Kagoshima airport is one of the ten busiest airports in Japan, and with about fifty domestic Japan Airlines group flights departing the airport every day, it is no surprise that JAL operates a Sakura Lounge there.
While the lounge has been at the airport for many years, in November 2017, it closed for renovation. I had a chance to visit it back in July 2018 – just four months after its reopening in March 2018 – so here’s the review.
Location, Opening Hours & Access
Kagoshima’s JAL Sakura Lounge is located airside in the domestic terminal, to the left of the security checkpoint. More precisely, it can be found just across from gate 9. It’s open every day from 6:30AM until the last JAL group departure.
The lounge is accessible to JAL domestic first class passengers, as well as to all JAL group domestic passengers who hold a oneworld Sapphire or Emerald status. Furthermore, it can also be entered by passengers connecting to or from a JAL international business or first class flight.
Lounge Tour
Besides the reception area, the lounge is split into two parts – the snack area with the buffet and a larger lounging area with a variety of seating options.
Just past the entrance was the reception area with the reception desk, as well as luggage lockers and phone booths to allow visitors do phone calls without disturbing others.
Then, in the snack area, there was the buffet counter with drinks and snacks (more about that in the next section). Across from the buffet, there was a bench along the wall together with four tables and chairs.
Going into the main lounging area, there were some benches along the wall on the left side coupled with coffee tables. And, there was also a rack with reading materials (Japanese only) and a flight information display screen.
In the middle of that area, there was a large counter with fairly comfortable chairs. There were plenty of USB and power outlets installed in the counter, so this was an ideal place to get some work done in the lounge.
Finally, on the right side, there were about a dozen leather chairs with high backs. They were slightly partitioned off from the rest of the lounge, and so were the best place in the lounge for relaxing.
There were no restrooms in the lounge.
Food and Drinks
The food and drinks selection in Kagoshima’s JAL Sakura Lounge was not too different from that of the same lounge at Tokyo Haneda or Sapporo New Chitose airports (or any other domestic lounge in Japan for that matter).
The only food in the lounge were snacks – some candies and rice crackers to be precise.
As for drinks, there was a coffee machine as well as a selection of teas (green and black). There was also a soda dispenser – rather than the “classic” one that can be found in many lounges around Japan, this one was the kind where you can “mix your own drink” (e.g. grape Coke). Other soft drinks included tomato juice and mineral water in pitchers.
Alcoholic drinks included four brands (Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, Suntory) available from Japan’s well-known automatic dispensers.
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JAL Sakura Lounge Kagoshima Summary
Just like all the other domestic JAL Sakura Lounges, the one in Kagoshima provided a place nicer than the terminal to work or relax in, but nothing less or nothing more.
While the snacks and drinks selection was, just like one would expect, very simple and similar to other domestic lounges in Japan, the one thing that stood out was the new soda dispenser. It’s nothing to write home about, but it was still a nice touch.
I also reviewed Kagoshima airport’s other two lounges – Sky Lounge Nanohana and JAL Lounge.
Click here to read more JAL Japan Airlines flight and lounge reviews
