Our connection through Tokyo Narita International Airport had us passing through one of One World’s primary hubs in North Asia. It’s always interesting to see what a flagship lounge looks like in one of the carriers premium hubs. We would end up finding a comfortable lounge marked by beautiful daylight views and a neat noodle bar paired with delicious champagne.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Narita International Airport – Terminal 2, Tokyo, Japan.

“The flagship Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo Narita was an large space with terrific plane spotting opportunities paired with an unusually small eating area”

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We landed at Gate 92 and walked the conveyor belt to the international transfer area. There didn’t seem to be much connecting traffic from our Japan Airlines Business Class Singapore – Tokyo Narita flight; only about 5-7 people that followed us up to the connection area. After passing through the security screening, we proceeded down a concourse that had terrifically large windows. The windows made for excellent plane spotting. Unfortunately, the Japan Airlines livery isn’t too exciting for my tastes. It’s pretty straight forward and plain if you ask me.

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Locating the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge:

Tokyo Narita Terminal Two

We located the main Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge which was located near gate 62. Based on the lay out, there appeared to be a lounge on the 4th floor (one level above us). We headed there first by taking the escalators up.

Accessing the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge:

The Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge is accessed based on the class of service of your departing ticket.

Access to the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge is granted for First Class (with one guest permitted on the same flight), Business Class passengers, in addition to those in Premium Economy, and Economy Class in Full Fare “Y”.

Lounge access is available to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank top tier members in categories JMB Diamond, JGC Premier, JMB Sapphire, and JAL Global Club members at the departure airport.

One World Members with the equivalent of oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier status can use any of the some 600 lounges offered by oneworld airlines when departing on any oneworld member airline flight.

Lastly, Japan Mileage Bank offers access to the lounge for it’s top tier members JMB Diamond, JGC Premier, JMB Sapphire, at a rate of 2,000 miles = 1 lounge coupon (for international and domestic flights), along with access for it’s JMB Crystal Members (lowest elite tier) at a rate of 1,000 miles = 1 lounge coupon (for domestic flights).

We were granted access today thanks to the class of service of our Japan Airlines Business Class Boarding Pass.

Inside the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge:

The larger Sakura Lounge is divided into two large areas. The 2nd floor area off the entry consists of the main portion. It has an odd color scheme that goes together, or not at all. Depending on your decorating tastes, it was either noticeable or horrid.

In keeping with the theme of the public transfer concourse, the lounge had terrific large windows, which were great for plane spotting.

It had light snacks (crackers) and a self pour bar and beverage service. The Sakura Lounge offered Boschendal wines from South Africa, which were a great treat (having previously visited there).

There is a stairway back up to the third floor which is configured as a dining area. I don’t know who designed it, but the third floor is only about 20% of the actual lounge space of the whole lounge.

The place was absolutely mobbed during our visit at 5 PM. It was so much so that there was a sign on the main floor suggesting that tables were not available. The matters were made worse as there were signs saying that food shouldn’t be brought downstairs.

There was a nice bar upstairs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an area to hang around in due to the confined spaces and the throng of people that were up there.

I broke a little Japanese rule as it was apparent that we weren’t going to get a table there anyway. I headed downstairs with some dim sum and a glass of bubbles to take in the great tarmac views.

On our way out, before we took the escalators back up to the concourse level, we checked out the other half of the main part of the lounge. It was much more narrow and contained the smokers area and additional snack areas. It was in a long rectangular form, so it wasn’t as spacious as the main part of the lounge. It still had windows, but they didn’t see as large as the main part of the lounge.

My Thoughts on the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Narita:

While I was a bit under whelmed by the Japan Airlines Business Class flight on the way up to Tokyo, the JAL Tokyo Sakura Lounge was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting anything over the top, but instead we found a lounge that had a pleasant and large space to relax in, terrific views and room for almost everybody. The strangest part were the attempts to keep food to the top floor area of the lounge, by not having food stations in the larger part of the lounge. This led to a bit of a crush upstairs during our visit and the rule breakers like me sneaking food down a level. The food and beverage were ample, but not over the top in any sense. It’s easily a place that worth a short to medium visit on your next trip through.

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If you’ve visited the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge at Tokyo Narita, did the lounge impress you?

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