Narita International Airport

Narita International Airport File:Narita International Airport Logo.svg 成田国際空港 Narita Kokusai Kūkō
IATA: NRT ICAO: RJAA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA)
Serves	Tokyo
Location	Narita, Chiba, Japan
Hub for	All Nippon Airways Japan Airlines Northwest Airlines
Elevation AMSL	135 ft / 41 m
Coordinates	35°45′53″N 140°23′11″E
Website	www.narita-airport.jp
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 16R/34L 4,000 13,123 Asphalt/Concrete 16L/34RA 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2007/2008)
Number of passengers 35,478,146 (2007) Total cargo (metric tonnes) 2,099,349 (2008)
Sources: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan Passengers and cargo from ACI :A.^ To be extended to 2,500 m (8,202 ft) pending government approval

Narita International Airport (成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) (IATA: NRT, ICAO: RJAA) is an international airport located in Narita, Chiba, Japan, in the eastern portion of the Greater Tokyo Area. It is located 57.5 km (35.7 mi) east of Tokyo Station and 7 km (4.3 mi) east southeast of Narita Station.

Narita handles the majority of international passenger traffic to and from Japan, and is also a major connecting point for air traffic between Asia and the Americas. The airport handled 35,478,146 passengers in 2007. It is the second-busiest passenger airport in Japan, busiest air freight hub in Japan, and eighth-busiest air freight hub in the world. It serves as the main international hub of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. It also serves as a hub for Northwest Airlines. Under Japanese law, it is classified as a first class airport.

The airport was known as New Tokyo International Airport (新東京国際空港 Shin-Tōkyō Kokusai Kūkō) until 2004. Tokyo is the source of much of Narita Airport's traffic.

Narita was known as "Tokyo Narita" even before it was officially renamed to differentiate it from the original Tokyo International, which is also known as "Tokyo Haneda", after its original name, Haneda Airfield.

History

The construction and expansion of Narita Airport in Japanese history led to one of the most infamous (and violent) conflicts between protesters and riot police, its bitterness still reflected in prominent cane-armed police at the airport. This conflict perhaps reflects the centrality of land-ownership tradition in Japan. The conflict was a major factor in deciding to build the new Osaka and Nagoya airports (Kansai and Chūbu respectively) offshore on reclaimed land, instead of again trying to expropriate land in heavily populated areas.

Construction

By the early 1960s, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) was quickly becoming overcrowded. Its location on Tokyo Bay made further expansion difficult, as a large amount of new land would have to be created in order to build more runways and terminals. While this strategy was used for later airport projects in Japan (such as Kansai International Airport), the government believed that landfill in the bay would be too costly and difficult, and would hinder the development of the Port of Tokyo. Haneda also suffered from airspace restrictions due to its central location and proximity to US airbases, so the government feared that further expansion of Haneda would lead to overcrowding in the sky.

In 1962, the Japanese government began investigating possible alternatives to Haneda, and proposed a "New Tokyo International Airport" to take over Haneda's international flights. The rapid postwar growth of Tokyo caused a shortage of available flat land in the Kantō region, so the only viable location for the airport was in rural Chiba Prefecture. Initially, surveyors proposed placing the airport in the village of Tomisato; however, the site was moved 5 km northeast to the villages of Sanrizuka and Shibayama, where the Imperial Household had a large farming estate. This development plan was made public in 1966.

At the time, the socialist movement still possessed considerable strength in Japan, evidenced by the large-scale student riots in Tokyo in 1960. Beside locals who had lived in the area for many years and were unwilling to relinquish their land, many in the "new left" such as Chukaku-ha opposed the construction of Narita Airport, reasoning that the real purpose for the new airport was to provide additional facilities for US military aircraft in the event of war with the Soviet Union. In the late 1960s, a group of local residents combined with student activists and left-wing political parties formed a popular resistance group known as the Sanrizuka-Shibayama Union to Oppose the Airport (三里塚・芝山連合空港反対同盟, Sanrizuka-Shibayama Rengo Kūkō Hantai Dōmei), which used a combination of popular appeals, lawsuits and actual guerilla warfare tactics to hinder the government's development plan.

