Barry Ambrose describes the viewing areas at Tokyo’s main international hub.
Viewing Area Guide
AIRPORT: NARITA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
COST: FREE AIRPORT VIEWING AREA OPENING TIMES: 6.30AM TO 10PM
Narita International Airport is Tokyo’s main international gateway, so receives a wide array of airlines. At the time of going to press, the latest figures showed that in 2016 the airport handled, on average, 665 movements a day – around 68% of which were international passenger flights and 68 were cargo aircraft flights. The latest estimate is that Narita handled slightly more than 39 million passengers in the year.
Carriers dominating proceedings are Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA), while budget operators Jetstar (Japan) and Vanilla Air are also based at Narita. Meanwhile plenty of freighters are to be seen from the likes of FedEx Express, UPS and Polar Air Cargo.
The airport has three outdoor viewing areas and another option at the Museum of Aeronautcal Sciences. The observation deck on top of Terminal 1 is good for photography first thing as the sun is behind you, but by mid-morning it has moved enough to begin to cause problems. A 70mm to 200mm zoom lens is sufficient, although a 35mm to 7…
