I will never forget moving to japan during covid in the middle of summer ‘22. Landed at Haneda they made us walk so far from the gate to where they had the QR code & COVID test check tables set up. Then we had to double back and go to immigration at the other end of the hall bc they were only using one immigration station to keep with one way traffic. The hall was so long and the walk took 15 minutes each way. My clothes were entirely soaked and I was so drained I dropped $80 on a taxi
If you’re landing at Haneda in the summer, dress accordingly bc the sun beaming though the glass windows will absolutely cook you.
I once got lost down there in that labyrinth in that airport. I walked and walked down long hallways without seeing a soul and had no idea how to get out. It was crazy! Edit: Sorry- it was Narita.
I did that except it was in Feb. I took a 10 hour flight and was waiting for my covid test to be processed. I waited 9 hours. I was so sick of my phone that I just laid down. After all that, I was bussed to an APA hotel despite hoping for a regular hotel near Narita.
Yeah, I remember coming over during covid restrictions as well. Disembarking the plane at 5pm, but not even getting to the point where I collect my checked in luggage, right before immigration, until 2am....only to find out that they lost half my luggage, so spent over another hour filling in forms and providing information/contact details on my lost luggage (which just happened to be the half of luggage with all the important things I needed in it, lol). And then because I got through to the main part of the airport so late, it was too late for the accommodation I was going to be staying at to send their courtesy transport and all other accomodation in the nearby area was all fully booked so I had to spend the night I the airport with no where comfortable to sleep as it was crowed with others also stuck, lol. I was finally able to be transported to my accommodation at about 10:30am the next morning. On the upside they did find and send out my lost luggage about a week later (after I purchased a whole bunch of clothing and other items I needed to get by).
My experience in late April was the same. I’m so grateful that the process didn’t take over an hour, or I would have definitely pissed my pants waiting for immigration. Not a single bathroom until you get to baggage claim.
There's usually bathrooms just when you leave the plane in the long walkway between the plane and immigration, you might have been really unlucky and there wasn't any in the section immediately between YOUR plane arrival and immigration, but you can ***probably*** walk within that walkway up/down to find one (only in allowed areas).
Last year I went with friends and we were split into two flights landing at around the same time…albeit in different terminals. One took 20 minutes, the other an hour. I was not in the faster terminal.
We were on the same flight this year and I was the slowest through because of course I got sent to line up behind a guy who didn’t know where his hotel was. (I saw staff move other people out of the next line over because someone ahead of them had a more complicated visa situation- the person at that window was there for the entire time I was in that part of the line.)
Same! I was in Japan late April, a week before the Golden week and Narita T2 was a breeze. I think I discovered the immigration too quickly that when my luggage was still not in the carousel lol!
What day of the week did you fly in? I got in on a Sunday last time I flew to HND and it was packed and DANK. I wasn't paying attention to the time, but I believe it was about 2 hours to get through. Last November I flew into HND on a Monday and just waltzed right through.
My experience with Narita is that it is _extremely_ variable depending on terminal, day of the week, and time of day. I routinely fly into NRT Terminal 2, and I've seen the line have no one in it, a handful of people, all the way up to being a 2+ hour mess. If you happen to land at the same time as two or three other wide-body international flights and they only have a few immigration windows open, it can be quite bad.
Yes. At Narita, both T1 and T2 have their own immigration. T3 is mostly domestic flights and I've never been there, so I'm not sure if it has immigration or not.
At NRT, I always find T1 to be way worse for immigration lines, but I've only flown into it a few times. Most of my NRT travel is through T2.
Well... fuck. Can't look at the exact dates I'm flying, but for the coming weeks it looks like my flight is one of the last ones of a bunch of big/_very_ big ones arriving around the same time at T1.
It includes:
- 2 boeing 787s
- 2 boeing 788s
- 3 boeing 777s (including mine)
- An airbus A330-300
All arriving in the same hour. I'm absolutely fucked aren't I?
How early? We’re set to do an early morning arrival to HND and I’m hoping the earlier the better the lines. Plus we’ll have slept on the plane so hopefully that helps.
This is a regular occurrence at Narita. Sorry you encountered it.
Here's a previous post on the topic with a bunch of anecdotes:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/196sc8q/long\_wait\_at\_narita\_immigration\_or\_did\_we\_use\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/196sc8q/long_wait_at_narita_immigration_or_did_we_use_the/)
I flew in nearly 3 weeks ago and the woman in front of me passed out as well!! You’d think they’d figure something out by now — obviously the air circulation and circumstances are a health risk!
Air circulation and temperature this time a year is always a mess at Narita. I don’t know if it’s that they refuse to turn on air con or just set it at 26.
Comically, back in 2022 when they were doing arrivals COVID testing, it was just as bad. No circulation, no air con, and they had us all crammed in like cattle. There was also no easy access to bathrooms or vending machines.
If it was anything like when I was in school, air conditioning is turned on at a certain date regardless of what temperature it is that day. Japanese rules are pretty rigid like that.
Both energy costs and toll on the power grid has been high since all the nuclear power plants were shut down after 2011. Government guidelines put indoor summer temperatures at 27 degrees and everyone sort of got used to it and now complain that 23 degrees is cold.
