A night in the pub with a copy of the OAG to determine where we could fly, at what times and most importantly where the YS-11's flew, resulted in the following itinerary:

Tokyo-Narita and Haneda, then Osaka-Itami and Kansai, before heading south to Kagoshima then on to Nagoya before heading north to Sapporo and finally returning back to Tokyo. All the internal flights were in the evening to maximise the daylight at each airport.

We had looked at using Japan Rail but with hindsight that would have been a mistake - flying minimised wasted time and a jaunt in to Tokyo one night made us realise how complicated the Japanese rail system was - unless of course you can read Japanese !!!

A few general points:

DAYS 1 & 2 (7th/8th June 2003)

Following a very civilised 11:00am departure from BHX, we arrived in Munich at 13:50 local time and had a short stay in the transit area before departing for Tokyo at 15:50 for the 11hr 25min flight to Tokyo Narita. Tokyo is 8 hours ahead of the UK so when we arrived it was already gone 10:00am in the morning. Once we had cleared Immigration, claimed our luggage and passed through Customs we entered the arrivals concourse and met up with Kenichi (Ken) Suda, a local Tokyo spotter who had kindly offered to show us the "outside" spots at Narita.

We boarded Ken's mini-van complete with two sets of step-ladders and headed off. Narita has two runways and both are used simultaneously for arrivals and departures. However 16R/34L is the primary runway as it is longer and serves Terminal 1 and the cargo area. Runway 16L/34R is shorter and whilst most types can land on it (we did in the A340), only 767 and smaller tend to use it for departures. During our 2 days at Narita, runway 34 was used throughout denying us the great photo opportunity that departures on 16R offer - maybe next time!!!

We commenced and anti-clockwise circuit of the field and our first stop was the 34L threshold but a recently added secondary fence has made this spot unfriendly to photographers unless you are happy to take airborne shots. We continued on with a quick stop at the Aviation Museum (located south of the cargo area) to photograph the YS-11, MU-2 and other helicopters and light aircraft preserved there. Then it was on to a spot just to the south of the main taxiway linking the two runways and the two terminals where we spent an hour or so - no ladders needed here. This spot can only be reached by car. Next was a spot alongside the threshold of 34R, where the ladders were needed as there is a high fence, but there was little landing on this runway at the time and all that did was American AA B777s and a NW A320 !!! A couple of Fair CRJ's landed to be fair and a few taxied out to take off including an Eva 767.

Ken said he knew a better spot alongside 34L so off we sped down country lanes and dirt tracks before stopping under some trees. We then set off on a 15 minute jungle trek and came out in a superb spot where both landing and take-off shots could be had - this was however deep in the Japanese undergrowth and without local knowledge you would never find it in a month of Sundays !!! Thanks Ken. We spent the rest of the afternoon here then went in to downtown Narita for an evening meal and a beer before bidding farewell to Ken as we checked in to the Marroad Hotel for our first night in Japan.

The Marroad Hotel is a high quality hotel at a decent price (a twin room was £61.50) and is bookable over the internet - as were all our hotels in Japan. The room was very welcome as it was now over 36 hrs since we had slept. We had room 1001 which has a good view over the cargo area. Other rooms have an excellent view of the 16R threshold and the hotel understands spotters so you can make a request for such rooms.

Photo's taken at Narita from the Perimeter

DAY 3 (9th June 2003)

The Marroad has a free shuttle bus to both Terminal 1 & 2 so, with Terminal 1 facing almost west, we headed there first. You need your passport as this is checked at a vehicle checkpoint as you enter the terminals area.

You need to buy a ticket for the coach from the ground floor desk before going outside to join the queue for the coach. The cost of a one-way journey between Narita and Haneda is 3,000 Yen and the journey took us just 1hr 10mins but can take over 2 hours if the traffic is bad which it often can be. Frequency is about 2 an hour but beware, they do cease at around 21:00pm so don't leave it too late. More details can be found at

Two days at Narita were plenty - the place is dominated by wide-bodies from JAL, Japan Asia, ANA, Northwest, United and Continental with many of the world's long haul airlines visiting too. Some of the more interesting movements being Air Tahiti Nui, the Asian carriers, Mongolian Airlines (B738), Iran Air (747SP) and of course, the freighters. Many of the JAL, JAA and ANA aircraft you see here are different to those you see at Haneda.

