From Honolulu it was on to Tokyo. This was set to be one of the longest and possibly most difficult legs with the baby. It was a flight that would last nine daytime hours and when we got off in Narita it would already be 10pm in Hawaii.
We flew ANA (All Nippon Airlines) and it turned out to be a remarkably smooth experience. Unbelievably there were three baby boys (all under the age of two) in our bulkhead row but they all behaved like rock stars and the attendants were great passing out toys, special kids meals and making sure that the bassinets were set up as soon as the seat belt sign went off. I have found that it is really important to make sure that Jacopo gets his normal naps on the flight so he isn't overtired but then push him to stay up until normal bedtime when we land, he loves airport stimulation so that works pretty well. And with all the babies on board it turned into a bit of a romper room between the sleeping hours. My husband and I also do half hour shifts so that both of us get time to do other stuff on board.
Tokyo was an amazing experience with Jacopo. I have always wanted to stay at the Park Hyatt (my husband always stayed there when he was with his bands from RCA) and it was even more on my wish list after Lost in Translation (one of my favorite films ever) and am happy to say that it totally lived up to the hype especially on the service front. It is one of those hotels that actually make you a little unable to cope when you get back to reality because everything is taken care of for you in an instant. And I have to say that Jacopo seemed to feel the same; he seemed to luxuriate in every detail.
If you only get to do one thing in Tokyo make sure to head to the Meiji Shrine particularly on the weekend when there are weddings taking place and the brides are in gorgeous kimonos. There are tons of kids around and the park is just beautiful. And there is a "pony park" nearby called the Yoyogi -- they don't offer pony rides in January and February but Jacopo still enjoyed checking out the shaggy Shetland ponies with their draft horse babysitters.