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June 1, 2014
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June 24, 2014Tokyo Haneda Intl. Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on April 27, 2021
Tokyo International Airport (RJTT / HND), commonly known as Haneda, is Japans airport. After the construction of Narita Airport, HND has handled mainly domestic operations for several decades. International services were re-introduced. To increase capacity, HND received its International Terminal plus a fourth runway in 2010.
As it is located within Tokyo, the airport is much easier accessible and therefore more attractive for airlines as well as travellers than Narita. Keikyu Railway and Tokyo Monorail link HND with several stations in Central Tokyo. ANA and JAL both use HND as a transfer hub for domestic and international operations, while several smaller Japanese operators link the airport with selected domestic destinations, either at own risk or on behalf of ANA/JAL. These operators include Air Do to Hokkaido island, Solaseed to Kyushu island and other cities in southern Japan, Starflyer and Skymark. International operators are the major airlines of China, Korea and southeast Asia as well as some European and American carriers. Good weather is common at this airport, but during the hot summer months you sometimes have to face misty conditions or heat distortion.
Using scanners should be legal, almost all locals are Using them (without hiding the devices).
Written by David Will, Hiroaki Tanaka, TRAVAIR Jeremy Denton & Maximilian Ono / Last update August 2020
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 04/22 | 2.500 m |
| 05/23 | 2.500 m |
| 16L/34R | 3.000 m |
| 16R/34L | 3.000 m |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | JAL Group, Skymark, Starflyer (operates from both domestic terminals). |
| Terminal 2 | ANA Group, Air Do, Solaseed, Starflyer (Starflyer operates from both domestic terminals) and a few international services. |
| Terminal 3 | Most international traffic |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not required |
| Car/Public Transport | Car us not required. If using public transport there is a free shuttle bus between terminals, and if visiting on a weekend a day pass for the monorail (700 yen) taking you to near spot 5 is also available. This ticket will also get you back to downtown Tokyo. |
| Restrooms | Inside terminal buildings. |
| Drinks/Food | Inside terminal buildings. |
| Hotels | There are various hotels around the airport. |
| Season | Spotting is possible all year long. |
| Runway Usage | |
| Wind from the north |
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| Wind from the south | From 06:00 to 23:00 (excluding 15:00 to 19:00)
From 15:00 to 19:00
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Terminal 1 Oberservation Deck – 16R departures or 34L arrivals, movements on Terminal 1 apron
| WHERE | Landside on the rooftop of Domestic Terminal 1. Just follow the signs. There is some kind of horizontal mesh where your camera lense easily fit trough. |
| WHAT | You can see and spot movements on the apron in front of Terminal 1. Movements on the International Terminal ramp are visible in the distance. During northern wind you can spot RWY 34L arrivals. During southern wind you can spot RWY 16R departures. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are in the early morning. Later, movements on the runway are in backlight. |
| MISC. | Shops and restrooms inside the terminal, possibly also on the terrace itself. Terrace is opened till 22:00 – 22:30 and free of charge. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Below 50mm for planes on the Terminal 1 apron. Longer lenses are required for planes on taxiways, on the runway and on the International apron. |
Terminal 2 Observation deck – 16L/34R arrivals and departures, movements on Terminal 2 apron
| WHERE | Landside on the rooftop of Domestic Terminal 2. Just follow the signs. There is some kind of horizontal mesh where your camera lense easily fit trough. |
| WHAT | You can see and spot all movements on Runway 16L/34R from here as well as movements on the apron in front of Terminal 2. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are in the afternoon. In the morning, movements on the runway are in backlight. The spot becomes useful by around 11 o’clock. |
