How great is HND?
Mar 1, 2015, 12:24 am
#16
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: NH Plat
Posts: 652
HND is incredibly efficient: it's easy to get from the train to the gate or lounge in 10 minutes international terminal (depending on exit immigration), which is considerably better than NRT. For arrivals, NRT and HND are pretty similar, never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for immigration or customs. If coming off the back of the aircraft or your bag is comes out late if traveling with checked bags, customs can get a bit bunged up at HND.
For ANA, international to domestic connections are easier at NRT, although the domestic set up at NRT is a little basic with the annoying holding bus gates, but the NRT domestic lounge has food, unlike other ANA domestic lounges.
I think NRT has better transport options than HND despite being further away. Only takes about 15 minutes longer for me and the interchanges are much easier, especially with luggage and/or children in tow, which can outweigh the HND time saving. For the morning Europe flights, I find getting to HND much more stressful and with the change points for the monorail and Keikyu line, it's hard to avoid traveling on the Yamanote line at a vaguely busy time.
Overall, HND is much better at airporty functions, but I find NRT a more pleasant place to wait and overall experience.
For ANA, international to domestic connections are easier at NRT, although the domestic set up at NRT is a little basic with the annoying holding bus gates, but the NRT domestic lounge has food, unlike other ANA domestic lounges.
I think NRT has better transport options than HND despite being further away. Only takes about 15 minutes longer for me and the interchanges are much easier, especially with luggage and/or children in tow, which can outweigh the HND time saving. For the morning Europe flights, I find getting to HND much more stressful and with the change points for the monorail and Keikyu line, it's hard to avoid traveling on the Yamanote line at a vaguely busy time.
Overall, HND is much better at airporty functions, but I find NRT a more pleasant place to wait and overall experience.
Mar 1, 2015, 5:03 pm
#17
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Tokyo
Programs: SPG LT Plat ANA Plat
Posts: 596
I didn't get there early enough to stop at a food court, security was really backed up (though it moved pretty quickly), I don't know that I even really saw it. But I went from the lower level check-in immediately to the security line on the upper level.
I will say GMP looked better departing than arriving, the customs hall was really what stuck out to me as old/out dated. I did love the location though, easy to get to and easy to find your way into the city, though ICN looks about the same, just farther.
Wait wait...NRT has a monorail!? Gotta make sure I visit NRT at some point. I have to say both inbound and outbound immigration were incredibly fast at HND. Maybe my times were conducive to this, but I hardly waited at all in either direction. The only thing that slowed me down outbound was a group of tourists from East-Timor (or Timor-Leste, not sure which is official) were going through security and clearly hadn't done this many times, they all got stopped for metal or prohibited foods and such.
I will say GMP looked better departing than arriving, the customs hall was really what stuck out to me as old/out dated. I did love the location though, easy to get to and easy to find your way into the city, though ICN looks about the same, just farther.
Wait wait...NRT has a monorail!? Gotta make sure I visit NRT at some point. I have to say both inbound and outbound immigration were incredibly fast at HND. Maybe my times were conducive to this, but I hardly waited at all in either direction. The only thing that slowed me down outbound was a group of tourists from East-Timor (or Timor-Leste, not sure which is official) were going through security and clearly hadn't done this many times, they all got stopped for metal or prohibited foods and such.
Mar 1, 2015, 6:34 pm
#18
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: NH Plat
Posts: 652
Narita T2 used to have a horizontal elevator, but that had no rails and was taken out a couple of years ago. But no NRT monorail and the HND monorail is pretty ropey, reminiscent of transport around theme park.
Last edited by BalbC; Mar 1, 2015 at 7:26 pm
Mar 2, 2015, 8:47 am
#19
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
You will be pleased to learn that ANA will be replacing the 767 with 787-8 Dreamliners from July 1, 2015 on the HND-YVR route. Unfortunately, instead of the longhaul configuration with lie flat Business Staggered seats, it is the regional configuration with the angled Business Cradle.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:49 pm
#21
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE 2MM, too many others
Posts: 1,412
Mar 2, 2015, 3:48 pm
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ Diamond, Jiffypark Manhattan Gold
Posts: 4,485
I went on the Keikyu line to Shinagawa.
