Haneda vs Narita: Why Narita Airport Can Be More Convenient For Tokyo

A while ago I made a post comparing Tokyo’s two main airports, Haneda and Narita Airport. In the article, I mentioned how for most travelers, Haneda Airport will usually be the more convenient option. However, that comes with an asterisk. From my experience having lived in and since visited the city many times, Narita Airport has appeared to be more convenient for my travels.

Now you may be thinking, “But Shawn, every other travel blog and adviser says that Haneda is the better airport!” And you’d be right. I rarely come across travel sites praising the convenience of Narita Airport compared to Haneda due to its distance from the city center. But after using both airports many times, Narita has often turned out as the easier access option. Here’s why I think this way.

Public Transportation Options

To understand the differences, let’s first take a look at the public transit options.

Narita Airport is served by dedicated airport train lines that go directly to the city. These are different from regular commuter trains in that they don’t make any stops along the way, move at faster speeds, and can accommodate large luggage. The well known Narita Express is one of them, along with the less-known option, the Skyliner.

The Skyliner has a top speed of 100pmh/160kmh, and connects the airport to Nippori Station in just 36 minutes. From there, you can take the Yamanote line to reach your final destination.

This train is the difference maker. Although Narita Airport is much farther from the city than Haneda, this train makes up for it with its speed.

Where You Stay Determines The Best Airport

Thanks to the Skyliner, certain areas of the city are very convenient to access Narita.

Here’s Nippori Station on a map of Tokyo. As you can see, it’s located on the northern side of the city. The placement of this station makes it so that the northern part of the city can conveniently access Narita Airport thanks to the Skyliner.

With this, locations such as Ikebukuro, Ueno, and Akihabara are not far at all. The Skyliner terminates in Ueno as well.

All of these three destinations are under an hour total of travel time. I often end my travels in the Ikebukuro area, and this is why I’ve found flying into Narita to be the better option. (My last two times going to/from Haneda Airport took 2 hours!)

With the lack of airport trains servicing Haneda Airport, relying on commuter trains can be hard with large luggage, and being stuck in traffic on an airport shuttle bus will undo the whole purpose of utilizing Haneda for its close distance. And if you’re going anywhere northwest, north, and east of Tokyo, using the Skyliner from Narita airport will result in a much more hassle free experience.

For any travel to these areas of Tokyo, keep this in mind when booking.