Nipponica

The continuing development of Tokyo's railway infrastructure is fueling further growth of the capital's sprawling metropolitan area, solidifying its status as the world's largest with 37 million people -- about a third of Japan's total population.

The railway network growth has facilitated Tokyo's outward spread, attracting more people from rural regions to urban centers. The ongoing development includes investments in railways and redevelopment projects, with the future completion of the super fast Linear Chuo Shinkansen maglev line promising even faster commuting options, such as from Nagoya in central Japan to Tokyo.

Since the 2000s, redevelopment has led to a resurgence of migration to central Tokyo. The Greater Tokyo area, encompassing Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama, continues to expand both outward and inward.

Love the shoutout to Tsukuba and the Tsukuba Express commute as the example of urban growth in the Greater Tokyo region. TX forever!

Resembling shark fins poking above the waterline, the tails of taxiing airplanes are just visible over the tall white fence that separates Kinone Pension from the runways of Narita airport.

Like circling marine predators, the aircraft represent the threat the surrounding airport poses to the property that rises like a green island oasis from the asphalt.

A really cool visual history of Narita and the fight against its expansion by Kyodo.

The new direct services will shorten the current 45-minute trip to Keisei's nearest station to the tower by about 10 minutes and allow passengers to reach Tokyo Skytree without transferring to a local line, Keisei Electric Railway President Takao Amano said in the recent interview.

Keisei Electric Railway runs some train operations linking Tokyo and Narita airport, a major air transportation hub located outside the capital in neighboring Chiba Prefecture.

The more connections to Narita the better but is Skytree and eastern Tokyo a key area for additional connections?

Naoki Fujii, 64, a former vice-minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, took office as the president of NAA in June. Regarding the functional enhancement of Narita Airport, located in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, by adding a new runway and extending another, he stated, "It's meaningful to do what Haneda can't. We will leverage Narita's strengths." In his comments to various media outlets, he also expressed his intention to focus on diversifying the international flight network and expanding low-cost carrier (LCC) flights.

He emphasized the advantage of Narita's dedicated terminal for LCCs, stating, "We want to increase the number of people who choose to fly from Narita because of the lower fares," showing enthusiasm for the expansion of LCCs. He also mentioned strengthening the acceptance of business jets.

It is good that Narita is slowing finding its niche after Haneda’s expansion tanked Narita as the international hub in Tokyo. But, please, install a proper ceiling in Terminal 3. It just looks so bad as it is.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency is set to designate at least four cities in the country as “hometowns” for certain nations in Africa at the 2025 Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The agency, which assists with implementing development assistance in developing countries, will assign the city of Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture to Tanzania, Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture to Nigeria, Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture to Ghana and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture to Mozambique.

The purpose stated in the article is that it will promote two-way dialog and bring more population to these cities in Japan. But with an immigration system like it is now, is it realistic to expect that Africans could immigrate to Japan?

The number of foreign passengers using Narita Airport, near Tokyo, rose 1% in June from a year earlier to 1,849,269, a record high for the month, the airport's operator said Thursday.

The increase was led by flights to and from China, Narita Airport said.

The total number of international passengers, including Japanese, at the airport in Chiba Prefecture, was up 2% in June, at 2,670,104.

For awhile after Haneda evolved into the primary Tokyo international airport, the future of Narita seemed dark. But it has evolved into a hub again for long haul and low cost flights, catering to its own niche markets and not in competition with its cousin across the bay.