Posted: February 20, 2017
Last Saturday, I had a chance to spend an afternoon at Shizuoka airport, and so below I bring you the results, as well as some tips that might be useful if you decide to pay the airport a visit.
Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport
Having been open in 2009, Shizuoka airport is one of the newest airports in Japan. Currently, ANA and Fuji Dream Airlines connect Shizuoka with other cities around Japan. Furthermore, Air Seoul connects the airport with Korea, Beijing Capital Airlines and China Eastern Airlines with China, and China Airlines with Taiwan. These routes combined with the occasional charters resulted in about 700,000 passengers using the airport in 2015.
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While the airport and its single runway (12/30) are fairly quiet, it is still a place worth visiting for half a day if one has some free time in the area.
Spot #1: Terminal Observation Deck
The first port of call was the airport’s outdoor observation deck. It is located on the top floor of the compact terminal.
Inside, next to the entrance to the airport observation deck is an aviation shop where you can buy everything from aviation magazines and aircraft models all the way to Shizuoka airport’s original bags.
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Outside, there is a section covered with glass, as well as a fenced-off section. The fenced-off part features very limited number of camera holes which are useful if you do not want to shoot through the glass.
A timetable of the airport is displayed on the fence as well – more resembling a local bus timetable than an airport one.
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I arrived at the airport around 11:45AM – shortly before departure of Fuji Dream Airlines flight 133 to Kagoshima. After photographing its departure from the deck and confirming that runway 30 was used for take-offs (12 is preferred if the wind is not too strong due to the terrain at the end of 30), I decided to head to an observation platform near the airport which offers better photo opportunities.
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Spot #2: Sekiunin Observation Platform
A couple of hundred meters away from the terminal, the Sekiunin Observation Deck can be found. To get there, you need to turn left after exiting the terminal, and walk straight. At the end of the street going along the length of the airport, you need to turn left, from where you will see the observation platform.
The observation platform is equipped with both restrooms, as well as an indoor air conditioned room where one can relax between the not so frequent movements.
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The first movement I was able to catch was the main target of the visit – Air Seoul’s Airbus A321. The airline is a low-cost subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, and it operates from Seoul Incheon to 11 destinations using a fleet of three A321s.
Eight of the airline’s eleven destinations are in Japan. Besides Shizuoka, the airline operates to Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Takamatsu, Toyama, Yamaguchi, and Yonago.
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As clouds started to roll in after its departure, and there were no movements scheduled, it was time for lunch. Luckily, with the lunch over, the sunshine returned, and the skies cleared – offering a glimpse of Mt. Fuji.
The first aircraft to pass in front of Mt. Fuji was a 737-800 of ANA landing after its flight from Okinawa. The flight was part of a Sapporo-Shizuoka-Okinawa-Shizuoka-Sapporo “W” route.
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Next, a Boeing 737-800 of China Eastern Airlines in the new “most creative all white livery” departed back to Shanghai.
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This was followed by an unexpected AgustaWestland AW109 in Doctor-Heli colors. It only stayed at the airport for about 10 minutes before departing again – I have no idea about the purpose of the visit.
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Then, it was time for an Embraer of Fuji Dream Airlines to depart to Fukuoka. It was operated by JA05FJ – the same orange airframe that I captured at the observation deck earlier.
Here, it is important to note that if you are aiming to capture as many Fuji Dream Airlines aircraft as possible, Nagoya Komaki airport is a much better bet (in spite of the airline’s name).
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The final movement I photographed at the airport before calling it a day was a departure of an ANA 737 to Sapporo. The flight was, of course, operated by the same airframe that arrived from Okinawa earlier.
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Sekiunin Temple and Mt. Fuji
If you will be spending some time at Shizuoka airport, it is worth visiting Sekiunin Temple (the one after which the platform is named). It is located just a five minute walk from the platform, and offers a great glimpse into traditional Japanese temple architecture.
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The spotting report ends here (except for the spotting information summary that follows this section), but to finish off the article in a true Shizuoka way, I below is a photo of Mt. Fuji taken during my bullet train ride back to Tokyo the following day.
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Spotting Information Summarized
In case you are considering visiting Shizuoka airport, I summarized the information related to spotting there below:
- The traffic is very slow with only about ten departures and ten take-offs a day; it is still an airport worth visiting if you are in the area
- Besides ANA and Fuji Dream Airlines operating domestic flights; Air Seoul connects the airport with Korea, China Airlines with Taiwan, and China Eastern Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines with China (none of the international flights operate daily)
- Both the observation deck and the Sekiunin observation platform are easily accessible from the airport terminal and are good for photography from the morning in winter, and from about 11AM in summer
- At the observation deck, you will need 120mm (full frame) for an ERJ-170 after push back, and 500mm for the same aircraft departing
- At the Sekiunin observation platform, the same aircraft will require 80mm on the taxiway, and 240mm taking off