Eminent domain power had rarely been used in Japan up to that point. Traditionally, the Japanese government would offer to relocate homeowners in regions slated for expropriation, rather than condemn their property and pay compensation as provided by law. In the case of Narita Airport, this type of cooperative expropriation did not occur: some residents went as far as using terror by threatening to burn down new homes of anyone who would voluntarily move out.

Under the 1966 plan, the airport would have been completed in 1971, but due to the ongoing resettlement disputes, not all of the land for the airport was available by then. Finally, in 1971, the Japanese government began forcibly expropriating land. 291 protesters were arrested and more than 1,000 police, villagers and student militants were injured in a series of riots, notably on 16 September 1971 when three policemen were killed in a riot involving thousands. Some protesters chained themselves to their homes and refused to leave.

Takenaka Corporation constructed the first terminal building, which was completed in 1972. The first runway took several more years due to constant fights with the Union and sympathizers, who occupied several pieces of land necessary to complete the runway. The runway was completed and the airport scheduled to open on March 30, 1978, but this plan was disrupted when, on March 26, 1978, a group armed with Molotov cocktails drove into the airport in a burning car, broke into the control tower and destroyed much of its equipment. This delayed the opening by another two months, to May 20, 1978.

The guard wall and towers surrounding Narita Airport can be clearly seen from aircraft landing at the airport.

Although the airport did open, it opened under a level of security unprecedented in Japan. The airfield was surrounded by opaque metal fencing and overlooked by guard towers staffed with riot police. Passengers arriving at the airport were (and still are) subject to baggage and travel document searches before even entering the terminal, in an attempt to keep anti-airport activists and terrorists out of the facility. The last anti-airport riot, orchestrated by left wing militants known as Chukaku-ha, took place in 1985.

JAL moved its main international hub from Haneda to Narita, and Northwest and Pan Am also moved their Asian regional hubs from Haneda to Narita. Pan Am sold its Pacific Division, including its Narita hub, to United Airlines in February 1986. ANA began scheduled international flights from Narita to Guam in 1986 and expanded its presence at the airport through the 1990s to become the #2 carrier at the airport after JAL.

Original expansion plans

Under the original plan, New Tokyo International Airport was to have three runways: two parallel northwest/southeast runways 4,000 m in length and an intersecting northeast/southwest runway 3,200 m in length. Upon the airport's opening in 1978, only one of the parallel runways was completed; the other two runways were delayed to avoid aggravating the already tense situation surrounding the airport. The original plan also called for a high-speed rail line, the Narita Shinkansen, to connect the airport to central Tokyo, but this project was also cancelled with only some of the necessary land obtained.

On November 26, 1986, the airport authority began work on Phase II, a new runway north of the airport's original main runway. To avoid the problems that plagued the first phase, the Minister of Transport promised in 1991 that the expansion would not involve expropriation. Residents in surrounding regions were compensated for the increased noise-pollution with home upgrades and soundproofing. Some farmers who refused to give up their land kept henhouses close to the threshold of the new runway. This runway opened on April 18, 2002, in time for the World Cup events held in Japan and Korea that year. However, its final length of 2,180 m, much shorter than its original plan length (2500m), left it too short to accommodate Boeing 747s. Phase II also involved a second passenger terminal, completed by Takenaka Corporation on December 6, 1992.

Due to environmental concerns raised, in particular from surrounding residents, significant cost in addition to airport construction alone was created. (e.g. approx. 40 billion Yen for noise protection and 20 billion Yen for electromagnetic protection). In total approx. 320 billion Yen have been spent to compensate for environmental impact of the airport since its opening.

