What to Know If You Have an Upcoming Trip to Japan

04.01.2024 - 20:29 / cntraveler.com

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.

Japan has been hit with two national tragedies in the first week of 2024, leaving the country mourning and travelers wondering what to do about upcoming plans.

On Monday, January 1, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s Noto Peninsula, leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured. Then, in a runway accident on Tuesday, a Japan Airlines plane and Japanese coast guard aircraft collided at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, killing five coast guard crew members who were on their way to deliver aid to victims of the earthquake. All 379 people on the Japan Airlines plane were safely evacuated before the passenger aircraft caught fire, the AP reports. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

“Between the terrible earthquake and crash, the New Year has gotten off to a challenging start in Japan,” says Andres Zuleta, a travel specialist at Boutique Japan. “We know authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, but as someone who has flown Japan Airlines countless times, I was not surprised to hear that the flight crew was able to safely evacuate every single person off the plane in an orderly and efficient fashion. It's a small but meaningful silver lining in what has been an unusually turbulent New Year's period for Japan.”

While three of the airport's four runways reopened Tuesday night, the runway where the incident occurred is currently closed, an information center operator at the Haneda Airport told Condé Nast Traveler Wednesday, saying that it is unclear when the runway will reopen.

At least 140 flights were canceled Wednesday as a result of the closed runway, according to the AP, impacting approximately 20,000 Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways passengers, Japan's state broadcaster NHK reported. Haneda Airport experienced average arrival delays of approximately two hours on Thursday, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.

Travelers flying in or out of the Haneda Airport anytime this week should contact their airline for details regarding flight schedule disruptions, a statement posted on the airport's website says.

Beyond the batch of recent flight cancellations, the incident isn't expected to significantly affect most international travelers to Japan, Zuleta tells Traveler, as many airlines and flights continue to fly into and depart from Haneda. Additionally, Tokyo has two major airports, with a significant portion of international flights arriving and departing from Tokyo’s Narita, he says.

“Most travelers visiting Japan as tourists depend more on Japan’s extraordinary and extensive railways to get around the country (domestic flights are useful for some journeys within Japan, but the majority of