Introduction
ANA Business Class Chicago to Tokyo
United Club – Tokyo Narita
Thai Airways Business Class Tokyo to Bangkok
One Night in Bangkok
Thai Airways Business Class Bangkok to Bali
D’Wina Villa Kuta and Exploring Bali (Part 1)
Exploring Bali (Part 2)
Exploring Bali (Part 3)
Ethiopian Airlines Bangkok to Addis Ababa
Ethiopian Airlines Cloud Nine Lounge and Addis Ababa to Seychelles
Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Exploring the Seychelles (Part 1)
Exploring the Seychelles (Part 2)
Exploring the Seychelles (Part 3)
Ethiopian Airlines Seychelles to Addis Ababa and Back to the US

Our flight from Chicago landed in Tokyo at 3:20 pm, about an hour and a half late, due to a typhoon that was nearby Japan. The arrival process was relatively painless, although we almost had a problem passing through transit security. When we checked in for our trip in Greensboro, they were only able to issue the boarding passes for the first 2 flights: Greensboro to Chicago and Chicago to Tokyo. We would be connecting from Tokyo down to Bangkok on Thai Airways, but didn’t have boarding passes for that flight yet. When arriving as a transit passenger, we were asked for our connecting boarding passes as proof that we were indeed transiting. Fortunately, we had each checked a bag in Greensboro, and I was able to show our baggage claim tag that showed our Thai Airways flight from Tokyo to Bangkok.

Tip: It’s always a good idea to travel with a printed copy of your entire itinerary. Many times, countries require you to show proof of a departure flight from their country.

Transit security was pretty painless, and we proceeded to the Transit Counter to retrieve our boarding passes to Bangkok. We were helped immediately by a smiling Thai Airways agent, who informed us that our connecting flight was also about 90 minutes delayed due to the typhoon. At that point, we made our way to the United Club, which was about a 10 minute walk.

There are several lounges in Tokyo – ANA operates 2 and United has 1. The United Lounge has about a dozen shower suites, which are very refreshing after a 12 hour flight. When I walked up to the shower check-in desk, there was no wait, and I was promptly handed a key to #11 in exchange for my boarding pass. The shower suites aren’t quite as nice as the ones in the Lufthansa lounge in Washington, DC, but they’re still very clean:

After a refreshing shower, I returned my key and was cheerily given my boarding pass. I met back up with Lauren, who had taken a look at the food and drinks. The drink selections were plentiful- anything from Bacardi to wine to soda to fancy coffee drinks. The food was delicious, including: sushi, udon noodle bowls, vegetable soup, edamme, crackers, cookies, cakes, and chicken nuggets. We were able to use the wireless to check emails and check out photos posted by friends and family on our Facebook accounts.

The United Club overall was large, but was rather full. There weren’t too many seats available when we arrived, but by later in the evening, it started emptying out:

At around 6:30, we headed to Gate 46 for Thai Airways flight 677 to Bangkok.

Continue to Part 4: Thai Airways Business Class Tokyo to Bangkok