Review: Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)

For the last lounge visit 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 two of the oneworld carrier’s lounges.

In the previous installment, I reviewed the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, which is the primary business class lounge for the airline. In this installment, I’ll review the Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge, which has similar access requirements. The lounges are essentially stacked on top of one another, but aren’t connected internally.

So, what’s the difference between the two lounges? I’d view the Sky View Lounge as essentially being the overflow business class lounge for the airline. The two lounges are actually very similar — the food and drinks are the same. The Sakura Lounge has the benefit of having showers, while the Sky View Lounge has the benefit of typically being a bit quieter, and having even better views.

They’re both worth a visit, and I’d say that I have a slight preference for the Sakura Sky View Lounge, assuming I don’t plan to shower.

Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda location

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda Airport is located in Terminal 3, which is where all international oneworld flights depart from. The lounge is 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.

While the standard Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge is located on level four, the Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge is located on level five. Don’t underestimate the significance of this in terms of crowding — most people taking the escalator up will just go to the first lounge they have access to, rather than going up an extra level, especially since a vast majority of people don’t know the difference between the lounges.

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

Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda hours

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda Airport is currently open daily from 7AM until 1AM. That covers a vast majority of departures. However, note that the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge (one level below) opens at 6AM, and stays open until the last departure of the day, so it does have slightly longer hours.

Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda entry requirements

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View 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, all without guesting privileges:

• 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
• Those traveling in economy on flight JL41 to London Heathrow (this is a unique benefit)

Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda seating & layout

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda Airport can accommodate a little over 400 guests, making it marginally larger than the lounge one level down, which can accommodate around 380 guests. As you can see from the lounge map below, the whole space is in a bit of an odd shape, but that actually helps with breaking the lounge up into several distinct zones.

If you enter the lounge and turn right, you’ll first find yourself in the dining area, which is pretty high capacity. This has everything from individual dining tables, to communal tables, to booths. This part of the lounge also has among the best views, as it’s in the corner, overlooking the apron and runway.

As you go deeper into the lounge, you’ll find yourself in an area intended more for lounging, with seats arranged in rows, facing one another.

This area also has some phone rooms, for making phone calls without disturbing others.

As you go deeper into the lounge, you’ll get into what’s the single biggest space, which is in a triangular(ish) shape. This area has great views, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows. There are individual seats facing the windows, as well as some more tables.

Lastly, in the very back corner of the lounge there’s a room with no natural light, which is the only part of the lounge where that’s the case. This room has comfortable leather chairs along the walls, plus chairs and communal tables along the center of the room.

The lounge also has luggage storage lockers, for those who prefer to store their bags while enjoying the lounge.

The last thing I want to highlight is that this lounge has really gorgeous views of the apron and runway. While the weather wasn’t great during my visit, I still loved being able to watch all the activity at the airport. The reality is that all the lounges in this “block” have incredible views, and arguably the Cathay Pacific Lounge offers an even better vantage point, as it’s an additional level up.

Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda food & drinks

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda Airport has a virtually identical selection of food and drinks to what you’ll find at the lounge one level down. This lounge has one main food buffet area…

Then it also has a couple of drink stations, with a variety of coffee, tea, soda, juice, wine, beer, liquor, and more.

I visited over breakfast, so below are some pictures of what you can expect from the food selection.

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.

Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda bathrooms

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda Airport has one main set of bathrooms, which were very clean during my visit. Of course the toilets had a bidet feature.

The lounge doesn’t have showers, though. If you want to shower, just visit the Japan Airlines Lounge one level down.

Bottom line

The Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda is a solid lounge. It’s large, has lots of natural light, has generally pretty decor, and has an extensive selection of food and drinks. Japan Airlines has an impressive lounge footprint at Haneda, when you consider that this is just roughly half of the carrier’s business class lounge footprint (and that says nothing of the first class lounge or the Cathay Pacific Lounge).

Ultimately both the Sakura Lounge and Sakura Sky View Lounge are great. The former has the benefit of having showers, while the latter has the benefit of having better views and being a bit quieter.

What’s your take on the Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Haneda?