Aviation Spotting at Tokyo Haneda HND
Basic Info
Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport, HND/RJTT) is the largest airport in Japan. It has four runways and three terminals: Terminal 1 for Japan Airlines (domestic flights), Skymark and some Starflyer flights, Terminal 2 for ANA (all domestic flights and some international flights), AirDo and Solaseed Air, Terminal 3 for all international flights except for some ANA flights.
Do not confuse with Tokyo NRT: Tokyo HND is the one closer to the downtown, and Tokyo NRT is located far away from the metropolitan area.
What makes this airport special for foreign spotters?
You will see a huge amount of airplanes belonging to airlines from Japan both narrow body and wide body jets. In addition, there is a base for Japan Coast Guard. Although the distance to the runway from spotting locations is quite long, you will have chances to spot variety of aircraft at this airport.
One big minus is that there is no cargo flight at this airport. The airport capacity is always full, and there is no slot or facility for them. The cargo flights use Tokyo Narita NRT/RJAA instead. Comapred to Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda has significantly more domestic flights, which means you will mainly see Japanese airlines.
If you are first time to Japan, Tokyo HND would be a nice "starter set". You can even see Mt. Fuji from Terminal 1 if the weather is nice. You will see silhouette in summer, and you can sometimes clearly see it in winter.
Environment for spotters
Risk: low
Traffic: variety of domestic flights
Environment: good
Runway Operations
Runway operations at this airport is a bit tricky. As there are four runways at this airport, it is not always easy to get what you want in front of you.
"A Runway" RWY16R/34L
"B Runway" RWY04/22
"C Runway" RWY16L/34R
"D Runway" RWY05/23
Here is detail information provided by the government:
https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/haneda/archive/english/haneda_pamphlet_english.pdf
Spotting locations
1 . Terminal 1 Observation Deck (WiFi) RWY16R/34L
Terminal 1 is located in the middle of the airport, and you can have a view towards the west - RWY16R/34L and Terminal 3 on the other side of the runway. The observation deck is located on the top floor, and it is surrounded by a wire fence. You can see Mt. Fuji depending on the weather condition. You can see some Japan Airlines' airplanes parked in front of a maintenance hanger. I am not sure if the airport free WiFi reaches the deck, but you can of corse use it once you enter the building.
This location can be used only in the morning if you want to avoid backlight. Terminal 1 is used by Japan Airlines domestic flights, Skymark and some Starflyer flights. However, you can still see some ANA airplanes landing/taking off in front of you.
All the facilities such as toilets, shop and restaurants are located inside the building, and some parts of the deck is even covered by a roof which makes you possible to spot when it is rainy. 100-400mm is enough to catch traffic on the runway in front of you, and even wider lenses are enough for ramp movements.
２. Terminal 2 Observation Deck (WiFi) RWY16L/34R
Terminal 2 is located on the eastern side of the airport, mainly used by ANA domestic flights, some of its international flights, AirDo, Solaseed Air and some Starflyer flights. You can photograph with nice light conditions in the afternoon.
I am not sure if the deck is covered by the airport free WiFi, but you can of course use it when you are inside the building. All facilities such as restaurants, shops and toilets are inside the building. There is even a hotel which you can have an amazing airport view. I will explain about it at the end of this page.
There are two decks in the north and south, both surrounded by a wire fence. You can have a blick towards the VIP area from the northern end of the deck although there are so many obstacles to photograph. There is a place you can photograph from the building through large windows, and you can continue spotting even when the weather is bad. Just keep in mind that the large windows slightly have green-blue-ish color.
Flights to Europe and North America usually use RWY16L/34R (the one in front of the deck). When RWY34R is used for departures, you can photograph airplanes with Tokyo Sky Tree in the background.
A big minus of this spot is that airplanes on the taxiways and runway often get ruined by heathaze and APU from airplanes on the gates. Sometimes they are blocked by traffic on the apron. Also, lightpoles are also a problem.
３．Terminal 3 Observation Deck (WiFi) RWY16R/34L
Terminal 3 is where all international flights gather except of some ANA international flights. If you want to catch international flights, Terminal 3 wuld be the best choice. The light condition is the best in the afternoon until the sunset. The observation deck is open 24 hours and is surrounded by a wire fence. I am not sure if WiFi reaches here, but you can use it inside the building for sure.
You can see the apron area of Terminal 3, RWY 16R/34L, control towers and Terminal 1 on the other side of the runway. You can see departures from RWY 16L/34R in the background, but it is too small to spot them properly. Since there is a sign "東京国際空港 Tokyo International Airport" attached on Terminal 1, you can photograph airplanes on the runway with the sign in the background. I attached some sample images below.
Although the observation deck gives you a nice view towards the runway and apron, there are a lot of gates which are not visible from this location. Therefore, do not expect to catch all the international traffic even if you are at Terminal 3.