I would've called that a subway/metro/train. I guess I don't really use the term monorail outside of Disneyland.
But then I would call the Skytrain in Vancouver also a train, whether or not that's the appropriate technical designation.
I would've called that a subway/metro/train. I guess I don't really use the term monorail outside of Disneyland.
But then I would call the Skytrain in Vancouver also a train, whether or not that's the appropriate technical designation.
Mar 2, 2015, 4:34 pm
#23
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: NH Plat
Posts: 652
I went on the Keikyu line to Shinagawa.
I would've called that a subway/metro/train. I guess I don't really use the term monorail outside of Disneyland.
But then I would call the Skytrain in Vancouver also a train, whether or not that's the appropriate technical designation.
I would've called that a subway/metro/train. I guess I don't really use the term monorail outside of Disneyland.
But then I would call the Skytrain in Vancouver also a train, whether or not that's the appropriate technical designation.
The monorail used to be faster (and more expensive) than the Keikyu, but since a re-route they are pretty similar. The monorail stations are closer to the domestic terminals and there is more space for luggage, as well as a better view of the airport/Tokyo waterside. But the interchange at Shinagawa is is easier and more useful than the monorail interchange at Hamamatsucho.
Mar 2, 2015, 5:33 pm
#24
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SEA, NW/DL 1.6Million Miler
Programs: DL 1MM Annual Silver,AS 100K 22-24, AS 75K 15-21
Posts: 4,287
Um... Monorail....
So embarrassing to be discussing about this monorail. This one is a relic showcased ahead of 1964 olympics, what was perceived as a modern transit then, is far from modern transit in the current modern days. While they do have newly build rail cars built in 2014, some of the current rolling stock cars dates back to 1989. So outdated....
...and to think that they are extending the route, rather than outright replacement is boggling to me....
Jiburi
...and to think that they are extending the route, rather than outright replacement is boggling to me....
Jiburi
Mar 2, 2015, 5:50 pm
#25
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Tokyo
Programs: SPG LT Plat ANA Plat
Posts: 596
There are currently 2 access lines to HND: the Keikyu line, a normal private rail line, from the basement of the intTerminal and the Tokyo monorail. The original monorail cars were exactly identical to the ones in Tokyo Disneyland, so pretty much the same experience.
The monorail used to be faster (and more expensive) than the Keikyu, but since a re-route they are pretty similar. The monorail stations are closer to the domestic terminals and there is more space for luggage, as well as a better view of the airport/Tokyo waterside. But the interchange at Shinagawa is is easier and more useful than the monorail interchange at Hamamatsucho.
The monorail used to be faster (and more expensive) than the Keikyu, but since a re-route they are pretty similar. The monorail stations are closer to the domestic terminals and there is more space for luggage, as well as a better view of the airport/Tokyo waterside. But the interchange at Shinagawa is is easier and more useful than the monorail interchange at Hamamatsucho.
Mar 2, 2015, 9:10 pm
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
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I honestly thought (prior to researching it) that HND was like the "low cost" older airport of Tokyo, like Orly to Paris or Luton to London or something like that. This is what GMP ended up being. I got a good price on ANA to go YVR-HND-GMP and while I loved HND and the transportation on the Keikyu line and onwards was super easy, even speaking no Japanese. GMP was equally lame. It's clearly older and wasn't really designed to be much of anything. It's great for transportation, because it sits atop a Seoul metro station (though from INTL it's a bit of a walk), and it's closer to Seoul than ICN is by probably 15 minutes on the train. But customs were a bit slow, the airport is VERY drab, it's old, I didn't get a chance to check out the lounge because I didn't show up early enough, but I'd be curious to see what Asiana has done to make the lounge nicer than the rest of the terminal.
I actually really wanna fly to NRT one day, cuz I'm an airport nerd lol, ICN to a lesser extent too.
HND was kinda generic, to me it just didn't "feel like" Tokyo. I kind of expected it to be bustling and busy and crowded, I was looking forward to it. To my disappointment? it was a breeze. It's like flying to Burbank or SNA instead of LAX. You're in the same city, but the airport doesn't feel like LA. That can be a good thing and it can just be a little lame because like NRT sounds, I was hoping HND would be kind of a shopping mecca, more representative of Tokyo.
