This afternoon, I had some free time, and so I decided to go to Haneda airport for a couple of hours. While I didn’t have anything particular that I wanted to catch, I wanted to at least see (I knew it would be impossible to get a good photo) the Coca Cola FIFA World Cup 737 that is in Tokyo now as part of its world tour.
Taking the Monorail to See the Coca Cola 737
Instead of taking the usual Keikyu train, today I decided to take the monorail that connects Hamamatsucho with Haneda airport so that I could get a view of the Coca Cola 737. And, indeed, for a couple of seconds, I could see the aircraft parked at N6 spot.
While in the past the aircraft parked there used to face the other way which made it possible to get nice photos of the aircraft through one of the airport’s gates, nowadays that same spot would only result in a shot from the back.
As such, the below photo taken through the monorail is the best I could get.
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A Nice Surprise: The First JASDF 747
Not long after I got to the observation deck on Terminal 2’s rooftop, I saw a 747 taxiing towards the terminal from runway 23. And, after zooming in, I realized it was one of the two Japan Air Force 747s.
While I thought it came for maintenance and so would turn before reaching the terminal, it taxied right in front of Terminal 2 and made its way to the VIP “V1″ parking spot.
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When I checked the website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs afterwards, I realized the Prime Minister had a trip to the Middle East (including the UAE, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel) scheduled which is why the 747 came.
Some Regular Traffic
Beside the 747, there were also usual movements such as the Skymark Airlines 737 and Delta Air Lines 777-200LR pictured below. And, there was the Costa neoRomantica cruise ship departing from Tokyo port sailing by the airport – something I saw on my last visit to Haneda as well.
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The two movements that stood out from the aircraft that can be seen at Haneda regularly were the Hello 2020 (an ANA 777-200ER) and Bear Do Hokkaido Jet (an Air Do 767-300) aircraft wearing special liveries.
I was especially glad to see the Hello 2020 which flown today for the first time in two weeks, and of which I hadn’t taken a decent daylight shot before.
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Arrival of the Second JASDF 747
The last movement that I photographed on the observation deck was the arrival of “Cygnus 2,” the second Japan Air Self Defense Force 747 from its base in Chitose.
Just like the first one, it taxied past the terminal and went to the VIP area, parking at the “V2″ spot.
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After it taxied by, I walked over to P3 parking garage to see both of the aircraft side by side – something that won’t be possible soon once they are replaced by 777-300ERs.
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And then, I called it a day and walked to the terminal’s train station while getting a shot of the fairly crowded security check area – a sign that “Golden Week,” one of Japan’s main holiday seasons, has just begun.
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