Somewhere over the Pacific, the seat-back map swings from empty blue to the long bright curve of the Japanese coast, and the question that started months earlier at a kitchen table in Minnesota finally has an answer. For travelers in the Twin Cities, the nonstop to Tokyo is flown by Delta and lands at Haneda, the airport that puts you in the city itself. Narita, Kansai and Centrair come into play when your plans reach beyond Tokyo.
Which airlines fly from Minneapolis to Tokyo?
Delta Air Lines is the carrier that flies nonstop between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tokyo, and it uses Haneda Airport. It is the one airline in our listings of Tokyo’s two airports that names Minneapolis/St. Paul as a nonstop city.
That matters when you start searching, because the other big U.S. names at Tokyo serve different American cities. If your search shows a stop somewhere on the way, the routing is going through one of the cities those airlines connect, rather than flying direct from the Twin Cities.
Delta into Haneda
Delta’s Haneda network is broader than the Minneapolis route alone. From the same Tokyo airport, Delta also flies nonstop to Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles and Seattle/Tacoma. For a Minnesota traveler this means the Delta hubs and West Coast cities are all names you will see on the departures board at Haneda.
Haneda is described by Japan’s national tourism organization as the airport of Tokyo city, and it is now possible to arrive directly in the heart of Tokyo from international destinations. For a first visit built around the city, that is the reason to look at the Delta flight first: you land at the airport that belongs to Tokyo itself rather than one in a neighboring prefecture.
What the other U.S. airlines fly
American Airlines and United both fly nonstop into Haneda too, but from other cities. American serves Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and New York–JFK. United serves Chicago–O’Hare, Guam, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington–Dulles.
If you ever price a trip that connects through one of those cities, you are choosing a different airline and a different hub from the Delta nonstop. At Narita, All Nippon Airways and Zipair Tokyo fly to U.S. cities, and Minneapolis/St. Paul is not among the ones named for either.
| Tokyo airport | Airline | Nonstop U.S. cities |
|---|---|---|
| Haneda | Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle/Tacoma |
| Haneda | American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York–JFK |
| Haneda | United Airlines | Chicago–O’Hare, Guam, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles |
| Narita | All Nippon Airways | Chicago–O’Hare, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco (seasonal Vancouver) |
| Narita | Zipair Tokyo | Honolulu, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), charters to Orlando |
Flights once you are in Japan
Tokyo’s airports also feed the domestic network, which is useful if your trip continues to another island. From Haneda, Air Do flies to Hokkaido cities including Asahikawa, Hakodate and Sapporo–Chitose. Skymark reaches Fukuoka, Kobe and Naha, and Solaseed Air serves Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Oita, among others.
Narita has its own domestic list. Jetstar Japan, Peach and Spring Japan fly from there to cities such as Fukuoka, Naha, Hiroshima and Sapporo–Chitose, while All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines link it with Nagoya–Centrair and Osaka–Itami. Which airport you use for a domestic leg follows from where your international flight lands.
Where do you land?
On the Delta nonstop from Minneapolis/St. Paul, you land at Haneda Airport, the Tokyo city airport. It is the airport the national tourism organization singles out for arriving directly in the heart of Tokyo.
Haneda, the Tokyo city airport
At Haneda, the terminal gives you ways into the city by train, monorail, bus or taxi. You can search from the Haneda passenger terminal for routes, departure and arrival times, and fares to your destination for each of the trains, monorails and buses.
Taxis work from two kinds of stands: general stands, and stands for app-dispatched or reserved taxis. If you arranged a car through an app or by phone, you use the dedicated stand for reserved taxis, so a booked ride and a walk-up ride do not start from the same curb.
Narita, the other Tokyo airport
Narita is the second of the two airports serving the capital, and it handles international and domestic destinations. It serves most major international destinations and many domestic airports, so it comes up whenever you build a trip around a different U.S. gateway or a different airline.