We arrived at Haneda airport then caught the free shuttle bus to the Haneda Tokyu Hotel for a two night stay. The hotel is located close to the threshold of runway 04, across the road from where the old terminal was before the airport was redeveloped. We had room 514 which has good views over the cross runway, the hangar area and the west runway although distance prevents much being read-off. The hotel is showing its age but it is easily reached and a handy base for spotting at Haneda. A twin room cost £101.12 per night. The hotel has a top floor bar with large windows overlooking the airport - but it closes at 10:00pm !!

Photo's taken at Narita from the Terminals

DAY 4 (10th June 2003)

We awoke to another sunny day and the sight of a Gulfstream Four (JA002G), a Globex (JA005G), 2 x Saab 2000's (JA003G & 004G) and a YS-11 on the JCAB ramp. I headed out early for a 30 minute walk to read them all off before meeting Andy back at the hotel to board the free shuttle bus back to the terminal.

Haneda is currently undergoing a massive construction program with a second terminal well under way. The current terminal has a superb observation deck that is again free and fenced but with plenty of camera holes. There are chairs to sit on and drinks vending machines on the deck, food is again available from the shops in the terminal. Haneda is very busy with Tokyo's domestic offerings with JAL, ANA and JAS evident in their hundreds. The airport has two parallel runways, again 16/34L & R and the cross runway is 04/22. One of the parallels is used for arrivals, the other for departures and the cross runway was only used by aircraft using the hangar area. The observation deck is good till 11:30 then you need to go walkies if you want the sun to be on the right side of the aircraft. A road around the new terminal construction site (15 mins walk from T1) offers a low bridge where shots can be had of aircraft landing/departing on 16L/34R. The fence is high and you need something to stand on to shoot over the top - there were some handy sacks of sand available that made an ideal platform. Again, no shade and don't forget to take some drinks with you - it gets hot out there in June!!

Three YS-11's in total were present - N4047C still in full JCAB colours (this had gone when we returned at the end of the trip), JA 8744 ex ANK devoid of titles (gone on day 2) and JA 8701 of the Japanese Coast Guard which was parked in the hangar area for the two days.

By 18:00 we'd had enough and returned to the hotel to shower and change. We had decided to venture in to Tokyo that night so caught the shuttle bus back to the airport and boarded the monorail in to the main rail station in central Tokyo. It was here that we found how complex the rail system is and after a lot of faffing about we managed to get directions to the subway to reach our destination, Rappongi, where we had been told there was a Hard Rock Cafe, a TGI Fridays, an Irish Pub and many other restaurants - we weren't disappointed. If you go to Tokyo, make sure you pop downtown one night - its worth the effort. Having done it once, the return journey was much easier but we still commented to each other that flying was the right decision to have made compared to using the rail system!!

Photo's taken at Haneda from the Terminal Observation Deck

Photo's taken at Haneda from the road bridge close to 16L/34R

DAY 5 (11th June 2003)

We awoke to a grey and murky day, the Gulfstream had departed the day before but the others remained so need need for a morning walk. After checking out it was back on the shuttle bus to the terminal observation deck.

After one day at Haneda you've pretty much seen all the colour schemes you're going to see and the interest comes down to different registrations or managing to catch some of the special colour schemes that still exist in Japan. Sadly, all the Disney 747's are gone but we did manage to catch the Pokemon 747, the SNA 737s, the Air Nippon 737 with a Dolphin on it, the Air Do and Skymark 767's and an Air Nippon Network DHC-8.

After spending all day on the T1 roof - we decided against another walk in the afternoon as all we would get were similar shots to the day before - we headed downstairs to check-in for our first ANA flight to Osaka-Itami. The system is different to the UK and you check-in your ticket at one counter and get your boarding pass, then go to another counter to have your suitcase screened and checked-in. Everything done, we headed airside and found a food outlet to have a beer and something to eat. Whilst sat here, the Pokemon 767 taxied past so cameras out much to the amusement of the other diners!!

We pushed-back in our ANA B747-400D (JA 8956) at 19:30 for the 46 minute flight to Itami - a bizarre experience to fly for such a short period on a 747 with 500+ Japanese on board all in economy seats - it was just like getting on a bus!!!

Landing at Itami at 20:30, we claimed our bags and made for the Airport Hotel accessed from inside the terminal. We spent 3 nights here at a cost of £81.88 per night for a very small twin room with no views.

