Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge at Narita International Airport (NRT)

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Picture this: it’s April, 2025. The United States has just announced tariffs that are sending the global economy into a tailspin. Money is vanishing into thin air. The future is uncertain. Only the most brazen dolts would take a lengthy vacation at a time like this.

Anyway, there we were, heading off to Europe. Our flight to Frankfurt was leaving from Narita Airport, easily accessible from Shibuya by an airport express train. We were flying Japan Airlines (JAL) in Premium Economy because I’m a miles boy. When we got our tickets, we were surprised to see they said “Sakura Lounge” on them.

Usually, only business and first-class passengers get to go to the lounge. Was this a misprint? Were we getting it special because I’m cute? We endeavored to find out.

Entering the Sakura Lounge at NRT Terminal 2

The Sakura Lounge is quite easy to find, straight ahead just after security. There was a first-class side and a Sakura Lounge side, and no line at the front desk. We walked in to see a bright, clean space, with a bar on one side, a breakfast buffet on the other, a big staircase to a seating area below, and another room beyond. It wasn’t too crowded at 8:30 or so in the A.M. on a Wednesday. And since we are piggies, we went to check out the food.

Breakfast buffet at the Narita Sakura Lounge

We saw that on the doorway to the next room, there was a big sign that said “The Dining.” I peered around the corner and saw a buffet. Was this any different from the buffet we’d just walked past? I asked the two women standing there, and they assured me it was exactly the same, except the buffet in the next room had salad if we wanted that. We did not. We decided to stick to our side.

The first thing I will tell you is that having drinks so far from the food (at the bar on the other side of the room) was inconvenient. Second, they didn’t have orange juice, and no bottled water you could take with you. On the plus side, they had a hot towel dispenser, so as always, it’s give and take.

I saw some people with scrambled eggs, but when I went up there, all I saw were little omelette bits, potato wedges, and wieners. There were breads, so I got a roll and a croissant. There was also white rice, curry, and something that I thought said “pork.” After grabbing it, I realized it said “perch.” This was fish. I decided not to eat it because I have a weak tummy and was about to get on a plane.

Eriko tried the curry, which she said was really tasty. I wanted to try it, but the last time I ate airport lounge curry before a flight, everyone paid the price. The roll and croissant were super dry, even with butter slathered on them. Unsatisfied, I decided to check out the other buffet.

The second breakfast buffet at the NRT International Sakura Lounge

The second buffet was, in fact, much different than the first. Why did those ladies lie to me? Yes, it had salad, but it also had scrambled eggs, beef fried rice, and ginger pork, which is what I got. They were quite good. I’m glad I ventured over to the other side so I could try some better food.

Overall, the selection here wasn’t that impressive for an airport lounge. It was just good enough, but fell short of what I’d expected from Japan Airlines, which is generally known for having pretty good food. We finished eating and descended the stairs to find a quiet spot to chill before our flight.

Downstairs area at the Sakura Lounge

Downstairs, there was even more food! They had apple and tomato juice here, and more easily-accessible water. They also had pretzels, banana chips, cookies, and Doritos. I sampled them like a gentleman, and I can confirm that the Doritos were fresh.

There were plenty of open seats across several types of chairs. Aside from a faint classical guitar soundtrack, it was completely silent in there. I’ve been in some airport lounges where you couldn’t get a seat, but this was not like that. We had our pick.

I like to change into basketball shorts before a long flight so I can be comfortable on the plane, so I ventured across to where the bathroom was. It turns out that past the little desk, there was an escalator up in addition to the stairs, a locker room for storage, and another cavernous space beyond.

This place is huge: the Sakura Lounge continues

This lounge was gigantic. Look how many types of seats there are! Couches, private rooms, workspace rooms, seats with views of the runway - whatever your seating preference is, they’ve got it.

This is why premium economy passengers get to use the lounge. I don’t think I’ve seen an airport lounge even half this size before. And as you can see from the pictures, there was nobody there. It made waiting for the flight peaceful, which we really appreciated.

Verdict: is the JAL Sakura Lounge at NRT worth visiting?

Look at these idiots. They don’t even realize they’re about to spend 14 hours on an airplane. Enjoy your plane farts, dummies.

Look, no one is going to be paying for a business-class ticket for an international flight (or even using airline miles for one) just because of the lounge, no matter how good it is. A lounge is just an added perk you get if you’ve got a card that gets you in or happen to be flying a class that gets it. The fact that premium economy got us into this lounge was a nice surprise and made us feel appreciated even though we hadn’t done anything worth appreciating.

If you’re flying premium economy, business, or first class on JAL, there’s no reason not to visit this lounge. For others, there’s more of a decision to be made. The lounge is connected to Priority Pass, and some pass holders only get 10 passes per year. I would say that this lounge is right on the line of one you’d want to use a pass for. The food was underwhelming (as was the lack of bottled water), but the size meant that we could enjoy total quiet before the flight.

If you travel a lot and have a ten-pass Priority Pass membership, you may want to save your passes for another airport with more impressive lounges. But if you have passes to burn, definitely use them here. And if you’re more concerned with comfy chairs and peace & quiet before a flight than you are with food and beverage options, this is definitely the lounge for you. Tell ‘em Jubbly sent you. They’ll stare at you.