Review - Japan Airlines JAL First Class Lounge Haneda

Japan Airlines JAL First Class Lounge Haneda

March 24th, 2025

A Word from the Chef:

After getting off my red-eye flight on ANA, I cleared transit security and looked for JAL’s lounge at Haneda. I thought that since I flew with ANA, I’d be arriving at a different terminal. But nope, I found out Terminal 3 was shared by both ANA and JAL.

If you’re looking for JAL’s first class lounge, just keep in mind that it’s by itself. If you see signs for JAL Sakura Lounge, which is the business class lounge, you’d have to keep walking.

Overall, JAL First Class Lounge Haneda was a good lounge. However, I’m struggling to love it. Don’t get me wrong - it’s a very pleasant place to spend some time in, with an abundance of amenities and food and drinks. I think the décor just reminded me too much of the office cafeteria at my last company.

Plat Principal:

Once you see the signage for just JAL First Class Lounge and no other lounges, you are at the right place.

At the top of the escalators, you would see the entrance to the lounge. It’s visually stunning, but it’s also very cold and corporate.

Like, does this not look like the lobby of a law firm or an asset manager in Hudson Yards? I mean, Citadel’s old NYC office had a zen garden on the ground floor…

The lounge spanned across two levels. Being thoughtfully Japanese, there was a floor plan by the entrance to guide you to your desired areas.

Intuitively, you would make a right upon entering, where you would be greeted by this long and beautiful hallway. Along the hallway were restrooms, phone booths and lockers.

JAL First Class Lounge Haneda Phone Booths

Towards the end of the hallway, the space opened up to the main part of the lounge.

The center of the lounge was taken by numerous rows of communal tables, perpendicular to the food and drink stations along the wall.

JAL First Class Lounge Haneda Dining Room

There were some self-serve items, but most of the food options in the lounge were made to order.

You should have no trouble staying hydrated or fed here, even if you have an extended layover. I remember the Narita lounge only served sushi during certain hours, but here it was served throughout the day.

I love that Japan has so many little machines that do random things. Like this wet towel dispenser.

My favorite has got to be the beer machines, which nailed the perfect beer-to-foam ratio.

I had a light breakfast here. Each table had its unique QR code, so once you scan it, you’d be able to order dishes to your table. The selection was quite extensive, ranging from nigiris to noodles to Western options. You can check out the menu below.

Curry is one of JAL’s signature offerings. Sadly, it didn’t live up to my memory this time around. The flavors just weren’t totally there.

Sushi was another staple. I mentioned earlier this year that I think Emirates First Class Lounge has the best sushi. I stand by that still. You can check out my Emirates First Class Lounge review here and see for yourself. I get that the JAL sushi is traditional. But even when you just compare the fish quality, Emirates is still cuts above. The salmon I had at the JAL lounge tasted like it was vegan😜.

The ramen was pretty good, at least. The citrus peel was a nice touch. Every once in a while a clear broth ramen hit the spot.

I also ordered a cabbage-wrapped scallop dish. It was fine. I think the scallop was chopped too finely. You know how sometimes you have mushy tuna tartare? Kinda like that…

Past the main dining area was the Red Suite, which was essentially a library, with JAL memorabilia, books and shoe shine service during select hours.

This was neat for AvGeeks. I enjoyed walking around and checking out all the historic items, such as old JAL airplane models (even a Concorde!), JAL paper tickets and flight charts. The vibe here was definitely moodier and less corporate. There’s a Joseph Perrier champagne bar here, so you could hang out for a bit longer. Interestingly, other parts of the lounge served different champagne (Telmont).

The bathrooms in the lounge were stereotypically spotless and sterile.

Returning to the reception of the lounge and making a left turn, you would find the shower suites.

The shower area was nicely appointed. The showers themselves were on the compact side, but the water pressure was excellent. Somewhat surprisingly, the showers were well ventilated and fully sealed (from floor to ceiling). No need to worry about sweating after a hot shower. Actually, the whole lounge was kept at a cool temperature. The same couldn’t be said about the concourse outside.

The last space on the first floor of the lounge was Sushi Tsurutei. It had the same menu as the main dining room but with much fewer people.

JAL First Class Lounge Haneda Sushi Tsurutei

Again, this was without a doubt a beautiful space. But it just felt very much like a hedge fund canteen to me.

To access the second floor of the lounge, you could either take the elevators or the stairs.

JAL First Class Lounge Haneda JAL’s Salon

When you exit out of the elevators, the first thing you’d see are these massage chairs. I’m a germaphobe, so ordinarily I would never use these. Japan is one of the few countries in the world where I’d make an exception, as irrational as it might be. Well, being a germaphobe is irrational to begin with…

Everything else was just more lounge seating, plus a manned bar.

As you can tell from the pictures, there was barely anyone here. I’d recommend moving up here once you’ve had something to eat downstairs. While I didn’t indulge in a libation at the bar, you could see the liquors on display and the menu below.

Digestif:

If you’ve read it this far, you probably think to yourself - what is this guy talking about? This looks like a great lounge. It is, and I won’t argue with that. But it just lacked certain charm that makes me fall in love with a lounge. I migrated to the Cathay Pacific Lounge next. Maybe you’ll see my point when you check out that review here.

Review - Japan Airlines JAL First Class Lounge Haneda

Japan Airlines JAL First Class Lounge Haneda

March 24th, 2025

Review - Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda (HND)

Satay Away