Prior to taking a 2AM flight from Tokyo to Seoul, I visited five different lounges in Haneda Airport Terminal 3. The last on the list was JAL Sakura Lounge which, in most regards, was roughly the same as the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View located one floor above.
Continue reading this review to see what the “regular” international JAL Sakura Lounge at Haneda was like and whether it is worth a visit.
Location & Opening Hours
Until relatively recently, the JAL Sakura Lounge in Haneda Airport’s Terminal 3 was in a different location (I reviewed the old one here). Now, it can be found in the same area as one of the ANA Lounges, the Cathay Pacific Lounge, the Delta Sky Club, and the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View.
To get to the lounge, you first need to pass security and immigration. Airside you need to turn left and toward gate 114. Shortly after you walk by that gate, you will see a “Lounges” sign pointing to an area with escalators and an elevator. Take either to the fourth floor and you will not be able to miss the lounge.
The JAL Sakura Lounge is open every day from 6AM to 1:50AM, longer than the Sky View Lounge which is only open from 7AM to 12PM and from 6PM to 1AM. The Cathay Pacific Lounge, which can be accessed by largely the same group of passengers, is open from 7:30AM to 5PM.
Entry Requirements
Like the Sky View Lounge and Cathay Pacific Lounge nearby, the regular JAL Sakura Lounge in Haneda Airport Terminal 3 follows the standard oneworld lounge access policy. With that, it can be used free of charge by:
- First class passengers departing on a JAL or other oneworld member airline flight together with one guest also traveling on a oneworld flight
- Business class passengers departing on a JAL or other oneworld member airline flight
- Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald frequent flyer status holders together with one guest also traveling on a oneworld flight
More unusually, JAL passengers traveling in premium economy (excluding those who upgraded at the airport on the day of their departure) and on economy class “Flex Y Fare” (excluding those flying to Seoul and Guam) can use the lounge free of charge too. The lounge can also be entered using JAL lounge coupons.
Lastly, the lounge is also used as a contract lounge by some non-oneworld airlines, such as those with flights departing at hours of the day when their alliances’ lounges are closed. Those include Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Emirates, Hawaiian Air, and Korean Air among others.
Lounge Tour
It was possible to enter the lounge from either side of the reception desk.
When entering from the left side, one was led into a small hallway with storage lockers that then led to the rest of the lounge.
Past the baggage storage area was an L-shaped lounging area with seating mainly consisting of sofa chairs.
While some were in rows, others were in pairs with coffee tables in between. The rows were spaced out a fair bit and there were also some wooden partitions between some of them, creating a more pleasant environment than if the chairs were cramped together in a small space.
There was also counter seating along the windows. Unfortunately, the windows here did not offer any views since they were made of smoked glass.
Most of the seats in this area had access to a power outlet and a USB charging port.
There was also a self-serve bar in this area and along the area’s wall, one set of the lounge’s restrooms and shower rooms, as well as a smoking room, could be found.
Next to the lounging area was one of the lounge’s two dining areas.
In addition to a buffet with an L-shaped counter along the walls and an island counter, there was plenty of seating in the form of tables for two. The tables were close enough to work for larger groups seated at tables next to each other too.
There was also a decoration consisting of a few gemstones.
The buffet above did not have drinks. Instead, drinks were available at a self-serve bar located in an adjacent room. That room, in addition to the drink counter, also had a counter with a few bar-height chairs.
What made it interesting, though, was its design. While much smaller, it had a design resembling that of the RED Suite in the JAL First Class Lounge at Haneda Airport. Among others, the room had vintage JAL photos on its walls.
I wish it had some more comfortable seating as that would have perhaps made it my favorite part of the lounge thanks to the aviation theme.
Going back to the lounge’s entrance and entering the lounge from the reception’s right side was a hallway with another set of restrooms and showers, as well as a couple of phone booths that guests could use to take phone calls without disturbing other guests.
There was also a room with half a dozen or so massage chairs. Each of the semi-private spaces with a massage chair also had a small coffee table, a power outlet, and a USB charging port.
The hallway led to the lounge’s second dining area.
It was more or less the same as the one I talked about earlier in this review except:
- The food and drinks were spread across the same set of buffet counters
- There were some tables for four in addition to tables for two
Lastly, the two dining areas in Haneda Airport Terminal 3’s JAL Sakura Lounge were connected by a narrow passage.
The passage’s wall was lined with benches which had tables and chairs across from them. In the middle of the passage were two rows of tables for two. Along the windows were tables for one overlooking the airport.
The one thing this lounge lacked compared to the old one was a work area with cubicle-like seating. While not a big deal, I like using those as they tend to provide a comfortable but productive space to get some work done in before catching a flight.
Drinks
The drink selection in the regular JAL Sakura Lounge in Haneda’s Terminal 3 was exactly the same as that in the Sky View Lounge one floor above.
Cold soft drinks included Coke, Coke-Zero, and ginger ale, as well as green tea and orange juice, available from a dispenser. There were also pitchers with water, tomato juice, Pocari Sweat (sports drink), iced coffee, and milk. Lastly, there were cans of tonic water.
Hot drinks included a selection of coffee drinks from an espresso machine and five different types of George Steuart tea.
Alcoholic drinks included Kirin Ichiban Shibori and Perfect Suntory beers from automated dispensers, a selection of red and white wines, as well as sake, and Cune Cava Brut Metodo sparkling wine.
There were also about a dozen different types of liquor.
Non-alcoholic sparkling wine and five different canned non-alcoholic beers (Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory) were available too.
Food
As for food, both of the buffet counters in this lounge had the same selection. The selection was also the same as that in the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View.
The one difference between the two lounges was that this one was more “high-tech,” perhaps because it is more recent. This lounge had an automated wet towel dispenser, as well as an automated rice dispenser.
As for the actual food selection, there was a nice salad bar, a selection of three desserts (almond jelly, apple tart, and taiyaki), and a selection of snacks (nuts and dry fruits mix, soybean chips, candies, and biscuits).
There was also a selection of bread and pastries.
Next, there were Japanese meal boxes which included a piece of fish, cod roe, egg, and some other sides.
There were also miso and onion soups, beef bowls, curry rice, fried fish, soy meat, pasta, and French fries.
Lastly, one could also order special meals through the lounge’s app available by scanning one of the QR codes on the tables. The options included:
- Halal vegetable penne
- Halal beef bowl
- Vegan vegetable penne
JAL Sakura Lounge (Terminal 3) Tokyo Haneda Summary
All in all, the JAL Sakura Lounge on Tokyo Haneda Airport Terminal 3’s fourth floor is a good business class lounge that offers plenty of seating, a good set of other facilities, and a decent selection of drinks and food.
That said, the lounge is in most regards (other than having showers and having longer opening hours) the same as the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View one floor above. Because it is on the lower floor, and thus the first one most passengers see, it tends to get a bit more crowded.
As such, if you happen to be departing at a time when the Sky View Lounge is open, I recommend visiting that one. Otherwise, this lounge is a good place to spend a couple of hours before your departure. (Although you might also want to go to the Cathay Pacific Lounge which is excellent too and mostly available to the same groups of passengers.)
