TRANSPORTATION

It is very convenient to travel to Shizuoka. It takes about one hour from Tokyo by Tokaido Shinkansen and two to three hours by Tomei Expressway. Shizuoka is a strategic point in the route for traffic between east and west, and carries the main routes in Japan. More info

Shizuoka Airport

The Shizuoka Prefectural Government is constructing the Shizuoka Airport as a gateway to Shizuoka. The airport is scheduled to open in the near future and will serve as a hub for major cities in Japan and other Asian countries.

Administration: Shizuoka Prefecture
Location: Haibara and Shimada

Airport specifications:
• Runway: 2,500m in length, 60m in width, N112°
• Runway strip: 2,620m in length, 300m in width
• Reference point: 34°47'34" N; 138°11'33" E (center of runway)
• Altitude reference point: 132m above sea level

Main facilities:
Runway, taxiway, apron, terminal, localizer, glide path, approach lights

Other facilities:
Control tower, communication facility, meteorological facility, lighting system

Approach systems:
ILS (instrumental landing system), VOC (VHS omni-directional range)

Control systems: Aerodome, terminal radar

Buffer zone: Parks, greenery

International exchange between people and businesses spans the seven seas. In 1997, 420,000 Shizuoka residents traveled overseas to destinations such as, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong, the ninth highest total among the 47 prefectures of Japan. 269 Shizuoka-based companies maintain a total of 780 facilities overseas, mainly in East Asia.

The airport therefore aims to provide a regular schedule of international flights to encourage international exchanges throughout the world and to provide convenient air traffic to the people of Shizuoka located at the center of Japan.

Although Shizuoka currently has no airport of its own, its residents rely greatly on air transportation for travel and cargo shipment. In fiscal 1991, 1.13 million people traveled domestically on airplanes. The airport authorities thus hope to expand the routes to the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions in the future.

Shizuoka Prefecture is located in the approximate center of Japan and faces the Pacific Ocean. It stretches 155km (96 miles) from east to west and 118km (73 miles) from north to south. Its area of 7,779km2 (3,003 sq. miles) is blessed with abundant nature - ocean, mountains and lakes. Within Shizuoka, one can find topography representative of the entire country.

The airport will be constructed close to the prefecture's center, atop a hill in a corner of Makinohara Heights, and will command a brilliant view of majestic Mt. Fuji. Positioned halfway between Tokyo and Nagoya, the airport will be the closest to the Tokyo metropolitan area. It will be approximately 230km from Haneda Airport and 180km from Nagoya Airport.

There is now a plan for building a new station on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, which runs below the location for the airport terminal. If the station is built, it will be the first time a Shinkansen line and an airport are connected, and access to the airport will be dramatically improved. The airport will then play a supplementary role to the airports in the Tokyo metropolitan area.