We had a brief stop at Keisei Narita Station so passengers can board, although I don’t think anyone did board in the time we were there. Beyond the station were the town of Narita and even more rice fields before we went underground to Airport Terminal 2 Station.
Finally, the Skyliner arrives at Airport Terminal 2 Station. I will surely miss this seat.
I head up to the departure hall of Terminal 2, through stairs, a security check and a set of escalators to the departure hall. On the way up, I passed by a lot of airline signs, pointing the way to their respective terminals.
This one, meanwhile, reminded me of the old setup of NAIA-1.
VII. Pre-flight: PR 433, NRT-CEB
The check-in hall is very expansive at NRT Terminal 2, and arguably the biggest I have ever been into. Finding the right check-in counter seemed like a difficult task due to its size, but luckily there was a display indicating which counters each airline was set up at. PAL’s check-in counters were at section A, a fairly long walk from where the displays are located (at the center, and A was to the left of the display).
Narita’s FIDS was full of flights today.
I found section A, and lo and behold, PR 433 was on its final check-in call. The Skyliner is fast, but it doesn’t make up for me being late.
I fall in line at the PAL counters and was called by the agent at counter A7. This time, the agents were female, and unusually, they were JAL agents facilitating the check-in of PAL passengers. For an airline which serves four cities in Japan from the Philippines (NRT, KIX, NGO and FUK), and with Japan being one of PAL’s largest markets, I would have expected PAL agents to facilitate check-in than JAL ones, though if JAL agents handled check-in for all airlines at Terminal 2, then I'd really understand.
Like in Manila, I asked if I can be checked in all the way to Manila, and surprisingly, I was. While they were checking me in for my flight to Manila, I loaded my bag in the weighing machine and another agent tagged my bag with a “connection” tag (on JAL stock). Afterwards, the baggage claim tag was slapped on, my bag carted off and my boarding passes issued (also on JAL stock).
Unlike in Manila, the agents in Tokyo will try their best to accommodate your request, no excuses attached. It was from this experience that led me to see whether or not the argument of the check-in agent in Manila that Cebu airport authorities don’t like through check-in will really hold water. More on that later, though.
I wanted to take a look at the observation deck, but it would veer me way off-course, and my camera only had limited shots left, so I went instead to the departure hall. After completing a security check and immigration, I was finally at the departure hall.
Terminal 2 seemed very bright and expansive, though it had the ambiance of an American airport terminal. It somewhat reminds me of PIT or MSP, but it was in a league all its own.
For one, the departure hall FIDS says it all. My flight apparently will be docked at Gate 92, at the satellite.
This is the only airport that I have been to where dayrooms and showers are available to the general public (for a fee).
NRT, like SIN, would be a luxury shopper’s paradise.
It seems that all the luxury shopping would be confined to the main building. There was a map anchored to one of the support columns, and I was surprised to see names like BVLGARI, Hermes, Burberry and Ferragamo (stores which I did not run into) at the main building, but none at the satellite.
I did a bit of exploring in the shopping area and bought a cell phone charm for my cousin at a small store beside the big Akihabara store. Other than reminding me of Tokyo’s electronics district, that was the first time I’ve seen big-name electronics being sold inside an airport terminal (and I mean cameras, home appliances, computers and the like). The shopping overload got boring though, so I decided to take the shuttle to the satellite. I ran into the famous Seiko wall clock display while taking the escalator.
Narita is probably not that busy at around 1 pm, evidenced by a nearly empty shuttle train.
