Review: JAL Sakura lounge in Okinawa Naha Airport

This is our review of Japan Airlines’ Sakura business class lounge in Okinawa Airport.

My recent trip to Japan to review JAL also took me to the small southern island of Okinawa, where I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Okinawa. On my way back to Tokyo, I was surprised to find a Sakura lounge, operated by Japan Airlines, in the terminal.

We don’t normally review regional airport lounges but I thought you might be interested to see what JAL offers at its outstations.

The lounge has two sides: the Sakura business class side as well as the Diamond Premier side for status members.

JAL Sakura lounge access requirements

JAL’s Sakura lounges are for business class passengers, but you don’t need to be flying JAL to gain access. Here are the full eligibility reqiurements:

• JAL First Class, business class and premium economy passengers
• Any other oneworld business class passengers, including British Airways, Finnair, Cathay Pacific etc
• Anyone with oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status (the equivalent of British Airways Silver)

That said, Okinawa Airport is a small airport mostly serving the domestic Japanese market with a handful of international flights to/from other cities in Asia. There are not that many oneworld flights beyond those that JAL operates.

The lounge is open from 6:30am until 9pm, seven days a week.

Inside the Sakura lounge, Okinawa

A lot of JAL lounges appear to have direct access from fast track security lanes, although I’ve never figured out how to access these. Fortunately, there were no queues for the normal lanes and I whizzed through before turning left and following signs to the JAL Sakura lounge.

Once you’ve had your boarding pass scanned by the front desk you head down a small wood panelled maze of a corridor with lockers and telephone booths you can use:

The corridor then opens up – quite unexpectedly – into a rather nice, modern room with windows:

The lounge isn’t huge, with space for perhaps 50 guests, but it was almost entirely empty when I arrived. I think most regular Japanese passengers know they don’t have to arrive quite so early for a domestic flight.

On the left you have some bar-style seating as well as a row of seats along the window. Each seat has its own easily accessible power outlets which makes life very easy. (There is no real view, as it overlooks the service area of the terminal rather than the runway.)

This area is also home to the lounge’s limited food and drink options. This is as good as it gets:

As with JAL’s other domestic lounges, including in Tokyo, food seems limited to some rice snacks whilst drinks include tea, coffee, beer and some juices:

There is more space on the other side of the lounge, which is windowless. There are more shared tables as well as armchairs around the room, which is split into two:

and

That, pretty much, is it. There are some toilets inside the lounge with an attendant who cleans them very rigorously, but I didn’t see any showers.

Conclusion

Popping into JAL’s domestic lounges in Tokyo had set my expectations for Okinawa, but I’m pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised. The Sakura lounge in Okinawa is much more modern, with lovely bronze wood panelling, some intriguing local artwork and lots of seating with dedicated power outlets.

Food and drink was basic, as per JAL’s other domestic lounges, but it seems that’s somewhat of a trend in Japan and I wasn’t expecting any better.

It did get quite busy just before my flight but there was still seating available, and I imagine it cleared out again once we started boarding.

You can find out more about the lounge on JAL’s website here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (September 2025)

Here are the five options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

Lounge access via American Express cards:

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our in-depth review of The Platinum Card from American Express is here.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 80,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £10,000 within SIX months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card review here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is doubled to 40,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 40,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £5,000 within SIX months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

Lounge access via HSBC Premier credit cards (Premier account holders only):

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider The American Express Business Platinum Card which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The American Express Business Platinum Card is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 120,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £12,000 within three months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.