４．Haneda Innovation City Footbath Area - RWY22
This location is one station away from Terminal 3, and it is the best to photograph traffic departing from RWY22. Unfortunately airplanes cannot land on RWY04 for noise reduction, so do not expect for that. Restaurants, shops and toilets are nearby.
This location is also very good for photographing temporaily parked airplanes. Some airplanes are towed to this location and wait for several hours until the next flight. There used to be so many airplanes around this area during Corona, but it seems it is usually empty nowadays. Maybe check the location from monorail before deciding to visit there, and if it looks empty, just go to other locations. Also, the northern part of Terminal 3 which is not visible from the observation deck at Terminal 3 is visible from this location.
Some European and North American airplanes are parked at this area when their flights got cancelled.
You can reach here by taking a monorail or Keikyu railways from the airport, and get off at Tenkubashi station.
５．"Solamnade" Park
This is a new location opened in summer 2024. You can reach there only by foot from Terminal 3 which takes about 15-20 minutes. The location is available for 34L landings in the afternoon until sunset. The sunlight reaches here until the last moment of the sunset because there is nothing to block it (on T3, the terminal building blocks the sunlight as it gets closer to the sunset in fall and winter).
６．Spot 981
This location is near spotting location No.4. You will see an airplane if there is one at spot 981. Spot 982 and 983 are also visible from here, but all other traffic are not suitable for photographing from here. Therefore, you can use this spotting location only when you want to see airplanes at spots 981-983. Otherwise it is not worth visiting here. It will be useful if you have a ladder with 2-3 steps, but you might not need it if you are tall even among Europeans. Most tripods are not tall enough to clear the fence at this location.
These are new parking spots constructed during Corona time. Airplanes with passengers never use these spots, but they are parked there when they have several hours until the next flight. Business jets often use spots nearby.
Once you leave Tokyo Monorail "Tenkubashi" Station, walk towards the traffic light near the airport vicinity. Never park a car near the traffic light as it is illegal. You can just walk or go there by bike. There is an convinience store with a free toilet near this location.
７．Haneda Movable Bridge
This location is for airplanes parked on spots 940-969. It is not suitable for traffic on the runways. You can go there if there is something you really want to shoot is parked around this area, but otherwise it is not worth visiting there. You can photograph through a fence.
You can take a monorail from the airport or Tenkubashi (near spotting locations 4 and 5) and get off at Showajima Station. Walk for 1.6km and you will reach there.
８．Keihinjima Tsubasa Park - RWY22
This location is in the north west of the airport. You can see airplanes parked at spots 350-369 as well as traffic on RWY22. The light condition is good in the evening, but you could photograph airplanes with the rising sun in the background in the early morning. I guess it is a nice idea to start a day in the country of rising sun (Japan).
You can walk from monorail Showajima Station for about 2.7km to reach there.
ANA and JAL Maintenance Hanger Tours
ANA (All Nippon Airways) and JAL (Japan Airlines) offer free hanger tours only at this airport. The tours are offered only in Japanese language, but anyone can join them. You can make a reservation online. ANA has a reservation form only in Japanese, but I guess it is not challenging if you are crazy aviation spotters!! I wish you good luck if you do not speak Japanese. JAL has a reservation form in English as well. I have put URL for the websites at the end of this section. You can get some giveaway goods after joining the tour.
These tours are extremely popular, and most of the slots are always full. ANA opens reservations two months in advance, and JAL opens reservations one month in advance. Make sure to be one of the first ones to keep a slot. You do not need a big lens for this tour since you will literally walk around the airplanes in the hanger.
If you want to post pictures which you have taken during the tour conducted by ANA, you need to get a permission per email. They will not reject your photos as long as their workers' and other tour participants' faces are not captured. Pictures with other airlines' airplanes will definitely be rejected even if it is shown in the background (this is what is written on their websites). In case of Japan Airlines, you do not need to ask for permission as long as you do not capture anyone's face and other companies' airplanes in the photo. However, they restrict posting pictures taken in the Sky Museum.
Nearby Hotels
There are several hotels with airport view at this airport. It is not always guaranteed that you can enjoy the airport view, but some hotels offer "airport view" plans. Check their websites for details.
１．Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu - RWY16L/34R
The hotel is directly connected with Terminal 2. The price is not the cheapest, but it has some very unique rooms.
The hotel has rooms with airport view, but some of the rooms even have ANA business class and first class seats! You can sit or sleep in the real seats because they are in working condition. There is even a room which has a cockpit mockup of B737-800 although you cannot enter the cockpit (there is a plastic board).
Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu website
２．Keikyu Ex Inn Haneda Innovation City
This hotel is one of the cheapest at the airport. The hotel is located near spotting location 4 (Haneda Innovation City) which is one station away from Terminal 3. There is no room with airport view.
３．Hotel Metropolitan Haneda
This hotel is located next to Keikyu Ex Inn Handa Innovation City, the one I mentioned above. It is near spotting location No.5 (spot 981). You can see the airport from some of the rooms.
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