After stepping off my JAL first class flight from Los Angeles, I had six hours before my connection to Doha on Qatar Airways. I spent the entire layover in the JAL First Class Lounge in Tokyo NRT, which is an expansive and well-appointed space, offering the possibility to work, relax, or dine.
JAL First Class Lounge Tokyo (NRT) Review
Although my outbound flight was only in business class on Qatar Airways, I was invited to use this lounge because I was connecting from a first class flight on JAL.
Location + Hours + Access
This lounge is located on the fourth floor of Tokyo Narita Terminal 2.
The following passengers have access to this lounge:
- oneworld international first class customers
- oneworld Emerald status members
Each can bring in one guest.
For JAL flyers, JMB Diamond and JGC Premier members have access (plus one guest) when traveling on any JAL flight, though the location of the lounge post passport control makes it nearly impossible to use for domestic flights.
The lounge is open daily 7:30 am to 10:00 pm.
Seating
I entered the lounge on the third level, which includes a shared entrance to both the First Class Lounge and Sakura Lounge (business class).
The lower level appears much more dated than the upper level, though it was very quiet with plenty of seating and restrooms. The bar, however, was closed. This level is also where the showers and smoking area are.
Stepping onto the fourth level (via elevator) was really like stepping into a totally different lounge.
You can also directly enter the lounge from this level.
On this level, you will find a number of private rooms to conduct telephone calls.
There is also a large room with plenty of seats and a great view of the tarmac.
There is even a massage chair in this room.
The lounge is really centered around eating, for there is far more seating in the dining area (spanning three of the four sides of the lounge) than simply to sit and relax.
Food + Drink
One centerpiece of this lounge is Sushi Tsurutei, with wooden counters and expert chefs that make you feel like you are in a fine sushi bar. Sushi Tsurutei is open daily from 7:30 am to 11:00 am and again from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
All orders are placed via your phone. When you sit down, you’ll notice a sticker with a QR code, which provides a menu and identifies the location of your table.
While I ordered western food on my JAL Flight, I did try some sushi and curry in the lounge.
I’m not a connoisseur of Japanese food, but thought the quality was superb.
Drinks (including soft drinks and alcoholic beverages) and light snacks were self-serve, but everything else had to be ordered.
Showers + Restrooms
Restrooms are located on both levels, while the shower is located on the third floor. You can request a shower room via QR code. Once ready, you will receive this notification:
Proceed to the reception and you will be given a key in exchange for your boarding pass.
The shower suite included a fully-equipped Toto toilet and shower products from Prédia. Shower pressure and temperature were satisfactory.
Restrooms are nearby. These also feature tricked-out toilets.
Lockers
If you care to drop your hand baggage off while relaxing in the lounge, lockers are available adjacent to the elevator on the fourth floor. You set your numeric four-digit code, though I have to imagine your bags are pretty safe just left unattended (as I left mine while showering).
Smoking
Smokers have access to an indoor smoking room on the third floor.
Service
Unlike the very personalized service you will receive in the first class lounges of competitors like Lufthansa, SWISS, or Air France, you are mostly left on your own here. This is true as well in the ANA first class lounge, so it does not put JAL at a competitive disadvantage within Japan. Nevertheless, my favorite part of any first class lounge is the high level of service and this felt more like a very posh business class lounge rather than a true first class lounge.
CONCLUSION
The Japan Airlines First Class Lounge at Narita Airport is a fine airport lounge for oneworld airline Emerald status holders and first class passengers with a wide selection of high-quality food, plenty of room to relax, and spotless restrooms and showers. This is not my favorite first class lounge due to the lack of personalized service, but is a very nice lounge that marked a lovely way to spend my layover at Tokyo Narita International Airport.
Have you visited this lounge? How did you like it?
Narita’s too inconvenient for me to ever end up there, but I love the Haneda First lounge. You have to try it sometime, lots of old timey flight & travel memorabilia in there!
