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Plane Spotting at Keihinjima Tsubasa Park near Haneda Airport
I decided to go to Keihinjima Tsubasa Park to photograph the aircraft at Haneda Airport. It was my first time there. My day didn’t go flawlessly, but I left with the feeling I would go back one day.
The park was so close to the airport. In late 2021, I photographed the planes from Jonanjima Seaside Park. That place was only 800 meters from Haneda Airport’s fence, across Tokyo Bay. Keihinjima was even closer, with a gap of less than 200 meters.
That makes things easy for photography. The park is long and narrow, so you can walk its length taking pictures of the planes. With my Fujifilm 100-400 mm lens, the jets were huge in my viewfinder. I could see the details of the airport very well.
When I arrived, a few aircraft photographers were there. They all had big cameras with huge lenses. I think one Canon shooter even brought along an enormous 800 mm. Keihinjima Tsubasa Park is popular with local plane spotters.
My first visit left me with a favorable impression. It seemed family-friendly. There were toilets and drink machines. Car parking was available. It was perfect for plane spotting Haneda Airport.
The airport has four runways: A, B, C, and D. For my visit each one had a specific problem that day. They were:
A – was used only for arrivals on that day. Aircraft approached from the east, and I was in the west. I wasn’t able to photograph any of them.
B – wasn’t in use while I was there.
C – this was in use, but only for departures.
D – was in use that day, but it was roughly six kilometers away. That was too far, even for my 100-400 mm lens.
Another problem I had was the weather. The sky was cloudless. That left me with nothing but endless blue, which is boring for aircraft photography.
The pros of plane spotting at Keihinjima Tsubasa Park
- Great views of Haneda Airport’s A, B, and C runways.
- Plenty of toilets and benches.
- Car parking is available.
The cons of plane spotting at Keihinjima Tsubasa Park
- Runway D is far away (roughly 6 kilometers).
- Public transport to the park is very poor, especially on Sundays.
- Walking to the park from Ryutsu Center takes about forty minutes. With a backpack filled with camera gear, that can be a trial. In summer heat it would be tough.
- There are no convenience stores nearby.
Where is Keihinjima Tsubasa Park?
It is in Ota Ward, near the Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park. You have three options to go there:
- Walk from Ryutsu-Center, which takes about forty minutes.
- Car
- Take the number 36 Keikyu bus from Omori Kaigan Station to Keihinjima Kaijo Koen.
Click here to see it on Google Maps.
Wrapping up
Keihinjima Tsubasa Park is an excellent place for aircraft photography. I’m looking forward to my next trip there. It might be far, but the pros outweigh the cons. Please leave questions and comments below.
