Photo/Illutration Bus tour participants take photos of an airplane in the restricted area at Haneda Airport in Tokyo’s Ota Ward on July 22. (Michinori Ishidaira)

Plane-spotters and people curious about airport logistics can take a tour airside at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, where a bus company is running tours inside the restricted zone on weekends.

The tour by Hato Bus Co., based in Tokyo's Ota Ward, allows participants to alight from the bus within the restricted area and get a visceral sense of aircraft power at close quarters.

“I was surprised to learn an airplane looks so big up close,” said Yuki Nomiya, a third-grader from Tokyo’s Minato Ward, who was visiting with two family members. “The engine noise was so big, too.”

The double-decker bus tour is billed the “Haneda Airport best view drive.”

A stop of about 10 minutes near a runway allows participants to alight and take photos or just bask in the sensory overload of airplane noise and movement.

Hato Bus discovered demand for the tour last year, when it first took groups airside. Around 6,500 people took that tour.

Safety is essential when operating in an area that contains obvious hazards. The tour operator put scrupulous safety measures in place this year so that participants could enter the restricted area.

“This tour provides an extremely rare experience,” a Hato Bus official said. “We hope its participants will discover a fresh appeal of Haneda Airport, a gateway to the world.”

Around 60 individuals took the bus on July 22, the first day of the tour. Some snapped photos as aircraft roared before their eyes.

The tour operates three times a day on Saturdays and Sundays, except on Aug. 12 and 13. Reservations are taken through Sept. 9. The Japanese-language website of Hato Bus has details.

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