ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
My ANA first class flight from Los Angeles arrived in Tokyo shortly after 3pm, and after a quick stop at transit security, I made my way to the fourth floor where the lounge is located. The ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita is located in two areas of the airport – one in Satellite 4 (where I visited), and another (nearly identical) lounge in Satellite 5.
This first class lounge is on a separate floor from the business class area, and initially the friendly front desk agent said I would be invited to use the business class lounge downstairs based on my departing flight. I pointed out that I arrived in first class from Los Angeles, at which point she quickly apologized and directed me inside (ANA allows access to the first class lounge if you arrive in first class and depart in business on aircraft that don’t feature first class, which is most within Asia, so keep your boarding pass).
The lounge is… very similar to the ANA business class lounge in Tokyo. At first glance, it was obvious the seating was more private (and less of it compared to business class), but the design and aesthetic was pretty much the same. The lounge had plenty of seating, and at no point felt crowded, with generous airside views from most windows.
In addition to the seating around the windows, there were also semi-private seats with partitions, which is where I made myself comfortable.
Within about 30 seconds of sitting down a lounge attendant came by with a towel, and asked if I would like anything to drink. I asked for a glass of champagne which arrived in less than a minute.
Obviously this level of service was not found in the business class lounge, though interestingly enough, this was the last time I was offered anything at my seat. There were plenty of attendants available around the lounge, but nobody offered a refill or even removed the used towel, which I thought was a bit odd.
Food selection in this lounge was a bit disappointing, with a small selection of cold items, a few hot items, and Noodle Bar for made to order dishes. Everything I tried tasted really good and it seemed high-quality, but the selection seemed smaller than the business class lounge and nowhere near what some other flagship first class lounges offer, such as the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt or the Qantas First Class Lounge at LAX.
Similar to onboard ANA, the beverage selection was impressive, with a variety of spirits, wines, champagne, sake, teas, coffee, and non-alcoholic beverages. There was also a robotic beer dispenser!
None of the buffet items were really hitting the spot, so I decided to order something from the Noodle Bar. Located at the far end of the lounge, the Noodle Bar offers a variety of made-to-order dishes and a separate seating area. I went with some pork ramen, which was delicious!
I picked a table near the window to take in a little plane spotting, and caught a Thai Airway Airbus A380 (similar to what I flew from Bangkok to Paris in first class) and an Air Canada 767 (always nice to see something from home on the other side of the world).
For people wanting to get some work done, there are office cubicles on the far end of the lounge near the entrance. Unfortunately, the seating is located adjacent to the indoor smoking room. While the ventilation system prevents smoke from coming in, you are going to have a stream of people walking by you (smelling like cigarettes), which could be distracting. There is also a small selection of books in this area, along with a photocopy machine and telephone room. Similar to other areas of the lounge, the business area offers great views of the airside operations.
Like most first class lounges, the bathrooms are spotlessly clean with a variety of amenities available (I don’t usually take photos of the bathroom because something feels weird about using a camera in a washroom, and I wouldn’t like to see someone else doing it). There are also showers for use, though I didn’t participate this time.
ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita Bottom Line
There was nothing I didn’t like about the lounge, though nothing really blew me away either. Outside of the welcome towel and champagne, there was basically no personalized service (didn’t bother me as I enjoy being left alone, but some people might find this lacking in a first class lounge). The food was high quality, but very limited in selection, and the Noodle Bar, while good, was far from premium dining.
Access is for first class passengers only (unless you’re arriving in first and departing on ANA in business class same day on an aircraft that doesn’t feature first class). If for whatever reason you don’t have access, the business class lounge is just as nice, though slightly busier, with similar food offerings and the same great views of the airside.
While I wouldn’t make a point to route through Tokyo to visit this lounge, it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours between flights and is just part of the entire first class experience with ANA All Nippon Airways.
Have you been to the ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita? How did it compare with other lounges? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
