Arriving at Haneda Airport after a typhoon

I arrived at Haneda Airport around 7 pm on June 3rd, 2026, just after a major typhoon had eased in the Kanto plain. Our flight was one of thousands of flights across Japan delayed due to typhoon #6 on June 3rd. I don't know the exact number of flights that were delayed at Haneda Airport, but as one of the principal airports I would speculate that it was in the hundreds, if not more than a thousand. 

Few flights had arrived on the morning or afternoon of June 3rd. With the result that on the evening of June 3rd, dozens of flights were arriving in close proximity. When we were waiting in Helsinki Airport, Finland, we could see on the flight board that there were at least five flights waiting to fly to Japan from Finland alone. Two (one of which was ours) were going to Haneda, one to Narita, one to Osaka and another to Nagoya. The Osaka one was the first to take off, about an hour before us, the Narita flight took off about a half hour before we did. The other Haneda flight and the Nagoya flight were scheduled to take off after us.

I was expecting chaos when we arrived at Haneda Airport, but much to my delight the airport staff had the situation under control. There was a huge queue for immigration for tourists, but the queues for both Japanese citizens and anyone holding a Residence Card were moved along swiftly. I have waited longer on a normal, non-typhoon day! The suitcases came out promptly too and the customs were also efficient in letting people through. 

To be perfectly honest, getting to arrivals may have even been quicker than usual! However, when we got through to arrivals the airport was busier than I have ever seen any Japanese airport in my 25 years in Japan. You could barely move with all the people. Luckily, we were picked up so I didn't have to endure the crowds we could see at the train station and bus stops. For us, overall, it wasn't half as bad as experience as I expected arriving to an airport after a typhoon.

That's Godzilla in the background! You can see him at the departure area until the end of 2026. More details and photos.