Review: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo NRT

Review: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo NRT

The Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo is accessed through the same entrance as the JAL First Class lounge; however, you’ll use the main check in desk which is immediately in front of you. The check in area reflects the comparative size of the lounge…YUGE! While the First Class check-in is small and tucked away to the left, the Sakura Lounge receptoin is sized to accommodate large swaths of business class customers looking for rubber stamped entry. I did a sweep through the lounge to check it and was pretty impressed.

Access

Since I was flying on a First Class ticket I had access to both lounges. You can also access the lounge with one guest if you’re One World Sapphire/Emerald, as well as Japan Airlines Mileage Bank Sapphire, Premier, and Diamond. JAL Global Club members also have access.

It’s 2 full floors with floor to ceiling windows, and a gorgeous open staircase.

The line in the background is actually for dining. The lounge was MEGA crowded. If I had to guess I’d say there was  a few hundred people in the lounge, and while you had to look for seating, it could still be found. The Sakura Lounge is clearly a workhorse. The respect everyone gives each other in Japan is impressive. Even in a lounge this busy, things were orderly, clean, and respectful.

A wine and coffee bar set aside from the main food presentation.

While there are a few places to grab coffee in the lounge, this separated area for Wine and Coffee ( which has an attendant) helped to alleviate congestion. It was still quite crowded on the top floor, but had this been a part of the main food area it would have been pretty problematic.

The line for food was akin to the bar line during intermission at Hamilton. I’ve never been, but I’m sure it’s really long!

I’d guess that 50 people were lined up to eat. Thank goodness I’d stuffed my face with top shelf sushi in the First Class lounge 😉 We snuck in the midst of the action for a quick shot, but I’m sorry I wasn’t willing to wait for up close pics.

Downstairs was far more relaxed and spacious. It’s divided into two wings. There’s also a small food area to the left with a lot of seating. Got some pics of that offering 😉

And some food.

If you meander on back you’ll find areas where you can sleep. I wish I’d known about these ahead of time. I could have used a small nap after being wide-eyed the whole flight from Bangkok.

Crossing over to the other wing you’ll find a large storage locker room.

The seating on this side had workstations, drinks, and a snack bar.

Both levels have incredible views of the airport. Miles hung out here for a bit

He was posing for this picture when our very first reader recognized him. Very cool experience 🙂

Overall:

Couple things not photographed, but available:

There are Shower Suites that you can reserve as well as work stations. Unfortunately, the lounge was so busy that the work stations were fairly occupied and would have been weird to take a picture of them.  Miles knows no shame, but his sock puppet human companion maintains a sliver of it.  I’ve heard the Shower suites are pretty nice as well, but they were occupied and I’d already showered in the First Class lounge. Needless to say, the lounge was busy, but the facilities are there if you need them.

I also ducked into the lounge with about 15 mins to spare so I didn’t have time to wait for a shower to open up just for photos.

The only downside of my experience was really it’s popularity, and I can’t blame anyone for enjoying this baby. It’s beautiful, full of light, food, drink, and from what I’ve heard shower suites that compare to the First Class lounge. If you’re in Narita and have access to this lounge, I’d definitely give it a visit.

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This review is a part of the Trip Report: Miles Traces his roots in Southeast Asia

• Delta SkyClub Indianapolis IND
• Delta First Class IND-LAX
• Amex Centurion Pop-UP TBIT
• China Air Business Class 777-300ER LAX-TPE
• Grand Hyatt Taipei
• Grand Hyatt Taipei Club Lounge Review
• Taipei 101 Tour
• EVA Air Infinity lounge TPE
• Plaza Premium Lounge TPE Zone A1
• Plaza Premium Lounge TPE Zone A
• EVA Royal Laurel Business Class TPE – SGN
• Vietnamese Visa on Arrival Experience
• Park Hyatt Saigon
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• Park Hyatt Siem Reap
• Viator Ankor Wat Private Tour
• Afternoon Tea Park Hyatt Siem Reap
• Plaza Premium Lounge Siem Reap
• Intercontinental Hanoi
• Dragon Legend Ha Long Bay Cruise
• Hanoi Hilton
• ACV Business Lounge Hanoi
• Qatar Airways Business Class 777-300ER  HAN-BKK
• Louis Tavern CIPFirst Class Lounge Bangkok BKK
• Louis Tavern CIP Business Class Lounge Bangkok BKK
• Japan Airlines Business Class 787-8 BKK-NRT
• American Airlines Admirals Club Tokyo NRT
• Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo NRT
• Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo NRT
• Japan Airlines First Class 777-300ER NRT-ORD
• Tip on how to fly standby the day before your flight