In any case, I would gladly fly to HND again and if I was any kind of Japan regular, it would be HND hands down unless NRT was significantly cheaper.
I actually really wanna fly to NRT one day, cuz I'm an airport nerd lol, ICN to a lesser extent too.
HND was kinda generic, to me it just didn't "feel like" Tokyo. I kind of expected it to be bustling and busy and crowded, I was looking forward to it. To my disappointment? it was a breeze. It's like flying to Burbank or SNA instead of LAX. You're in the same city, but the airport doesn't feel like LA. That can be a good thing and it can just be a little lame because like NRT sounds, I was hoping HND would be kind of a shopping mecca, more representative of Tokyo.
In any case, I would gladly fly to HND again and if I was any kind of Japan regular, it would be HND hands down unless NRT was significantly cheaper.
Mar 3, 2015, 2:10 am
#27
Moderator, All Nippon Airways and Japan
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TYO
Programs: NH SFC (*G), JL JGP (OWE), AS MVP, WOH E, IHG SE
Posts: 3,908
Since this thread has "derailed" (if you'll excuse the pun) into a discussion of HND airport and the monorail, I'm going to move it to the more suitable Japan forum.
Regards,
armagebedar
ANA (and Japan) forum moderator
Regards,
armagebedar
ANA (and Japan) forum moderator
Mar 3, 2015, 4:07 am
#28
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
The Tokyo Monorail was actually until recently the world's busiest monorail, with over 310,000 passengers on an average weekday, and has handled over 1.5 billion passengers since it opened. (For comparison, the entire BART system in San Francisco/Oakland handles barely 400,000/day.) It resembles the Disney monorails because they both licensed ALWEG's straddle monorail technology back in the 1960s.
It's also a pretty good solution for the area, since most of the monorail's route is over reclaimed land, with tons of waterways, channels and roads to hop over. The Keikyu train route, by comparison, makes a beeline for the shore and then runs on solid ground the rest of the way.
Anyway, JR is apparently somewhat seriously considering building a third line out to Haneda directly from Tokyo station, which would pretty much obsolete the monorail. Thread from 2013.
Mar 3, 2015, 7:01 am
#29
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE 2MM, too many others
Posts: 1,412
Putting on my Simpsons "Monorail Guy" hat:
The Tokyo Monorail was actually until recently the world's busiest monorail, with over 310,000 passengers on an average weekday, and has handled over 1.5 billion passengers since it opened. (For comparison, the entire BART system in San Francisco/Oakland handles barely 400,000/day.) It resembles the Disney monorails because they both licensed ALWEG's straddle monorail technology back in the 1960s.
It's also a pretty good solution for the area, since most of the monorail's route is over reclaimed land, with tons of waterways, channels and roads to hop over. The Keikyu train route, by comparison, makes a beeline for the shore and then runs on solid ground the rest of the way.
Anyway, JR is apparently somewhat seriously considering building a third line out to Haneda directly from Tokyo station, which would pretty much obsolete the monorail. Thread from 2013.
The Tokyo Monorail was actually until recently the world's busiest monorail, with over 310,000 passengers on an average weekday, and has handled over 1.5 billion passengers since it opened. (For comparison, the entire BART system in San Francisco/Oakland handles barely 400,000/day.) It resembles the Disney monorails because they both licensed ALWEG's straddle monorail technology back in the 1960s.
It's also a pretty good solution for the area, since most of the monorail's route is over reclaimed land, with tons of waterways, channels and roads to hop over. The Keikyu train route, by comparison, makes a beeline for the shore and then runs on solid ground the rest of the way.
Anyway, JR is apparently somewhat seriously considering building a third line out to Haneda directly from Tokyo station, which would pretty much obsolete the monorail. Thread from 2013.
Mar 3, 2015, 10:44 am
#30
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 1,220
Best thing about HND is the branch of Rokurinsha: http://www.haneda-airport.jp/inter/e...000/index.html