Big, Bad Changes You Should Know About If You’re Flying Into Tokyo

Be warned! Haneda airport is no longer the breezy convenience it once was.

In fact, in many cases, Haneda’s now become a huge headache due to super-long physical distances necessary to catch connecting flights, liberal use of dreaded “bus gates” (with not nearly enough buses) and sub-par immigration and customs processing.

Tokyo’s Haneda airport has long been the choice for smart travelers given its proximity to downtown Tokyo vs. the Japanese capital’s other, more distant Narita airport.

This may no longer be the case in many situations.

Yes, if all you are doing is flying in and out of Tokyo, Haneda is still probably your top choice.

However, if you are connecting to a flight in Tokyo, or continuing on to another destination in Asia at any point, things have happened suddenly and rapidly that should make you think twice.

My advice: use Narita instead for all connections taking you beyond Tokyo. Don’t even think twice.

Here’s why: Japan’s second flagship carrier, ANA, recently moved most of its international flights into what used to be exclusively its domestic terminal at Haneda. Also known as Terminal 2.