JAL reopens its Haneda North Wing lounges on Oct. 8 and renames Diamond Premier as First Class Lounge

Japan Airlines now has a firm date for the end of the first phase of its Haneda lounge rebuild. The airline says its domestic lounges in the North Wing of Terminal 1 reopen on Oct. 8, 2026, along with the wing's dedicated priority security checkpoint.

The bigger lounge also gets a new name. JAL says the former Diamond Premier Lounge is now the JAL First Class Lounge. The details are in JAL's release of Oct. 6.

JAL frames the rebuild as part of a wider push. Since April 2026 it has been updating its domestic product under a theme it calls "New Angles, New Stories." The airline says it wants the lounges to work for inbound tourists and leisure travelers as well as the business flyers who have long filled them.

What is new in the North Wing

JAL says the First Class Lounge has about 1.4 times as many seats as before. The room is now split into four parts:

• a dining area built around an island counter
• a relaxation area with massage chairs and deep sofas
• a work area with private booths, semi-private cubicles and open desks
• a small art gallery inside the work area, with shows that will change over time

Food follows the clock. In the morning and up to midday, JAL says the menu includes curry bread, sushi rolls and hot soups. In the afternoon it switches to cakes and fresh scones. In the evening there are savory bites to go with drinks. A pop-up corner pairs Suntory's Roku gin with traditional Japanese sweets. JAL notes the gin's name means "six," for the six Japanese botanicals in the recipe. The first art show, curated by the essayist Minori Kai, features wrapping paper from Japanese sweet shops.

The Sakura Lounge next door gets a refresh too. JAL lists curved sofas in the dining area, a new dashi broth to sip, massage seats, and work seats with power and USB outlets at every place. The work area sits next to the escalators that lead down to the departure concourse. There is a kids area designed by Bornelund, a Japanese maker of toys and play spaces. The walls carry 15 works by artists with HERALBONY, a Japanese company known for working with artists with intellectual disabilities.

Small changes that matter

Some of the most useful updates are practical. JAL says both lounges now have private nursing rooms for parents with infants. Shower rooms can be booked from a phone by scanning a QR code, instead of waiting at a desk. The same system sends a notice when a shower is ready and unlocks the door. Upcycled aircraft parts and leftover materials from the renovation now serve as art, furniture and finishes.

Outside the lounges, the North Wing now has self bag drop machines and new security lanes. JAL says you will not need to take laptops or compliant liquids out of your bag at those lanes. The priority check-in counters in the same wing reopened earlier, on July 24.

What it means for Terminal 1 flyers

The North Wing lounges closed in January. Since then, JAL has sent eligible passengers to the South Wing. With the North Wing back, the work now moves south. JAL's release says the South Wing lounges, counters and security will be rebuilt in stages after this. It does not give dates. JAL's renovation page lists a South Wing lounge closure from October 2026 to May 2027, with reopening scheduled for June 2027. The page says counter and security dates for the South Wing are still to come.

That means the North Wing will soon carry all of JAL's domestic lounge traffic at Haneda. The extra seats in the First Class Lounge should help. But if your flight leaves from the south end of the terminal, budget extra time for the walk. During the first phase, JAL's renovation page promised a coupon if a lounge was too full to let you in. It has not said whether that carries over to the South Wing closure.

The release says nothing about who can use either lounge. JAL has not said whether the new name brings any change to the entry rules of the old Diamond Premier Lounge. Our record for the JAL Sakura Lounge (T1, domestic) lists JMB Sapphire and above, JGC members, and oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members as eligible, each with one guest. If you used the Diamond Premier Lounge before, check JAL's lounge rules before your next trip.

How it fits with the rest of Haneda

This is a domestic story. JAL's international flights leave from Terminal 3, where the JAL First Class Lounge (T3) and JAL Sakura Lounge (T3) are not part of this work. Both rate highly with our readers. The T3 First Class Lounge has eight showers and a craft cocktail bar, and the T3 Sakura Lounge has ten showers.

The T1 lounges are a different product. Our listing shows beer and wine rather than a full bar, and no showers in the Sakura Lounge. The new shower booking system applies to the rooms JAL has built in the North Wing.

JAL also points to what comes next. The release mentions the Boeing 737-8, which JAL expects to add to its fleet in fiscal 2027, as the next step in its domestic upgrade. For background on the two-phase plan, see our earlier piece on JAL's Haneda lounge swap. Our Haneda airport page lists every lounge we track at the airport, and our Japan Airlines page covers the rest of its network.