Review of Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Tokyo in Business

Greetings Flight-Report Community. Thanks for stopping by and having a look at this report.
For this report I will finally be sharing a recent adventure. This trip took place in July 2015 so depending on when you're reading this I would consider it recent! This is also the first trip that I set out on with the idea of reporting at this site. With that I tried to use the tips I've learned by reading so many of your great reports on Flight-Report to take more detailed pictures.
The reports will be broken down as follows:
SEA AMEX Centurion Studio, The Club at SEA, and Delta SEA-NRT (Business)(This Report)
Narita Airport, Delta NRT Skyclub, and Delta NRT-SIN (Business)http://flight-report.com/en/report-10950.html
Singapore Airlines T2 Silverkris Business Lounge and ANA SIN-NRT (Business)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11006.html
JAL Sakura Lounge HND and Korean Airlines HND-GMP (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11022.html
Korean Airlines First Lounge ICN and Korean Airlines ICN-JFK (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11058.html
Delta Skyclub Terminal 4 JFK, AA Flagship Lounge JFK and AA JFK-LAX (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11132.html
I experienced several firsts on this adventure:
My first time on Korean Air in any class.
My first time on American Airlines in any class.
My day started very early to get to LAX for a 6:50am Delta flight LAX-SEA. I am not reporting on this segment as I have in the past. I had a brief visit to the Skyclub for some water and coffee. The flight was on time and I had an exit row seat, and entire row for that matter, to myself.
Short final to KSEA.

In the interest of having backup options I scheduled myself a +/- 3 hour layover at SEA so I was able to do a little lounge hopping/exploring. My first stop was The Club at SEA on the A gates. There are two The Club lounges at SEA but I was closest to A.
I only stopped in to use the computer briefly. I managed a decent Bloody Mary during the visit.

Computer use complete and flights sorted out I made my way to the new American Express Centurion Studio at the B gates. This involved a short train ride.

I was greeted by the garden wall feature that the Centurion Lounges feature and by two lovely and enthusiastic lounge attendants. This edition of the Centurion portfolio had only been open about a week. I was given a nice little tour and told that I can ask a lounge attendant for any beer or wine requests and that everything else is self serve.
I scoped out a seat by the window that offered good tarmac views looking back at the S gates.

There was a buffet offering breakfast items such as yogurts, fruit, cereal, and baked goods.

I request a local blonde ale from one of the attendants.

There was also a TV area.

More views of the crowded corridor between the A, B, and S gates.

Final thoughts on the AMEX Centurion Studio: Not worth your time if you have access to the ANY of the other 4 lounges at SEATAC. I am really at a loss to speculate why AMEX would bother opening the 5th best lounge at SEATAC. The food is the most basic snacks and they don't have a full bar. You will find more complete food and beverage choices at any/all of the other lounges. The decor is nice and the staff seemed very friendly but unless I have a tight connection at one of the B gates I don't see myself using this facility in the future.
As it was getting nearer to my departure time I hoped the train again to the S gates. Rather than use the Delta Skyclub again I popped into The Club at SEA S gates location.

This is a nice enough lounge with some basic food options. Sandwiches and hot soups are on offer along with a variety of snacks. The downside is that it was very crowded, almost at capacity by my observations. There is also a full, manned bar.
I opted for another bloody and some New England clam chowder.

I was able to take a seat at the window counter looking directly at the 777 that would transport me to Narita.

Some cargo bound for Bangkok will be joining us today.

The Fly Delta app buzzed with an update that flight 167 was now boarding so I headed off to the gate.
I entered the aircraft through door 2L and crossed through the galley to make a left turn to arrive at seat 4C.