Is that 12-bottle assortment all they had in terms of spirits? The selection is massively, massively better in the tiny Lufthansa lounge in ATH (accessible by lowly FTLs, *A golds on a €30 domestic fare, P-class business pax who have paid €280 return for a transcon etc)- let alone any European ‘home’ airport airline lounge other than KLM’s.
@PM, yes, drink selection is poor for an F lounge, they’re all self-service, including coffee drinks. Even some of AC Maple Leaf Lounges have full service bars. Wages in JP is probably the lowest among the G7 countries, I don’t get why JP carriers don’t spend money on this.
Looks waaaaaayyyyyy better than ANA’s F lounge @ NRT
I wouldn’t go that far in overall terms, but I think the design is much fresher and more inviting.
The food menu looks same as next door Sakura lounge, except they don’t have sushi and food over there is self service.
There was this passenger in this ‘relaxing part’ of the F lounge, doing a video call without a headphone. I asked him to go to one of phone booths…. It never gets busy there, and it was nice and quiet until he started his video call…some people just don’t get it despite signs throughout the lounge.
Can anyone explain to me why US lounges don’t have lockers or coat checks, even at premium lounges like Flagship and Polaris?
The traffic that the JAL and ANA F lounges get precludes them from offering the personalized attention that you prefer. They would almost need a separate “Concorde” room for those people only flying F.
The sushi you’re being served truly is restaurant quality. I would happily go to a restaurant in Tokyo and replicate the JAL F experience in every way. I think that is what is impressive and makes this lounge unique. There’s not a single thing in the lounge that is of low quality. This may not necessarily be my favorite F lounge in the world, but I wouldn’t ever want it to change.
For sure restaurant quality, but also ginormous portions. That slab of maguro is unbelievable! And the yellowtail, that’s like half the entire fish! I think I’d have to get some unagi after seeing those and for sure just go sashimi so I can eat more. Who needs rice? I’m also not filling up on curry rice.
The whole reality of the staff not interacting is totally japan. They are not going to just walk up to you and engage.
Is the level of personal service perhaps related to Covid? Has anyone here visited in the pre-covid days and have a comment?
overall is an AA JAL first award ticket worth it over J?
100% yes. Worth the extra 20K points without a doubt.
I can tell you that it doesn’t look like that, those photos have been selected to make a very sub par lounge look good.
I was there for 16 hours in December and had a chance to to walk every square inch of that lounge.
First the food is limited, MOST of the facilities are closed or running at 1/2 capacity the sfatt are amazing but they still have covid concerns so the sushi bar was closed. The excuse was there wasn’t enough people to warrant opening, same for upstairs lounge and the shoe shiner.
Oh and NO mention that the lounge closes at 01:30 so if you have a long layover you get kicked out into the terminal
Don’t get me wrong, love the airline and will fly again but please be more realistic in your reviews as we all know the airline either paid of gave you a freebie
Photos were not selected to make the lounge look good, but I don’t necessarily disagree with your other points.
Do you know if their lounges can be used on arrivals? The Lufthansa jfk lounge isn’t a very first class experience. Would be nice to shower have a few bites of sushi before heading out. Unfortunately flying out in business (but thanks Alaskan-miles for the free stopover!) so arrival is the only time I’ll have a first boarding pass
I’ve been to this lounge last year, when JAL was using the First Class Lounge for all premium passengers (and closed the Sakura/business lounge) due to covid. I was also at the Sakura/business lounge just this past weekend flying home. I think aside from the space, the lounges are similar – the food offerings are exactly the same in the Sakura lounge (except for the sushi). And I’m really surprised to see that the First shower rooms are so tired looking… the Sakura lounge ones are modern, fresh, with body jets in addition to the rain shower head, complete w the de rigeur toto washlet, Panasonic hair dryer, etc. Afterwards, I told my husband that these showers are nicer than even most of the 5* hotels we’ve stayed!