Narita International Airport is the smaller of the two major ANA hubs, after Tokyo International Airport Haneda. In its home at Narita’s Terminal 1, the airline operates three departure lounges, with one ANA Suite Lounge for First Class passengers and two for Business Class passengers. Confusingly, all lounges are labelled ‘Satellite’ which corresponds to their location in Terminal 1. In this post, I will review the ANA Lounge Satellite 2, the smaller lounge serving as a supplementary offering to the ANA Lounge Satellite 5.

Lounge Access Rules

Unlike most airlines, ANA extends its lounge access policy to a wide range of passengers travelling on the airline or a Star Alliance member. Whilst this might sound great for certain prospective passengers, it also means that the lounge can often be overcrowded. Specifically, First, Business, and Premium Economy Class passengers boarding an ANA flight are eligible for entry. This is followed by First and Business Class passengers on Star Alliance carriers. For frequent flyers, access is permitted for ANA Diamond Service, Platinum Service, Super Flyer, and Million Miler members, as well as Star Alliance Gold members. In any case, the easiest way to confirm your eligibility is by using this nifty search tool on the ANA website.

Location

The ANA Lounge Satellite 2 is located in the terminal’s North Wing in the area around gates 22 – 25. Once here, go down the escalators at the central section of the area. The entrance to the ANA Lounge is located immediately as you step off the escalators. Unlike the ANA Lounge Satellite 5, there is only one single section at this lounge with no dedicated First Class area.

ANA Lounge Satellite

As I stepped off the escalators and entered the ANA Lounge, I was welcomed by the agent at the reception desk. Before this, I had already come from the ANA Lounge Satellite 5, which I accessed by departing my ANA Business Class ticket to Jakarta. After explaining that I had just come from the other ANA Lounge, she quickly took a scan of my boarding pass and invited me in.

Seating and Amenities

The ANA Lounge Satellite 2 is set within a single semi-circular room, curving along the unusual shape of the space. Owing to its location under the departure concourse, the lounge is completely devoid of windows and hence, sunlight. Taking that into account, I like the bright and warm wooden tones used for the interior, which doesn’t leave the space looking dull and grim. As such, unlike the ANA Lounge Satellite 5, this one looks a bit more relaxing and inviting, given how small the space is.

Desk seating

As you walk into the lounge, you will find a number of seats in a desk-like setting. Specifically, there are 17 seats spread between two freestanding tables and the wall-mounted desk booths. Thoughtfully designed for solo travellers, these seats feature a good sense of privacy with each side of the freestanding table separated by a privacy partition.

Dining seating

Across from the desk seats is a small seating area close to the lounge’s food spread. This area seats a maximum of 32 seats across 16 tightly arranged tables. Whilst this area is obviously most suitable, I couldn’t say it is particularly comfortable.

Lounge seating

The lounge’s main seating area follows the desk and dining seats, featuring rows of leather-upholstered single sofa seats. Each seat has a dedicated console table with a small table lamp, located on the side. Between the brightly coloured seats and the table lamps, the lounge is very brightly lit, giving it an energetic feel. Whilst I liked the ambiance, I could see how sleep-deprived weary travellers might find it too hard on the eyes.

I liked that the space under the console is hollow, allowing it to be a clever space-efficient place to store a carry-on. The tables also feature a pair of power outlets for each seat. These are 100V Type A plugs standard in Japan, so you will need an adaptor if you’re coming from the UK, EU, or the Commonwealth countries. Additionally, there are coat hangers scattered irregularly along the rows, which I don’t see often at airport lounges.

Towards the back, the seats noticeably become a lot more casual, with interconnected sofas apt for lounging. Frankly, I really liked the informal feel brought out by this space which you don’t get at the ANA Lounge Satellite 5. Whereas most Japanese airline lounges feel very formal and institutional, this thoughtful arrangement channels a feeling of cosiness and intimacy to the rest of the lounge.

