Review: JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View at Tokyo Haneda Airport

During my 28-hours-non-stop trip to South Korea, I had a chance to spend some time in both of JAL’s lounges in Tokyo Haneda Airport’s Terminal 3. The first one I went to was the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View, which as its name suggests, promises to offer a better view than the regular Sakura Lounge one floor below it.

Continue reading this review to see what the lounge was like and whether you should plan to spend a few hours in it before catching your flight.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View.

Location & Opening Hours

Fairly recently, the locations of different lounges in Haneda Airport’s Terminal 3 were reshuffled slightly. That said, the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View has been in the same location since opening (unlike the regular JAL Sakura Lounge which moved from being near gates 111 and 112 where the JAL First Class Lounge remains to one floor below the Sky View Lounge).

To get to JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View, go through security and immigration and, once airside, turn left. Walk toward gate 114, pass by it, and, before getting to the area of the terminal with gates 140 through 149, you will see a sign pointing to “Lounges.”

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Location
The JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View is easy to find.

The lounge is on the fifth floor, the same floor as the Delta Sky Club and, as mentioned above, one floor above the regular JAL Sakura Lounge and ANA Lounge. JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View is one floor below the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge.

You can either use the escalators or take an elevator. In the latter case, make sure to remember the floor you are going to since the signs next to the elevator buttons will be useless!

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Location
The lounge is right next to the Delta Sky Club.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Location
If taking the elevator, make sure you know which floor you are going to as the signs inside the elevator are useless.

The Sky View Lounge is open every day from 7AM to 12PM and from 6PM to 1AM.

For comparison, the two lounges with similar entry requirements – the regular Sakura Lounge and the Cathay Pacific Lounge – are open from 6AM to 1:50AM and from 7:30AM to 5PM respectively.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Location and Opening Hours
Locations and opening hours of Haneda Terminal 3’s lounges.

Entry Requirements

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View at Tokyo Haneda follows the standard oneworld lounge access policy meaning:

  • First class passengers departing on a JAL or other oneworld member airline flight can use the lounge together with one guest also traveling on a oneworld flight
  • Business class passengers departing on a JAL or other oneworld member airline flight can use the lounge on their own
  • Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald frequent flyer status holders can use the lounge together with one guest also traveling on a oneworld flight

Additionally, 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.

Lastly, the lounge can also be entered by using JAL lounge coupons.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Entrance
Entrance.

Lounge Tour

The reception area was decorated with a large Japanese artwork.

Funnily enough, while the Delta Sky Club staff tried to send me to this lounge, this lounge’s staff tried to send me to the Delta lounge when they saw my boarding pass. After an explanation of the situation and a quick call by the staff to Korean Air staff later, I was let in.

Along the short hallway connecting the reception with the lounge itself was a baggage storage area.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Reception
Reception.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Reception
Artwork next to the reception.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View FIDS
Flight information display and lounge layout.

Exiting the short hallway and turning to the right was “The Dining.”

The main feature of “The Dining” was a large buffet area consisting of four counters with a decent selection of drinks and food. More about the selection itself in the next two sections of this review, though.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Buffet
Buffet area.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Buffet
One of the counters.

As for seating, the dining area mostly had tables for two with benches along one side and chairs along the other.

There were also wide counters with chairs along each side, as well as bar-height counters along the windows, ideal for passengers traveling on their own.

Each of the seats at the counters had access to a power outlet and a USB charging port.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Dining
Tables in the dining area.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Dining
Counters.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Dining
A slightly separated seating area within The Dining.

Turning left instead of right upon entering the lounge led to a series of seating areas with a much larger combined capacity than the dining area.

The seating mainly consisted of sofa chairs and lounge chairs arranged in rows facing each other. There were also some for larger groups of people arranged in groups of four. The one thing I appreciated was that even though the seats were in fairly uninspiring rows, the rows were spaced out a lot for extra privacy.

I also appreciated that most of the seats in this area had access to power outlets and USB charging ports and that, like throughout the rest of the lounge, there were small design touches (like nice artwork on the walls, not all seats being the same, etc.) that made the lounge feel cozier than it would have been without them.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Lounging Area
Lounging area.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Lounging Area
Most seats had power outlets.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Seating
Seating for four.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Sofas
Rows of sofas.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Seating
Most of the walls were decorated in one way or another.

At the very back of the lounge was a triangular “SKY Lounge” which, perhaps ironically given its name, consisted of dining tables and chairs placed in a row along the windows, neither of which was the ideal type of seat for lounging and relaxing.

The areas above were also home to a couple of drink counters.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Seating.
Looking from the edge of the lounge toward the center.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View
SKY Lounge.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Drink Counter
Drinks counter in the lounging area.

Lastly, in terms of seating areas, there was a bar-like section behind the SKY Lounge. This section featured much darker tones than the rest of the lounge and had a more “elegant” vibe.

