Tokyo Narita Airport Guide: Japan’s Long Haul Gateway
Tokyo Narita Airport was built against fierce protest and still runs under a night curfew. Read how Japan's international gateway works and where to watch it.
By The Aviation Hub
7 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Narita International Airport lies in Chiba Prefecture about 37 miles (60 km) east of central Tokyo. For more than three decades it handled almost all of the capital’s international flights, and it remains the long haul home of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways and one of the biggest cargo gateways in Asia. Tokyo Narita Airport carried more than 42 million passengers in 2025 even as Haneda took a growing share of premium traffic. Its history, shaped by one of the longest land disputes in modern Japan, explains almost everything about its odd layout.
Tokyo Narita Airport at a Glance
The codes are NRT and RJAA. The field sits at 135 ft (41 m) above sea level on farmland between the towns of Narita and Shibayama. There are two runways, three passenger terminals and a large cargo area, and the site is still being enlarged. A privately owned farm remains inside the airport boundary, a legacy of the original protests.
Tokyo Narita Airport handled around 42.3 million passengers, 2 million tonnes of cargo and 254,000 aircraft movements in 2025. Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Nippon Cargo Airlines, FedEx Express and Polar Air Cargo treat it as a hub, and Zipair Tokyo, Peach, Jetstar Japan, Spring Japan and Air Japan base aircraft here. Narita International Airport Corporation, owned by the state, operates it. Terminal maps and transport times are published on the airport’s official website.
A Short History of Narita
By the mid 1960s Haneda was out of room, so in 1966 the government announced a new airport on farmland at Sanrizuka without consulting the people who lived there. Farmers, joined by students and left wing groups, fought expropriation for more than a decade in what became known as the Sanrizuka Struggle. Riot police and protesters clashed repeatedly and several people died.
Opening was fixed for 30 March 1978, but days beforehand protesters broke into the new control tower and smashed its equipment. New Tokyo International Airport finally opened on 20 May 1978 with a single runway. The planned five runway layout was cut to three, and even the second runway did not arrive until 2002, at a length too short for Boeing 747s because holdout landowners sat in its path.
Terminal 2 opened in 1992 and the airport took its present name on 1 April 2004 when a new corporation replaced direct government control. The low cost Terminal 3 followed in 2015. Visitors had to show identification just to enter the buildings until 2015, a security measure no other Japanese airport required.
Runways at Tokyo Narita Airport
Runway A, designated 16R/34L, is the original. It measures 4,000 m (13,123 ft), is 60 m wide and asphalt surfaced, and ranks among the longest in Japan. Every heavy departure for North America and Europe uses it. Fully loaded freighters such as the Boeing 747-8F and 777F need its length in the humid summer months.
Runway B, 16L/34R, opened on 17 April 2002 at just 2,180 m because the land for its full length was still in private hands. It was extended to its current 2,500 m (8,202 ft) in October 2009. Simultaneous use of the two runways was approved in October 2011. Narrow bodies and most regional flights use it.
A curfew bans movements between midnight and 6 am, which compresses the schedule into two busy waves. Southerly winds bring operations on 16R and 16L, with arrivals crossing the Chiba countryside from the north. Northerly flow switches landings to the 34 pair over the Kujukuri coast.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 1 is a satellite design with a north wing, a central building and a south wing. The south wing, opened in 2006, is the Star Alliance base, with ANA, United, Swiss, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. The north wing has housed SkyTeam carriers such as Korean Air and KLM since 2007, though Delta has moved its Tokyo flying to Haneda.
Terminal 2 is the Oneworld terminal and the stronghold of Japan Airlines. Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Malaysia Airlines and Finnair share it, along with Emirates and a long list of Asian carriers. Its gates can take the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8. Terminal 3, opened in 2015, is a low frills building for Jetstar Japan, Spring Japan, Jeju Air and other budget operators. Many of its stands have no air bridges, and its food court is claimed to be the largest at any Japanese airport.
Routes and Destinations
The strength of Tokyo Narita Airport is long haul. North America is the biggest market, with JAL, ANA, United, American and Air Canada flying to more than a dozen cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto. Zipair’s Boeing 787-8s add low cost service to Los Angeles, San Jose, Honolulu and Vancouver. Honolulu is a leisure route of extraordinary depth, with several daily wide bodies in peak season.
Within Europe, Helsinki was the busiest route in 2017 thanks to Finnair and JAL, followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam, as most London and Frankfurt flying has since moved to Haneda. Across Asia, Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila and Singapore are among the busiest routes, much of it on low cost carriers. Domestically, Sapporo and Fukuoka lead, with more than 1.8 million and 1.1 million passengers respectively in 2018. The longest scheduled flight is to Mexico City at roughly 7,000 miles (11,300 km).
Cargo is a core business. FedEx and Nippon Cargo Airlines run large hubs, and freighters from across Asia, Europe and North America fill the cargo aprons. Peak season runs from October to December.
Getting to and from Tokyo Narita Airport
Rail is the sensible choice from Tokyo Narita Airport. The Keisei Skyliner reaches Nippori and Ueno in around 40 minutes for about ¥2,500, the fastest route to the Yamanote loop. The JR Narita Express runs to Tokyo Station in roughly an hour and continues to Shinjuku, Shibuya and Yokohama, and it is covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Cheaper Keisei limited express trains take about 75 minutes to Ueno for around ¥1,100, the cheapest sensible option.
Keisei Access Express trains also run straight through to Haneda in around 100 minutes. Limousine buses serve Tokyo City Air Terminal in about 55 minutes and major hotels across the city, though traffic on the Higashi Kanto Expressway can double that. Fixed fare taxis to central Tokyo cost in the region of ¥20,000 to ¥25,000 (roughly £100 to £130). Parking is plentiful and cheaper than at Haneda.
Spotting and Photography
Tokyo Narita Airport is one of the finest spotting airports in Asia. Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 both have observation decks overlooking the aprons. Sakura no Yama park, a hill beside the northern end of Runway A, gives a superb view of heavy jets landing on 16R or climbing away from 34L. Toyomi Shinonome no Oka, on an embankment at the northern end of Runway B, covers traffic on 16L and 34R.
The Museum of Aeronautical Sciences south of the field has a terrace overlooking the 34L threshold and a Boeing 747 cockpit section. Morning light suits the terminal decks, which look west towards Runway A, and nearby Hikoki no Oka sits under the approach to 34L. Heavies include ANA Boeing 777-300ERs, 787s from both home carriers and the NCA Boeing 747-8Fs.
The parks are public and welcoming, and spotters are a familiar sight around Tokyo Narita Airport. Stay off private farmland, respect the signs around the remaining protest sites and do not block farm access roads with cars.
Expansion Plans
Tokyo Narita Airport is in the middle of its largest expansion since opening. Runway B will be extended to 3,500 m, and a new 3,500 m Runway C, built over two road tunnels, is planned on the eastern side of the field. Completion of the new runway is targeted for fiscal 2028 and the project will push the total site to around 2,300 hectares. Capacity should rise from around 300,000 to 500,000 annual movements.
Haneda will keep taking the business market, but Narita’s future as the long haul, low cost and cargo gateway looks secure. Place it alongside the other Asian giants on the Airports of the World map.
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