During my four hour layover in Tokyo’s Narita airport I decided to do some lounge hopping. I had just arrived in Tokyo after an amazing First Class Flight with Japan Airlines. My lounge hopping began with the old Japan Airlines First Class lounge in the Main Building. Although the old First Class lounge was a great place to wait for my next flight, after a few hours I was ready for a change of scenery.
I first stopped by the Cathay Pacific lounge in the Main Building, but the lounge was bit small and crowded so I quickly left. Likewise I stopped by the very unimpressive American Airlines Admirals Club also in the Main Building. After quick visits to those rather disappointing lounges I decided to venture over to the Satellite Building of Terminal 2 to visit the other Japan Airlines xlounge and the Qantas Lounge. My first stop was of course, the Qantas Lounge.
Qantas has some excellent lounges in their global network. Most notably, the Qantas First Class lounges in Sydney and Los Angeles are excellent. However, some of their more remote lounges, such as the Qantas Lounge Auckland are a bit disappointing. Since I didn’t do any research prior to my layover in Narita I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
Getting To The Satellite Terminal Qantas Lounge
To get to the Satellite Terminal of Tokyo Narita you must first head down the escalators to the tunnel that connects the two terminals. As you head down to the tunnel you pass under a pretty cool world clock.
The tunnel features some pretty impressive moving art pieces on the walls, so if you aren’t in a rush I’d recommend slowing down and enjoying the installations.
The tunnel is extremely pretty with plenty of natural light throughout.
As you reach the end of the tunnel you first head upstairs to the departures area. From there, you’ll turn right and head down another set of escalators to the Qantas Lounge.
At the bottom of the escalator you’ll find a rather unassuming lounge entrance. As you can tell from the placards, the lounge is open to OneWorld Sapphire and Emerald customers.
Likewise, the lounge is open to premium cabin passengers traveling with Qantas, Finnair, Malaysia, Air TahitiNui, and Fiji Airways.
Qantas Lounge Tokyo Narita
After quickly checking in with the lounge staff I arrived in the main room of the lounge which was quite crowded in the early evening.
I loved the views of the surrounding airport offered from the main room of the lounge. I always appreciate when a lounge is on a lower level in line with the height of the aircraft.
I spend about 30 minutes in the lounge before my flight, but as I left the main seating area opened up a bit.
While the front area of the lounge was a bit crowded, I found as I explored the rest of the lounge there were more secluded areas to sick and relax.
Qantas Lounge Narita Dining Area
As you venture deeper into the lounge you’ll find a few dining tables sitting in the main walkway of the lounge. It seems like this was just open space at one point, but due to crowding, these seats were added later.
There were even more seats located around the corner, all of which were empty during my visit.
This area was also home to a wet bar which was offered several spirits, wines, a few self-pouring beer machines, cold bottles of water, and a few cans of juice.
At the other end of the beverage station was a soda fountain and a coffee machine.
There was also a very very narrow galley kitchen area which was home to the typical lounge crudités, but throughout my visit there was a small line for any food items.
Qantas Lounge Narita “Media Room”
Finally, at the very rear of the lounge was a media room which was nothing more than a few seats arranged around a fairly small television.
It was at this point, when I reached this media room that I decided to leave the lounge and explore the rest of the airpot.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Qantas Lounge Narita Airpot is a slightly above average airport lounge. I found the space/design far superior to the Admirals Club located in the Main Building and on par with the Cathay Pacific lounge. Although the Cathay Pacific lounge has better catering options (objectively), I found that lounge much too crowded to enjoy.The Qantas Lounge was a bit crowded when I arrived, but not overwhelmingly so. After a few minutes of looking for a seat I ended up not having much trouble finding a quiet area of the lounge to relax. However, after about 30 minutes in the lounge I grew impatient and decided to leave.
Personally, if you can choose between lounges at Tokyo Narita Airport, I would of course suggest instead visiting the Japan Airlines lounges. However, if your only option is the Qantas Lounge you shouldn’t be too disappointed. The Qantas Lounge is a nice space to escape the rest of the Terminal and a lounge that I’d gladly visit again.
