I had occasion to use the new NGO airport recently and came away impressed. I've written up a few thoughts about Centrair that I hope will be helpful for other travelers.

New Central Japan (Centrair) Airport (NGO) – serving the Nagoya area.

This new international airport is very well laid out, easy to use and – at least to date – relatively uncrowded. Land access to and from the airport is via a nice, all inclusive “Access Plaza” just across from the second floor arrivals hall by way of a pedestrian walkway equipped with moving walkways.

The Access Plaza takes the form of a large rotunda with a well-staffed tourist information counter in the center and the various passenger services around the circumference of the circular hall. To the right as one enters the Plaza are a restaurant and a convenience store, along with rental cars, bus connections, taxis and vehicular pick-up points. ATMs are located outside the convenience store. To the left is the Meitetsu rail station. Train tickets may be purchased from typical Japanese ticket machines or from live ticket agents and the train platforms are just a short walk further to the left. The platforms are equipped with kiosks and vending machines like any other Japanese train station, along with windproof waiting shelters. Train fares vary by destination and class of service. The trains to Nagoya range from 650 yen for a local train with unreserved seating to 1200 yen for the all-first class, all-reserved super deluxe train. Travel time varies from 28 minutes to almost an hour for the local.

The Meitetsu Limited Express train from the airport to Nagoya is reminiscent of the JR Haruka deluxe express from Kansai International Airport (KIX) to Shin-Osaka and Kyoto. Fast, comfortable and relatively frequent, the train arrives at the small Meitetsu-Nagoya station just across the street from the main JR Nagoya station. There is an adjacent subway stop and cabs are plentiful at a manned taxi stand. Signs in English are plentiful.

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