Layover in Tokyo en route to Abu Dhabi — Enjoy Japanese and Arabic In-flight Meals Before a Grand Trip to Rome

▲ An Arabic-style meal with long-grain rice and chicken.

Photo & Text /AJ



After arriving in Tokyo, ground staff quickly gathered the five passengers transferring to Abu Dhabi. Besides my travel companion and me, there was also a family — a son traveling with his parents to London via Abu Dhabi. China Airlines is located at Terminal 2 of Narita Airport; just follow this sign.


You’ll go through security again before boarding the shuttle bus.

The shuttle pick-up point for Terminal 2 is at GATE 60. ETIHAD is at GATE 59 in Terminal 1. Just get off here and you’re good to go Up！


Since the flight duration is quite long, not many people transfer in Tokyo. Most go to Bangkok (which is hard to book) or Manila. When booking the tickets, the reservation agent from Canxing kindly recommended transiting in Manila for the shortest layover. But since my travel companion preferred Tokyo, we were initially worried there wouldn’t be much to do at Manila Airport, but in the end, we didn’t explore anything either XD


Time to get off Up～


Check-in procedures are handled at the boarding gate, where you can collect boarding passes for the next two segments. A special reminder: make sure to have the through-checked baggage tag from Taoyuan Airport confirmed by Tokyo ground staff to ensure your luggage is on the plane, avoiding situations where other travelers’ luggage didn’t make it.


The flights are EY871 NRT>AUH and EY871 (codeshared with Air Berlin AB4059). EY7065 AUH>FCO is operated by the less commonly flown Italian airline AZ853.


The Tokyo to Abu Dhabi segment had a passenger load of only about 40–50%, so almost everyone could lie down and sleep, making the 12-hour flight not as long as expected. Although I was too excited and barely slept～～ Comfortable blankets and pillows were already provided at every seat.


I have to praise this blanket — it’s the most comfortable one I’ve ever used！




There’s also an amenity kit, which is almost extinct in economy class these days.


The design of the amenity kit varies slightly for each flight segment.


It includes socks, an eye mask, earplugs, and a toothbrush — simple items that feel very thoughtful.


There’s also a noise-canceling headset with pretty good sound quality, which is the best I’ve used so far, though of course it can’t compare to what business class offers！


Items in the seatback pocket, especially a special edition on 007, and AVOD also features several classic 007 movies.


Asian flight routes.


Future additions to the fleet include 41 Boeing 787s — quite the investment.


Next up is another rare menu. Although the flight attendants still verbally announce the meal options when serving, having a physical menu is just nicer ＸＤ


On flights departing from Japan, you can choose between a Japanese set meal, Western-style pasta, or an Arabic spiced chicken rice.


For breakfast, the Japanese option includes seafood congee and miso soup, while the Western option has omelets and meatballs, plus a curious Arabic Shakshouka. After looking it up, I found out it’s a traditional dish made with tomatoes, eggs, onions, chili, and chicken.

The Japanese flight attendants are really more attentive, coming over to check on you and chat a bit.


Right after takeoff, they offer super hot wet wipes for your hands — really scalding hot～～ I had to wait for them to cool down a bit before I could even take a photo.


Huge screen！！ Great for watching movies, although the subtitles are all in Arabic．．．


There’s a USB port under the seat for charging your phone！




We hadn’t even flown over Korea yet and they started serving meals Up！ Out of curiosity, I tried the Arabic meal and ordered two drinks. Long-grain rice with chicken — after having Arabic food in Abu Dhabi later, I realized the spice level here was actually quite mild.


Seafood salad with butter, crackers, and cheese.


Matcha pudding with vanilla sauce.


The meal ordered by my travel companion was Japanese-style, with appetizers including smoked salmon, rolled sushi, and Japanese-style cold salad.


The meals served on the Japan-bound flight were really delicious—the cooked dishes and rice were both excellent. The return flight from Tokyo to Taipei with China Airlines was even better!


After serving the meal and cold drinks, they came around again with hot beverages. In addition to the usual coffee and tea, there was also an option for hot chocolate—and this hot chocolate was really good, smooth and rich, leaving a wonderful aftertaste. After clearing the table, there was a small cup holder to place your drink.


After we were full and satisfied, the lighting began to change, signaling that it was time to sleep (or maybe time to get up and dance!?)








I didn’t manage to grab a four-seat flatbed, but the two-seat sofa chair was still okay.


This whole loop took 12 hours.


Before going to sleep, I wandered to the restroom—there were hand sanitizers and toners.


A restroom with a view～


I checked out the galley to see what was available. I was pretty disappointed—I thought there might be a little food and beverage bar like on some airlines, but there was only water and very sweet caramel popcorn.


This pack of popcorn was our snack while flying over southwestern China.


After watching three movies and taking a short nap, Abu Dhabi was finally almost here. More than two hours before landing, they started serving breakfast—Western-style with scrambled eggs, cold bread, fruit, and strawberry yogurt.


Scrambled eggs with meatballs in the omurice.


The Japanese-style breakfast seemed more interesting—the seafood congee had fairly large shrimp, but the porridge itself tasted almost as light as water.


Then we landed smoothly at Abu Dhabi International Airport, parked at Terminal 1, right next to Gulf Air.


As soon as you step off the plane and walk forward, you can see the very Arabic-style mosaic ceiling.


At four or five in the morning, many connecting passengers were waiting for their early flights, each wrapped in an Etihad blanket and sleeping. I had checked in advance that the airport offers free shower facilities and was planning to try them out. I found the direction as follows.


But strangely, the showers are located after the gate area, and you have to go through security again. After explaining to the airport staff at the gate, they simply told us to come back in an hour to see if we could be allowed in to shower. But when we returned an hour later, that gate area was completely closed off. Has anyone used it? I’m really curious!!
 

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