We checked out of Nine Hours Narita Airport and headed to the terminal for our flight to Mumbai. We were able to use the priority check-in counters thanks to my Star Alliance Gold Status on United MileagePlus. We had missed seeing Mt. Fuji during this trip and hadn’t been able to see it from the Shinkansen the previous day either. Looking at which runways were used for takeoff over the last few days for this flight, I took a calculated guess and asked for seats on the right side of the plane, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the air. We were assigned a middle and window seat on the right side.
This was our second time on ANA, and I was really looking forward to experiencing it again. We visited the United Club at Tokyo Narita Airport. It was way better than any other United Club I had visited, with the possible exception of the one at London Heathrow Airport. It was leaps and bounds ahead of any of the United Club locations in the USA. It was open, airy, and had many seating areas spread out.
There was a large variety of food selections with both Western and Japanese options.
We relaxed there for a while and had a nice breakfast.
They had an automated beer dispenser—the first of its kind I had ever seen—known for pouring a perfect beer by tilting the chilled glasses automatically. This self-service, high-tech machine is a highlight of the lounge’s beverage selection, providing a consistent, foamy pour without manual effort.
We also visited the ANA Lounge Tokyo Narita before our flight. There was an ample spread of food and drink options.
Right after the entrance was a large model of ANA’s “Star Wars R2-D2” Boeing 787-8. It was autographed by all the cast members from the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
There was also a dining room located adjacent to a live noodle station with made-to-order dishes, so we had brunch here.
We spent the last of our JP¥ at one of the stores in the airport. Walking around the terminal, it was great to see the actual ANA “Star Wars R2-D2” Boeing 787-8 jet parked at one of the gates, having just seen the model in the ANA Lounge. Little did I know that this same aircraft would be our ride back to Mumbai and make this journey even more memorable.
Upon boarding, the flight attendants held a small Yoda doll as they greeted passengers, which was a nice touch. The seats in the economy cabin also had R2-D2 headrest covers. The flight attendants even handed out small cards as memorabilia for the flight. There was also a Star Wars theme at the end of each inflight announcement.
We got a good view of Tokyo Narita Airport after takeoff as the plane climbed and turned. A few minutes later, the captain made an announcement that we were passing by Mt. Fuji and passengers on the left of the aircraft would be able to see it from their windows. We were, of course, seated in the middle and window seats on the right side of the plane. We asked the passenger in the aisle seat if we could step out, and she was nice enough to oblige quickly. We scrambled to the middle galley, from where we finally got a nice view of Mt. Fuji through the windows. In all likelihood, it was a better view than what we would have seen from the Shinkansen. This was the one thing we had really missed out on, and now we were able to complete our Japan trip without any regrets.
The service was top-notch and the meals were good. Overall, it was an excellent flight and a nice end to our week in Japan.
We landed in Mumbai on time in the evening. This was one of the very few times an international arrival into Mumbai was not late at night.
🍽️ United Club Tokyo Narita Airport
🍽️ ANA Lounge Tokyo Narita Airport