Through the end of the 1980s, Narita Airport's train station was located fairly far from the terminal, and passengers faced either a long walk or a bus ride (at an additional charge and subject to random security screenings). Transport Minister Shintaro Ishihara, now governor of Tokyo, pressed airport train operators JR and Keisei Railway to connect their lines directly to the airport's terminals, and opened up the underground station that would have accommodated the Shinkansen for regular train service. Direct train service to Terminal 1 began on March 19, 1991, and the old Narita Airport Station was renamed Higashi-Narita Station.

On April 1, 2004, New Tokyo International Airport was privatized and officially renamed Narita International Airport, reflecting its popular designation since its opening.

Notable accidents and incidents

• On January 30, 1979, after an exhibition in Tokyo, 153 of Manabu Mabe's paintings were on board of a Varig, cargo Boeing 707-323C registration PP-VLU en route from Narita International Airport to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão via Los Angeles. The aircraft went missing over the Pacific Ocean some 30 minutes (200 km ENE) from Tokyo. Causes are unknown since the wreck was never found. The paintings were lost.
• 1985: On June 22, a piece of luggage exploded while being transferred to Air India Flight 301, killing two baggage handlers. The luggage had originated at Vancouver International Airport. Fifty-five minutes later, another piece of luggage, also originating from Vancouver, exploded on Air India Flight 182, killing all onboard.
• In the late 1980s, the Union to Oppose the Airport constructed two steel towers, 30.8 meters (102 ft) and 62.3 meters (206 ft) respectively, blocking the northbound approach path to the main runway. In January 1990, the Chiba District Court ordered the towers dismantled without compensation to the Union; the Supreme Court of Japan upheld this verdict as constitutional in 1993.
• 1994: On December 11, Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was en route from Cebu to Narita when a bomb on board exploded, killing a passenger. The airliner was able to make an emergency landing in Okinawa. Authorities later found out that the bomb was a test run for the Project Bojinka plot, which targeted several U.S. airliners departing Narita on January 21, 1995 as part of its first phase.
• 1997: United Airlines Flight 826 experienced severe turbulence after leaving Narita en-route for Honolulu. Due to injuries sustained by passengers, the aircraft made an emergency landing at Narita. One woman on the flight died of her injuries.
• January 31, 2001: Japan Airlines Flight 958, bound for Narita from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, nearly collided with another Japan Airlines aircraft. The other aircraft, a Boeing 747, suddenly dived and avoided the Narita-bound DC-10. See 2001 Japan Airlines mid-air incident
• 2001: In May, Kim Jong-nam, the son of North Korean President Kim Jong-il, was arrested at Narita Airport for traveling with a counterfeit passport, and was deported to the People's Republic of China.
• 2004: On July 13, Bobby Fischer was detained at Narita Airport for using an invalid U.S. passport while trying to board a Japan Airlines flight to Manila. He left Japan a year later after obtaining asylum in Iceland.
• 2009: On March 23, FedEx Express Flight 80, an MD-11 aircraft from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China, crashed on Runway 16R/34L during landing, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Runway 16R/34L, which is required for long-distance flights and heavier aircraft, was closed for a full day due to necessary investigations, repairs and removal of wreckage. This was the first fatal airplane crash to occur at the airport since its opening in 1978.
• 2009: Since November 4 Chinese human rights defendant Feng Zhenghu has been living near the immigration checkpoint in the south wing of Terminal 1, after having been refused re-entry into China.

Current issues

Expansion

Following privatization, the airport has reached record traffic levels, and several construction projects are ongoing.

Narita's 2,180 m Runway B was extended to 2,500 m, which will allow increased use by heavy aircraft such as Boeing 747s. The limitations of the shorter runway were made apparent in the 2009 crash of FedEx Express Flight 80, which shut down the longer Runway A and forced some heavy aircraft to divert to other airports. The extension opened on October 22, 2009. It will allow an additional 20,000 flights per year.

Several gates at Narita are also being refitted with double-decker jetbridges to accommodate the Airbus A380.