DAY 6 (12th June 2003)

Another day, and more JAL, ANA, JAS and Air Nippon !!! We were starting to appreciate that every Japanese airport you go to is, of course, dominated by the domestic Japanese carriers which can become a bit monotonous after a while.

The Observation Deck at Itami is again free and superb stretching from one end of the terminal to the other. Again there is little shade and drinks and food are easy to come by.

There are two parallel runways at Itami - the long one - 14R/32L - used by the majority of the traffic, and the short one - 14L/32R - used by the Saab's, DHC-8-400's and the YS-11's.

The day started with the 14's in use which makes for dramatic photo's due to the terrain at this end of the airport as aircraft have to come downwind then make a sharp turn in to finals to miss the hills. By lunchtime though, the 32's were in use and remained so for the rest of our visit. All the usual suspects are present at Itami but no International traffic as this has now moved to Kansai. There were also a couple of GA and helicopters present. A good day was had on the deck, again in glorious sunshine. The sun is good till about midday and then most photographers go off airport to the graveyard area close to the threshold of 32L but it was so hot that we decided to stay on the deck - you can still get good shots if you're careful to shoot aircraft when they are making turns. The highlight of the day was the ANA 767 in the Woody Woodpecker scheme advertising the nearby Universal Studios - we had only seen it at night at Haneda but were treated to it again three or four times during our stay in Itami !!

To our surprise, a JAC YS-11 (JA 8809) taxied out from a hidden spot around 11:00am returning around 4:00pm that afternoon - the OAG showed no YS-11's operating from Itami.

We had heard that there were plenty of eating places close to the airport so took a leisurely jaunt out that evening to find somewhere. A five minute walk from the airport is the Hotel Crevette which, on external inspection, looked like a better hotel than the Airport Hotel and has received good reviews from other spotters. Beware the Hotel AP - it looks a bit of a dump!! Just across the road from the Crevette is a "Volks" restaurant - very similar to Denny's with good food and great beer - where we spent the rest of the evening before retiring.

Photo's taken at Itami, day 1, from the Terminal Observation Deck

DAY 7 (13th June 2003)

Another day on the deck at Itami but today was the day the weather changed. We awoke to an overcast sky but but lunchtime the rain had started - mainly a constant drizzle with heavy showers now and again.

By now we had photo's of all the Japanese domestic carriers that frequented Tokyo and Osaka so the rain wasn't a great worry and we saved the camera for new registrations. Two YS-11's were evident this day with JA 8771 departing around 10:00am and never returning and JA 8809 doing its three flights as it had done the day before.

By the end of the day were were bored out of our brains and headed for the deck cafe for a beer or three.

We dined in the terminal this evening as it was still pouring with rain.

Photo's taken at Itami, day 2, from the Terminal Observation Deck

DAY 8 (14th June 2003)

We awoke to an overcast sky again and headed to the kerbside to get the coach to Kansai airport. You can buy a 1,700 Yen ticket for the one-way journey at the bus stop - No.7C - there are two busses an hour and the trip takes 40-45 minutes,traffic permitting. The ride is an interesting one as it passes through the city centre and most of the journey is on high level elevated roads.

The approach to Kansai is impressive to say the least over the combined road/rail bridge which links the mainland to the man-made island on which the airport sits (or sinks !!). On arrival at the departures kerbside follow the signs for the railway station then onwards to the "AeroPlaza" - all on elevated walkways above the road system. At the AeroPlaza you drop down a flight of stairs to the bus-stop for the "Observation Hall". The busses leave every 10 minutes from 10:00am and the return fare is 380 Yen.

The Observation Hall is a five storey building located close to the threshold of runway 24. The airport has a single runway 06/24 however work is already well under way to reclaim land for a second parallel runway to be served by a "floating terminal" on the sea - only in Japan !!!

The Observation Hall has two decks, one on the top floor with no shelter and one on the fourth floor which has an indoor seating area, vending machines and flight information board. There are also some external benches here under an overhang from the floor above which provide shelter from the sun, or in our case - the rain!!

It was dull when we arrived and after an hour it started to drizzle. For the remainder of the day it was a mixture of heavy showers and drizzle. Initially runway 06 was in use with most aircraft already entering the low cloud by the time they reached the observation hall. Then, for a short period they swapped to 24 and the "potential" of this location for photo's was evident - however the low cloud, mist and drizzle/rain reduced visibility so much that only 1/2 the access bridge could be seen most of the time. After an hour or so they reverted to 06 again and the camera remained in the bag (and the dry) for the rest of the day.

