JAL Haneda First Class Lounge

Hours

6:00am to 1:25am daily

Airlines Serviced

JAL
One World Airlines

Access Rules

First Class on a OneWorld Airline.
Emerald in OneWorld.
One guest of the above.

The Lounge

I had to overnight one time in Tokyo and switch airports from Narita to Haneda on my way to Bangkok, which gave me the opportunity to visit the much vaunted JAL First Class Lounge for a few hours before my "connection" (airports 40 miles away shouldn't be called a connection!).

Then after Covid, I had to stay overnight for a connection again, this time coming into Haneda and leaving from there too. Well, during the shutdowns in Japan, they did a real full redo of the lounge. The business class one used to share a space, but it's who knows where now (I mean, if you have access to First, why bother with business?) and it was gutted, redone, and it's all first class now baby!

Dining Area

The dining area has lunch counter type ordering with a noodle chef. There are also a lot of self-service food items available.

The Red Suite

The Red Suite is almost a lounge within a lounge. Reminiscent of an English home library, it contains various artifacts from JAL's history, lots of hard cover coffee table books, the champagne room, a game room, and various sitting areas. In addition to this, there is a John Lobb shoe care service also included. Totally geared towards the Japanese senior executive, I feel I may have lowered the property value by sitting in there.

Refuge from the functional Japanese section of the lounge

Champagne Room, yes, a room just for Champagne, I mean, of course right?

Drinks

Most of the alcohol is self-serve, and they have some very high end spirits, located in a few of places around the lounge. But the exception to this is absolutely delightful and detailed below.

Serve myself $150 cognac? Don't mind if I do

For those trying to look less like a future alcoholic, there is a lot of self-serve wine also

Upstairs

Now, the lounge opens at 6, but the upstairs bar opens at 7 in the old Business section. It's a very special offering of Hakushu Distillery items, which is a high-end Japanese booze maker, who pride themselves on technical perfection in the process. While there were several examples of exemplary service, this little private tasting from the bartender Sengoku made me feel like a very important person.

A shrine to spirits, and we know the Japanese respect spirts

Brought forward for me, service beyond comprehension

This was pretty good, rich, not really smokey, but was quite drinkable

But this, the Yamazaki? This is what you can sit back and relish

It was so isolated and quiet in this area, it was like the lounge was my personal space and I just sat, letting it all soak in.

Individual seating, which in Tokyo seems to be a desired getaway from other people

Alone, in my space, with my favorite cognac in the world. I kinda lost an hour here without noticing it

Summary

Best JAL Lounge in the system. Completely separate business and relaxing sections separated by the food service area. A lounge I don't think I could get tired of staying in. The new expansion makes this place even better and more serene, and at some point I hope the sushi bar is open (Covid of course). This has me looking for more Haneda flights now, regardless of the pain of transferring.

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