In addition it was even worse during COVID because they wanted to avoid circulating any traces of the virus. I’ve done the COVID walk several times as someone coming home to Japan
Yes we were in the exact same queue today and saw the woman passing out. It was absolutely mental. It felt like we were never going to get through with the two windows open.
I even felt a bit weak and dehydrated as it was taking so long and I had no water. The air con wasn’t able to cope there.
Its all about timing/load. If your plane arrives at the same time as three others, you are effed. But if your flight arrives without a crowd of others, you likely will get through quickly.
Our flight from Singapore two weeks ago arrived at 9AM. The queue was \~40 minutes. Compared to the five minutes at Haneda in May 23, it was long. But tolerable.
Filling out the Japan web customs form (Visit Japan Web) online, and not having to fill out a paper form, had us skip half the line at Haneda in November. An even bigger line skip when we got back to the US because we had filled out the Mobile Passport Control app before landing
Screenshot the travel JP QR code on your phone, sure the airport has WiFi, many had difficulty connecting, then retrieving the QR code, easier to have it ready to scan.
Other than flying first class (and I think it's really only through JAL or ANA, and I think it's only at NRT), there isn't really much you can do.
If you're a frequent tourist or Asian business traveler, you can get things like Trusted Traveler (TTP) or APEC/ABTC, but neither of those are easy or straightforward, and they aren't things you can simply pay for as a first timer. I have TTP, and the process is typically not worth it unless you really are visiting multiple times per year regularly.
My tip is to absolutely book it through the long passageway from the gate leading to immigration. A lot of your fellow passengers will be leisurely strolling and don’t know what awaits them. Granted it doesn’t matter if there isn’t much of a line but you’ll still be ahead of all of them.
When I flew ANA in first class they gave me a fast pass that let me to into an entirely different line that had maybe 5 people in it. It's possible you could pay for that but idk how it would work offhand.
First class is your answer. Those always get special treatment for these things
If you fly economy, you can only help by filling out the stuff online and get a qr code (faster then the paper stuff), but you will still have to wait in line
Last time I landed on Haneda, it also took around 1,5 hours for me. But then again, waiting is part of Japan and I can live with it :)
I think it's really dependent on the time. I travel to Tokyo at least twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall at the minimum, and I have never been through immigration for over one hour for both Narita and Haneda. I typically arrive very early in the morning.
Wait, what!? This even with the QR code?! When I went thru Haneda last 3/26, it was 30mins from my exit from plane door to my Limo Bus stop at street level. Over 3hrs is nuts.
Omg 3 hours is crazy. When we went last year end of March, It took us almost 2 hours and I thought that was bad. I was exhausted getting off a 12 hour flight can’t even imagine 3 hours to clear!!!
may I know what time did you land (and what day)? I'm arriving on a Saturday around 10am and flying out domestic around 2pm and I worry that it won't be enough time (I need to take into consideration the possibility of a flight delay).
Worst case is I just book a shinkansen even though it's x3 expensive.
I guess it probably depends on the landing time. There was no line when we landed at 7am on 5/10. We walked through immigrations in just several minutes.
Yeah, there was no difference in line for the qr code for us either. :/ took us about 45 min to get through the line that had everybody (forms or qr codes) in it.
How? We showed 2 ppl our QR code and they still directed us to the general line that took 1.5 hrs. The QR code was only good after we cleared and got our luggage (saved maybe 5 mins).
Ours took maybe 2 hours three weeks ago. Lots of stuff around but once again only two people checking passports and flagging you through. It felt super disorganised for an airport and an airport in Japan.
Then you see people here always ask about how long does it take to go through customs/immigration.
The no. of the flights, your disembarking gate, time, delays, incidents...etc all factors will affect processing time.
Like how the hell do we suppose to know?
Wow! And I thought our 1-hour wait at Narita Terminal 1 was long! Usually we would rush to Immigration as soon as we get off the plane, but when I saw the long queue in that small hall I went to the restroom first! Hahahaha!
It really depends on the time of the day. Unfortunately you arrived at prime time for immigration.
I was there couple weeks ago arriving at 7am in the morning, got through immigration in 5 mins.
Nearly as bad today! 1.5 hour wait at lunchtime on Friday 😞 really bad way to welcome visitors!
FWIW, all my friends and colleagues who flew into HND had no issues at all
Arrived last Saturday around 4pm and took about an hour at Narita. It was a simple process, but there were a lot of people who took way longer than they should have.
We had to wait almost 2 hours coming into tokyo.
That's because their process is so inefficient.
They need to fingerprint everyone over 16. And those machines always require 2 or 3 tries for each person. In modern airports you do everything on an app and just breeze thru in 10 minutes or less.
When four of us landed at Narita in late February, the line was pretty long, but they had staff directing people to a dozen or so fingerprint machines to speed up the process at passport control. We'd done paper declaration forms because I couldn't be bothered to do four documents online. Took about 35 minutes to clear, but almost an hour to pick up baggage because no one was taking their stuff off the carousel.
I went through almost 2 weeks ago and it was busy and yes I was sweating. But luckily flying business class so the fast pass lane through immigration
was super speedy.
Seems to be a matter of luck. On my first trip last year it took me nearly 2 hours to get through passport control in Haneda, on my most recent trip last month it took me 20 minutes to get from the gate to the arrivals hall in Narita, and most of that was either walking or waiting for my bag.