Competitiveness

Arguments over slots and landing fees have plagued the busy airport. Because so many airlines want to use it, the Japanese aviation authorities have limited the number of flights each airline can operate from this airport, making the airport expensive for both airlines and their passengers.

Although the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has given Narita a monopoly on international air service to the Tokyo region, that monopoly has been gradually weakening. Haneda has had limited international service for some time, beginning with flights to Taiwan and later replaced by flights to Gimpo Airport in Seoul, and Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai. Following the construction of Haneda's Runway D in 2009, the government aims to transfer other international services to Haneda in order to relieve Narita's congestion and expansion problems. The Ministry of Transport continues to investigate the possibility of building a new reliever airport on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay or off the Kujukuri coast of Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has proposed redeveloping Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo as a civil airport.

The future Hyakuri Airfield (Ibaraki Airport), opening in March 11, 2010, will relieve traffic for domestic passengers destined to/from Ibaraki and Tochigi Prefectures, and potentially those in Gunma. Technically, the runway here is large enough for jumbo jets. Shizuoka Airport, opened June 2009, may take away Numazu-Fuji area passengers that would otherwise come to Narita.

Surface access

One of the most constant criticisms of the airport has been its distance from central Tokyo—an hour by the fastest train, and often longer by road due to traffic jams. The distance is even more problematic for residents and businesses in west Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, both of which are much closer to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport).

The Narita Rapid Railway, scheduled to open in 2010, will alleviate the problem to some extent by shaving 20 minutes off the travel time. It has been announced that new Skyliner express trains with a maximum speed of 160 km/h will travel on this new line between Tokyo's Nippori Station and Airport Terminal 2 Station in 36 minutes, which compares favourably with other major airports worldwide. A new expressway, the North Chiba Road, is also under construction along the Narita Rapid Railway corridor. Improvements such as the Wangan Expressway have already shaved off travel time to Kanagawa Prefecture by bypassing Tokyo.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Narita Airport has two separate terminals with separate underground train stations. Connection between the terminals is by shuttle bus (buses are available both inside and outside the security area) and trains; there is no pedestrian connection.

Terminals

Check-in area, Terminal 1 South Wing

Exterior of the Terminal 1 building with the Central Building and North Wing visible.

Passport control, Terminal 2

Terminal 2 Shuttle System used to transport passengers to satellite concourses in Terminal 2

Shuttle Bus

China Airlines Boeing 747-400 parked at Terminal 2

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 uses a satellite terminal design. The landside of the terminal is divided into a North Wing (北ウイング, kita-uingu), Central Building (中央ビル, chūō-biru), and South Wing (南ウイング, minami-uingu). Two circular satellites, Satellites 1 (gates 11-18) and 2 (gates 21-24), are connected to the North Wing, Satellite 3 (gates 26-38) is a linear concourse connected to the Central Building,Check-in is processed on the fourth floor, and departures and immigration control are on the third floor. Arriving passengers clear immigration on the second floor, then claim their baggage and clear customs on the first floor. Most shops and restaurants are located on the fourth floor of the Central Building. The South Wing includes a duty free mall called "Narita Nakamise", the largest airport duty-free brand boutique mall in Japan.

North Wing

The North Wing is dominated by SkyTeam carriers as Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines moved from Terminal 2 in 2007, shortly after a reciprocal move by Oneworld carriers American Airlines and Cathay Pacific. British Airways (Oneworld), Virgin Atlantic and Aircalin are the only non-SkyTeam carriers operating from the North Wing. Continental Airlines relocated to the South Wing on November 1, 2009 after joining Star Alliance.

South Wing

The South Wing and Satellite 5 opened in June 2006 as a terminal for Star Alliance carriers. Today, all Star Alliance members use this wing, except for Air New Zealand and Egypt Air, which currently use Terminal 2. The following are non-Star Alliance members: EVA Air, MIAT,Uzbekistan Airways and Vladivostok. The South Wing has seven stories, and the first floor contains facilities for domestic flights by ANA. [3] It is the first airport terminal in Japan to offer curbside check-in service and baggage reconnecting facilities for passengers connecting from international to domestic flights.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is divided into a main building (honkan) and satellite, both of which are designed around linear concourses. The two are connected by the Terminal 2 Shuttle System, which was designed by Japan Otis Elevator and was the first cable-driven people mover in Japan.

