HND and NRT – Which One Should I Land in?

Yuki Kondo0 Comments

READ THIS before booking your flight to Japan

Are you ready to head off to Japan? You’ve set the date, and it’s time to book your flight to Japan! There are two main airports in Tokyo, one is called Haneda airport (HND), and the other Narita airport (NRT). Which one should you land in? You will know after reading this why there are two main airports in Tokyo, and my experience of using Narita, and which you should land in.

Difference between HND and NRT

You might wonder why there are two airports in Tokyo. Tokyo, despite the large population, doesn’t take up much space. Well, actually, Narita airport isn’t located in Tokyo but in Chiba prefecture right next to Tokyo. For some reason the government decided to label them both Tokyo. So, I recommend you getting a flight to Haneda airport if you want to visit the greater Tokyo area. 

The difference between the two airports in Tokyo is NRT airport is mainly for international flights and HND is for domestic and international flights. For this reason, Landing at HND airport is likely to be more expensive than NRT because there are fewer international flights. However, the government decided to increase the number of international flights by changing routes of landing in March 2020. So there’s definitely more international flights to HND than there used to be. 

Yuki’s experience of using NRT airport

I currently live in Tokyo and usually take flights from NRT airport when I travel internationally. It takes about 3 hours to get to NRT airport by local trains, which is the worst especially after a long flight from abroad. Moreover, if you get on the train with your heavy luggage during rush hour, you’ll absolutely feel like you’re in hell. I’ve experienced it a few times:(

A little over a year ago, when I went to study abroad in the US, I bought round trip tickets from Narita to the US airport because that was the only option I had with my budget. I wouldn’t say it was cheap though I probably paid about 120000 yen (around 1100 bucks).  After a 17-hour-flight from the US to NRT, I was so exhausted. I couldn’t fall asleep on the plane, and on top of that there’s a large time difference between the US and Japan.

But that wasn’t the end of my journey…

Once I got out of the airport, I walked towards the station under the airport with two heavy suitcases and two small backpacks. I couldn’t think about anything except for how tired I was even though I was happy to be back in Japan. I was excited to see my family and my mom’s Japanese cooking was on my mind. While I waited for the train at the platform, I realized that I was trying to get on the train during rush hour. I was like @&%$. It had been almost a year since the last time I rode a crazy packed train because they’re not crowded in the US. I completely forgot how busy Japanese trains can be.

Honestly, the train wasn’t super crowded but there was no space for all my luggage, so I just sat and waited until the rush hour was over. About an hour and a half later, I finally hopped on the train and got home after three hours. It was really stressful and tiring as hell. 

Note on trains

Lastly, I wanted to say traveling in Tokyo by train is kind of difficult and confusing if you’re not familiar with taking trains. There are 13 Lines across Tokyo like a giant spider’s web. It’s easy to become confused. I highly recommend installing google maps beforehand and searching your destination on it. Even I use it every time I need to go somewhere in the center of Tokyo. It is very useful and helpful!

Thanks for reading this article. Good luck with your journey! 

Let us know on our Instagram if you have any questions. Please also check this article about how I got a teaching job while still abroad. Hannah explained how she got an English teaching job while she was in the US.