The Tokyo Narita International Airport, or also sometimes called Tokyo New International Airport, is the main international airport of Tokyo and is with 35 million passengers the second busiest airport in Japan.
Construction of Narita Airport was decided in 1966 to ease congestion on Tokyo Haneda Airport which had limited expansion options due to its close location to Tokyo. But also Narita was unfortunately planned in a populated area and due to massive protests, in which several people died, and problems with land purchases of people unwilling to move it took twelve years before, under heavy security, the airport could finally open. Due to this violent past, it is still the only airport in Japan where you would need to show your ID and boarding pass before you can enter the arrival hall.
Most flights from Narita International Airport are to Seoul and to Hong Kong but there are many more flights to other destinations as well, most of them by All Nippon Airways. Every day there are flights to 20 destinations from Narita International Airport. Here are the most popular destinations:
The initial plan was to build five runways but due to the protests only one runway was build. Only decades later in the 1990s a second terminal and new runway opened. This eased congestions problems but the airport is still plagued by expansion problems.
There are now two main terminals and one LCC Terminal. The Terminal 1 is divided in a North and South Wing. The North Wing is used by airlines from the SkyTeam alliance and Virgin Atlantic and Aircalin. The South Wing is used by airlines of the Star Alliance. The Terminal 2 is mainly used by Japan Airlines for all its flights as well as by airlines from the OneWorld alliance.
Narita International Airport is located almost 60 km east of central Tokyo Station near the city of Narita.
Taxis are expensive at Narita Airport but there are several good alternatives. Shuttle buses (called Limousine buses) offer several routes to downtown Tokyo with stops at all major hotels (2 hours for JPY 3200). The airport also its own railway station where several express trains depart from: the Skyliner to Nipporo (45 minutes for JPY 2400) and the Narita Express to Tokyo Station (an hour for JPY 1500). But you can also take one of several cheaper, regular trains for about JPY 1000.
Narita Airport is located almost 60 km of central Tokyo so taxis will be expensive: expect to pay about JPY 30.000.
All prices quoted here were found in July 2017
