Chicago Tokyo
The hour you save flying to Narita instead of Haneda, you lose getting into the city. Haneda sits 14 km from central Tokyo. Narita is 60 km out, with a train ride that adds close to an hour before you reach most neighborhoods. All nonstop service runs from O'Hare on three carriers: United, All Nippon Airways, and Japan Airlines.
If you are staying in central Tokyo, book a Haneda flight. All three carriers fly there daily. If you are connecting onward in Japan or heading east of the city, Narita works fine, and the Narita flights run about an hour shorter in the air.
In economy, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines are both a step above United on meals and service. Pick whichever schedule works. If you fly United frequently and want the MileagePlus credit, the United 787 to Haneda is a reasonable ride.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines both have business class products that outclass United Polaris on this 13-hour flight. If you are going to pay up for a lie-flat on any flight you take this year, a transpacific on one of the Japanese carriers is the one.
From Haneda, the Keikyu Line puts you in Shinagawa in 15 minutes. From Narita, the Skyliner to Ueno takes 36 minutes, and then you still need to cross town. For Shinjuku, Shibuya, or Roppongi, Haneda wins door-to-door by about an hour.
Have a specific need? Use the decision guide below to filter by your airline, where you live, lounges, or where you're staying in Tokyo.
Pick What Matters to You
Best pair by where you're coming from
Best pair by where you're staying in Tokyo
Which pair your airline flies nonstop
| Airline | ORD–HND | ORD–NRT |
|---|---|---|
| All Nippon Airways | ✓ | ✓ |
| Japan Airlines | ✓ | ✓ |
| United Airlines | ✓ | — |
Ranked by on-time performance
Lounge access by airport and terminal
Ranked by flights per week
Getting to the airport
Red-eye vs daytime departures
Premium cabin options
Connecting through Chicago from a domestic flight
O'Hare has nonstop flights to Narita and Haneda every day. With around eight daily departures across three carriers, the schedule covers late morning and early afternoon windows. A connection through the West Coast or an Asian hub adds five to eight hours and a layover to a flight that is already 13 hours nonstop. The math rarely works. Book the direct flight.
Chicago & Tokyo Airport Profiles
Each airport has a personality. Terminal quality, transit access, lounge scene, and crowd levels vary dramatically — sometimes more than the flight itself.
Chicago Metro
O'Hare has four terminals: Terminal 1, Terminal 2, Terminal 3, and the international Terminal 5. There is no Terminal 4. The terminals spread across a wide footprint connected by the ATS train and underground walkways. Allow 15 to 20 minutes to move between them.
Terminal 5 sits apart from the domestic terminals and handles most international flights. The ATS train connects it to the rest of the airport. Afternoon peaks bring longer security and immigration lines. The terminal is functional and recently updated, but smaller than the domestic concourses.
Terminals 1, 2, and 3 form the domestic core, with more dining and lounge options. The Blue Line train to downtown stops under Terminal 2, accessible from any terminal via the ATS.
Tokyo Metro
Narita sits 60 kilometers east of central Tokyo in Chiba prefecture, and that distance defines the entire airport experience. Built in the 1970s when Haneda ran out of international capacity, the location was a political compromise that passengers have been paying for ever since. The airport itself works well: three terminals, clear English and Japanese signage, efficient security lines.
Terminal 1 handles most full-service international carriers. Terminal 2 splits between international and domestic service. Terminal 3 is the budget terminal for low-cost carriers, with a stripped-down fit-out and a long walk from the train station marked by a running track painted on the floor. Food across all three terminals is good, especially the ramen shops in T1 and the family restaurants in T2.
Inside the building, the experience is smooth. Immigration has e-gates for many nationalities. Duty-free shopping is extensive. The problem starts when you leave: you are an hour from central Tokyo by express train. If you miss the last Narita Express or Skyliner, the taxi ride into the city costs around 20,000 to 30,000 yen and takes over an hour on the highway.
Haneda is a city airport in every sense, sitting 15 kilometers south of central Tokyo on the edge of Tokyo Bay. Terminal 3 handles international departures. The building is modern, well-signed in English and Japanese, and compact enough that walking from immigration to your gate rarely takes more than 10 minutes. An observation deck on the top floor looks out over the runways with the Tokyo skyline behind them.
The fourth floor of Terminal 3 recreates an Edo-period street lined with restaurants. Ramen, tonkatsu, sushi, tempura. The food is better than it has any right to be inside an airport. Below the departure level, shops carry Japanese snacks, cosmetics, and last-minute souvenirs without the tourist-trap markup you find at Narita.
Domestic terminals (T1 and T2) are separate buildings connected by free shuttle buses. If you are connecting to a domestic flight to Osaka, Sapporo, or Okinawa after arriving internationally, budget 90 minutes for the terminal transfer and second security screening. Immigration moves faster here than at Narita because international arrivals spread through the day instead of hitting in one wave.
Which Airlines Fly Which Pairs
Not all planes are the same size. The aircraft type below each checkmark tells you whether you are getting a widebody (777, 787, A350) with wider seats and a quieter ride, or a narrowbody (737, A321) with a single aisle. On flights over five hours, the difference is significant.
777-300
787-8
777-300ER
777-200LR, 777-300ER
78X