Julian's New Blog : Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)

Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)

This is possibly the least well known of the international airports in Japan.

For a long time it was restricted to only domestic operations, with international operators made to operate from (the expensive and remote) New Tokyo International Airport (Narita).

With its distance from downtown Tokyo and the limitations of, until recently, only one runway, Narita was never the most popular airport.

This is changing now though. Narita is congested at peak times, the second runway is still not fully operational and slots are hard to get.

Meanwhile Haneda has built up to four runways, two domestic and an international terminal which has just completed being extended.

Haneda is easily accessible using public transport with "Limousine" bus services, an underground railway line and the monorail.

From limited international charter flights, Haneda now boasts regular scheduled connections to all the major Asian cities and a growing list of Long Haul destinations.

International Arrivals Board

I have had the pleasure of visiting the airport twice as a spotter and on my last visit departed Japan on a Cathay Pacific 747, direct to Hong Kong.

Observation Deck at Haneda Terminal 2

All three of the terminals are linked by free shuttle bus, underground commuter train and the monorail. They also all have excellent facilities for visitors to the airport and aircraft enthusiasts. The International Terminal even has a collection of shops at the Observation Deck Level, one of the stores containing a large slot car racing track to fill in the hours between flights.