Having arrived at Tokyo Haneda on Japan Airlines, I now had a few hours on the ground before my journey on the excellent The Room Business Class by ANA. Japan’s second carrier and Star Alliance member has two lounges in Haneda Airport:
- ANA Lounge for Business, Premium Economy and Star Alliance Gold frequent flyers in addition to a plethora of ANA credit card holders in Japan
- ANA Suite Lounge for First Class and ANA Diamond Service Members/Million Miler holders
For their primary long haul international airport, ANA are quite constrained for lounge capacity. Both lounges are open from 5am until the final ANA flight of the day.
In this post:
Long and large
In some ways, this lounge reminds me of Iberia’s non-Schengen Lounge in Madrid – it’s long, thin, and has a lot of seats available. Most of these are barstool or armchair style. If you’re a fan of sweeping apron, runway and aircraft views nab one of the stools near the window for some excellent views (especially during sunrise).
If you prefer some privacy, there are office style desks available with WiFi being a respectable and usable speed alongside plenty of US-style 2 pin power outlets. I’m not sure how many people make use of these retro payphones, though…
Food and drinks are available at both ends of the lounge. Only hot food is available at the right side of the lounge in a combination of on-order and buffet options. The selection is far from the best and quality was not great, especially the pastries which were straight from a packet. The same cold food items were available at both ends of the lounge.
The quality of the menu items from the kitchen were better, though. These can be ordered from a website, shown throughout the lounge on QR codes, with a combination of ramen noodles and curries.
I opted for a Ramen Noodle and Vegetable Katsu Curry, both of which were fine for what they were – but not a patch on what you’d find out and about in Tokyo.
If you are looking for a good selection of drinks, then you are far better served. Hot and iced coffees, tea as well as soft drinks are available. For something a little stronger, there’s the self-pouring Asahi beer machines, with ice cold glasses available, and a decent selection of spirits or wine.
Rationed bathrooms
If you are looking to have a shower during your visit, the first thing you must do upon arrival is head to the ‘ANA Lounge Shower Room Reception’ – a machine that reserves a spot in the queue. You’ll be sent a text message when a shower is ready. As I arrived at the lounge soon after opening, I didn’t have too long to wait. However, I’ve seen instances online of some passengers being quoted ninety to 240 minutes for a shower room… As hospital-like as the BA shower rooms are, at least you can get in one quite quickly most of the time!
The shower rooms themselves were more than sufficient, if a little crowded with electrical appliances (such as the fan and Dyson hair dryer). Water temperature and pressure was excellent with twenty minutes provided to each passenger to use the room. Good quality bulk Sekkisei skincare products are provided as well as the usual amenities such as toothbrushes.
The main toilets are a little small but were kept spotlessly clean throughout my visit.
A perfectly fine lounge that gets too busy
The ANA Lounge at Tokyo Haneda for international flights is a perfectly decent lounge that probably doesn’t warrant arriving early for. It’s got okay food, good drinks and good internet connectivity. Despite its large space, it simply isn’t adequate for the number of passengers who can access it. I’ve visited twice now during morning hours and have found it the same on both visits.
Uniquely, both JAL and ANA offer Business Class lounge access to Premium Economy passengers. Likewise, the Japanese credit card market, while not as lucrative for points and miles as the US, offers extensive lounge access and even Star Alliance Gold status for some products. This combined means that it’s just not big enough.
This is a shame because ANA’s inflight product was truly excellent – the ground experience just let it down a bit. It’s certainly not a reason to put you off flying the airline, especially with lucrative Virgin Points pricing, but it’s something that may just temper the overall ANA experience.