Kansai is much quieter than I had expected with many of the movements repeating what had been seen at Narita. The terminal is impressive and its worth coming here for that alone, but as an airport it didn't rank highly for me. With the exception of the Air Calin A330, Asiana A321's and the Harlequin Air MD.80 there was little here that you don't see in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Tokyo. They do get a fair spread of freighters at Kansai though with UPS 767s, Air Hong Kong B742Fs, Northwest B742Fs and NCA B742Fs all noted.

At 4:30pm we headed back to the terminal to catch our ANA A320 (JA8383) flight to Kagoshima, a flight of 1hr 14min. The terminal is very impressive inside too, especially the departure lounge with its gracefully curving walls - a real architectural masterpiece. As we taxied out, a Gulfstream 4 landed at 6:35pm and taxied in, parking in the cargo area - any help with an ID would be much appreciated.

On arrival at Kagoshima we tried walking to the Kuko Airport Hotel, which from their map looked a simple short walk. After going in the wrong direction for 10 minutes we headed back to the information desk in the terminal and asked them to call the hotel. A free shuttle bus was with us in minutes and drove off in the opposite direction to that which we had walked!!! It was only a short walk away - exit the arrivals doors and go left, not right like we did!!!

Our room faced the terminal and looking out of the window we were greeted with a sight for sore eyes through the rain/drizzle - no less than 4 x JAC YS-11's of which we could read just two off - JA 8763 & 8781 - result!! - we hoped they would all be there in the morning. The Kuko hotel has a small restaurant attached to it but this serves primarily Japanese food. A twin room for a single night cost £90.01

Photo's taken at Kansai, from the Observation Hall 4th floor terrace

DAY 9 (15th June 2003)

We awoke to dull sky's with rain looming and caught the free shuttle bus back to the terminal. The restaurant did Japanese breakfast which I declined (extra cost) but Andy seemed to find something worthwhile to curb his appetite.

Kagoshima has an observation deck reached by escalator in the centre of the terminal. This was the first, and only, deck we encountered that made an entry charge but it was only 50 Yen (30p). The deck is large covering a high percentage of the terminal roof with low barriers along the airside wall - a superb photography platform. Not sure about how it was orientated in relation to the sun - there wasn't any!!! Understand the runway is 16/34 so good for at least 1/2 the day. The deck has small alcoves with bench seats inside providing protection from the rain. If you need a drink there are vending machines on the deck but if you want food you have to go in to the terminal and pay again to get back on the roof.

It rained pretty much all day and during the brief restbites it was very dull. Low cloud runs up a valley across the other side of the runway and seems to create a micro climate here. Its not the busiest of airports and all the usual culprits are here. However three things made the trip worthwhile: Toyota's Gulf 5 (N130TM) was pulled out of a hangar and took off, this was the only place we saw an Oriental Air Bridge DHC-8 and, most importantly, we saw no less than SIX active JAC YS-11's (JA8717,8768,8771,8777,8788 + one from the night before)!!

It was a long and relatively slow day though and by 5:30pm we were glad to go down in to the terminal to check-in for our Air Nippon B737-500 (JA359K) flight to Nagoya, a 1hr 10min flight.

Nagoya was the only place where we stayed in a downtown hotel rather than one close to the airport. We taxied on to stand at 21:00 and by the time we had claimed our bags and got to the terminal front, we had missed the last direct bus (20:10pm) to our hotel - the KANKO Hotel in downtown Nagoya. We therefore took the second best alternative and caught the direct bus to Nagoya Central rail station (one way 870 Yen) and then a taxi for the short 1.5km journey to the hotel (700 Yen) - get the name of the hotel in Japanese from the Information Desk at Nagoya airport as most Japanese taxi drivers don't speak or read english. The hotel was one of the best we stayed in and cost £97.95 for a twin room.

Photo's taken at Kagoshima, from the rooftop Observation Deck

DAY 10 (16th June 2003)

A good nights sleep was had and we were down bright and breezy for the 08:00 coach to the airport - a direct service costing 730 Yen - which we had booked the night before with the front desk. The bus takes you to both the domestic or international terminal both of which have viewing decks. The international terminal is located at the 34 end of the runway and the observation deck has wire mesh with camera holes. The domestic terminal is located midway down the runway opposite the military ramp and has no fence so is a much better option for photos. There is shade from the rain/sun and benches to sit on under the canvas awnings. It costs 150 Yen to gain access and you must keep your ticket for free re-entry when you need to pop in to the terminal for drinks and food which are plentiful on the departures level.

