Nipponica

All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Thursday that, together with a U.S. startup, it hopes to have electric "air taxis" whizzing over Japan from as early as 2027.

ANA and California-based Joby Aviation said they will establish a joint venture with a view to deploy more than 100 of the five-seater aircraft.

An ANA spokesman said on Thursday that the aircraft, designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers at speeds of up to 320 kph, could be in service from as early as 2027.

ANA bringing traffic jams to the skies of Tokyo Bay.

The British company Skytrax recently announced the winners of its 2025 World Airline Awards. Regarded as the top prizes in the aviation industry, the awards began in 1999. All Nippon Airways was fifth and Japan Airlines ninth in the World’s Best Airlines category.

Much love for my two home airlines, but the most interesting part of this article is the chart of historical places in this survey. ANA has always been consistent, but JAL was in the 20s and 30s a decade ago. An amazing turnaround for the flag carrier.

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.

Japan’s only passenger hovercraft service carrying riders between Oita Airport in Kunisaki, Oita Prefecture, and Oita City was launched on Saturday.

The service takes just 35 minutes to travel between the two sites, compared to about an hour by road, making the airport more accessible than it was before.

I know they are fairly commonplace now, but the word hovercraft still excites the 10 year old in me.

It is said that home is the place you long for when you are lost in the world. The place where you can be the person you are rather than the person you have to be.

For your narrator, this place is the land that lies beyond the sliding doors that separate the void from the Arrivals Floor in Haneda Airport in Tokyo Bay. Past the immigration sentries, the luggage daycare, and the passage of non-declaration, those doors are a portal to the country that took me in when I was lost in the world many years ago.