Most major airports in Japan with the notable exception of Tokyo Haneda have a lounge or two participating in Priority Pass.
That said, none offers as extensive a selection of Priority Pass facilities as Nagoya Centrair. While the selection shrunk at the end of March 2023 with a participating restaurant (Ethan Stowell Pizza & Pasta) closing, a new restaurant replaced it the following month. Not only that but a spa facility joined the program too.
During my recent trip, I had a chance to visit both of the new facilities and I wasn’t disappointed. Continue reading to learn more about those as well as the other Priority Pass options available at Chubu International Airport.
Priority Pass Lounges at Nagoya Centrair
Let’s start with the two Priority Pass lounges that are available at Centrair. Both of them are located airside in the international section of Terminal 1.
As such, to access either, you will need to have a boarding pass for an international flight out of the airport, on an airline using Terminal 1. You can check which terminal your airline uses here. In general, Terminal 2 is used by low-cost carriers including Jetstar, Cebu Pacific, Tigerair, Jeju Air, and HK Express.
While the lounges are fine if you want to get some work done or grab a quick drink, if you are hungry, I recommend going to one of the restaurants I will talk about further down instead.
Centrair Global Lounge (Terminal 1 International Flights Only)
The first of the two lounges, Centrair Global Lounge, can be found one floor below the main departures level and can be accessed by an elevator located near gate 19. It is open from 7:30AM until 3:45PM every day. Priority Pass members can stay in the lounge for a maximum of three hours.
While I haven’t visited Centrair Global Lounge yet, it appears to be very simple, offering some seating in the form of sofa chairs and work desks, as well as a small selection of food and drinks.
KAL Lounge (Terminal 1 International Flights Only)
The second lounge, Korean Air’s KAL Lounge, can be found in the same area as Centrair Global Lounge. That said, it’s opening hours are a bit shorter – 7:30AM to 2:30PM.
While I haven’t been to the KAL Lounge at Nagoya Centrair, I’ve been to the one at Narita Airport and one at Fukuoka Airport. The one at Centrair seems to be similar to the other two, offering simple furnishing, a very limited selection of bites to eat, and a selection of drinks. Considering how close Korea is to Japan – and thus the short duration of Korean Air flights out of Japan – this is not surprising.
Priority Pass Restaurants at Nagoya Centrair
Technically, there are three Priority Pass restaurants at Nagoya Centrair. One of those is part of the spa that I will talk about in the next section of this article. First, though, I will look at the two “pure” restaurants.
The good news is that one of them is in the public area of the airport and thus can be accessed regardless of whether you are flying domestically or internationally, or from Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. Keep in mind, though, that some of the Priority Pass memberships acquired as credit card perks no longer offer restaurant benefits.
The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar
The restaurant in the public area of the airport is The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar.
As mentioned, you can take advantage of your Priority Pass membership there regardless of the route and airline you are flying. In fact, you can visit the restaurant even after arriving at Centrair. You simply need a same-day boarding pass from or to the airport.
The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar is located within Flight of Dreams, a facility located between Centrair’s Terminals 1 and 2. To get there from Terminal 1, simply follow the signs to Access Plaza, and from there follow the signs for Flight of Dreams. The entire way is well-signposted, covered, and takes a bit more than five minutes.
Once in Flight of Dreams, the restaurant is on the third floor – the same floor that the walkways connecting the facility with Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are located on.
Being open from 11: 00AM to 6:30PM daily, The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar is a great place to grab lunch, an early dinner, or a beer. Priority Pass members receive a 3,400 yen (approx. 25 USD) discount. Up to two guests of the main cardholder can receive the same discount. Guesting is only worth it if you can do so free of charge, otherwise the guest charges will most likely be higher than the credit you get at the restaurant.
Before getting seated, my Priority Pass card was scanned and my boarding pass was checked. A printout of a Priority Pass card which served as a “discount coupon” was added to my tab.
When I got to the restaurant shortly before noon, there were plenty of tables available.
Some of those including the one I got seated at offered a great view of the Boeing 787 prototype that is the centerpiece of Flight of Dreams. While in the past, a fee needed to be paid to enter the area around the aircraft, now it’s possible to do so for free. So, if you have some time before/after your visit to this restaurant, make sure to also go to the first floor.
Mains at The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar’s included hamburgers, chowders in bread, steaks, and even some pizza among other things.
There were also sides like fries, onion rings, and salads, and snacks like mixed nuts and edamame. Drinks included a limited selection of soft drinks (Calpis, orange juice, Fanta Melon Soda, Coca-Cola, tea, and coffee), some wine, and – as the restaurant’s name suggests – what looked like a good selection of beers. Notably, there were no desserts on the menu.
As is often the case in Japan, things were reasonably priced and the 3,400 yen credit was more than enough to get most of the mains with a side and a drink. In fact, it was even just enough for a 200 gram sirloin steak – without a drink, though.
Ordering was done through a table. While the system was intuitive enough, most of the text such as menu item names and descriptions remained in Japanese even after switching the language to English.
I decided to have a cheeseburger with onion rings and Coke. That added up to just under 3,400 yen.
