The Secret To The JAL First Class Lounge Haneda…

I try not to be too bossy when it comes to telling people how they should enjoy their airport lounge experience. However, I’m going to make an exception for the Japan Airlines First Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND).

95% of people seem to be using this lounge incorrectly, and it’s something I noticed again during my most recent visit, on my review trip to South Korea and Japan. Let me explain…

People use the JAL First Lounge Haneda wrong

The Japan Airlines First Lounge Haneda is a huge space, and it doesn’t really feel very exclusive or first class, for the most part, which is why I haven’t historically ranked it as one of the world’s best first class lounges.

The lounge is not just open to first class passengers, but also to oneworld Emerald members. Now, I’m hardly complaining about that, because oneworld Emerald status is how I got into this lounge during my most recent visit. 😉

Historically I just haven’t found this to be that great of a lounge. If you enter the lounge and turn right, you’ll be in the main part of the lounge. Honestly, this space is just okay, and is maybe on par with some of the world’s best business class lounges.

It has a good amount of seating, decent views, and access to a small buffet, plus an a la carte menu through an iPhone app. If you walk into here during peak hours, it’ll feel super crowded, and I can’t imagine anyone would be particularly impressed.

Now, in this area you’ll also find the RED SUITE (I’m not sure why they’re yelling), which has a cool design and lots of aviation memorabilia, but it’s still not my favorite part of the lounge.

YOU NEED TO TURN LEFT AT THE ENTRANCE, FOLKS!

Forgive me for yelling, but I feel like it’s necessary. 😉 Based on my experience when a vast majority of people enter the lounge, they turn right. As far as I’m concerned, most of the good stuff in the lounge is to the left.

Let me start with the catch — the space to the left is only open during certain hours, but it’s basically open when a vast majority of people visit the lounge, over the morning and late evening hours, which is when most international flights depart from the airport.

During my most recent visit, the lounge space to the right was uncomfortably busy. Meanwhile the space to the left had a total of 20 people in it, across two huge zones. I’ve now developed a system for my visits to this lounge.

Inside the entrance to the lounge and to the left is Sushi Tsurutei, which is the lounge’s sushi restaurant area. It’s a pretty, minimalist space, and most importantly, it’s quiet.

Best of all, there’s absolutely delicious Japanese food here. There’s a sushi counter, and then also a kitchen with curry and other specialties, in addition to a buffet. I may have accidentally over ordered during my recent visit, but I had both the sushi set and breakfast set, and YUM.

Once you have a full stomach, it’s time to head upstairs for some drinks, to JAL’s SALON. Once again, this is a large space, and it’s never crowded, in my experience.

The drink selection here is just awesome, and drinks are served by the lovely bar staff. While the coffee in the rest of the lounge is from machines, behind the bar there’s a hand drip coffee setup, where the bartender can make you the perfect cup of coffee.

Talk about beautiful presentation as well! Usually I like to put a splash of milk in coffee, but this coffee was so smooth that it wasn’t needed.

There’s also some excellent tea — I had an iced green tea, even served in a champagne flute!

The signature espresso martini, in celebration of the new Airbus A350-1000, is pretty epic as well.

If you’re a whisky fan, you won’t leave disappointed either…

Then once you have a full stomach and a bit of a buzz, it’s time to head over the massage chairs for some relaxation, also located in JAL’s SALON.

Bottom line

I’ve gotta admit, the Japan Airlines First Lounge Haneda has really grown on me. Back in the day, I thought it was kind of not-great… but that’s because I didn’t know how to use it correctly. If you turn right upon entering, the lounge is just okay, with the exception of the fun RED SUITE.

However, I absolutely adore everything in this lounge to the left, as you’ll find some of the best lounge food, cocktails, tea, and coffee, in Sushi Tsurutei and JAL’s SALON.

Now, perhaps writing this post is against my own interests, but I’m hoping that this gives other people the chance to enjoy this lounge as much as I do. My impression of this lounge has improved considerably over time, and the next time I update my rankings of the world’s best first class lounges, this one will make the list.

Am I the only one who loves the left side of the Japan Airlines First Lounge Haneda, while finding the right side to be kind of unremarkable?