The domestic observation deck was open 0710-1800 during our visit. Being mid-way down the runway it doesn't really matter which runway is in use and B737/B767/MD80s rotate right in front of you. They used 16 throughout our one day visit. Sadly it was another wet day with showers on and off all day and no sun when the rain did stop for brief spells.

Nagoya for me was the best airport we visited on the trip because of the variety of activity there. Again, all the usual Japanese domestic culprits are there - ANA, ANK, JAL, JEX, J-Air (our first Jetstream 31), JAS etc plus our first photographic opportunities for NAL Fokker 50's with three visiting regularly throughout the day. On the international front the following were noted: Korean A330s, China Airlines B738, China Northwest A300, Asiana A321, Northwest B744, Continental Micronesia B738 and a Thai A330. But it was the military content that made Nagoya special for me with no less than 10 Japanese AF C.130's logged, a CH.47 Chinook, Air Force and Navy UH.60's, 2 x AF HS.125's (72-3006 & 82-3007), a Kawasaki C.1 (98-1029), an AF MU-2 (33-3227), half a dozen Air Force two-seat trainers, even an F.15 Eagle - but the star was 6902, a Navy YS-11 !!! Add to all this a smattering of GA, 2 x Citations (JA119N & JA 01TM) and a few helicopters and you can see why Nagoya was top of my list. Exactly what will move to the new airport currently under construction in the bay is unknown but I guess the military and GA will remain here with the airliners going to the new airport.

After a wet but very pleasant day we went down at 18:00 to check-in for our ANA B767-300 (JA8359) flight to Sapporo and have a bite to eat before boarding. The 1hr 14min flight wasn't without drama as we were told that Sapporo was foggy and we may have to overshoot. Fortunately we made it and touched down at 21:39. Our hotel - the Mitsui Urban Hotel - was located in the terminal building and a short walk soon found reception via an escalator at one end of the curved terminal building. This was no doubt the best hotel we stayed at with a very spacious room overlooking the apron. Our twin room cost £108.78

Photo's taken at Nagoya, from the Observation Deck on the Domestic Terminal

DAY 11 (17th June 2003)

We awoke to thick fog, or was it low cloud, whatever - we couldn't see the other side of the ramp !! The open air observation deck is free and open 0800-1800, accessed via stairs from the end of the top floor shopping level. The level below has windows that can be used in inclement weather. Its only a small observation deck and has no seats and no vending machines - there is no shade either. However there are just waist high barriers so photography is superb.

Sapporo New Chitose airport has four runways - two pairs of parallels - heaven knows why though as traffic is fairly light. The half circular terminal faces the 19R/L thresholds of one pair of these runways 19/01R & 19/01L. If there is sun, and there wasn't during our visit, this deck would be very good from lunchtime onwards for photos. We were told that the weather in Sapporo is usually good at this time of year with lots of sunshine and a little cooler than Tokyo - we were just unlucky. The other pair of runways, 18/36R & 18/36L are located on the opposite side of the terminal and seemed to be used only by the military at JDAF Chitose Air Base. With the fog it was impossible to see the base until late afternoon and it was so far away, nothing could be read off. We did hear a few pairs of fighters going off though during the day, believed to be F.15's.

Again, its much of the same old Japanese domestic carriers ANA, JAL, JAS etc - in fact no foreign carriers were seen. The weather was dire though with the low cloud/mist in evidence for most of the day making some shots very gloomy. The highlights were the HAC (rather than JAC) Saab 340's, the Air Do 767's (this is their home), an operational Air Nippon/ANK YS-11 (JA8761) plus one parked on cargo all day (JA8772) and a surprising visitor - JASDF B747-400 20-1101 - circuit bashing in the murk !!!

The terminal at Sapporo has a huge modern shopping area within it but not one outlet sold sandwiches or crisps - everything else you can imagine including large live fish in tanks!!! There are however plenty of restaurants to choose from for a decent meal.

We headed for check-in at 5:30pm contemplating whether it had been worth coming to Sapporo because of the weather - the airport is slow traffic-wise and you will see little here that you don't see elsewhere with the exception of the Saab's. Is there much military traffic? our visit wasn't fair to judge. On reflection though it had been worth it for the 2 x ANK YS-11's !!

