Migratory Musings: Asian Adventure: ANA Suites Lounge Review, Tokyo Narita

Asian Adventure: Roof of the World Tour Overview
Asian Adventure: Cathay Pacific B777-300ER Business Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Asian Adventure: Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: The Cabin at HKG
Asian Adventure: Cathay Dragon A330-300 Business Class Hong Kong to Beijing
Asian Adventure: Regent Beijing Hotel
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Dongcheng District
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Great Wall
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Run-ze Jade Garden
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Legend of Kung Fu
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Tiananmen Square
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Forbidden City
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Hutong Tour via Rickshaw, Tea Tasting, Flying to Xi’an
Asian Adventure: Hotel Shangri-La Xi’an
Asian Adventure: Xi’an - Qing Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors
Asian Adventure: Xi’an - Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show
Asian Adventure: Xi’an Wrap-Up, Flying to Lhasa, Lhasa Home Visit
Asian Adventure: Shangri-La Hotel Lhasa
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Market
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Canggu Nunnery and Sera Monastery
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Potala Palace
Asian Adventure: Leaving Lhasa and Flying to Chongqing
Asian Adventure: Viking Emerald
Asian Adventure: Shibaozhai Temple
Asian Adventure: Cruising the Three Gorges
Asian Adventure: Three Gorges Dam
Asian Adventure: Jingzhou City Walls Tour
Asian Adventure: Wuhan - Hubei Bells Performance and Provincial Museum
Asian Adventure: Shanghai - Shanghai Museum
Asian Adventure: Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai
Asian Adventure: Shanghai - Old Shanghai and Yuyan Gardens
Asian Adventure: The New Otani Tokyo Hotel
Asian Adventure: Tokyo - City Tour
Asian Adventure: Mt. Fuji and Hakone Tour Returning by Shinkansen
Asian Adventure: ANA Suites Lounge Review, Tokyo Narita
Asian Adventure: All Nippon Airways B777-300ER First Class Tokyo Narita to Houston

I'd left Memphis on a Wednesday evening over 2 weeks ago. It was now Friday, time to return home, and I was quite ready for it. I said goodbye to M and C who were both flying back to Chicago later in the day. M would be spending a few days decompressing there before returning to Memphis.

Even though my flight was not scheduled to leave until 11:15 AM, Viking was taking no chances with the traffic to Narita airport - which was about an hour from our hotel - so they arranged for a shuttle to pick me up at 6:30 AM. Fortunately there were no traffic issues and we made good time getting there. Another couple from our tour rode in the van with me but they were returning to England on KLM and I was flying on ANA (All Nippon Airways). So there were two Viking representatives at the airport to meet us and one took the couple to the south check-in point while mine loaded my bags on a cart and we went to the north check-in point.

As at many large airports there were various check-in aisles, each with a letter. Since ANA is one of Japan's national airlines they have a huge presence here and there's a special check-in section, area Z, behind closed doors that's only available to ANA and other Star Alliance first class passengers. As we were so early for the flight I was the only passenger in the area and there were four ANA staff members available to check me in for my flight. It was a little awkward, in a #firstworldproblems kind of way, but we all just laughed and they took care of me quite quickly.

As this was the first class check-in area it just wouldn't do to have to go back out with the "common folks" to go through security, now would it? And so it was that this check-in area Z actually exits into a private security screening area just for first class passengers. As I was the only person around they only turned the x-ray belt on once I'd placed my carry-on on it and once my bag had gone through the machine they turned the belt off.

Ah but then it was back to reality as I took the escalator down to Immigration where, naturally, I selected the line that looked short but didn't move for awhile. Since at this point it was probably still only about 8 AM and my flight didn't leave for another 3+ hours I wasn't concerned. Finally the one person holding up the line made it through and then the line moved with typical Japanese efficiency.

Once through security I turned left toward the concourse and passed a number of shops and one gate before reaching the escalator that took me up to the Star Alliance airline lounges.

Star Alliance Lounges Entrance

The sliding doors above open to the lobby and the desk you can see in the background. This is where I checked in and based on my boarding pass I stepped to the right through the doors you can see on the wall in the back and into the ANA Suites Lounge. I'm not positive but I believe this lounge is only for ANA First Class passengers while First and Business Class passengers on other Star Alliance partners (like United and Lufthansa) would be sent left to the business class lounge.

Just after entering the lounge I was greeted and led to a seating area where I was able to relax for the next few hours. I wasn't the first person in the lounge but I think I may have been the second or third. It was quite empty at this hour though it would no doubt fill up later on. I was tucked away in a corner of the lounge and had a grouping of four seats to myself. Each seat had an electrical outlet so I was able to charge up my electronics before boarding.

If you're an aviation geek this lounge has great tarmac views. I was hoping to see a lot of planes from other parts of the world but not surprisingly most of the planes in this area were all ANA. I did see Thai Airways and Singapore (both Star Alliance partners of ANA) parked across the way.

Tarmac view of Thai Airways (left), Singapore Airlines (Center) and ANA planes

I'd gotten up early enough to use my breakfast buffet coupon at the New Otani so I wasn't hungry when I arrived at the lounge. That's just as well since the breakfast that was set out was a traditional Japanese breakfast. I do enjoy Japanese food for lunch or dinner but for breakfast I like the old familiar Western-style foods. As mid-morning approached I did want a little something to eat but knew we'd be served lunch on the plane so I just had a small salad.

ANA Suites Lounge Breakfast Buffet

Oh come on, you know you have this for breakfast every morning!

Beverage Cooler

Self-serve bar

Hot beverage station

Soft drink station

The lounge itself is quite large and there are a number of different types of seating. The nice thing was that each seat had at least one and sometimes two electrical outlets. I'm not sure it's possible to have too many of those when folks are trying to "juice up" before a long flight. Some of the seat groupings also had coat trees, complete with hangers, which would be nice if you were on a business trip and had to dress up for your flight.

ANA Suites Lounge Seating Area

Down a small hallway there was a quiet room with three individual cubicles, two of which had massage chairs.

Quiet room recliner

Quiet room massage chair

The business center was down the same hall and would be a great place if you needed to work on a presentation as it had a very large screen on one side of each of the cubes so you could test out your slides.

Business center work space

Large monitor on one side of the cube

The bathroom was pristine and each time I visited it looked like I was the first visitor of the day.

I appreciated that boarding announcements were made to notify us of when it was time to leave the lounge as not all lounges do this.

This was an excellent lounge to spend a few hours in and I'd love to try it out again, especially if it meant I was flying ANA First Class again!

Migratory Musings

Monday, August 6, 2018

Asian Adventure: ANA Suites Lounge Review, Tokyo Narita

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