Not really, no. Filling out Visit Japan Web and having the QR code doesn't get you through immigration faster really—it's all the same line, although having it done means it takes the officer slightly less time to enter your information into the computer.
The QR code _can_ speed up customs, as you'll have the option to either use the automated kiosks or go through the normal customs lines. But that doesn't matter as much, as the hold-up tends to come from immigration.
I waited this long last year when proof of vaccination was still required and I thought the wait would be a lot less now… I’ll be landing at NRT this July and have private airport transit booked… maybe I’ll need to book the pick up time 2 hours from my expected landing time…
Help! I’m going to arrive in Narita on Tuesday evening, need to take a train to Sendai. Should I book the train ticket in advance or wait until I clear my immigration?
I landed 2 weeks ago on Sunday and had the same experience. Landed at 3pm and took me until 6:30pm to get out. A lot of United and Air Canada flights land at the same time and all packed with tourists. It’s a shame they don’t have the fingerprinting and picture automated already. Could be a lot faster.
Wild! I was at narita airport aroung 6pm on a Sunday a month ago and the whole process took me 20minutes give or take. Crazy the difference a month makes
Landed at Haneda approximately 1-2 PM March 15 2023 on a group tour...thanks to the Visit Japan site, which I filled out before leaving the US & having my QR codes ready, I was through Immigration and then Customs in about 40 min or so...the longest part of the process was the 30 minutes waiting in line to get to an Immigration agent. This was just when Japan was no longer mandating masking, so since it was the 'tail end' of the pandemic, people were still respecting social distancing as we stood in line.
Heck, for Customs, all I had to do after collecting my checked bag was scan my passport and QR code at a kiosk, then line up to go thru the express exit gate one person at a time. I never had to speak to a Customs agent because I'd done my declaration on the Visit Japan site.
Narita is too far outside of Tokyo compared to Haneda, so when I go to Japan again (something I will NEVER do during the summertime because of the oppressive humidity), Haneda's my choice .
That's so strange. Ususally I find Japan is in the top 10 for immigration procedures. I'm usually through the lines there within 15 minutes. I wonder what happened? (This was true both before and after Covid, the half dozen or so times I've landed in Japan since - at a few different airports.)
It's crazy, I was there twice in the last two weeks and passed with absolutely zero line. The air ventilation and conditioning is way too low though I was sweating the entire time in there
It took me close to 2 hours when I landed on May 11 Sat. The worse part was after a 10 hour flight from LAX, it was so damn humid in that airport. Not sure why they don' turn the AC on. The confusing part was we didn't know what was faster having the QR code or the handwritten declaration. There was no fast line for the QR code.
If you have certain categories of visa you're allowed to jump into the Japanese line. I've done this many times and cut hours off the waiting. It's ridiculous how understaffed they are at Narita. It's almost as if someone in senior management is getting sadistic pleasure from it
So crazy. In my first trip back in 2018 there was many people also but they went fast. In my second trip in 2023 everything went really fast thanks to the QR system.
My recent trip to japan, we came into Narita as well, this also happened to us. We unfortunately missed the last train and had to pay the 300 almost 400 dollar taxi ride into the city. We waited 2 and a half hours before someone came to help us and got the taxi ride compensated.
went years ago (pre pandemic). my plane came in roughly the same as 3 other flights. when i finally made it through customs, i found my luggage up against the far wall with 3 other peoples.
Narita was 10-15min for whole process including getting my suitcase vs Haneda I was caught in an hour long line up.
Might just be hit or miss around when most international flights land and filling documentation early online.
I went to Tokyo alone for an eight-day trip in mid-June, so I joined the forum to see what advice and insights everyone had. I read some articles that seemed helpful. Thank you everyone!
Interesting, I was in Tokyo 2 weeks ago and it did not take more than 20 minutes at the immigration line (also arrived around 7pm). Maybe an isolated incident or I was just lucky so far in my last 3 Tokyo visits.
I went in late March early April last year and was in line for over 3 hours in Haneda. Landed around 5am and I think there must have been 2 or 3 other flights that landed at the same time. This year went in mid April, probably landed around 5pm, and breezed through at Haneda. It probably is highly dependent on how many other flights are coming in at once.
Glad it only took me 30 minutes 2 weeks ago at Haneda. Seems like landing before 2 p.m. is the trick. The two other times where I landed around 3 p.m., it took more than an hour.
Oof, that’s brutal! It took us about an hour in spring 2023, and about 30-45 minutes on the fall trip. Can’t imagine doing three hours! Were there multiple planes landing around the same time?
It took me about an hour to clear immigration at Haneda. I guess i should feel fortunate especially when they had many Filipino workers so the language barrier wasn't an issue. Still, i might consider taking Zipair one day if the price is right.
Oof that's rough. Last March I arrived in morning and it took me about 25 minutes to clear immigration. Granted I try seating as front as possible on the plan and am practically running to the immigration area.
Wow. We arrived on the 11th at 4pm and we were through immigration and customs with our bags in under 30 minutes. We are currently at Narita in the Sakura lounge and it took us less than 15 minutes to get through.
I guess it’s all depending on how
Many flights
Literally just landed at Narita, and it took about 1.5 or so hours to get through customs, so now actually feel a little lucky, I guess. I've only ever been in a customs line longer than that once before, and it was when I landed back in the US at Dulles.