Business Centre

Between the seating area and the reception corridor is also a small business centre. On offer here is a full-fledged copy machine (and printer), which you don’t see often in airport lounges outside Japan. The printer offering is accompanied by four desk seats, perhaps the most comfortable place to work here. Behind the business centre, there are also a few telephone booths, which curiously aren’t enclosed, unlike those in Japan Airlines lounges.

Lounge WiFi

The lounge has a dedicated WiFi network separate from the rest of the terminal. There was no password for the network and the speed was fine, especially compared to the terrible network at the ANA Lounge in Haneda. Despite that, I’ll note that the coverage isn’t all-encompassing, with the signal becoming very weak towards the end of the lounge.

Dining

Given its size, the ANA Lounge Satellite 2 understandably has only one food spread, accompanied by a ‘noodle bar’ offering. The selection and setup are more or less identical to that in the ANA Lounge Satellite 5, with a varied selection of cold and hot dishes.

On the centre island of the spread is the hot food offering, featuring dishes heated in a bain-marie. During my visit, there was a choice of six hot dishes, including mini Pork and Beef Hamburger Steaks, Sauteed Vegetables, Deep-fried Chicken, French Fries, Fusili Pasta in Pesto Sauce, and Ratatouille. This selection is accompanied by the ANA Original Chicken Curry and white rice.

Next to the chicken curry is also a small choice of dried snacks, including saltine crackers, packaged trail mixes, and hard candy.

Along one wall is a small salad bar offering, complemented by several kinds of cold sandwiches. Next to it is also a selection of bread rolls, as two choices of Japanese rice balls (onigiri) and inarizushi (rice-stuffed fried tofu skin). Condiments like butter, soy sauce, mayonnaise, and jam, are also available here.

Near the entrance to the buffet is also a line leading to a small order window referred to as a noodle bar. Despite its name, there isn’t a proper bar located by the live kitchen preparing noodle dishes. Here, you could request noodles from an à la carte menu, which includes a selection of udon and soba as well as one ramen option. Thanks to this offering, I think the ANA Lounge has a balanced selection of Japanese and Western dishes.

Drinks

Like the food selection, the choice of beverages is also identical to the other ANA Lounge. For caffeine-based beverages, there are two coffee machines, one of which dispenses both hot and cold coffee. This is accompanied by a choice of Western and Japanese-style tea. There is also a soft drinks dispenser, featuring drinks from PepsiCo brands, like Pepsi Cola, Maruyaka Green Tea, and an orange fruit drink. This is supplemented by milk and tomato juice available in the chiller.

In terms of alcoholic drinks, there are three kinds of Japanese liquor, in addition to four whiskies, a gin, a vodka, a bottle of Campari and several choices of wines. There are also two choices of beer dispensed by a beer machine. Curiously, there is a different choice of beer available at this ANA Lounge, with an offering of Sapporo Beer and Perfect Suntory Beer (PSB). A supplementary selection of liquors and liqueurs is available in the chiller.

Toilet

Located behind the reception desk of the lounge are the toilets, which are separated by gender. I found the toilet to be clean and well-kept despite being a tad bit darker than the rest of the lounge. The toilet stalls have washlet bidets, which is always appreciated. Additionally, the sinks feature the complete offering of the excellent Kosé SEKKISEI amenities available at other ANA lounges.

Whilst the ANA Lounge Satellite 2 also has a few shower suites, I didn’t bother trying to get one to take a picture for this review. Given how difficult it was for me to get a shower at the ANA Lounge Satellite 5, I figured it wouldn’t be easy to get a shower here, either.

Overall

Overall, I thought the Narita Airport’s ANA Lounge Satellite 2 to be a proper Business Class lounge fitting for the airline. Although it is small, it functions flawlessly as a supplementary waiting room for ANA premium passengers departing from the faraway Satellite 2 gates. For one, I preferred the intimate and cosy space of this lounge compared to that of the ANA Lounge Satellite 5. Regardless, I do find that there is little to do in this lounge in terms of amenities, so I won’t allot any extra time than necessary to visit this lounge.

Read more from this trip here!