Tokyo airports

I see that ANA has flights from Los Angeles to both Narita and Haneda airports.

Wouldn't arriving at Haneda be more convenient? Am I missing something?

Thanks for any advice.

I see that ANA has flights from Los Angeles to both Narita and Haneda airports.

Wouldn't arriving at Haneda be more convenient? Am I missing something?

Thanks for any advice.

Haneda is better if you're going to Tokyo or, for the most part, connecting to anywhere else in Japan. Narita is much more international, so if you're connecting elsewhere around Asia, odds are Narita is where you'll end up.

 

Just going to Tokyo itself (or Yokohama, or anywhere immediately around there), Haneda wins.

 

Haneda does have international flights, but Narita has more.

Haneda does have international flights, but Narita has more.

The number of international flights at HND is quite restricted. When Narita was opened, all international long-haul flights were transfered there. Shorter regional international flights, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul were allowed to stay at HND. Because there is a nighttime curfew at NRT, Japanese authorities opened up HND to international ops during the curfew hours. Thus, you find strange hours for HND flights to/from the USA. For example, the DL flight from HND to SEA leaves Tokyo at 12:30am, while their flight from NRT is at 3:55pm.

 

There will be daylight flight slots allocated in the near future, but HND will basically remain the "domestic" airport while NRT is the hub for long-haul international operations, with four airlines having hubs there.

Arrive 4PM in NRT and want to take 10 AM flight out of HND the next day. Where should we stay the night and how do we get from one airport to the other? Is the effort reasonable to switch airports for timing that is good to great on the HND flight? We are 3 healthy seniors with luggage. medium bag, carryon with wheels and purse/camera bag each. No Japanese language at all.

You can easily get a bus between airports. It is well over an hour ride. There are several hotels right at Narita where you can get some rest before catching the bus the next morning. The hotel or airport staff will be happy to assist you in English.

Thanks. Looks like about 18 hours layover and that should be easy enough.

I'd advice getting to HND and staying near there. Traffic and highway problems makes it too dicey for a morning transfer.

Only if time allows, find a cheap hotel near NRT (they're mostly quite affordable, even the 3/4 star types like the Hilton) and ride the hotel shuttle bus (a system that loops past most airport hotels) into "downtown" Narita for a quick visit to the Naritasan Buddhist temple complex, one of the most historic and beautiful in Japan. It always strikes me that there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people annually passing through Narita airport oblivious to this national and international treasure just 10 minutes from the airport. Even a cab from the hotel to the temple will be dirt cheap, and it's oh-so-worth it as an "instant" immersion in historic Japan.

 

 

 

Beautiful temple! Thanks for the suggestion. We will probably save the temple for when we leave Japan March 10 from NRT. We can't just add days to the front as we would have -- grandbaby #3 is due Feb. 3 and we cruise from Bali on Feb. 17 and working on the flights -- oh my this is one far away places type of trip!!!

Great that you don't have mobility issues and are traveling light. You can take the "Airport Limousine Bus" between airports, or various rail combinations. I strongly recommend the bus- they are set up for luggage and go directly from and to the terminals at both airports. At HND take a hotel shuttle or taxi. The bus will no doubt get caught in traffic but the bus driver will manage all that so you can rest.

 

There are various train options from NRT into Tokyo. The fastest and most convenient are either JR (Japan Rail's) Narita Express (NEx) or a high-speed train on the Kisei Railway. I don't know much about the latter. Local trains are cheaper, but take *forever* to get into Tokyo.

 

Once the train reaches the general downtown area you transfer to a HND-bound train no matter what. Here's the issue...you will arrive right at the peak of rush hour and it's a huge, organized, human tsunami. Several times I've been pushed out of the train onto the platform and just waited a second to be pushed back onto the train by boarding passengers. Japanese are very polite and orderly and wouldn't intentionally shove. It just shows the huge "wave of humanity". Luggage and purses are safe from pickpocketing (Japan is virtually crime-free) but will severely hinder your movement. Also, some stations aren't quite as "accessible" as what you may be accustomed to here. So you should be sure you can go up or down stairways with all your luggage. All this said, if you depart NRT after 7pm by train, the worst of rush hour will be over in Central Tokyo.

 

Here's a good webpage of your options: https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/access/haneda/

 

Google is your friend, search "narita haneda transfer"

Edited August 24, 2014 by kenish