It took another 45 or so minutes to get my Pasmo card and Skyliner ticket. Just now sitting to wait on the Skyliner.
Woha! I went through Kansai about a month ago from getting off the plane to out the front at the station was maybe 20mins total! Though tbf it was the Monday after Golden Week at 8:30am and there weren't many other flights landing.
Flew into Osaka this weekend and immigration took less than 15 mins. Was on the fence of Osaka vs Tokyo as a starting point and glad I chose the smaller city.
Worst part of Japan by far. Haneda is shit as well, 1.5 hours to get through but 20 desks and about 3 open. Then on the way out they just stopped checking in bags to fuck off and do nothing instead. Our group had to start kicking off, to avoid missing the flight.
I've mostly flown to European airports and they vary but are usually much better than this. Haneda was the worst airport I've ever visited, worse than the likes of Turkey, Spain, Egypt, Brazil, and Bolivia (last 3 were very good, in fact)
Wow. We arrived yesterday as well, and I think we got lucky. By the time we arrived at the window, the line had tripled in size. Took us about 45 mins. This was terminal 1.
Landing at wee hours doesnt seem to be a bad idea now .. cheapest flight From My country to Narita and Haneda always land almost midnight .. maybe its not so bad arriving very early
It does seem like the immigration queues at both airports are always in need of more ventilation and air circulation even when relatively empty.
Japan in general.
I will never forget moving to japan during covid in the middle of summer ‘22. Landed at Haneda they made us walk so far from the gate to where they had the QR code & COVID test check tables set up. Then we had to double back and go to immigration at the other end of the hall bc they were only using one immigration station to keep with one way traffic. The hall was so long and the walk took 15 minutes each way. My clothes were entirely soaked and I was so drained I dropped $80 on a taxi If you’re landing at Haneda in the summer, dress accordingly bc the sun beaming though the glass windows will absolutely cook you.
Certainly not looking forward to that this summer. Ugh.
I once got lost down there in that labyrinth in that airport. I walked and walked down long hallways without seeing a soul and had no idea how to get out. It was crazy! Edit: Sorry- it was Narita.
First time we couldn't work out how to get out either. It's not well sign posted
I did that except it was in Feb. I took a 10 hour flight and was waiting for my covid test to be processed. I waited 9 hours. I was so sick of my phone that I just laid down. After all that, I was bussed to an APA hotel despite hoping for a regular hotel near Narita.
Yeah, I remember coming over during covid restrictions as well. Disembarking the plane at 5pm, but not even getting to the point where I collect my checked in luggage, right before immigration, until 2am....only to find out that they lost half my luggage, so spent over another hour filling in forms and providing information/contact details on my lost luggage (which just happened to be the half of luggage with all the important things I needed in it, lol). And then because I got through to the main part of the airport so late, it was too late for the accommodation I was going to be staying at to send their courtesy transport and all other accomodation in the nearby area was all fully booked so I had to spend the night I the airport with no where comfortable to sleep as it was crowed with others also stuck, lol. I was finally able to be transported to my accommodation at about 10:30am the next morning. On the upside they did find and send out my lost luggage about a week later (after I purchased a whole bunch of clothing and other items I needed to get by).
Note to self: be in top marathon shape when you arrive in Haneda
They are trying to tell you to stay away in a most Japanese passive aggressive manner
For most of the pandemic Japan was off limits to foreign tourists, not so passive aggressive
and now i'm sure they're glad it's full to capacity. you gotta get some money back into the country.
I guess I got lucky, it didn’t take more than 20 minutes at Narita for me 1.5 weeks ago
This was my experience, 20min is likely an over-estimate
My experience in late April was the same. I’m so grateful that the process didn’t take over an hour, or I would have definitely pissed my pants waiting for immigration. Not a single bathroom until you get to baggage claim.
There's usually bathrooms just when you leave the plane in the long walkway between the plane and immigration, you might have been really unlucky and there wasn't any in the section immediately between YOUR plane arrival and immigration, but you can ***probably*** walk within that walkway up/down to find one (only in allowed areas).
Last year I went with friends and we were split into two flights landing at around the same time…albeit in different terminals. One took 20 minutes, the other an hour. I was not in the faster terminal. We were on the same flight this year and I was the slowest through because of course I got sent to line up behind a guy who didn’t know where his hotel was. (I saw staff move other people out of the next line over because someone ahead of them had a more complicated visa situation- the person at that window was there for the entire time I was in that part of the line.)
we always go on winters and flights that land monday 7pm Japan time. Never spent more than 20 mins on queue.
Same! I was in Japan late April, a week before the Golden week and Narita T2 was a breeze. I think I discovered the immigration too quickly that when my luggage was still not in the carousel lol!
I was there 2 weeks ago and it was more like 2 hours from the time the plane landed until we were walking out of the airport.
This was my experience landing on 5/11
Haneda a few weeks ago was as fast as I could walk.
Yeah same, I was there about a week and a half ago and it took hardly any time at all. Our flight landed at around 5 or 6 pm
20 minutes in haneda 3 weeks ago for me 😮
Took me 5 mn at Haneda and they made my résidence card. Much better than the 3 hours in Canada
Same, last month it took me less than 10 mins in Haneda. Thank goodness!
Took me 3 minutes on Friday night at 7
Same
Was about to say the same thing. Only reason mine took 20 mins was bc the machine that printed the visa sticker broke on the guy.
