After Narita and Haneda, will this be Tokyo’s third airport?
Could Ibaraki, located 80km northeast of central Tokyo, become the city’s next airline hub?
By Staff Writers, November 5 2025
Tokyo’s two major airports - Haneda and Narita – are nearing their limits.
With international travel rebounding and Japan aiming to double its annual visitor numbers by 2030, the country’s capital gateway is under pressure to expand its aviation capacity.
Narita Airport is already undergoing a major expansion, with a third runway under construction and an existing one is being extended.
These upgrades, along with a redesigned terminal layout, are expected to increase Narita’s annual flight capacity from 340,000 to 500,000 by the end of the decade.
Passenger capacity will also rise, from 57 million to 75 million per year. Even so, demand is projected to outpace supply.
Haneda, meanwhile, is constrained by its location near central Tokyo and the surrounding urban development.
It’s already operating close to full capacity, and further expansion is limited.
That’s where Ibaraki Airport, a smaller regional facility located about 80 kilometres northeast of central Tokyo, comes in.
Opened to civilian traffic in 2010, Ibaraki Airport has mostly served domestic flights and a few international routes to places like Taiwan and China.
It’s a no-frills facility with lower landing fees and a single-level terminal.
Unlike Narita and Haneda, there’s no train station at the airport, although there’s a bus link to Ishioka Station on the JR Joban Line.
From there, travellers can take a direct train to Ueno Station in central Tokyo, with the full journey taking around 90 minutes.
While not seamless, it’s a workable option for those who prefer rail over highway buses.
Local officials are now pushing to upgrade the airport and attract more airlines. Restrictions on international flights have recently been lifted, and there’s talk of expanding services to Southeast Asia and beyond.
Still, Ibaraki faces challenges. It’s not well known, and its location isn’t ideal for most travellers.
The lack of direct rail access is a drawback, and passenger numbers remain modest. For now, it’s a regional airport with limited reach.
But as Japan looks for ways to manage long-term growth in air travel, Ibaraki is part of the conversation.
Whether it becomes a meaningful third option for Tokyo depends on infrastructure investment, airline interest, and how much pressure the existing airports can absorb.
06 Feb 2021
Total posts 73
Japan needs to be careful in wanting to increase its tourist numbers to that extent. There are already cities, like Kyoto, that are struggling to cope at times with the sheer number of people moving around at any one time, and visiting specific locations. Amongst the main attractions in Japan are the temples, and the gardens, but if you have to queue up to get into the former, and can't enjoy the peace of the latter due to crowding, it will lose its attraction.
You cannot complain about overtourism when you ARE the problem, but they need to ensure Japan's main attractions do not become like Venice or central Barcelona. It's also apparent that a number of tourists are failing to observe the standards of behaviour that are "the norm" in Japan, ie., don't eat in the street, don't talk on your mobile phone on public transport, etc., and increased tourism is likely to make this worse. In the end, what makes the country an attractive destination may be destroyed, and the desire to visit then fades away.
With regard to claiming an airport two hours out of a city serves that city, OK I guess if Ryanair is your benchmark., otherwise forget it.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on After Narita and Haneda, will this be Tokyo’s third airport?