Guide Note

Narita International Airport is located in the eastern section of the Greater Tokyo. It opened as New Tokyo International Airport on May 20, 1978.

Opposition to the recommended location for the New Tokyo International Airport began in 1966, as soon as the location was made public. Village property owner's in Shibayama and Sanrizuka didn't want to be forced out of their ancestral land. In 1971, the government started forcibly removing landowners. This after years of legal action by both sides and in some cases actual guerrilla warfare tactics. The last recorded anti-airport protest was in 1985.

Construction on the airport finally began, with the first terminal being completed in 1972. The runway construction was finally completed in 1978. The airport finally opened on May 20, 1978, after a two month delay due to protesters destroying most the equipment in the control tower.

Several runways in the original plans were postponed. Phase II completed the construction of these runway, as well as adding a second terminal. Construction started in 1986 and was completed in April 2002. Key points of phase II were the facts no private land was expropriated and that homeowners in the area were compensated for noise pollution.

Narita International Airport offers a variety of services and amenities to provide all creature comforts for travelers, who often have longer then average waits between flights. They are business support services, dentists, clinics, massage therapist, children's play areas, laundry facilities, etc. Narita's amenities and service are more on the order of a small city. There is an excellent food service facilities on both sides of passport control including Japanese, Chinese, Western and fast food. Narita's shopping area provides virtually all things a traveler might need and many that they wouldn't even think they needed and Narita's duty-free mall is the largest in Japan.

Fast Facts

1. IATA code: NRT
2. Elevation: 141 ft / 43 m
3. Located in: Narita, Chiba, Japan
4. Employs: N/A
5. 2006 passengers: 35,060,000
6. Terminals: 2
7. Runways: 2
8. Originally named: New Tokyo International Airport
9. Opened: May 20, 1978

Post Construction Facts

1. April 1, 2004 New Tokyo International Airport was privatized and renamed Narita International Airport
2. Due to previous major protests Osaka and Nagoya Airports were built offshore
3. Due to overcrowding at all Japanese airports incoming flights by all carries have been limited
4. Hyakuri Airfield scheduled to open in 2009 will help to relieve domestic passenger congestion