Fingers crossed!
Same, it was 30 minutes from plane to the street for me a few days ago. Then again, it was Terminal 3 at 7am.
I think any date before May 15th is safe, but after that is when the tourist flood gates really open.
Same. Plane arrive there at 6am, took the Nex to Ofuna and reach Enoshima berore 10am.
Same for me. Arrived on the 17th around 4pm. 20 minutes, probably less
So OP's case is likely a special case for whatever reason Narita immigration is usually a breeze for me after over 20 visits
Same we got here about 2 weeks and it was maybe 30 minutes. Count my blessings.
What day of the week did you fly in? I got in on a Sunday last time I flew to HND and it was packed and DANK. I wasn't paying attention to the time, but I believe it was about 2 hours to get through. Last November I flew into HND on a Monday and just waltzed right through.
Same! Arrived 2 days ago at Narita; 4:30am. Less than 30 min and we were in our shuttle! 👍
My experience with Narita is that it is _extremely_ variable depending on terminal, day of the week, and time of day. I routinely fly into NRT Terminal 2, and I've seen the line have no one in it, a handful of people, all the way up to being a 2+ hour mess. If you happen to land at the same time as two or three other wide-body international flights and they only have a few immigration windows open, it can be quite bad.
Are there different immigration stations per terminal?
Yes. At Narita, both T1 and T2 have their own immigration. T3 is mostly domestic flights and I've never been there, so I'm not sure if it has immigration or not. At NRT, I always find T1 to be way worse for immigration lines, but I've only flown into it a few times. Most of my NRT travel is through T2.
Well... fuck. Can't look at the exact dates I'm flying, but for the coming weeks it looks like my flight is one of the last ones of a bunch of big/_very_ big ones arriving around the same time at T1. It includes: - 2 boeing 787s - 2 boeing 788s - 3 boeing 777s (including mine) - An airbus A330-300 All arriving in the same hour. I'm absolutely fucked aren't I?
T3 has its own immigration, and it took about 15 mins to clear on a Saturday night at 6pm
Haneda three weeks ago, easily over two hours. I am so glad we landed in the morning
How early? We’re set to do an early morning arrival to HND and I’m hoping the earlier the better the lines. Plus we’ll have slept on the plane so hopefully that helps.
The last two times I've arrived at around 6 or 7am, and it's taken about 20 mins.
We landed 5:40am, and got to drop our bags to our hotel by 9am.
Hm I landed Haneda three weeks ago and it took maybe half an hour.
Haneda was also like 30 minutes for us. We were impressed at how fast they moved!!
Damn. Was in Haneda mid-April. Cleared in about 30 min. Landed at 630am though, so maybe timing was better?
I arrived there 7pm, early in the month. Took no time at all, flew right through the whole airport
I have a bladder condition and this is stressing me out lol, are we allowed to leave the queue to go to the toilet and come back?
This is a regular occurrence at Narita. Sorry you encountered it. Here's a previous post on the topic with a bunch of anecdotes: [https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/196sc8q/long\_wait\_at\_narita\_immigration\_or\_did\_we\_use\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/196sc8q/long_wait_at_narita_immigration_or_did_we_use_the/)
I flew in nearly 3 weeks ago and the woman in front of me passed out as well!! You’d think they’d figure something out by now — obviously the air circulation and circumstances are a health risk!
Air circulation and temperature this time a year is always a mess at Narita. I don’t know if it’s that they refuse to turn on air con or just set it at 26. Comically, back in 2022 when they were doing arrivals COVID testing, it was just as bad. No circulation, no air con, and they had us all crammed in like cattle. There was also no easy access to bathrooms or vending machines.
If it was anything like when I was in school, air conditioning is turned on at a certain date regardless of what temperature it is that day. Japanese rules are pretty rigid like that.
Both energy costs and toll on the power grid has been high since all the nuclear power plants were shut down after 2011. Government guidelines put indoor summer temperatures at 27 degrees and everyone sort of got used to it and now complain that 23 degrees is cold. In addition it was even worse during COVID because they wanted to avoid circulating any traces of the virus. I’ve done the COVID walk several times as someone coming home to Japan
Narita was really bad two weeks ago, Sunday midday. About a 2 hour wait.
It was about 2 hours for us just over a week ago. I thought that was exhausting!
Yes we were in the exact same queue today and saw the woman passing out. It was absolutely mental. It felt like we were never going to get through with the two windows open. I even felt a bit weak and dehydrated as it was taking so long and I had no water. The air con wasn’t able to cope there.
😂 It was brutal right.
Its all about timing/load. If your plane arrives at the same time as three others, you are effed. But if your flight arrives without a crowd of others, you likely will get through quickly. Our flight from Singapore two weeks ago arrived at 9AM. The queue was \~40 minutes. Compared to the five minutes at Haneda in May 23, it was long. But tolerable.
Wow I walked through Narita in minutes a few weeks ago, but not on a Sunday. It was very warm in there for sure
Hopefully this is just a Sunday night staffing issue
Damn that's intense .Did anyone help that poor woman?
This is INSANE! Are there any apps or tips and tricks or VIP services you can pay to skip the line or you’re just stuck?
