Here’s good news for those who would rather fly in and out of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (only 10 km from the city centre) instead of Narita (57 km). Haneda recently added a fourth runway and is now allowing more long-haul international flights. Japan Airlines seems to have the largest number of international long-haul flights into Haneda. ANA has just started flying direct to Haneda from Los Angeles and Honolulu. Thai Airways is adding one flight per day from Bangkok to Haneda. Other airlines will have direct flights to Haneda so check your favourite airline before making flight arrangements to Tokyo. Unfortunately, most European airlines will not fly direct to Haneda because the arrival and departure times set for them are inconvenient. So most of the slots have been taken by Asian and US carriers.
Here are a few statistics concerning travel from central Tokyo to Haneda airport versus Narita:
Tokyo-Narita (57 km): fastest way to get to Tokyo is the JR Narita Express which takes 53 minutes. Taxis are extremely expensive.
Tokyo-Haneda (10 km): you can use the monorail to get to Haneda Airport from Hamamatsucho Station, then transfer onto the JR Yamanote Line or the JR Keihin Tohoku Line. Total time: 20 minutes. Taxis are more affordable given the shorter distance (from Ginza or Shibuya, for example).
About Esme Vos
