Every year, Japan welcomes millions of foreign tourists and travel enthusiasts flying into the country at Narita International Airport located in Chiba Prefecture. One of the major concerns of these travellers is the inadequate means of transportation available for passengers during late night hours. As a consequence, some of the overseas passengers and even airline staff may be left stranded at the airport during off-hours.
To address this concern, an official of Narita International Airport said that a number of bus operators, trains and rail way operators such as East Japan Railway Co. and Keisei Electric Railway Co have decided to extend their schedules in order to cater to both passengers and airport staff during late night arrivals considering that Chiba prefecture is relatively far at around forty miles outside of the country’s capital city, Tokyo.
In view of the much anticipated 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic games as well as the implementation of the Japanese government’s integrated resorts policy that permits certain establishments and businesses to allow gambling, the Land of the Rising Sun looks forward to achieve its goal to entice forty million tourists each year.
As such, flight routes are also adjusted so that more airplanes can land at Haneda International Airport, another major airport in Japan which was re-established for international flight ten years ago. Since Haneda is closer to Tokyo, more and more international tourists prefer to fly in and out of the said international airport rather than at Chiba.
To attract more tourists at Narita, the officials of Narita International Airport Corp. said that “With a change in late-night flight regulations and routes, and the accompanying increase in customers, we have been working with various parties to expand restaurant and retail options at the airport, while also securing ways for people to access the airport late at night.”
Reference: Late-night arrivals at Narita about to get easier with extra trains and buses