The menu, slippers, amenity kit (The new one with the hard Tumi case), pillow, duvet, and NCH were all pre-placed at the seat.
Note: After boarding was complete I noticed 1A was open so I asked the purser if I may switch. He said no problem but we're about to push so please wait until the seat belt sign is turned off after takeoff and climb. I prefer window seats and even though I would miss the scenic climb out of SEA I did switch.
After organizing all of my new found loot I was offed a pre-departure beverage. Choices were champagne (I think Delta serves Prosecco or Cava on the ground for some reason), orange juice, mimosa, or beer. I selected the sparkling wine.

Looking around the cabin.

At this time the Captain, Scott Larson, came around to each passenger in (at least) the forward Delta One cabin and introduced himself, asked about our travel destination(s), and had a general chat. He was very genuine and witty. It was such a lovely gesture.
There was a 10 year old boy seated in 4B traveling to Guam with his grandfather. The boy had introduced himself to me and expressed how excited he was for his fist trip in First Class and his first time on such a big airplane. In fact, he recounted the same information to anyone who would listen. A very polite, articulate and confident young man. He was over the moon to speak with the Captain. I didn't share that I had done this 100 times and was still very very excited to be there!
At this time I perused the menu…and remembered to get photos!

With boarding complete the doors were closed and we pushed back from the gate about 5 minutes early.
As soon as we passed 10,000' the crew sprang into action and started to prep the carts for their service. The o-shibori was passed.

The seat belt sign was turned off shortly after and I was able to relocate to 1A. That's more like it!

The flight attendant serving my aisle was a very lovely Japanese American woman who was exceedingly friendly and upbeat. She gracefully switched from speaking English and having a playful demeanor with me to speaking beautiful Japanese and offering elegant formal service to several older Japanese speaking guests seated in my immediate area. I was impressed.
The tuna crudo was presented and I requested a glass of the Pellegrino and the Delta Sunrise Cocktail.

The tuna was probably gassed and of low quality but he olive oil, peppercorns and salted chives all made for tasty bites. I think the portion could be increased a little. It doesn't look very generous on the plate.
Over Victoria Island heading up the the Aleutians.

Next up was the corn soup and duck salad.

Both of these dishes suited me quite well. The soup was a little heavy but had a nice warm spice. The duck confit in the salad was tender if a little sparse.
I also switched to a Rioja.

This was a bold spicy wine that I find works well at altitude when your taste sense is compromised. It was also a good pairing for the main.
The main was presented next. I selected the lamb.

Everything about this dish was successful except that it was overcooked. Of course it was, it's a meat dish on an airplane and that is the rule rather than the exception. The brussels sprouts were crisp tender, the polenta was rich and creamy and the cherries were a nice compliment to the lamb. None of that can overcome the poor cookery of the protein.
The dessert trolly was up next and in the interest of science I opted to taste some cheese and plain ice cream. I continued with the Rioja rather than opting for the port or the sparkling red. The cheese was unremarkable and the ice cream was cold.

Getting into the IFE past the map is usually difficult for me but I browsed the comprehensive selection and found this really fun Internet program that I had not seen.

The episodes are only about 15 minutes so I mush have watched a dozen. On this one I thought it was funny that someone felt the need to state what Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks were known for. To me that's like saying Pope (Head of Catholic Church) or China (Large Country in Asia).
After a few hours of shut eye we were approaching Narita and the per-arrival meal was served. I opted for the egg dish.

I enjoyed the asparagus but the rest was not very appetizing.
After that we had a direct approach to 34L without all of the vectoring that I usually encounter when arriving at NRT.

Seat 1A is advantageous on arrival as I was the first one off the airplane. I decided to enter Japan as I had a 3 plus hour layover, sufficient time to get a bite to eat and visit the observation deck.
I snapped a few pictures on the walk to immigration.
Our aircraft from SEA.

Arriving from MNL.

Delta has re-banked NRT to a single bank so it is quite crowded and more chaotic. Flights leaving to SIN, BKK, MNL, etc. are departing at or around the same time as DTW, LAX, MSP, etc.
Passport control and customs were very quick as, among the Delta flights, only LAX arrives before SEA.