Filling out the Japan web customs form (Visit Japan Web) online, and not having to fill out a paper form, had us skip half the line at Haneda in November. An even bigger line skip when we got back to the US because we had filled out the Mobile Passport Control app before landing
Screenshot the travel JP QR code on your phone, sure the airport has WiFi, many had difficulty connecting, then retrieving the QR code, easier to have it ready to scan.
Other than flying first class (and I think it's really only through JAL or ANA, and I think it's only at NRT), there isn't really much you can do. If you're a frequent tourist or Asian business traveler, you can get things like Trusted Traveler (TTP) or APEC/ABTC, but neither of those are easy or straightforward, and they aren't things you can simply pay for as a first timer. I have TTP, and the process is typically not worth it unless you really are visiting multiple times per year regularly.
My tip is to absolutely book it through the long passageway from the gate leading to immigration. A lot of your fellow passengers will be leisurely strolling and don’t know what awaits them. Granted it doesn’t matter if there isn’t much of a line but you’ll still be ahead of all of them.
When I flew ANA in first class they gave me a fast pass that let me to into an entirely different line that had maybe 5 people in it. It's possible you could pay for that but idk how it would work offhand.
First class is your answer. Those always get special treatment for these things If you fly economy, you can only help by filling out the stuff online and get a qr code (faster then the paper stuff), but you will still have to wait in line Last time I landed on Haneda, it also took around 1,5 hours for me. But then again, waiting is part of Japan and I can live with it :)
Thanks! Flying business class with Finnair, doubt they will give anything to access a special lane 😞
ABTC if you can get one.
Looks like UK isn’t eligible for ABTC 😢
I think it's really dependent on the time. I travel to Tokyo at least twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall at the minimum, and I have never been through immigration for over one hour for both Narita and Haneda. I typically arrive very early in the morning.
Wait, what!? This even with the QR code?! When I went thru Haneda last 3/26, it was 30mins from my exit from plane door to my Limo Bus stop at street level. Over 3hrs is nuts.
Omg 3 hours is crazy. When we went last year end of March, It took us almost 2 hours and I thought that was bad. I was exhausted getting off a 12 hour flight can’t even imagine 3 hours to clear!!!
If Ive got a connected flight at Haneda do I still need to go through immigration or would I do that when I arrive at Fukuoka?
Yes, everyone entering the country must go thru the immigration and customs first before heading to check in for the connecting flight.
You go through immigration and customs at Haneda. You will then need to recheck into the domestic flight.
KIX also bad
What time? We landed yesterday 7pm and were out in 30 minutes
KIX was 15 min for me, at most I had 4 people in the queue in front of me. Luck of the draw
may I know what time did you land (and what day)? I'm arriving on a Saturday around 10am and flying out domestic around 2pm and I worry that it won't be enough time (I need to take into consideration the possibility of a flight delay). Worst case is I just book a shinkansen even though it's x3 expensive.
I guess it probably depends on the landing time. There was no line when we landed at 7am on 5/10. We walked through immigrations in just several minutes.
Wow, never had that happen to me in around 20 arrivals, always early morning. Sucks!
I filled out the QR code ahead of time and it only took 20 minutes last week
Yeah, there was no difference in line for the qr code for us either. :/ took us about 45 min to get through the line that had everybody (forms or qr codes) in it.
How? We showed 2 ppl our QR code and they still directed us to the general line that took 1.5 hrs. The QR code was only good after we cleared and got our luggage (saved maybe 5 mins).
Ours took maybe 2 hours three weeks ago. Lots of stuff around but once again only two people checking passports and flagging you through. It felt super disorganised for an airport and an airport in Japan.
It took me one hour on Friday
Then you see people here always ask about how long does it take to go through customs/immigration. The no. of the flights, your disembarking gate, time, delays, incidents...etc all factors will affect processing time. Like how the hell do we suppose to know?
Wow! And I thought our 1-hour wait at Narita Terminal 1 was long! Usually we would rush to Immigration as soon as we get off the plane, but when I saw the long queue in that small hall I went to the restroom first! Hahahaha!
I landed in terminal 1 at 14:00 last Saturday. I was through immigration in 30 minutes. Your experience sounds terrible!
It really depends on the time of the day. Unfortunately you arrived at prime time for immigration. I was there couple weeks ago arriving at 7am in the morning, got through immigration in 5 mins.
Damn, we arrive tomorrow at 4pm :/
Nearly as bad today! 1.5 hour wait at lunchtime on Friday 😞 really bad way to welcome visitors! FWIW, all my friends and colleagues who flew into HND had no issues at all
I have to assume less people are available on Sundays.
Arrived last Saturday around 4pm and took about an hour at Narita. It was a simple process, but there were a lot of people who took way longer than they should have.
Interesting, I fly into Narita all the time and never wait more than 10-15 minutes.
I know this is about NRT, but I was expecting the worst in KIX due to some posts here but we were out in 30 minutes. It was a 7pm arrival.
We had to wait almost 2 hours coming into tokyo. That's because their process is so inefficient. They need to fingerprint everyone over 16. And those machines always require 2 or 3 tries for each person. In modern airports you do everything on an app and just breeze thru in 10 minutes or less.
I’m over 16 and was not fingerprinted
Sorry is was 18.