It was equipped with sofa chairs in a row along one of the section’s walls, as well as sofa chairs arranged in groups of four and a counter in the middle of the room. Additionally, there was a drink counter.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Seating
The “bar-like area” of the lounge.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Seating
Sofa chairs in the area.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Drinks Counter
Drinks counter.

Separately from the above, there was also a copier/fax and a few phone booths along the inner wall of the lounge area.

The latter is something I always appreciate as it prevents the ambiance in the lounge from being disturbed by passengers taking phone calls/doing online meetings in the middle of the lounge.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Phone Booths
Phone booths.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Copy
Copier/fax.

While the Sky View Lounge had two sets of restrooms and a changing room, there were no showers.

Showers were instead available in the regular JAL Sakura Lounge one floor below.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Restrooms
Restrooms.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Restrooms
Even the restroom interior was decorated nicely.

Drinks

All drinks in the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View were self-serve. As mentioned above, they could be had in four different places – the dining area, the bar-like area, and the two counters in the general lounging areas. The selection in each of those places was essentially the same.

Cold soft drinks included a selection of sodas (Coke, Coke Zero, ginger ale, and Real Gold), juices, Pocari Sweat (a Japanese sports drink), ice tea and coffee, milk, and water.

Hot drinks included regular coffee, cafe latte, espresso, and cappuccino from an espresso machine, as well as a selection of five different George Steuart black teas. There were also regular green and roasted green tea bags.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Soft Drinks
Coffee and sodas.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Tea
Tea.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Juices
Juices, non-alcoholic beer, etc.

Alcoholic drinks included two brands of beer (Asahi and Kirin) available from automatic dispensers. Interestingly, the selection of non-alcoholic beer was wider as there were canned Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory.

There were also two white wines, two red wines, two sakes, and a sparkling wine to choose from.

Additionally, there was a non-alcoholic sparkling wine. While I appreciated the effort the lounge put into providing non-alcoholic alternatives, it would have been nice if a more premium brand (for example So Jennie which Qatar Airways offers) was offered.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Beer
Beer.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Wine
Wine and sake.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Wine List
Wine list.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Sake
Sake list.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Wine
Sparkling wine.

Lastly, there was a selection of about a dozen different kinds of liquor including vodka, whisky, gin, shochu, and plum wine among others.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Liquor
Liquor.

Food

The selection and especially quality of food in the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View were above average.

There was a variety of bread and pastries, as well as taiyaki (a Japanese fish-shaped cake filled with red bean paste).

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Bread
Bread.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Bread and Pastries
Bread, pastries, and taiyaki.

Then there was a salad bar next to which were two desserts – apple tarts and almond jelly.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Salad
Salad and desserts.

More substantial items included a Japanese boxed meal with a piece of fish, cod roe, egg, and some other sides.

Then there were Japanese vegetable, onion, and miso soups.

Hot main dishes included curry rice, beef rice bowls (gyudon), pasta, and fried fish among other things.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Japanese Box Meal
Japanese box meal.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Soups
Soups.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Curry
Curry and miso soup.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Curry
Curry rice.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Beef Bowl
Beef bowl topping.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Warm Dishes
Hot dishes.

It was also possible to order special meals through the lounge’s app available by scanning one of the QR codes on the tables:

  • Halal vegetable penne
  • Halal beef bowl
  • Vegan vegetable penne

Lastly, on the drink counters were some snacks including cocoa biscuits, soybean chips, mixed nuts and dried fruits, and candies.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Snacks
Various snacks.
JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Snacks
Soybean chips.

JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View Tokyo Haneda Summary

In most aspects including the entry requirements, overall design, types of seats, drinks and food selection, and so on, the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View at Tokyo Haneda Airport is the same as the regular JAL Sakura Lounge a floor below it.

The one disadvantage it has compared to the regular lounge is the lack of showers.

The advantages include the better airport views (in other words, the lounge lives up to its name) and the fact that it seems to be less crowded than the regular lounge. The reason for the latter is probably that most people just take an escalator up and head to the nearest lounge (i.e. the regular one) without realizing there is another one a floor higher.

All in all the JAL Sakura Lounge Sky Views is a nice place to spend a couple of hours before a flight having a bite to eat and getting some work done.

First published on 2020/01/03. Fully rewritten on 2024/02/20 based on my latest visit.

2 thoughts on “Review: JAL Sakura Lounge Sky View at Tokyo Haneda Airport”

  1. My wife and I are travelling domestic (HND-CTS) business class with JAL along with PE ad business class on international sectors. We’ve been advised that even as business class (QF reward) we may not be able to access the Sakura lounge at Haneda airport. has anyone had any first hand experience on this. if it’s true, then very disappointing indeed.

    1. There is no domestic business class in JAL. If you’re referring to Class J that’s premium economy so you will not have access to domestic Sakura lounge unless with Sapphire status or above.

      If you’re flying international JL business class you will definitely have access to Sakura Lounge, regardless of reward ticket or not.

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