World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Japan’s largest international airline is Japan Airlines (JL) (website: www.jal.co.jp). Many international airlines fly to Japan including: Air Canada, Air France, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, IBERIA, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, SAS, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Approximate flight times
From Tokyo to London is 12 hours; to New York is 12 hours 30 minutes; to Los Angeles is nine hours 30 minutes; to Hong Kong is five hours; to Sydney is nine hours 30 minutes.

International airports
Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) (Narita City) (website: www.narita-airport.or.jp) is 65km (40 miles) east of Tokyo (travel time – one hour 10 minutes). Airport facilities include duty free shops, bank/bureau de change, car hire, restaurants and a tourist information centre with multilingual staff located in both terminals. Luxury coaches depart regularly from the airport to city-centre hotels. There is also a bus to the Tokyo City Air Terminal (TCAT). A shuttle bus links the airport with major hotels in the city centre. Tickets for all services can be bought in the terminals. Japan Railways' reservation-only Narita Express line runs from Narita station terminal located beneath the airport to Tokyo station (travel time – one hour), Shinjuku (travel time – 90 minutes) and Yokohama (travel time – 105 minutes) every 30 minutes from 0745-2145. JR also operates a slower, cheaper service that departs every 45 minutes (travel time – one hour 20 minutes). First-class and private compartments are available. JR Passes can be used on these trains; see under Rail below for more information. Keisei Electric Railway also runs from the airport terminal to Keisei Ueno station in central Tokyo (travel time – one hour) from 0920-2200. There are taxis to the city, with a surcharge after 2200 (travel time – 60 to 70 minutes). Travellers should note that these are five times as expensive as the trains. There is a free shuttle bus connecting both terminals every 10 to 15 minutes (travel time – 10 minutes).
(Osaka) Kansai International (KIX) (Kansai) (website: www.kansai-airport.or.jp) is 50km (31 miles) southwest of Osaka. Airport facilities include duty-free shops, car hire (includes Japaren, Nippon, Nissan and Toyota), banks/bureaux de change, tourist information and bar/restaurant. There is a bus to the city every 30 minutes from 0800-2120 (travel time – one hour). The Nankai RR service goes to Namba station every 15 minutes (travel time – 30 minutes). The JR West service goes to JR Osaka station every 30 minutes (travel time – one hour 10 minutes). Taxis are available to the city (travel time – 60 minutes), although a surcharge may be imposed after 2200. It is also possible to take the jetfoil from Kansai Airport to Kobe’s Port Island (travel time – 32 minutes).
Fukuoka International (FUK) is 20 minutes’ travel time from Fukuoka City. Airport facilities include an outgoing duty-free shop, car hire, bank/bureau de change and bar/restaurant.
Nagoya International (NGO) is 10km (6 miles) north of the city and has flights to 29 international destinations including: Bangkok, Brisbane, Frankfurt/M, Hong Kong City, Honolulu, Melbourne, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei.

Departure tax
Depends on airport; 2040 from Narita Airport. Children under 12 are charged half price; children under two are exempt. Departure tax is usually paid when purchasing tickets and not at the airport.

Sea
Japan is easily accessible by sea, and passenger ships include the major ports on their schedules. Ferries operate daily from Osaka and Kobe to Shanghai (China) and weekly from Kobe to Tanggu (near Tianjin, China). For Taiwan, ferries depart from Okinawa. The Shimonoseki-Busan ferry runs nightly across the Sea of Japan to Korea (Rep). Links to the Russian Federation include weekly services between Yokohama and Nakhoda (near Vladivostok). Alternatively, there is a twice-weekly service to Wakkanai in Hokkaido from Korsakov in the Russian Federation. There are cruises between the Japanese islands en route to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Cruise lines that call at Japan include Clipper Cruise Lines, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Silversea Cruises.

Rail
The Trans-Siberian route to Japan is an interesting and very well organised, if lengthy, trip. Connections can be made daily from London (Liverpool Street) via Harwich or London (Victoria) via Dover through Europe to Moscow. There are sleeping cars four times a week from Hook of Holland to Moscow, and twice a week from Ostend to Moscow. The Trans-Siberian railway departs regularly from Moscow (see Russian Federation section).