Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) – Review and Virtual Tour
HANEDA INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL AND OPERATIONS
American Airlines check-in
While Haneda’s International Terminal is open 24 hours a day, most restaurants and shops are closed in the overnight period, leaving passengers who do not have lounge access few options aside from bringing their own provisions. The Monorail and commuter rail line both stop running at midnight, which means that those catching flights overnight must travel to or from the airport by taxi.
Both major Japanese airlines, ANA and JAL, operate their international flights out of the International Terminal. In addition, a total of 18 foreign carriers, including Air China, American Airlines, Asiana, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines offer service to and from Haneda.
An expansion of the terminal is currently underway, with a scheduled completion date of March 2014. New facilities will include an eight-gate pier, four new aircraft parking spots, a hotel within the terminal, and an expansion of the terminal’s check-in, baggage claim, and customs and immigration areas.
HANEDA DOMESTIC TERMINAL AND OPERATIONS
There are two domestic terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Both are open from 5 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
View from the Sky Deck, Terminal 2
Terminal 1, which carries the nickname Big Bird (which comes from its appearance from the air), opened in 1993 and is largely used by Japan Airlines. The Big Bird appropriately enough has two wings, the North Wing and South Wing. JAL affiliates including JAL Express and Japan Transocean Air (JTA), which operates flights to Ishigaki and Miyako, also operate from Terminal 1 as do Skymark Airlines and certain StarFlyer flights.
Terminal 1 is the largest of the three terminal buildings at Haneda and has numerous restaurants including a roof-top café, many stores, multiple airline lounges, meeting rooms, and a large rooftop observation deck. While the shopping and dining possibilities are endless, stores and restaurants only open at 6 a.m. and my recent flight to Ishigaki on JTL left at 6:25 a.m., which meant I couldn’t enjoy anything landside and the airside offerings paled in comparison.
Terminal 2 opened in December 2004. It has a six-story shopping arcade topped by a restaurant and the Sky Deck rooftop observation deck, in addition to the 387-room Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu. I first visited the restaurant and Sky Deck in 2011 after returning from my Dreamliner flight to Okayama, the 787’s launch route, and spent a few hours taking pictures and enjoying the view. I returned to Handeda 10 months later, this time after flying on the ANA Dreamliner launch flight from Seattle to Tokyo-Narita. More recently, I flew out of Terminal 1 on the non-stop to Ishigaki, the longest domestic route that departs from Haneda.
Asiana Airbus A330 landing at Haneda
In addition to domestic ANA operations, Terminal 2 also hosts ANA affiliate ANA Wings, which serves Miyakejima and Oshima. Other airlines operating out of Terminal 2 include Hokkaido International Airlines and Solaseed Air, and StarFlyer, with flights to Kansai International Airport (Osaka).
An annex to Terminal 2 was opened in 2010, virtually doubling the terminal’s departures and arrivals areas and adding baggage claim areas and passport/immigration stations.
The longest domestic flight out of Haneda is the 1,210-mile (1,947 kilometer) flight to Ishigaki, a route served by both ANA and JAL.
Click here to continue to Page 3 – Airline Lounges, ANA Aircraft Maintenance Center, and Virtual Tours