Check-in and departures and Immigration control for arriving passengers is on the second floor, and baggage claim and customs are on the first floor.

For domestic flights, three gates (65, 66, and 67) in the main building are connected to both the main departures concourse and to a separate domestic check-in facility. Passengers connecting between domestic and international flights must exit the gate area, walk to the other check-in area, and then check in for their connecting flight.

Japan Airlines is currently the main operator in T2; several Oneworld carriers which used to be in T1 (except British Airways) moved their operations to T2 in early 2007 so as to ease connections to and from flights operated by oneworld's partner Japan Airlines. Air New Zealand and EgyptAir (Star Alliance carriers) and China Southern Airlines (which is a SkyTeam carrier) are the only non Oneworld carriers operating from Terminal 2.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo	1 North
Aeroméxico	Mexico City, Tijuana	1 North
Air Canada	Calgary [seasonal; begins 28 March], Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver	1 South
Air China	Beijing-Capital, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenzhen	1 South
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	1 North
Air India	Delhi, Mumbai	2
Air New Zealand	Auckland, Christchurch [ends 29 March]	2
Air Niugini	Port Moresby	2
Air Tahiti Nui	Papeete	2
Aircalin	Nouméa	1 North
Alitalia	Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino	1 North
All Nippon Airways	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Chicago-O'Hare, Dalian, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Nagoya-Centrair, New York-JFK, Okinawa, Osaka-Itami, Osaka-Kansai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Qingdao, San Francisco, Sapporo-Chitose, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenyang, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan, Washington-Dulles	1 South
All Nippon Airways operated by Air Central	Nagoya-Centrair, Sendai	1 South
All Nippon Airways operated by Air Japan	Hong Kong, Honolulu, Singapore, Taipei-Taouyan	1 South
All Nippon Airways operated by Air Nippon	Fukuoka, Mumbai, Xiamen	1 South
All Nippon Airways operated by Ibex Airlines	Hiroshima, Komatsu, Sapporo-Chitose, Sendai	1 South
American Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York-JFK	2
Asiana Airlines	Seoul-Incheon	1 South
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	1 South
British Airways	London-Heathrow	1 North
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong, Taipei-Taoyuan	2
China Airlines	Honolulu, Taipei-Taoyuan	2
China Eastern Airlines	Beijing-Capital, Nanjing, Shanghai-Pudong, Xi'an	2
China Southern Airlines	Changchun, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shenyang	2
Continental Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental, Newark	1 South
Continental Airlines operated by Continental Micronesia	Guam	1 South
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta [resumes 3 June], Guam, Los Angeles [begins 3 June], New York-JFK [ends 2 June], Portland (OR)	1 North
EgyptAir	Cairo	2
Emirates	Dubai [begins 28 March]	2
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi [begins 27 March]	2
EVA Air	Taipei-Taoyuan	1 South
Finnair	Helsinki	2
Garuda Indonesia	Denpasar/Bali, Jakarta	2
Iran Air	Beijing-Capital, Seoul-Incheon, Tehran-Imam Khomeini	2
Japan Airlines	Amsterdam, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Busan, Chicago-O'Hare, Dalian, Delhi, Denpasar/Bali, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Mexico City [ends 18 January], Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Domodedovo, Nagoya-Centrair, New York-JFK, Osaka-Itami, Osaka-Kansai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, San Francisco, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Sapporo-Chitose, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan, Vancouver	2
Japan Airlines operated by JAL Express	Fukuoka, Nagoya-Centrair, Osaka-Itami	2
Japan Airlines operated by JALways	Brisbane, Guam, Honolulu, Kona, Manila, Sydney	2
Japan Airlines operated by Japan Transocean Air	Okinawa [begins 5 January]	2
Jetstar Airways	Cairns, Gold Coast	2
KLM	Amsterdam	1 North
Korean Air	Busan, Jeju, Los Angeles, Seoul-Incheon	1 North
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich	1 South
Malaysia Airlines	Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur	2
MIAT Mongolian Airlines	Ulan Bator	1 South
Northwest AirlinesTemplate:Fn	Atlanta [ends 1 June], Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Busan, Detroit, Guam, Ho Chi Minh City [ends 26 March], Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Manila, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK [resumes 3 June], Saipan, Salt Lake City [seasonal], San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan	1 North
Pakistan International Airlines	Beijing-Capital, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore	2
Philippine Airlines	Cebu, Manila	2
Qantas	Perth, Sydney	2
Scandinavian Airlines System	Copenhagen	1 South
Singapore Airlines	Los Angeles, Singapore	1 South
SriLankan Airlines	Colombo, Malé	2
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich	1 South
Thai Airways International	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Phuket	1 South
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk	1 South
United Airlines	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital [seasonal], Chicago-O'Hare, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul-Incheon, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan, Washington-Dulles	1 South
Uzbekistan Airways	Tashkent	1 South
Vietnam Airlines	Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City	2
Virgin Atlantic	London-Heathrow	1 North
Viva Macau	Macau	2
Vladivostok Air	Vladivostok	1 South

