In January 2026 I returned to motorsport as Team Manager at Craft-Bamboo Racing Japan. Four months later: two Super Taikyu wins, a trip to Bathurst, a third year as Expert Host at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, and a new membership at Soho House Tokyo. A new role that is teaching me something new every week, and a first third of the year that has already been a lot. Here is the full recap.

This trip report follows Cathay Pacific CX543 from Tokyo Haneda to Hong Kong, a route and airline that have become a familiar part of my travel over the years. Flown in economy in January 2026, the journey included an early-morning Haneda Terminal 3 routine, a quick stop at the JAL Sakura Lounge, a first visit to the Centurion Lounge, time at my favorite lounge in the terminal, Cathay Pacific’s own lounge, and then a straightforward five-hour flight to Hong Kong.

A slightly late but factual recap of my 2025 flying, pulled from my Flighty year review. The year totals: 48 flights, 157,505 km (3.9x around Earth), and 225 hours 47 minutes in the air across 25 airports, 12 airlines, and 20 countries and territories. I break down the longest sectors by distance and time, then look at which aircraft types defined the year, from an A330-300 workhorse year to an unexpectedly high amount of 777-200ER time. I also include a few flights that stood out: Emirates First Class (DXB–CAI), Qantas A380 (JNB–SYD), British Airways’ fifth freedom hop (EZE–GIG), and Cathay’s HKG–JFK, my longest flight of 2025.