One of the servers brought the drink within a minute or two. Onion rings followed another couple of minutes later. Lastly, the burger was brought by a robot and then passed on to me by a server. Funnily, being seated near the kitchen, I overheard the staff complaining about the robot which seemed to be acting up.
Umizen Sorazen
The second Priority Pass restaurant at Nagoya Centrair is Umizen Sorazen. Unlike the previous one, this one located airside in the international part of Terminal 1, near gate 19. Because of its location, it can only be accessed by passengers departing on international flights from the terminal.
It’s open from the first flight of the day until the last one. The only restriction is that you can use Priority Pass there at most three hours before the departure of your flight.
Those using Priority Pass at the restaurant need to choose a combination of main and side dishes from a dedicated menu. Mains include things like ramen and udon noodles and rice bowls. Side dishes include items like yakitori, edamame, and fried chicken. The meal also comes with unlimited soft and alcoholic drinks for 60 minutes.
Priority Pass Spa at Nagoya Centrair: Kutsurogi Dokoro
The last Priority Pass option at Nagoya Centrair is Kutsurogi Dokoro which can be found landside in Terminal 1, in the far right corner of the fourth floor. Being located landside, this is another option that can be taken advantage of regardless of whether you are flying domestically or internationally and regardless of the terminal you are departing from.
Kutsurogi Dokoro consists of three facilities: Sola Spa Kaze no Yu (bath/sauna), Sanatio Spa (treatments), and Ebisu (restaurant). You can find Kutsurogi Dokoro by looking for a large figure of a character holding fried shrimp.
While there are two entrances – one into Sola Spa Kaze no Yu/Ebisu and one into Sanatio Spa, the facilities are all connected on the inside and Priority Pass members are checked in at Kaze no Yu’s reception.
Priority Pass members can choose from two options:
- Access to Sola Spa Kaze no Yu including towel and a meal in Ebisu
- A 3,400 yen discount off a treatment at Sanatio Spa
The first option is available from 10AM to 9PM and the second option from 1PM to 9PM – these times match the opening hours of the respective facilities.
Normally, access to the bath including towels costs 1,500 yen and there is a menu of items to choose from in the restaurant. Priority Pass members can choose from one of two meals – more about that later. Aroma treatments start at 3,900 yen for 30 minutes (meaning you would end up paying 500 yen or less than 5 dollars if you chose that one).
After taking my shoes off at the entrance and putting them in a locker, I went to the reception desk. There, I was shown a card with the two options described and asked to choose one – both times I visited (after arriving in Nagoya and before departing Nagoya the next day) I opted for the bath and meal.
With that, I was handed a small towel, a bath towel, a locker key for the bath, and a wrist band which served as a coupon for the meal. My shoe locker key was stored at the reception.
Past the reception was a small lobby area with a couple of benches, a vending machine, and a couple of paid massage chairs.
On the left side of the lobby area was the bath and on the right side was the restaurant.
The bath was a typical Japanese public bath with people bathing naked. As such, it was divided into a men’s and a women’s section. Entering into the men’s section, there was a changing room and then the bath area itself.
The bath area consisted of showers and then a few of different baths (including an electric one which I didn’t realize until I felt the shock), a jacuzzi, and a sauna. All of these were indoor and the main bath offered some airport views. In addition to that, there was an outdoor terrace which offered even better views of the airport.
Visiting the bath was a unique experience to say the least – after all, it has to be the only Priority Pass facility in the world that allows its guests to stand outside naked while watching airplanes take off…
After getting out of the bath, I went to the restaurant. Handing the wristband which served as a meal coupon to the kitchen staff, I was offered to pick one of two options:
- Korean (bibimbap and reimen)
- Japanese (miso udon and fried shrimp)
Each of the options came with some side dishes.
Additionally, I was offered a choice of either an alcoholic drink or a soft drink and vanilla ice cream. Alcoholic drinks one could choose from included beer, sake, shochu, and – interestingly – non-alcoholic beer. Non-alcoholic drinks included Coke, ginger ale, orange juice, Calpis, and oolong tea.
I sat at one of the regular tables. There was a section with Japanese-style seating (tatami and low tables) too.
During my first visit, I went with the Japanese option together with Coke and ice cream.
After making my choice, I was handed a buzzer – it took about ten minutes to ring. The udon was burning hot as expected and tasted well. The shrimp was larger than I expected considering it was a “free” Priority Pass meal.
The second time, I was short on time and so only had a glass of oolong tea and ice cream.
Summary
Nagoya Centrair offers arguably the best Priority Pass options in Japan. While the airport’s Priority Pass lounges are nothing to write home about, the restaurants and spa more than make up for that. Especially so considering that some of the best options are located landside, thus giving all arriving and departing passengers a chance to take advantage of their Priority Pass membership.
In fact, if you are catching an international flight departing Nagoya Centrair’s Terminal 1 in the evening, you could spent the entire day visiting Priority Pass facilities. You could start the day with a bath and lunch in Kutsurogi Dokoro, then spend some time in Flight of Dreams and have a beer at The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar. Then, once past security, you could get some work done in one of the lounges, have a dinner at Umizen Sorazen, and then finally board your flight.
More realistically, regardless of the flight you are taking or arriving on, you could enjoy the bath and then grab a meal or a beer at The Pike Brewing Restaurant & Craft Beer Bar.