Template:Fn: Additional "international" flights to Osaka-Kansai and Nagoya allow connections from other Northwest destinations in Asia and the United States.

Cities with direct international airlinks to Narita airport

Cargo service

Because of the large volume of foreign fish (especially tuna) imported by air for use in sushi restaurants, Narita Airport is the eighth-largest fishing port in Japan by tonnage.

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroflot-Cargo	Moscow-Sheremetyevo
AirBridgeCargo Airlines	Amsterdam, Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Air France Cargo	Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air Hong Kong	Hong Kong
ANA & JP Express
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong
China Cargo Airlines	Shanghai-Pudong
FedEx Express	Guangzhou, Memphis, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
KLM Cargo	Amsterdam
Korean Air Cargo	Seoul-Incheon
Lufthansa Cargo	Frankfurt
MASkargo	Kuala Lumpur, Penang
Nippon Cargo Airlines	Amsterdam, Anchorage, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Chicago-O'Hare, Guadalajara, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Nagoya-Centrair, New York-JFK, Milan-Malpensa, Osaka-Kansai, San Francisco, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong
Northwest Cargo	Anchorage, Chicago-O'Hare, Detroit, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK
Polar Air Cargo
Singapore Airlines Cargo	Singapore
UPS Airlines	Louisville, Ontario, Shanghai, Clark

Helicopter service

• Narita Heli Express operates charter flights between Narita, Tokyo Heliport, Saitama-Kawajima Heliport and Gunma Heliport from a dedicated helipad with connecting shuttle service to the two terminals.

Ground transportation

Rail

The airport was originally planned to be served by the Narita Shinkansen, construction of which was started in 1974, but the same expropriation issues afflicting the airport also hit the new line and the plan was eventually officially abandoned in 1987. Direct train service to the terminal, on ordinary trains using a short spur track from previous right of way, thus only started in 1990, twelve years after the airport opened.

At present, Narita Airport has two rail connections, operated by Keisei Electric Railway and JR East. A third line, the Narita Rapid Railway, is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2010. Trains to and from Narita stop at Narita Airport Station (成田空港駅 Narita-kūkō-eki) in Terminal 1 and Airport Terminal 2 Station (空港第２ビル駅 Kūkō-daini-biru-eki) in Terminal 2.

JR East

Main articles: Narita Express and Airport Narita

Narita Express train

The most expensive train (and one of the fastest) to the airport is the Narita Express. Journey times between the airport and Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo vary from 53 minutes to 70 minutes depending on the time of departure.

