If you’re planning a trip to Tokyo, you most likely stumbled upon the dilemma of which airport to set as your destination – Narita (NRT) or Haneda (HND). I’ve gotten a few questions on what the differences are and which one you should realistically travel to. Here’s a simple head-to-head comparison based on a few important factors: distance to the city center, flight options, and lounges.
Distance to Central Tokyo
Haneda Airport is located approximately 10 miles from Tokyo city center whereas Narita International is closer to 40 miles away. As you can imagine, transportation from Narita to the city center is more expensive than that of Haneda.
However, getting to Tokyo from NRT is relatively easy thanks to the Narita Express train. A round trip ticket from Narita to Tokyo is around ~$40. You can also grab a taxi for roughly $200 (!) or bus for as low as $10.
Haneda transportation ranges from $2 for public transportation via train to $65 for taxi.
Winner: Haneda Airport (HND)
Flight Options
If you are traveling from the U.S. you can expect to fly into Narita, which serves as the central command for both All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) international flights (Haneda is the actual base for these airlines).
Haneda has a fraction of the U.S. flights that Narita does. For example, United Airlines operates flights to 17 U.S. destinations from Narita, but only one from Haneda. Japan Airlines doesn’t operate any flights from Haneda to U.S. destinations, whereas they have eight from Narita.
You get the point. Haneda better serves as a domestic airport while Narita is the larger international airport in Tokyo.
Winner: Narita International (NRT)
Lounges
As is much of Tokyo, Haneda and Narita are both gorgeous, clean airports. But the disparity between the number of lounge options is gaping. Although this is certainly expected. Note that this list is comprised mainly of lounges associated with major carriers and alliances.
Narita International:
- Korean Air Lounge
- Delta SkyClub
- United Club
- Admirals Club
- Emirates Lounge
- Qantas Lounge
- Cathay Pacific Lounge (First/Business)
- ANA Lounge
- JAL Lounge
Haneda Airport:
- JAL Lounge
- ANA Lounge
- Cathay Pacific Lounge
- Sky Lounge
Winner: Narita International (NRT)
Bottom Line
In my opinion, the winner based purely on flight options and amenities is Narita. Given the fact that comfortable train travel to and from NRT exists, the only downfall to flying into the airport is mitigated.
I’m willing to bet I missed a few points here so I’ll open it up to those of you that have more intimate knowledge of these airports to share your thoughts.
this is incorrect:
Haneda has a fraction of the U.S. flights that Narita does. For example, United Airlines operates flights to 17 U.S. destinations from Narita, but only one from Haneda. Japan Airlines doesn’t operate any flights from Haneda to U.S. destinations, whereas they have eight from Narita.
JAL serves both San Francisco and JFK from Haneda at the moment.
United does not fly to 17 US destinations from Narita. They serve 9: Chicago–O’Hare, Denver, Guam, Honolulu, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles
Is that a joke? Why flights from/to the US should define the best international hub? For having used both for years, for me, the main criteria is time to be in downtown Tokyo, and Haneda is a clear winner. Disclaimer, I am not flying from the US to Tokyo very often, but from other international spots, quite often…
Huh? What do you mean that JAL doesn’t fly to US from HND? Japan Airlines flies from Haneda to SFO and JFK.
Ditto for what @factcheck & @pdxlover above said!
Japan Airlines offers service to/from JFK & SFO in the USA via Tokyo/Haneda.
InsideFlyer would be wise to update this article with the correct information to better ensure its readers have accurate and reliable information.