It sits in Chiba Prefecture, about an hour by express train from Tokyo. That makes it a rail-and-transfer airport rather than one you reach on a short hop, and it is worth knowing when you compare it with Haneda on a map.
Kansai and Centrair for trips beyond Tokyo
Not every trip to Japan needs to touch Tokyo first. Kansai International Airport makes it possible to visit Japan without going through Tokyo, and it is the gateway to western Japan, serving Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Wakayama. By train it is about 50 minutes from Shin-Osaka station and 1 hour 15 minutes from Kyoto Station.
Nagoya’s Central Japan International Airport, known as Centrair, is the airport hub for flights to and from cities in Asia and Japan. For a traveler from Minneapolis, these two are the airports to think about when the plan is Kyoto and Osaka first, or Nagoya, and Tokyo comes later or not at all.
What do you need for the trip?
For the flight itself you need a seat on the Delta nonstop to Haneda, and for the day you land you need a plan for the ride into town. The airport details below are what the route asks of you on the ground.
A plan for leaving Haneda
Before you fly, decide whether you will ride a train, a monorail or a bus, or take a taxi. The route search at the Haneda passenger terminal covers the first three and gives departure times and fares for each one, so you can compare them on the spot rather than guessing.
If you want a taxi, you have a choice. A general stand takes walk-up passengers, and a separate stand handles app or phone arrangements. Haneda also lets drivers reserve spaces in parking lots P2 through P5 in advance, which matters if friends or family are meeting you by car.
If your flight lands at Narita
Three rail lines serve Narita International Airport: the Narita Sky Access line, the Keisei line and the JR line. You walk from your terminal to a station, and the length of that walk depends on which terminal you use.
| Narita terminal | Station | Walk (minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal 1 | Narita Airport Station | 5 |
| Terminal 2 | Narita Airport Terminal 2・3 Station | 5 |
| Terminal 3 | Narita Airport Terminal 2・3 Station | 10 |
Terminals 2 and 3 share a station, so if you are connecting between them you will pass through the same stop. Knowing your terminal before you land saves you from guessing which station to head for.
If your trip starts in western Japan
A traveler headed for Kyoto, Osaka or Nara might compare flying into Kansai with landing at Haneda. Kansai is the gateway to western Japan, and the rail times from the airport to Shin-Osaka and Kyoto Station are the figures to hold on to when planning the first day.
Centrair plays a similar role for Nagoya and for flights within Japan and across Asia. Whichever gateway you pick, the question is the same: which city you want to wake up in on your first morning.
Good to know before you go
The U.S. State Department rates Japan Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions.
Haneda gives you a route search for trains, monorails and buses, and its two kinds of taxi stands, so the first hour after landing can be planned before you leave Minnesota. If you are meeting someone at Narita, agree on the terminal, since the station you head for depends on it. Japan’s domestic airlines at Tokyo’s two airports reach Hokkaido, Kyushu, Okinawa and Osaka, which makes it simple to picture a second leg once you are on the ground.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Haneda Airport, airlines and destinations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_International_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Narita International Airport, airlines and destinations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita_International_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations), checked October 11, 2026
- U.S. Department of State, Japan travel advisory (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/japan-travel-advisory.html)
- Japan National Tourism Organization, how to reach the city from each international airport (https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/airport-access/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, how to get to Japan, airports, airlines (https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/getting-to-japan/), checked October 11, 2026
- Narita International Airport, Access by rail (https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/access/train/), checked October 11, 2026
- Haneda Airport Passenger Terminal, Access (https://tokyo-haneda.com/en/access/index.html), checked October 11, 2026
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit Japan: Cherry Blossoms, Autumn Colors, Weather and Festivals
- Things to Do in Japan: Kyoto Temples, Onsen, Street Food and Day Trips
- Where to Stay in Japan: Ryokan, Temple Stays, Capsule Hotels and the Best Cities to Base In
- Know Before You Go to Japan: Entry, Money, Etiquette and Getting Around