All Narita Express trains serve Narita Airport Terminal 1, Narita Airport Terminal 2 and Tokyo Station. Some trains also make additional stops between the airport and Tokyo - at Narita or at Chiba Station.

All seating on the Narita Express trains is reserved. The assigned seat number and car number are indicated on the tickets. Tickets can be purchased from agents in the arrivals hall of each terminal and from automatic ticket vending machines.

JR also offers rapid service Kaisoku Airport Narita trains to Tokyo Station, which take 90 minutes but cost less than the Narita Express. These trains stop at several stations on the Narita Line and Sobu Line en route to Tokyo. Most continue on to stops on the Yokosuka Line, going as far as Kurihama Station in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Keisei

Skyliner train

Keisei's Skyliner limited express travels to Nippori Station in 51 minutes - and Keisei Ueno Station in 56 minutes. The journey between Narita Airport and Nippori has the shortest time of any transportation link between the airport and central Tokyo. However, for travellers whose final destination is in the South of Tokyo or near Tokyo station, it can be quicker to take the Narita Express than to take the Skyliner and then make a connection at Nippori or Ueno.

The New Skyliner will connect between Narita Airport and Ueno in 36 minutes via Hokusō Line and Narita Rapid Railway, which is scheduled to open in July 2010.

As with the Narita Express, all seating on Skyliner trains is reserved. Seat allocations are indicated on the tickets, which can be purchased from agents in the airport terminal.

Regular Keisei trains cost about half as much as the Skyliner and are the cheapest rail connection to the airport, although they make many stops, are slow and are often crowded.

Keisei also offers connecting and through service from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport, a cooperative service with the Toei Asakusa Line and Keihin Kyuko Railway.

Airport Rapid Limited (エアポート快特, Eapōto Kaitoku) trains, which make limited stops on the Asakusa and Keikyu lines, are denoted on signboards by an aircraft icon.

Keisei and Shibayama Railway trains also serve Higashi-Narita Station, located between the two terminals, but this station is currently only useful to travellers moving between the airport and neighborhoods convenient to Shibayama Chiyoda Station immediately east of the airport.

Bus

There are regular bus services to regional transport hubs, although these are often slower than the trains because of traffic jams. Many bus companies operate to and from the airport. There is also overnight bus service to Kyoto and Osaka. Buses also travel to nearby military bases. Such bases include Yokosuka Navy Base and Yokota Air Base.

Taxi

Taxi service is available, although it is the next most expensive mode of travel to the airport after the helicopter.

The main road link to Narita Airport is the Higashi-Kanto Expressway, which connects to the Shuto Expressway network at Funabashi, Chiba.

Cultural references

• Narita Airport was mentioned in an episode of Death Note in which Light's father departs from on a hi-jacked 747 that lands in the desert of the United States.
• Narita Airport is one of the airports featured in Air Traffic Controller by TechnoBrain.
• Narita Airport is depicted in "Returning Japanese", an episode of American sitcom King of the Hill.
• Narita Airport is the namesake of the song "Welcome to Narita" by Textual.
• In Japanese, the term "Narita divorce" (成田離婚, Narita rikon) is often used to refer to divorces that immediately follow a married couple's honeymoon, since many married couples return to Japan through Narita after honeymoons in foreign countries. The phrase was used as the title of a popular television drama in Japan.

See also

• Tokyo International Airport
• Transportation in Greater Tokyo
• Kansai International Airport

External links

• Narita International Airport Homepage

Travel guides

• Template:Wikitravelpar

Historical and political

• "Editorial - Narita fiasco: never again," The Japan Times, July 26, 2005
• Stephan Hauser, "Field of dreams - filled with concrete," Tokyo Journal, Feb. 2000
• Appeal to Stop Use of the Second Runway at Narita Airport
• Nagata, Kazuaki (2009-06-09). "Narita airport — worth long struggle to build?" (Newspaper article). FYI: Narita Airport. Japan Times. Retrieved 2009-06-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |coauthors=, and |month= (help)