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Part of the reason why Peterson and I love Tokyo so much is because of the fantastic plane spotting you can do at multiple locations around Haneda International Airport. If you intend to do a lot of plane spotting when you’re in Tokyo, it’s a good idea to find accommodations near the airport.

If you want to stay right in the airport itself, there are two hotel options: the Royal Park, or the Haneda Excel Tokyu. After comparing the two hotels, we ultimately decided on the Haneda Excel Tokyu in Terminal 2, since they offer runway view rooms, which are hard to beat. The runway view rooms cost a surcharge of $100 per night, which I thought was pretty steep, but we decided to take the hit anyways for the special vantage point.

Haneda Terminal 2 is mainly used by ANA and Air Do for domestic flights within Japan. The entrance to the Haneda Excel Tokyu Hotel is located all the way to the northern side of the terminal building on departures level, past all the check-in counters. There are also a set of elevators near the hotel entrance that connects to the arrival level.

Immediately upon arrival, a member of the staff greeted us and directed us towards the left where the check-in counters were located. Our luggage was placed on a cart for us while we checked in to our room. After a quick check-in process, we were escorted up to our room on the fifth floor by one of the hotel staff.

The Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu is actually quite an expansive hotel. There are over 100 rooms on the fifth floor alone. We could also tell from the amount of walking we had to do to get from the elevators to our room 5242.

My first impression of the room was that it was considerably spacious for a Japanese hotel, similar to their Western counterparts. There was still room to walk around after laying out all four of our luggage, which I really appreciated.

Walking into the room, you can find the bathroom on the left through a sliding door, and a wardrobe on the right.

Further in, you can find a large king bed, a desk area with plenty of drawers, and a lounge chair and side table by the window out into the apron.

The highlight, as with any airport hotel, is the view that you get from the room, and this room did not disappoint.  The proximity of the planes at the gate is pretty spectacular! It’s like you are looking out at your plane from the boarding gate itself.

Available on the bed were two neatly folded sets of pajamas.

Room lighting controls were available on the side table, as well a power outlet, and a large 6-port USB power bank.

The bathroom contained some packaged amenities including toothbrush, hairbrush, razor set, mouthwash and cotton set. A set of Shiseido products are available for the shower.

The shower itself didn’t look fancy, but the shower head pressure was really good. A set of Shiseido products are available.

Of course, a Japanese toilet was available behind another set of sliding doors.

The room itself was very well insulated from the noise outside as I could barely hear the planes at all. (I’m not sure that’s a good thing, as I really wouldn’t mind hearing those engine startups 😉 )

The location of the hotel in the airport makes it a prime location if you’re planning on doing a lot of plane-spotting. The observation deck in Terminal 2 is just several set of escalators up, while the observation decks at Terminal 1 and the International Terminal are a short 10 min ride away on the free shuttle bus service that runs frequently. While there is a restaurant in the lobby called Flyer’s Table, there is also easy access to many restaurants and shops in the terminal. Haneda is such an amazing airport and I can easily spend a full day there!

Check out some of the shots that I took from the room itself.

In Summary:

A runway view room at the Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu is a plane spotter’s dream. Sure, the price is a little steep for the upgrade, but in my opinion, well worth it. The room is really big, and not something you’d usually find in Japan. The staff are friendly and courteous, and the amenities provided in the room are great. The convenient location of the hotel means easy access to all spotting locations around the airport, as well as a variety of restaurants and shops.

Where do you stay when plane spotting in Tokyo? Please comment below to share your experience with us! Also, let us know what you thought about this review. If you want more reviews and trip reports like this one, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter.