Tokyo stays a perennial vacationer favourite, attracting a record 36.8 million international visitors in 2024. So it is sensible that the town has two airports serving each worldwide air visitors and home journey.
Narita Worldwide Airport (NRT), in-built 1978, used to serve essentially the most long-haul flights of the 2 journey hubs, however that’s now not the case. Of the 2, Haneda Airport (HND) is now the busiest when it comes to passengers, dealing with in extra of 78 million passengers yearly, whereas Narita handles over 30 million every year.
Haneda’s worldwide terminal opened in 2010, and by 2023, it was one of the world’s busiest airports. Since 2020, a variety of U.S. airways have added daytime flight service to and from Haneda. Carriers reminiscent of All Nippon Airways and Japan Airways have also shifted most of their international flight operations from Narita Worldwide to Haneda, the first cause for the shift being location.
However with loads of flight choices to every, deciding which of the 2 airports it is best to fly into will be difficult. Fortunately, we have weighed up the options of each so as to take advantage of knowledgeable choice earlier than reserving your flight.
Distance to downtown and transportation choices
Tokyo is the world’s most populated metropolis, with over 37 million residents, and it covers roughly 800 sq. miles. Its sheer measurement makes defining a real metropolis heart tough. Tokyo has over 20 wards, every comprising a number of totally different districts.
For this put up, we are going to use the enduring Shibuya Crossing in downtown Tokyo as our reference level. It is often known as the busiest road on this planet, the place as many as 2,500 folks at a time cross a single intersection at sure factors within the day.
This is how the 2 airports stack up when it comes to journey time and the price of public transportation or taxi to this central level:
| Getting downtown | NRT | HND |
|---|---|---|
| Distance (by automobile) | 47 miles | 13 miles |
| Time (by automobile) | 1 hour and half-hour | 40 minutes |
| Common taxi value | 23,000 to 30,000 Japanese yen (roughly $150 to $200) | 8,000 to 12,000 Japanese yen (roughly $50 to $78) |
| Public transit | Narita Skyliner Specific/Yamanote Line (2,630 Japanese yen/roughly $17) | Tokyo Monorail/Yamanote Line (690 Japanese yen/roughly $4.45) |
Whereas ride-hailing apps like Uber and GO can be found in Tokyo, it is usually cheaper to hail a cab.
The map photos under point out simply how a lot farther out of the town the Narita advanced is than Haneda:
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NRT to Shibuya. GOOGLE MAPS
Driving in from NRT will take at the very least 60 minutes, if not longer, relying on visitors as you close to the town. Whereas they don’t seem to be onerous to search out, bear in mind that cab rides in Japan are fairly costly. A visit from Narita to the town will seemingly value you between $150 and $200 or extra. Public transit is less expensive by comparability, although the journey would require you to attach from the airport specific line to Tokyo’s sprawling metro system to get to your last vacation spot, which can be intimidating for some.
Haneda is far nearer by comparability. It is positioned on a peninsula simply south of the town heart, about 8.7 miles south of Tokyo Station, the town’s central practice station. Not solely will you achieve some spectacular views when your flight is arriving/departing, however additionally, you will be rewarded with a a lot shorter journey into the town.
Driving to Shibuya Crossing will take between 30 and 45 minutes, relying on visitors, although even a brief journey like this would possibly lead to a $100-plus taxi invoice. Public transit will get you there in the identical period of time for lower than $5.
Winner: Saving time once you journey for enterprise or pleasure ought to all the time be your objective, particularly when visiting a metropolis like Tokyo, the place you may by no means have sufficient time to do and see all the pieces you need. HND’s proximity to the guts of the town is why many vacationers select to fly out and in of that airport when visiting Tokyo.
Which airport is best for enterprise vacationers?
The space from Tokyo Station to Haneda Airport is simply 11 miles; in the meantime, Narita Worldwide is 43 miles away. When you’re touring by automobile or bus, this makes an enormous distinction in journey time. You possibly can get to your resort or enterprise assembly from HND in lower than 20 minutes if the visitors is gentle; on the flip aspect, it is roughly an hour-long commute from NRT.
Haneda can be a greater possibility if you are going to Yokohama, the second-largest metropolis in Japan, which is south of Tokyo alongside the coast.
Winner: Due to its proximity to Tokyo’s enterprise districts, Haneda is nearly all the time the higher airport possibility for vacationers with a enterprise assembly or different time-sensitive engagements.
Airways and flight choices
Japan is the one nation with two Skytrax five-star airways, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airways, occupying spots of their top 10 carriers. Each function long- and short-haul flights out of NRT and HND — however each carriers are shifting extra of their long-haul operations to Haneda. Whereas NRT stays Japan’s largest airport, it providers fewer worldwide flights nowadays, pivoting to concentrate on medium-haul routes from All Nippon, Japan Airways and different airways as an alternative.
In the meantime, service from Haneda to the U.S. has tremendously expanded since 2019, as its nearer location to Tokyo has made it extra engaging to passengers. In response, the federal government has allotted extra slots for worldwide flights to satisfy demand. In 2023, HND noticed file highs in worldwide guests and flights.
American service United Airlines has tremendously elevated its flight routes from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) and Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) to HND within the final 5 years whereas decreasing the variety of flights it operates out of NRT. Delta Air Strains, in the meantime, closed down its NRT hub and shifted its whole Tokyo flight technique to HND.
As Haneda’s worldwide flight choices have elevated, so has the variety of airways that serve worldwide passengers there. However in lots of circumstances, even when a given airline would not fly to the airport you need, you will get there on a codeshare or alliance companion. For instance, Oneworld passengers flying between Japan and Sydney have two choices between Japan Airways and Qantas, each of which supply flights from HND and NRT.
Narita affords flights to 41 nations and 14 U.S. states; by comparability, Haneda, regardless of its pivot towards long-haul choices, has flights to simply 27 nations and 15 U.S. states. For vacationers to Tokyo coming from the U.S., although, this distinction could show considerably negligible.
Haneda’s clearest edge, for now, stays home flights inside Japan. As Tokyo’s primary home airport, Haneda affords flights to 50 locations throughout Japan.
Winner: Haneda now has the higher hand for journey to and from the U.S., given the shift in flight choices from carriers like Delta and United within the final 5 years. It additionally maintains an edge for journey inside Japan, as there are numerous extra choices to attach for flights to different components of the nation. Nevertheless, Narita Worldwide nonetheless retains nice worth for its different choices of long-haul routes globally.
Airport facilities and perks
At each airports, you may discover first- and business-class lounges for Japan Airways and ANA, with minimal variations in design aesthetics and meals and beverage choices. Japan Airways’ first-class lounge at NRT is very well-known for the made-to-order sushi station it affords, whereas first-class passengers at HND can pattern a made-to-order teppanyaki bar.
Narita Worldwide can be house to an array of lounges and golf equipment operated by worldwide companions, together with United World First and United Membership lounges, plus an American Airways Admirals Membership.
Haneda, in flip, has loads of its personal lounge choices and is house to a Delta Sky Membership (opened in 2022) and the famed Cathay Pacific Lounge, amongst others. Later this 12 months, Haneda may also achieve an Amex Centurion Lounge.
For passengers who aren’t touring in a premium cabin, Narita may need the higher hand. The airport affords 5 Priority Pass lounges throughout its two terminals, whereas Haneda has none. Narita can be one among solely 5 worldwide places to host a United Club lounge.
Each airports function a good quantity of buying and eating choices and are usually among the many extra nice locations to spend an extended layover. Narita has a bit extra of an enchantment for aviation geeks, as the scale and number of planes you may see make for some nice natural leisure. Some, like Thai’s Airbus A380, are particularly uncommon finds for U.S.-based vacationers.
Winner: Whereas premium-cabin passengers will not discover a lot distinction between the 2 airports when it comes to lounge entry, these touring in economic system might be happier touring by way of Narita. Between Precedence Go lounges and a few nice planespotting, it makes for a extra satisfying layover.
Backside line
Narita and Haneda are each glorious airports. Nevertheless, the variations between the 2 amenities have gotten extra obvious. Haneda is far nearer in location to downtown Tokyo, and that proximity has made it a favourite for enterprise vacationers. The airport can be more and more used for long-haul flights, particularly to the U.S.
In the meantime, Narita affords extra flights from extra worldwide carriers and might provide a wider alternative of locations around the globe. It additionally has a much wider collection of airport lounges.