I had a two and a half hour layover at Narita, so I made my way over to the ANA lounge to grab a shower and a bite to eat before boarding my flight to Houston.

 

Narita ANA Lounge

ANA has multiple lounges at Narita including this one, near gate 51 and another in Satellite 4, near gate 41 that I visited on my trip to Tokyo last year.

Compared to the other lounge, this one is much brighter, with windows overlooking the tarmac and abundant seating.

Just like the other lounge, there was ample food available along with an assortment of things to drink.

Since I was due a full meal shortly after taking off, I only just sampled a few things and poured myself a glass of Japanese whisky.

After having a bite to eat, I freshened up in one of the showers.

Although it’s no Polaris shower suite, it certainly got the job done.

Sitting on the counter was a full array of toiletries, encompassing everything you would need.

As the time to board was growing near, I made my way over to gate 56 to board my flight to Houston.

 

Headed to Houston on ANA

All Nippon Airways flight 174
NRT [Tokyo Narita] to IAH [Houston]
August 27, 2018
Depart: 11:15 AM
Arrive: 9:30 AM
Duration: 12hr15min
Aircraft: 777-300
Seat: 5A

We boarded right on time and I made my way down the second jetway and through door L2 and turned left towards my seat on the left side of the mini business class cabin, just behind first class.

The seat was massive. The cabin of the 777 is 15 inches wider than the 787, so I had a little more space compared to the previous flight. Also, since I was in the mini cabin, the experience felt very private.

I settled in and checked out the seat controls while one of the flight attendants brought me a glass of bubbly.

I also checked out the amenity kit, which had the standard moisturizers, earplugs, dental kit, and earplugs.

Once we reached cruising altitude, dinner was served. Or was it lunch?

Nonetheless, the service began with a hot towel, followed by an amuse, appetizer, soup, main course, and dessert.

Along with the amuse of cheese stick, chicken and mushroom pate, and picked tomato and cheese, I ordered a glass of Japanese wine.

Next up was a appetizer of marinated shrimp and chicken thigh confit.

That was followed by a delicious corn soup.

For the main course, I decided on the fillet of beef with sautéed eggplant.

I couldn’t decide on the dessert, so I had both! I also tried a glass of their plum wine.

The Emotion Envie was my favorite, but the caramel poire that followed was also quite good.

It was safe to say that after that meal, I was stuffed! I was also a bit tired, as I didn’t get a lot of sleep on my prior flight.

ANA offers pajamas for their long haul flights, so I gave them a try, and unbelievably, they fit me!

After several hours of sleep, we were still a ways from Houston, so I ordered a mid-flight snack.

The Japanese pizza was a bit weird and eating it with chopsticks was even weirder. But the Ben & Jerry’s was pretty good.

After another long nap, it was breakfast time.

Judging from my experience on my previous ANA flight, I figured the western breakfast option would be a safer choice.

I also ordered some yogurt and a coffee with Bailey’s to go along with my breakfast.

We still had about another hour to go, so I dug deep into the entertainment menus and decided to watch some Japanese pro wrestling, which I found incredibly entertaining.

Overall, my first long haul with ANA was wonderful. The seat was comfortable, food was delicious, and service was courteous. That being said, it still didn’t dethrone Singapore Airlines from being my favorite Asian carrier.

All that was left after arriving in Houston was a quick hop from Houston to Norfolk and then I would be making my way across the Atlantic after spending the week with family and friends.