We travelled (JL 036) Changi Airport / Haneda Airport & (JL1103) Haneda Airport / Asahikawa Airport. At Singapore, we were issued two sets of boarding passes, one for the Singapore / Tokyo sector & another for the Tokyo / Asahikawa sector. As there were reports of snow storms in Tokyo, we checked with the JAL counter staff who advised that at the moment, that they did not have have adverse information and that all we had to do was clear our bags at Haneda customs and then deposit them at the JAL counter before proceeding for security clearance. On arrival at Haneda, we were repeatedly advised by the flight crew that there was congestion and that our aircraft had to wait for our turn to deplane. After some delay, the aircraft was allowed to parked with the passengers told to check with the ground staff on the delay and cancellation of the next flights. When we left the aircraft, we saw no signs of ground staff holding up any news of the delay / cancellation of any flights. We cleared immigration & customs and then tried to checked in our bags as directed at the JAL counters. The staff at the counters refused to accept our bags using the sign language as they couldn't speak English. We then rushed to the Domestic Terminal and searched for a ground staff After some time, we managed to speak to a JAL ground staff who couldn't speak or understand English. We had to hunt around until we managed to speak to a another JAL ground staff who could only tell us to join a queue that was snaking around the terminal. We noticed at that point that flight JL1103 was not mentioned on the notice board. After some 5 hours, we managed to reach the counter which had only three counters opened to cater for a few hundred flights that were canceled. What efficiency!! It was then confirmed that our original flight was cancelled and that the next available flight was JL1115 departing at 1745 hrs the next day When we requested for assistance with hotel, meals etc, JAL declined advising that they were not responsible due to the snow storm. The least they could have done was to assist us to book a hotel or to provide sleeping bags etc. After hunting around, we managed to locate a travel agency who managed to get us rooms at Prince Shinaga. As we were issued boarding passes, we are considered to be transit passengers. In this instance, JAL offered no assistance whatsoever to their non Japanese speaking passengers unlike other airlines.

The flight was exceptionally uncomfortable. The seat pitch is very narrow, Quality of the chair is very poor.

The food was below average, in comparison with other asian airlines.

The service was 3/10, due to lack of smiles from the cabin crew

Considering that it was a long haul flight, I thin JAL should improve their in-flight service.

The only good thing was the entertainment centre and the superb skills level of the pilot (smooth landing)

However, I still would recommend JAL over Qantas if you are looking for a direct service from Sydney - Tokyo.