I had the opportunity to visit the domestic lounge when I was transiting from Tokyo to Sapporo. I am keen to see how the domestic lounge measures up. This is my first time doing a domestic flight in Japan. I did not spend too much time over here since the transit took up quite a fair bit of my layover. Getting a much-needed shower is my main purpose of visiting the lounge.

Access Requirements

The JAL Sakura Lounge is open daily from 5.30am to the last JAL departure. You get access if you are flying in the Oneworld premium cabin or connecting from international Business / First Class, even if the domestic leg is in Economy. Domestic First Class passengers are allowed access too. Oneworld elite status and Qantas Club holders are also allowed access. Standard guesting rules apply. Members of JMB Diamond, JGC Premier, JMB Sapphire, and JAL Global Club are invited as well. You can also pay 3000 yen to use the lounge if you wish.

Arrival & Location

You can find the lounge a level above the main terminal. I visited the North Wing lounge. Towards the left is the Sakura Lounge and the right is the Diamond Premier Lounge. We were welcomed in after showing our boarding pass. We immediately inquired about a shower suite since that is our priority. The shower suites are shared between guests of both Sakura and Diamond Lounge. These are pretty in demand during the morning peak. You might be required to wait for a while.

JAL Sakura Lounge Haneda Domestic North

They have two lounges over here. The North Wing is the larger one of the two. It can hold 390 passengers. I will just share some pictures of the lounge area. It is rather simple and mostly consists of various seating areas. It is a spacious lounge to cope with the demand. The lounge does come with pretty amazing views of the surrounding area and there is plenty of natural light. 

There are five shower rooms available on a first come first serve basis. These are pretty popular given the crowd over here in Haneda and you are sharing these with guests from the Diamond Lounge too. I lucked out and got one right upon arriving.

The shower suites are spacious and well-designed. It comes with high-quality toiletries. I have always enjoyed the amenities in Japan even though it is a local brand. A hairdryer was provided. I got an amazing shower which is what I needed after the red eye. Water pressure and temperature control are excellent.

Food & Drinks

There is nothing much to share about this aspect and it is quite bare. Don’t expect too much since after all, it is a domestic lounge. There was no food to speak of. You can find the refreshments all in a corner.

The drinks aspect is much better, you can find a fantastic Japanese style beer machine, soft drinks, juices and green tea. There are also assortments of packaged tea and coffee. The idea people have here is to buy their bento food or items from convenience stores and have it with the drinks here.

Conclusion

Don’t be surprised if this is the first time that you are visiting a domestic lounge in Japan. It is more of a glorified dining and waiting area. There aren’t many food options over here. What the locals do is get their bentos and food items from outlets or convenience stores before heading here to have them with unlimited drinks from the lounge. It is always nice to have a much more private area to wait and dine. I did appreciate the shower facilities which will come in handy after a red eye. That was precious.