Finally! Four New Routes to Tokyo's Closest Airport

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Christine Sarkis

Sure, the flight is still long, but thanks to the recent Japan-U.S. open skies agreement, you may soon be able to get to downtown Tokyo a little faster. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted three carriers new routes between U.S. departure cities and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

Back in February, Carl Unger covered news of the battle heating up for the four slots into Haneda available for the first time to U.S. carriers. Until now, U.S. carriers have had access only to Tokyo Narita Airport, 45 miles outside downtown. At about 15 miles from downtown Tokyo, Haneda is a more convenient option for many travelers. According to Terry Maxon at the Dallas Morning News, the new flights will start after the airport’s fourth runway comes into service in October, but before the DOT’s required start date of January 29, 2011.

The airlines to score slots are American, which will fly from New York starting October 1; Delta, with routes from both Detroit and Los Angeles; and Hawaiian Airlines, which will fly from Honolulu.

Though Haneda is getting all the buzz, passengers flying into Tokyo’s other airport, Narita, will soon have an easier time getting downtown. On July 17, the new high-speed Skyliner train debuts, connecting the airport to central Tokyo in 36 minutes, shaving 15 minutes off the current amount of time it takes to connect between airport and city.

Have you flown between the U.S. and Japan? Does this news make you more likely to choose the airlines that will be flying into closer-in Haneda?

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.