Our ANA B747-400D (JA8960) pushed back at 7:24pm for the flight to Tokyo-Haneda - a final disappointment for the day as this flight was scheduled to be operated by a B777-300. We touched down at Haneda at 8:45pm and caught the free shuttle bus (hotel bus stops located between bus stops 1 & 2 and 17 & 18) to the Haneda Tokyu Hotel for our final night in Japan. As the last bus to Narita from Haneda left at around 9pm, we decided to stay at Haneda and book with the front desk for the next day 7:30am coach from the hotel direct to Narita to allow for traffic and arrive well in time for check-in for our 12:20 flight.

Photo's taken at Sapporo, from the rooftop Observation Deck

DAY 12 (18th June 2003)

Our last day and the sun finally shone again as we opened the curtains. Out on the hangar ramp were two JCAB YS-11's (JA8709 + 1), Gulfstream 4 (JA001G) and a Globex (JA006G) - reading them off from the room we found the biz to be the two examples we hadn't seen on our first visit here - another result !!!

The coach to Narita arrived dead on time - as they always do in Japan - everything runs like clockwork - and we took the chance for a little snooze on the 1hr 10min journey across town. Arriving at the Lufthansa check-in 3 hours before departure we were told to come back as check-in didn't open till 2 hours before departure and they wouldn't let us near the desks!!! So, as we were in Terminal 2 we went up on to the observation deck to waste an hour. Finally checking-in we proceeded to the ANA executive lounge (always take friends with Star Alliance Gold Cards with you ;-))) where the large picture windows overlooking the T2 apron made for a pleasant 90 minutes spotting and free drinks however the only things of excitement noted were a UPS 757 (!!!) and the ANA Cargo 767. We were then called to board our LH A340 (D-AIGB) for the 11hr 27min flight to Munich.

The flight seemed to take forever but eventually we got in to the transfer lounge for the short stopover before heading on to Birmingham. However, the 90 minute stopover turned in to over 2 hrs as we spent more than 30 minutes standing on the coach before it left for our CRJ-700 (D-ACPH) - it seems they had lost the crew and had to wait for another crew to come in and transfer them to our flight!! It didn't end there though - we touched down at 9:36pm UK time and headed for stand but the marshall wanted us on one stand and ATC on another so we sat for 10 minutes whilst they disagreed with the marshall finally conceding and walking across to the adjacent stand !! We claimed our baggage, went out to the car and headed for East Midlands and home.

The trip had been a success, despite the weather. The first half of the trip had enabled us to get good photo's of everything we wanted, with the weather only effecting the YS-11's at Kagoshima and Sapporo. With hindsight we would advise others to reduce the length of the trip and exclude Sapporo and possibly Kagoshima (unless you are YS-11 chasers like us) but spent an extra day at Nagoya. The spotting and photography facilities are second to non, flying between places is definitely the best option as was staying in local airport hotels. Its not a cheap place, but not as expensive as many people make out....but most importantly, the hobby is understood and security leave you alone....a rare treat these days.

We flew to Tokyo-Narita with Lufthansa from Birmingham Airport, via Munich, on CRJ D-ALCP and A340 D-AIGS (outbound) and D-AIGB and D-ACPH (return) - cost £481.40 return booked through www.ebookers.com

Our five internal flights were booked with All Nippon Airways at a cost of just £65 each through www.fly-ana.com

Temperatures were in the upper 80s when the sun shone and in the low 70s when it rained - and it rained quite a lot as June is at the start of the rainy season in this part of the world.

The camera equipment used were a Canon D60 and Canon 100-400 / Tamron 28-200 lenses. I took nearly 1,000 pictures in total so the above are just a representative sample to give you a feel for the place.

Japan ranks very highly in my list of destinations for aviation photography - it was my second visit but things had changed a lot since the 1980's. I found that it was the ideal combination of a relaxed atmosphere, good (and bad) weather, great spectator balconies and most importantly, a total understanding of the hobby and no hassle from security whatsoever. Things are changing very fast though with a lot of colour schemes disappearing fast as JAL's subsidiaries get painted in the new JAL scheme and JAS gets merged in to the JAL conglomerate. So the time to go is now.

You'll find more of my Japan photo's on www.airliners.net and a lot of shots from other photographers from around the world who have also enjoyed the great subjects and vantage points available in this country.

If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail at goodweather.flyer@btinternet.com