Photos by Takahiro Takiguchi ()
Though you may only know Haneda as the place where you go to fly in or fly out of Tokyo, there is much more to it than an airport.
Outside Haneda Airport is a thriving commercial hub with some exciting attractions to get you to spend a little more time exploring.
Earlier this year, another facility, Haneda Airport Garden also opened its doors in Haneda. The complex is directly connected to the airport arrival lobby and Keikyu/Tokyo Monorail Haneda Airport Terminal 3 station via a connecting walkway.
Keikyu Line trains also connect the airport and Haneda Airport Garden to the newly opened Haneda Innovation City. Later in 2024, free, autonomous shuttle buses will shuttle visitors between the facilities.
Haneda Airport Garden has 60 stores, 20 restaurants, a food court and a 1,717-room hotel complete with an onsen.
The shopping area also has a Japanese-styled promenade with 15 shops selling local items like wooden umbrellas, paper fans and more. Further down, the Haneda Sando shopping area with a torii gate-like entrance has vendors selling sake, kimonos and cosmetics. This section is like strolling Tokyo’s famous Asakusa district and is a great place for some last-minute souvenir shopping!
On the second floor, Hotel Villa Fountaine offers a relaxing rooftop hot spring bath overlooking the airport runway. Melt away your troubles in a relaxing setting and enjoy the planes departing from the airport nearby.
Hungry? There are two food halls in Haneda Airport Garden offering a variety of dishes, including Kobe beef shabu-shabu, udon and unagi eel.
Even if you don’t plan to spend the night or catch a few hours of sleep at the hotel, Haneda Airport Garden has plenty to entertain you if you have some time to spare before your flight.
Haneda Airport Website
Haneda Airport Garden Website
Location: 3-3-1 Haneda Kuko, Ota-ku, Tokyo
(Left) Hotel Villa Fontaine, (Right) Izumi Tenku no Yu (Left) Breakfast at Haneda Airport Garden, (Right) Food section Japan Promenade
Did you know?: Haneda was U.S. Army base from 1945-1952
Haneda Airport has a unique history as a U.S. Army base. The airport opened in 1931 and was known as Tokyo Hikojo (flying field).
In 1945, just after World War II, the airport was renamed Haneda Army Air Base, a military and civilian transportation base used by the U.S. Army and Air Force as a stop-over for C-54 transport planes departing San Francisco.
According to the Japan Science and Technology Agency, over 3,000 residents in the surrounding area were ordered to leave their homes to extend the two runways at the airport in September 1945.
During the Korean War, Haneda was the main regional base for U.S. Navy flight nurses, who evacuated patients from Korea to Haneda for treatment at military hospitals in Tokyo and Yokosuka. Military personnel based at Haneda were generally housed at the Washington Heights residential complex, which is currently used as Yoyogi Park, according to “Serving Proudly: A History of Women in the U.S. Navy,” by Susan H. Godson.
In 1952, the U.S. military returned the airport to Japan, and it became Tokyo International Airport, according to Ota City’s website.
(Left) Haneda Army Air Base returned to Japan at July 1, 1952 ceremony. (Right) Haneda Airport Control Tower in early 1950s. (Photos courtesy of Wikipedia)