| MISC. | Shops and restrooms inside the terminal, possibly also on the terrace itself. Terrace is opened till 10pm and free of charge. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Below 50mm for planes on the Terminal 2 apron. Longer lenses are required for planes on taxiways and the runway. |
International Terminal Observation deck – 16R departures or 34L arrivals, movements on Intl. apron
| WHERE | Landside of the rooftop of International Terminal. Just follow the signs. There is some kind of horizontal mesh where your camera lense easily fit trough. |
| WHAT | You can see and spot movements on the apron in front of the International Terminal. Movements on the domestic Terminal 1 ramp are visible in the distance. During northern wind you can spot RWY 34L arrivals. During southern wind you can spot RWY 16R departures. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are in the afternoon and during the night. In the morning, movements on the runway are backlit. The spot becomes useful by around 11 o’clock. |
| MISC. | Shops and restrooms inside the terminal, possibly also on the terrace itself. It is open 24h and free of charge. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Below 50mm for planes on the international apron. Longer lenses are required for planes on taxiways, on the runway and on the Terminal 1 ramp. |
Jonanjima Beach Park
| WHERE | There you can go by bus from JR Omori Station, Keikyu railway Heiwajima Station or Tokyo Monorail Ryutsu-Center Station. Take the bus line 森32 for “Jounanjima Circulation”(城南島循環) from each station and get off at “Jonanjima 4-Chome”(城南島四丁目). This bus is not running frequent (1 service per hour). |
| WHAT | There you can get 34R departures and 22 arrivals. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are in the early morning for 34R departures. When 22 arrivals best time is from afternoon to sunset. |
| MISC. | There are vending machine and toilets. But no store near here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Focal length is 200-500mm for 34R departures, 100-300mm at 22 arrivals. |
Keihinjima Tsubasa park
| WHERE | There can get there by bus from JR Omori Station, Keikyu railway Heiwajima Station or Tokyo Monorail Ryutsu-Center Station. Take bus line 森24, 森36 or 森46 to “Keihinjima Circulation”(京浜島循環) from each stations and get off at “Keihinjima”(京浜島三番地) or “Keihinjima Kaijo Kouen”(京浜島海上公園). This bus is not frequent too. |
| WHAT | You can see 34R depatures or 22 arrivals. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are from afternoon to sunset. |
| MISC. | There are vending machine and toilets. But no store near here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Focal length is 200-500mm for 34R departures, 150-400mm at 22 arrivals. |
Kawasaki Ukishima-Cho Park.
| WHERE | The park reopened after it has been destroyed by a typhoon back in 2019. You can go there by bus from Kawasaki Station. Take the bus for “Ukishima bus terminal”(浮島バスターミナル) and get off at Ukishimachō” (浮島町公園). The park entrance on the bus stop side is closed so use the front entrance. |
| WHAT | There you can see taxing to runway 05 and 34L arrivals. A fence is blocking the sight for the 05-ruwnay pics as you can see on the samples. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are afternoon to sunset. |
| MISC. | There is a toilet but no store and vending machine. If you want something to eat or drink, you should buy it near Kawasaki station. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 737/A320 around 450mm 777-300 around 250mm |
ANA Terminal Car Park 3
| WHERE | It is on the ANA Terminal Car Park 3 (north side car park), Level 6. You can reach this location by walking from the ANA terminal (terminal 2) to terminal 2 car park 3 (the more northerly of the two car parks at terminal 2). There is a connecting bridge from the terminal to the car park on level 3. From car park level 3 take the elevator to the 6th floor (not the roof as it is surrounded by a 2m wall) and turn right out of the elevator and walk to the north end of the car park. |
| WHAT | From this location you can see and photograph any visiting dignitaries aircraft on the ramp. Its not the best spot and only worth for a quick stop. Depending on the actual parking bay used by aircraft, unfortunately apron lighting poles can be an unwanted part of the photo so its better if you catch the aircraft while it is moving into its stand. The first gate of the terminal should be also not occupied by an aircraft as it will block the sight if the aircraft is moving to and from the ramp in.