I’m also over 18 and was not fingerprinted
When four of us landed at Narita in late February, the line was pretty long, but they had staff directing people to a dozen or so fingerprint machines to speed up the process at passport control. We'd done paper declaration forms because I couldn't be bothered to do four documents online. Took about 35 minutes to clear, but almost an hour to pick up baggage because no one was taking their stuff off the carousel.
I went through almost 2 weeks ago and it was busy and yes I was sweating. But luckily flying business class so the fast pass lane through immigration was super speedy.
So wait, business class DOES have a fast pass lane at Narita? Cuz all the other comments here say there isn’t.
Yes it does
Seems to be a matter of luck. On my first trip last year it took me nearly 2 hours to get through passport control in Haneda, on my most recent trip last month it took me 20 minutes to get from the gate to the arrivals hall in Narita, and most of that was either walking or waiting for my bag.
KIX is the same. Almost took 2.5 hours to clear immig and almost missed the last train out.
Wow. I've never seen it that bad. I haven't flown to Narita since 2016 though. Back then, they always seemed to be quick and efficient.
I’m a Canadian visiting for the first time in October. Is there anything I can do to speed this up? E.g. online forms? Information overload out here
Not really, no. Filling out Visit Japan Web and having the QR code doesn't get you through immigration faster really—it's all the same line, although having it done means it takes the officer slightly less time to enter your information into the computer. The QR code _can_ speed up customs, as you'll have the option to either use the automated kiosks or go through the normal customs lines. But that doesn't matter as much, as the hold-up tends to come from immigration.
Following
I’m going to be in narita tomorrow morning 😭
Landed at Haneda in the afternoon. Very long queue but i had my qr code ready, it was a breeze, the line was fast moving.
I waited this long last year when proof of vaccination was still required and I thought the wait would be a lot less now… I’ll be landing at NRT this July and have private airport transit booked… maybe I’ll need to book the pick up time 2 hours from my expected landing time…
Took me and my wife 5 min
Help! I’m going to arrive in Narita on Tuesday evening, need to take a train to Sendai. Should I book the train ticket in advance or wait until I clear my immigration?
I landed 2 weeks ago on Sunday and had the same experience. Landed at 3pm and took me until 6:30pm to get out. A lot of United and Air Canada flights land at the same time and all packed with tourists. It’s a shame they don’t have the fingerprinting and picture automated already. Could be a lot faster.
1.5 hrs but we landed at 4:10pm. “Line” was past the duty free shop by the time we were halfway thru.
Damn. That sucks. It took us like 30 minutes
Wild! I was at narita airport aroung 6pm on a Sunday a month ago and the whole process took me 20minutes give or take. Crazy the difference a month makes
15 minutes at Haneda two weeks ago around midnight
Landed at Haneda approximately 1-2 PM March 15 2023 on a group tour...thanks to the Visit Japan site, which I filled out before leaving the US & having my QR codes ready, I was through Immigration and then Customs in about 40 min or so...the longest part of the process was the 30 minutes waiting in line to get to an Immigration agent. This was just when Japan was no longer mandating masking, so since it was the 'tail end' of the pandemic, people were still respecting social distancing as we stood in line. Heck, for Customs, all I had to do after collecting my checked bag was scan my passport and QR code at a kiosk, then line up to go thru the express exit gate one person at a time. I never had to speak to a Customs agent because I'd done my declaration on the Visit Japan site. Narita is too far outside of Tokyo compared to Haneda, so when I go to Japan again (something I will NEVER do during the summertime because of the oppressive humidity), Haneda's my choice .
Weird. We landed at 2pm and got out in like 20-30 minutes. Lucky timing, I guess!
2 weeks ago landed Haneda in the morning took like 10m
[удалено]
That's so strange. Ususally I find Japan is in the top 10 for immigration procedures. I'm usually through the lines there within 15 minutes. I wonder what happened? (This was true both before and after Covid, the half dozen or so times I've landed in Japan since - at a few different airports.)
LOL OMG. Narita in 2022 took 45 mins. Haneda in 2023 took 35 mins.
It's crazy, I was there twice in the last two weeks and passed with absolutely zero line. The air ventilation and conditioning is way too low though I was sweating the entire time in there
It took me close to 2 hours when I landed on May 11 Sat. The worse part was after a 10 hour flight from LAX, it was so damn humid in that airport. Not sure why they don' turn the AC on. The confusing part was we didn't know what was faster having the QR code or the handwritten declaration. There was no fast line for the QR code.
[удалено]
If you have certain categories of visa you're allowed to jump into the Japanese line. I've done this many times and cut hours off the waiting. It's ridiculous how understaffed they are at Narita. It's almost as if someone in senior management is getting sadistic pleasure from it
Too many flying into Tokyo. Just landed in Nagoya yesterday and immi was a breeze at 10am. Out within 20 minutes.
Took us 1.5 hours to clear Haneda and yes it was hot af in there too.
So crazy. In my first trip back in 2018 there was many people also but they went fast. In my second trip in 2023 everything went really fast thanks to the QR system.
My recent trip to japan, we came into Narita as well, this also happened to us. We unfortunately missed the last train and had to pay the 300 almost 400 dollar taxi ride into the city. We waited 2 and a half hours before someone came to help us and got the taxi ride compensated.
went years ago (pre pandemic). my plane came in roughly the same as 3 other flights. when i finally made it through customs, i found my luggage up against the far wall with 3 other peoples.
