Haneda Airport is Japan’s busiest airport.
Located only 15 minutes from central Tokyo
it is much more conveniently positioned than Narita Airport.
Traditionally, Haneda has handled the majority of the city’s domestic arrivals and departures.
However since it was expanded in 2014
the airport has been servicing an increasing number of international flights.
With this in mind, here is a brief overview
of how to maneuver through Haneda Airport and get to downtown Tokyo
for passengers arriving on international flights.
After de-planing, the first stop is immigration.
To expedite the process, each passenger should have their disembarkation form filled out
before approaching the counter.
Here, an officer will ask a few questions about your trip, scan the fingerprints of
your index fingers and take your photo.
Assuming everything goes well, you can move on to the baggage claim.
Everyone arriving on an international flight into Narita Airport
except for those connecting to another international flight
must collect their checked luggage here
this includes passengers connecting to domestic flights.
With baggage in hand, Customs is next.
Each family will need to hand in a Customs Declaration Form which should be filled out ahead of time.
Passengers with items to declare should use the red lanes
while those with nothing to declare should go through the green ones.
Finally, after clearing Customs, you will enter the public area of the terminal where
there are many useful services you may want to take advantage of before leaving the airport,
such as
Currency exchange & ATMs
Wi-Fi and SIM card rentals
Information counters
Baggage delivery and storage
Showers, Nap rooms, and lounges
Rental car pick-up and many more
Also, if you purchased a Japan Rail Pass, this can be picked-up at the
JR EAST Travel Service Center located in the arrival lobby near the Tokyo Monorail ticket gates.
If you are transferring to a domestic flight, or need to get to another building
there are free shuttle buses that operate frequently between the terminals.
When you’re ready to leave the airport and head into the city, there are many options to consider
In the basement is the Keikyu train which is accessible from the second floor.
The first floor has buses and taxis
and the third floor has the Tokyo Monorail
which can be accessed from either the second or third floors.
When choosing between train options, here are some important points to consider
The Tokyo Monorail goes directly to Hamamatsucho Station which is on the popular JR Yamanote Line.
The trip takes around 15min and does not allow for seat reservations.
It is also worth mentioning that while the monorail has space to store luggage, the Yamanote
Line does not, and during rush hours both can get quite crowded.
Next are the trains operated by the Keikyu Railway.
These go primarily to Shinagawa Station, where you can transfer to the Yamanote Line or continue
on to the Asakusa Subway Line which leads to Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree, and some of
the trains even continue as far as Narita Airport.
Keep in mind that these are regular commuter trains which do not have dedicated luggage
storage spaces or reserved seating.
Aside from trains, the other options for leaving the airport are
Airport Limousine buses which go to a variety
of locations throughout Tokyo and the surrounding areas
And taxis which are the most expensive option, costing between 5,000 to 11,000yen or even
more depending on where you’re headed.
Lastly, in our opinion Haneda is one of the most enjoyable airports in all Japan.
With a plethora of dining and entertainment options in the international terminal
it's a fun place to spend time and an ideal airport to have a long layover.
We hope this video helps you know what to expect when navigating through Haneda Airport.
For more information about Haneda or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now
or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide
first-hand from Japan.
Thanks for watching, and be sure to subscribe for more videos about Japan.
Happy travels.