OCT 2020 VIP aircraft no longer parked here and use the apron at runway 22 |
| TIME | Best light is late morning to early afternoon. |
| MISC. | There are no problems with security at this location. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | For narrow body class 250mm+; for wide body 150mm. Often dignitaries show up with more than one aircraft – to photograph two or more aircraft together 100mm will be handy. |
Jonanjima Futou Park 16L arrivals
| WHERE | There you can go by bus from JR Omori Station, Keikyu railway Heiwajima Station or Tokyo Monorail Ryutsu-Center Station. Take the bus line 森32 for “Jounanjima Circulation”(城南島循環) from each station and get off at “Kenzai Futou”(建材埠頭). This bus is not running frequent (1 service per hour). |
| WHAT | You can see 16L arrivals. Only South wind and from 15:00 to 19:00. |
| TIME | 16L Operation time is 15:00 to 19:00.This time are best light conditions in summer. Winter season is sunset around 17:00. |
| MISC. | Restrooms are available in the park. Convenience shop is near the park. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-180mm for B777s 180-200mm for B787s and B767s 250-300mm for B737s and A320s |
Showajima Industrial Area - 16R Arrivals
| WHERE | There you can go by Tokyo Monorail “SHOWAJIMA”(昭和島)” Station. Get off East-exit, you are through a narrow passage and about 5 min from stataion. Then you literally just stand by the roadside close to the water at the edge of the Showajima industrial area, which can be found northwest of the airport itsself on the island of Showajima. |
| WHAT | You can see 16R arrivals. Only South wind and from 15:00 to 19:00. |
| TIME | 16R Operation time is 15:00 to 19:00.This time are best light conditions in summer. Also winter season is good. But sunset around 17:00. |
| MISC. | There are vending machine. Restrooms are available in station. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 250mm for B777s 300mm for B787s and B767s 400mm for B737s and A320s |
Tenku Bridge - 22 Departures
| WHERE | There you can go by Keikyu line and Tokyo Monorail “TENKUBASHI(天空橋)” station. Station is under ground, you get off A2 Exit and bridge is right side crossing the Ebitori river. |
| WHAT | You can see 22 departures. Only South wind and from 15:00 to 19:00.(But Primary departures are 16L/R) |
| TIME | Best light conditions are from afternoon to sunset in summer. Also, Winter season is good. but sunset around 17:00. |
| MISC. | There are vending machine and toilets in the station. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | B737s/A320s around 400mm B767s/B787s around 300mm B777s around 250mm |
46 Comments
Just wanted to pass on my thanks to everyone who has contributed to this guide. On Aug 12, 2021, I had my first photo sessions with the planes of Haneda Int. and the information here helped me have a great day. It was all correct and gave me a good idea of what to expect. Cheers!
Nice to hear that and enjoy the upcoming visits at Haneda and maybe Narita too.
Julian
Spot #6 Kawasaki Ukishima-Cho Park
Park has been repaired and reopened from October 1 2020.
But, park entrance on the bus stop side is closed. Use the front entrance.
Spot #7 ANA Terminal Car Park 3
VIP spot at Haneda Airport changed. New VIP spot “VN” is runway 22 side. may be can not take for VIP aircraft from Spot7.
Thank you TRAVAIR for this useful information!
In the case of south wind, there is a new runway usage between 15:00 and 19:00.
see below:
https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/haneda/english/haneda_pamphlet_english.pdf
Thanks for this PDF. It is pretty useful and I have updated the guide.
-Julian
Hi there,
Spot #6 – Kawasaki Ukishima-Cho Park closed temporarily for construction. Park damage by a typhoon in September. Construction will be a few month.
Can not enter park. If you take picture RWY34L approach, Can take around at Ukishima bus terminal. but need over 400mm.
Thanks for the info. I left a note in the guide.
-Julian
According to local security people the park will stay closed permanently, damage is to significant to be repaired. We will just have o wait and see.
Kawasaki City office said ” This park is construction until end of august 2020.” We hope reopen at september.
737/A320 around 450mm with APS-C
777-300 around 250mm with APS-C
from here
https://goo.gl/maps/ui31FPkdj4ZipFVs6
Hey, I am a newbie to this website and I would like to get some advice from all you guys familiar with spotting at Haneda Airport. Does anyone know that how many large jets (government and VVIP jets can park on the VVIP area of Haneda Airport AT THE SAME TIME, since the enthronement ceremony of the new Japanese emperor on 22 Oct 2019 will be attended by many heads of states and governments, no one will question that many large govt jets will fly in for this special event. Is Haneda the ideal airport for arriving and departing coz it’s so close to the city or the other airport Narita is just so far away and it would be a security headache for the long journey. Much appreciated for your advice in advance!
Strictly speaking, Spot #7 is P3 Parking.
see ↓
https://www.tokyo-airport-bldg.co.jp/en/access/parking/for_using_parking.html
Thats right. Will be fixed, Thanks.
-Julian