Haneda or Narita?
Among those who have a plan to trip to Tokyo, Japan, many might wonder where they should arrive at. Tokyo, the biggest city in Japan, has two international airports which are Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport. Both of them handles international flights from all over the world in addition to the flights from all around Japan.
Then, a question arises here, “Which one of them is good for arrival for travelers ?”, “Haneda or Narita?”
My answer to this question, definitely, is “Haneda.”
Let’s look at the map of Tokyo area with the locations of two airports.
Narita International Airport is actually in Chiba prefecture which is right next to Tokyo, and on the other hand, Haneda Airport is in Tokyo.
Narita International Airport was the first international airport in Tokyo area, and Haneda Airport followed Narita afterwards in terms of international flights. As Japan now tries to increase the number of the incoming tourists to Japan, Haneda airport is one of the important key points for that.
Haneda Airport is located in the bay area in middle of Tokyo where it only takes about 30 minutes from Tokyo station or Shinjuku station to the airport.
Let me tell you how you can get to the middle of Tokyo from each airport.
Here, I will give you tips for transportations, and please see the details on the website of each transportation.
I put ☆ mark for the recommended one for using each airport for those who are not sure which airport and transportation to take.
Transportations between Narita to Tokyo city area
・ JR Narita Express (60 min.)
My comment: The train itself is cool, but it takes longer than riding on Keisei skylineer (See below), and expensive.
☆ Keisei Skilineer (40 min.) or Keisei local train (1 hour)
My comment: Keisei skylineer is cheaper than Narita Express and faster. It only goes
to Ueno and Nippori station in Tokyo, but you can easily transfer to JR Yamanote line there.
・ Limousine Bus (1 hour or more)
My comment: There are many buses, and there is also a different bus operated by JR,
and this bus run for the cheapest price of 1,000 yen to Tokyo station. I would not use it as there might be traffic jam and it takes more than 1 hour.
Transportations between Haneda to Tokyo city area
・ Monorail and JR Yamanote line (30 min.)
My comment: When you ride on Monorail, you usually also have to take JR Yamanote
line as a transfer, and it is very convenient and easy to access to metropolitan places.
・ Keikyu line (30 min.)
My comment: When you ride on Monorail, you usually also have to take JR Yamanote
line as a transfer, and it is very convenient and easy to access to metropolitan places.
Keikyu line is convenient, but I would say Monorail and Yamanote line are more
popular and convenient.
☆ Limousine Bus (30 min.)
My comment: If I use Haneda Airport, I prefer to ride on bus as it is not as expensive as using Narita, and it is very convenient from relatively big stations in metropolitan area of Tokyo. It only takes 30 min. from Tokyo to Shinjuku at earliest.
As you see the information above, it is much faster and easier for you to arrive in the middle of Tokyo by using Haneda airport.
When I travel to other countries, I usually use Haneda Airport as it is much faster, easier, cheaper, and time efficient than Narita Airport.
If you have free choices of flights to Haneda or Narita, please be reminded how you can efficiently arrive in the middle of Tokyo after the arrival.
Remember,
“Haneda Airport is easier, faster, and cheaper!”
If you have questions, please contact me!
