only complaint with MK Tokyo is their mandatory "greeting service" fee of ¥3,000. Their reasoning is that this fee would enable the driver to park the car in a car park then come and greet you in the greeting area. That's fine, except when they were late.
I once came back from LAX and the driver was late. Two of their non-drivers met me at the greeting area. and they said the driver was late due to whatever reason. I ended up greeting the driver curbside. Yet, they charged me the mandatory ¥3,000. I should have been paid the ¥3,000 since I was the greeter.
As free WiFi is readily available all over Helsinki, you may not need to get local SIM card. I'd wanted one for when I'm out and about for Google Maps etc.
What
The "Rajaton Prepaid" offered by DNA seemed to have the best value. It has the face value of €7 but it was often on sale for €4.9. Indeed, when I got in in early November 2016, it was still on sale for €4.9. For €0.89/day, one gets unlimited local calls and data, i.e. should be good for your stay of ~1 week. Rates and other details available on the DNA site. At the point of sales, no ID-check, cash or credit cards accepted. Instant activation. Hassle-free, fast data speed.
Where
At the R-Kiosk convenience store located in the arrivals hall 2A (terminal 2,) Vantaa airport.
Note to Myself
To activate the SIM card, one needs to enter the "PIN1" code. This is a 4-digit number. I'm noting it here because once I'd scratched off the security screen, there were a bunch of numbers for PIN1, PIN2, PUK1, and PUK2. Looks like PIN1 and PIN2 are 4-digit and PUK1, and PUK2 are 8-digit. It wasn't obvious to me where the codes started/ended. So, initially I'd entered 12 digits and failed.
http://tabi-recipes.com/archives/6311 (in Japanese)
https://corporate.dna.fi/en/dna-prepaid
https://www.finavia.fi/en/helsinki-airport/services/shops/kiosk-rkioski-2/
