You step off a long flight, find the baggage claim, and realize the ticket you booked says Narita while a friend arrived at Haneda. Tokyo has two airports, and the choice shapes your first hours in Japan.
Which airports serve Tokyo?
Two airports serve the capital: Haneda, the airport of Tokyo city itself, and Narita, which sits out in Chiba Prefecture. Haneda now takes international flights directly into the heart of Tokyo, while Narita handles both international and domestic routes. Most travelers from the U.S. land at one of these two.
Haneda Airport
Haneda has three passenger terminals with a total of 71 gates that use jet bridges. Terminal 3 and the international area of Terminal 2 stay open around the clock, which suits late arrivals and early departures. Terminal 1 and the domestic area of Terminal 2 keep shorter hours, opening at 5:00 am and closing at midnight.
Moving between buildings is simple on paper. An underground walkway links Terminals 1 and 2, and a free shuttle bus connects all three terminals on the landside. If your international flight arrives at one terminal and your onward domestic flight leaves from another, the shuttle is the link.
Narita International Airport
Narita lies in Narita, Chiba, east of central Tokyo, at a distance of roughly 37 miles. It is a big airport, covering about 1,137 hectares and expanding toward about 2,300. Its main runway, four kilometers long (about 13,000 feet), is among the longest in Japan.
Narita has a mandatory late-night curfew: no aircraft operations between midnight and 6 a.m. That means no red-eye arrivals in the small hours. Terminal 1 has 40 gates and Terminal 2 has 32 boarding gates. Terminal 3, built for budget carriers, has a 24-hour food court, the largest airport food court in Japan, and Skytrax voted it the best terminal for low-cost airlines in Asia in 2024.
| Airport | Terminals | Gates | Hours note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haneda | 3 passenger terminals | 71 with jet bridges | Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 international area open 24 hours; Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 domestic area 5:00 am to 12:00 am |
| Narita | Terminals 1, 2 and 3 | 40 in Terminal 1, 32 in Terminal 2 | No aircraft operations between midnight and 6 a.m. |
Other airports for a trip beyond Tokyo
You do not have to begin in Tokyo at all. Kansai International Airport (KIX) lets you visit Japan without passing through the capital. Nagoya’s Central Japan International Airport, known as Centrair, is a hub for flights to and from cities in Asia and Japan.
Fukuoka Airport sits close to the city, and after you collect your bags a train reaches Hakata, in the heart of Fukuoka, in five minutes. In Hokkaido, most domestic flights from the main island land at Chitose Airport in the south.
Okinawa can be reached from major Japanese cities only by air. Most prefectures have at least one airport, and low-cost carriers reach almost anywhere. Airports in the big cities are served by express trains, buses and taxis, and generally have car rental desks.
Which airlines use each?
American carriers fly nonstop to Haneda and Japanese airlines fill out both airports with domestic routes, while Narita adds All Nippon Airways and Zipair on transpacific routes. The lists below show who flies where from the U.S. and within Japan.
U.S. airlines at Haneda
Three U.S. carriers fly nonstop to Haneda. Delta Air Lines serves Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Seattle/Tacoma. American Airlines flies from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and New York–JFK.
United Airlines connects Haneda with Chicago–O’Hare, Guam, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington–Dulles. Between them, the three airlines cover the East Coast, the Midwest, the South, the West Coast and Hawaii.
Airlines to the U.S. from Narita
All Nippon Airways flies nonstop from Narita to Chicago–O’Hare, Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with seasonal service to Vancouver. Zipair Tokyo flies to Honolulu, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose (CA), plus charter flights to Orlando.
| Airline | Airport | Nonstop U.S. destinations |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | Haneda | Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle/Tacoma |
| American Airlines | Haneda | Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York–JFK |
| United Airlines | Haneda | Chicago–O’Hare, Guam, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles |
| All Nippon Airways | Narita | Chicago–O’Hare, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco |
| Zipair Tokyo | Narita | Honolulu, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose (CA) |
Domestic flights from Haneda
Terminal 2 at Haneda is where All Nippon Airways, Air Do and Solaseed Air operate their domestic flights. Air Do goes to Asahikawa, Hakodate, Kushiro, Memanbetsu, Obihiro and Sapporo–Chitose. Solaseed Air serves Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Naha and Oita.
Skymark Airlines flies to Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kobe, Naha, Sapporo–Chitose and Shimojishima. StarFlyer reaches Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Osaka–Kansai and Ube.
Domestic flights from Narita
At Narita, All Nippon Airways flies to Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Itami and Sapporo–Chitose, and Japan Airlines flies to Nagoya–Centrair and Osaka–Itami. Spring Japan serves Hakodate, Hiroshima and Sapporo–Chitose.
The low-cost carriers cover the widest map. Jetstar Japan flies to Asahikawa, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kochi, Kumamoto, Matsuyama, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Naha, Oita, Osaka–Kansai, Sapporo–Chitose, Shimojishima, Shonai and Takamatsu. Peach flies to Amami Oshima, Fukuoka, Ishigaki, Kagoshima, Kushiro, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Naha, Oita, Osaka–Kansai and Sapporo–Chitose.
How do you choose?
Choose Haneda if you want to arrive in the airport of Tokyo city itself and Narita if your airline or route points there, since the best airport is usually the one your flight already uses. The differences below can tip the decision when you have a choice.
Start with your airline and your U.S. city
Your home city often settles it. From Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle/Tacoma, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York–JFK, Newark or Washington–Dulles, the nonstop flights to Tokyo on our list land at Haneda. From Houston or San Jose (CA), the nonstops listed go to Narita on Zipair Tokyo.
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago–O’Hare and Honolulu are served at both airports, so there you can compare schedules and carriers. Haneda gives you Delta, American and United in that group, and Narita gives you All Nippon Airways and Zipair Tokyo.
Think about arrival time and the curfew
Narita closes to aircraft operations between midnight and 6 a.m., so a ticket there fits a day or evening schedule. Haneda’s Terminal 3 and the international area of Terminal 2 never close, which gives a more flexible airport if your plans have a late or early edge.
If you land at Haneda and continue on a domestic flight, remember that Terminal 1 and the domestic area of Terminal 2 only run from 5:00 am to midnight. Plan any overnight wait in the 24-hour areas.
Think about the rest of your trip
If Tokyo is only a stop, other airports may serve you better. Kansai International makes it possible to see Japan without going through Tokyo at all, and Centrair in Nagoya serves cities across Asia and Japan. Hokkaido trips usually pass through Chitose, and Okinawa is reached by air.
For domestic hops from Tokyo, the choice follows the map. Haneda has the full-service and regional carriers to Hokkaido, Kyushu and Okinawa. Narita has the low-cost networks of Jetstar Japan and Peach, with long lists of regional cities, and its Terminal 3 is built around budget travel.
Good to know before you go
Airports in the big Japanese cities are well served by express trains, buses and taxis, and most have car rental desks, so you can plan the ride into town around your hotel rather than around the terminal. Between Haneda’s terminals, the free shuttle bus on the landside links all three. If you carry on to another region, check which airport and terminal your onward flight uses before you leave the first one.
Sources
- 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
- 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
- Wikipedia, Tokyo International Airport (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_International_Airport), checked October 11, 2026