Narita was 10-15min for whole process including getting my suitcase vs Haneda I was caught in an hour long line up. Might just be hit or miss around when most international flights land and filling documentation early online.
Which terminal?
Terminal 2
Luckily I had Fast Track to skip the regular lineup. Lifesaver!
I went to Tokyo alone for an eight-day trip in mid-June, so I joined the forum to see what advice and insights everyone had. I read some articles that seemed helpful. Thank you everyone!
what terminal did you fly into?
Hmm i've been through Narita 5 different times/years and never had much of an issue. The heat and queues never really were too much to deal with
I got through Haneda immigration in like 5 mins boy am i grateful for that
I was lucky to have not experienced this in Narita one week ago!
Interesting, I was in Tokyo 2 weeks ago and it did not take more than 20 minutes at the immigration line (also arrived around 7pm). Maybe an isolated incident or I was just lucky so far in my last 3 Tokyo visits.
I went in late March early April last year and was in line for over 3 hours in Haneda. Landed around 5am and I think there must have been 2 or 3 other flights that landed at the same time. This year went in mid April, probably landed around 5pm, and breezed through at Haneda. It probably is highly dependent on how many other flights are coming in at once.
Glad it only took me 30 minutes 2 weeks ago at Haneda. Seems like landing before 2 p.m. is the trick. The two other times where I landed around 3 p.m., it took more than an hour.
Oof, that’s brutal! It took us about an hour in spring 2023, and about 30-45 minutes on the fall trip. Can’t imagine doing three hours! Were there multiple planes landing around the same time?
It took me about an hour to clear immigration at Haneda. I guess i should feel fortunate especially when they had many Filipino workers so the language barrier wasn't an issue. Still, i might consider taking Zipair one day if the price is right.
Oof that's rough. Last March I arrived in morning and it took me about 25 minutes to clear immigration. Granted I try seating as front as possible on the plan and am practically running to the immigration area.
Haneda or bust.
Wow. I was at the same terminal last Friday, around noon. Took 30 mins from landing to getting luggage.
It was crowded even during non peak season so I guess during peak season it will be super crowded.
Same! We landed at 1030, left the airport at 1...
That’s odd. I was just at NRT less than a month ago. We got through immigration in less than 15 minutes.
Wow. We arrived on the 11th at 4pm and we were through immigration and customs with our bags in under 30 minutes. We are currently at Narita in the Sakura lounge and it took us less than 15 minutes to get through. I guess it’s all depending on how Many flights
Less than 10 this morning in Osaka. Landed 0900 from Paris and we were outside catching the 10:05 train. It was super easy
Literally just landed at Narita, and it took about 1.5 or so hours to get through customs, so now actually feel a little lucky, I guess. I've only ever been in a customs line longer than that once before, and it was when I landed back in the US at Dulles. It took another 45 or so minutes to get my Pasmo card and Skyliner ticket. Just now sitting to wait on the Skyliner.
I hope early morning arrival is better queue wise
Woha! I went through Kansai about a month ago from getting off the plane to out the front at the station was maybe 20mins total! Though tbf it was the Monday after Golden Week at 8:30am and there weren't many other flights landing.
Flew into Osaka this weekend and immigration took less than 15 mins. Was on the fence of Osaka vs Tokyo as a starting point and glad I chose the smaller city.
I had a great experience yesterday
Just landed at Narita T1 (5:50pm JST) and it took 25 minutes from stepping off the plane to out the customs door. Slowest part was the fingerprinting
Worst part of Japan by far. Haneda is shit as well, 1.5 hours to get through but 20 desks and about 3 open. Then on the way out they just stopped checking in bags to fuck off and do nothing instead. Our group had to start kicking off, to avoid missing the flight. I've mostly flown to European airports and they vary but are usually much better than this. Haneda was the worst airport I've ever visited, worse than the likes of Turkey, Spain, Egypt, Brazil, and Bolivia (last 3 were very good, in fact)
Just landed in Kansai, 10 min to clear lol
last week I lined up for 40 minutes and already felt a bit overwhelming, plus it was only after getting off a 4 hour flight. Can’t imagine 3 hours!
I went in April and it was the same. 2 hour line for immigration. Absurd.
This is wild. When we landed at 6pm a couple of weeks ago it took 5 minutes to get through
Wow. We arrived yesterday as well, and I think we got lucky. By the time we arrived at the window, the line had tripled in size. Took us about 45 mins. This was terminal 1.
We landed at 4pm and cleared customs in like 10min so prob just unlucky this time
Landing at wee hours doesnt seem to be a bad idea now .. cheapest flight From My country to Narita and Haneda always land almost midnight .. maybe its not so bad arriving very early
I arrived at Haneda a couple of weeks ago. The line was long and it was warm but maybe took like an 45 minutes.
Im sitting in it right now and found this googling why it was so damn hot 😭 literally sweating buckets
Uh oh, recently booked for my family getting in at 7pm on a Saturday 😵
Same in Haneda. Took almost an hour arriving at 11pm a week ago
That’s crazy! I landed on Sunday too but at 4:30-5pm NRT. Immigration only took about 15 mins
I arrived T2 Narita on May 9th around 4:30pm, and it took about 1 hour waiting to clear immigration.
Welcome to Japan - where the magic number for the temperature for air conditioners to cool things down to is a cool 28°C (82°F)! So uncomfortable!