Review: Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)

For the home stretch of my quick trip to Japan & Korea, it was time to fly Japan Airlines’ Airbus A350-1000 business class from Tokyo (HND) to New York (JFK). Prior to my flight, I visited the Japan Airlines Sakura Business Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport, which is Japan Airlines’ primary lounge at its biggest hub.

I found this to be a solid lounge, with comfortable seating, beautiful views, tasty food and drinks, and friendly service. However, as you’d expect for a heavily banked hub airport, this lounge gets absolutely slammed during peak periods (when most people are flying), so don’t necessarily expect serenity here.

Before I get into my review, let me note a couple of things. First of all, in addition to the Japan Airlines Sakura Business Lounge, there’s also the Japan Airlines Sakura Business Sky View Lounge, which I’ll be reviewing in a separate installment. Second of all, if you have oneworld Emerald status, you can use the Japan Airlines First Lounge, which is excellent. I reviewed that recently, so won’t be reviewing it again.

Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda location

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda Airport is located in Terminal 3, which is where all international oneworld flights depart from. The lounge is housed in the same complex as several other lounges, near gate 114. To find this, just turn left from the central security checkpoint, and walk for a few minutes. Then on the left you’ll see signage for lounges.

This complex houses several lounges. The primary Japan Airlines Business Lounge is located on level four, so you’ll have to take the escalator or elevator up one level.

Once on level four, you’ll easily spot the entrance to the lounge.

Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda hours

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda Airport is currently open daily from 6AM until the last flight of the night. That covers virtually all departures from the airport. However, if you’re connecting, it’s worth noting that some oneworld flights arrive around 4-5AM, so it’s possible you may have to wait some time for the lounge to open, if in transit.

Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda entry requirements

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda Airport follows standard oneworld lounge access policies. This means that the lounge can be accessed by all departing oneworld first and business class passengers, as well as the alliance’s Emerald members and Sapphire members. Everyone can bring one guest with them, except business class passengers, who aren’t allowed guests.

If you are in first class or are a oneworld Emerald member, you should of course use the Japan Airlines First Lounge instead, though, since it’s quite a bit better.

On top of the above, Japan Airlines also offers lounge access specifically to the following Japan Airlines passengers:

• Those traveling in premium economy, excluding those upgraded on the day of departure at the airport
• Those traveling on full fare economy tickets, excluding to Seoul and Guam

Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda seating & layout

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda Airport can accommodate roughly 380 guests at a time, so it’s a decent size. The lounge immediately above it is even a bit bigger, so the carrier has impressive lounge capacity at the airport (keep in mind oneworld flyers can also use the Cathay Pacific Lounge).

As you can see from the below floorplan, the Japan Airlines Business Lounge is sort of in a rectangular shape, with a triangle on top of it (or however you’d like to describe it).

The lounge underwent a renovation in 2023, and has beautiful minimalist Japanese decor from the moment you arrive.

The lounge consists of several large rooms, each with a pretty consistent furniture theme. I wouldn’t say the design is quite as elegant or cozy as you may find in a Cathay Pacific lounge, but I find the design to be functional and “clean.”

As you enter the lounge and turn left, you’ll first find an area with chairs arranged in rows facing one another, intended for lounging. Each has a side table, and offers easy access to outlets.

Then there’s an area with dining tables, each of which can accommodate two people, on a combination of chairs and shared booths.

As you turn right and go along the perimeter of the lounge, you’ll find more dining tables, as well as some individual chairs with coffee tables, looking out over the apron.

On the other end of the lounge, you’ll find even more dining tables, as well as some communal tables that could be used for dining, or even as workstations.

There’s another room off the side of the lounge, with several different seating options.

The lounge also has massage chairs, a staple of just about any lounge belonging to a Japanese airline.

The lounge also has some individual phone booths, should you want to make a phone call without disturbing others.

There’s also a smoking room, which isn’t particularly luxurious.

Lastly, if you want to store your bags, there are some individual lockers, where you can set a password, so you don’t have to worry about the safety of your bags while in the lounge.

One other lovely thing about the lounge is the views. The lounge overlooks the apron and runway in the distance, so if you’re an aviation geek, make sure you grab a seat near the windows.

Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda food & drinks

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda Airport has a pretty impressive selection of food and drinks. The lounge has two buffets, one on each side of the lounge, which helps with avoiding too much traffic in any one particular area of the lounge.

I visited over breakfast hours, and there were a variety of both Western and Japanese options. In terms of food, options included a salad bar, sesame dumplings, mackerel, rolled omelets, danishes, muffins, waffles, croissants, and much more.

Hot options included scrambled eggs, two types of pasta, pancakes, french fries, sausage, bacon, two kinds of soup, rice, and more.

In addition to the food at the buffet, there’s also a small menu available via the app. You just scan the code for your table number and place your order, and then the food will be brought to you. This app can also be used to make shower reservations.

The drink selection in the lounge is also extensive. Non-alcoholic drinks included a soda fountain, a coffee machine, a tea selection, juice, and water. There was also an impressive selection of liquor, wine, and sake, which guests could help themselves to. The drinks were available at a variety of stations, once again intended to spread out crowding in the lounge.

Japan Airlines Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda bathrooms & showers

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda Airport has a couple of sets of bathrooms, which were spotlessly clean during my visit, and of course there’s also a bidet function in the toilets.

The lounge also has shower suites, so I decided to take a shower here, since it seemed more luxurious than showering in the First Cabin Haneda Airport, where I had spent the night. I’m not kidding when I say that this might just be the best airport lounge shower I’ve ever had.

I think the shower suites look reasonably nice, but what I loved was how functional they were — water pressure was phenomenal, the shower suite had good air circulation, and I loved the toiletries. I don’t often get excited about showers (well, other than on the Emirates A380), but this is really a top notch airport lounge shower.

Bottom line

The Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda is a solid hub lounge, with comfortable seating, an extensive selection of food and drinks, great views, and luxurious shower suites. Is it my favorite business lounge in the world? No, not quite, but it’s still very good, and I’d consider it to be a great place to pass some time.

In the next installment I’ll review the Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge, immediately above this one. Long story short, I’d generally recommend going there assuming it’s open, since it tends to be a bit less crowded. That being said, it doesn’t have shower suites, in case that’s a consideration. I’d also consider visiting the Cathay Pacific Lounge, especially for barista coffee and bartender cocktails.

What’s your take on the Japan Airlines Business Lounge Haneda?