Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is facing a growing parking crisis, as travelers increasingly struggle to secure reserved parking spaces at Japan’s busiest airport that may have been gobbled up by brokers. 

Mounting complaints have prompted airport operators to revise the rules starting June 1, amid suspicions that reservation parking brokers are contributing to the shortage.

Ahead of this year’s spring Golden Week holidays, a man in his 40s from Tokyo described the chaos before his trip to Okinawa: “No matter how many times I refreshed the reservation page, nothing was available.”

With heavy luggage and the need to use his car for the return drive home, he resorted to lining up for a nonreserved parking spot the night before departure.

He left the vehicle at the airport and went home, only to return the next day by public transportation–a stressful workaround he called “crazy.”

Haneda Airport offers five parking facilities with about 13,000 total spaces. Of those, only 797 spaces across four lots are available for online reservation, which can be made from one month in advance for up to 14 to 20 days depending on the lot.

Reservation fees range from 1,000 yen ($6.80) to 2,800 yen, on top of parking charges, requiring users to register their name and vehicle number.

Since May last year, complaints about immediate full bookings have poured in. An internal investigation found that massive traffic engulfs the system the moment reservation-taking opens, with a disproportionate number of bookings coming from specific accounts.

In many cases, these account holders later changed their vehicle numbers and other reservation details.

10 TIMES THE OFFICIAL RATE

Online searches reveal multiple websites offering “reservation hacks” and “guaranteed secured slots,” with some charging as much as 30,000 yen--more than 10 times the official reservation fee--during peak periods.

Officials believe some of these services may be hoarding and reselling parking spots. In response, starting June 1, they will ban resales and prohibit users from changing the registered license plate number after booking.

In interviews with The Asahi Shimbun, most booking agencies claimed they merely provide reservation support using the customer’s name, denying any involvement in resales. One company, however, declined to comment.

“Agent services have surged over the past year,” one representative said. “It’s frustrating to be lumped together with those involved in illicit practices.”

Another industry representative pointed to a root issue: “The real problem is that there are too few reservation slots. This challenge isn’t going away anytime soon.”

PANDEMIC-DRIVEN SHIFT

An overall increase in car access to the airport appears to be contributing to the parking shortage.

According to transportation ministry data collected over the year leading up to January, eight months had more than 10 fully booked days per month across parking lots for domestic travelers.

The percentage of travelers coming to the airport in private vehicles rose to 14 percent in fiscal 2023, up from 8 percent in fiscal 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This suggests that the shift toward car use over public transportation during the pandemic has persisted.

To address this, the ministry has proposed several measures, including expanding pick-up and drop-off zones with cheaper short-term rates. Officials are also considering a fee increase for existing parking lots and the introduction of dynamic pricing based on congestion.

PARKING SHORTAGES NATIONWIDE

Other airports across Japan are facing similar challenges.

At Kagoshima Airport, where bus services have been reduced due to driver shortages, additional lots for 1,500 vehicles have been opened.

Matsuyama and Miyazaki airports are in talks with the government about expanding their facilities. Fukuoka Airport recently invested 5 billion yen in a new multilevel garage, which opened in April last year.

In February, Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture raised its maximum fee for 24-hour parking by 600 yen to 2,200 yen during peak travel seasons.

Chubu Airport near Nagoya will eliminate its flat rate for long-term parking starting in July, charging 1,000 yen per day instead.

(This article was written by Yuji Masuyama and Kazuki Uechi.)