When and Where Did Japan's 97 Airports Appear? | Maps in Motion #02
Short answer
- Japan's first airfield opened at Tokorozawa in 1911; today the country has 97 airports (as of September 1, 2026).
- The busiest decade was the 1960s (31 airports), and 23 of today's 97 now stand somewhere other than where they began.
- Five airports sit on islands built in the sea, and about 1 in 4 occupies a site first built as a military airfield.
Video
Pressing play loads the YouTube player on this page. Watch on YouTube
Explained
In the video
- 0:00How many airports does Japan have today?
- 0:22Where did the first airfields appear?
- 1:13When could Japanese planes fly again?
- 1:34When did airports start appearing everywhere?
- 2:26Why do airports move away from towns?
- 3:57Why build on high ground and in the sea?
- 5:01Where did the map stop?
- 5:43How old is your airport?
Japan has 97 airports in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) list dated September 1, 2026, excluding heliports. This video fast-forwards a map from 1911 to show when and where they began, and how their locations changed.
When each airport began and moved
“First civil use” means the earlier of a civil airfield opening or the start of civil passenger or mail flights, including use at a predecessor site. “—” means no relocation is counted in this episode. Military airfields with no civil use are excluded.
| Region | Airport | First civil use | Moved to current site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido | Wakkanai | 1959 | — |
| Hokkaido | Rishiri | 1962 | — |
| Hokkaido | Rebun | 1978 | — |
| Hokkaido | Monbetsu | 1966 | 1999 |
| Hokkaido | Memanbetsu | 1956 | 1985 |
| Hokkaido | Nakashibetsu | 1959 | — |
| Hokkaido | Kushiro | 1961 | — |
| Hokkaido | Obihiro | 1964 | 1981 |
| Hokkaido | Asahikawa | 1966 | — |
| Hokkaido | Sapporo (Okadama) | 1956 | — |
| Hokkaido | New Chitose | 1988 | — |
| Hokkaido | Chitose | 1926 | — |
| Hokkaido | Hakodate | 1960 | — |
| Hokkaido | Okushiri | 1974 | 2004 |
| Tohoku | Aomori | 1964 | 1987 |
| Tohoku | Misawa | 1952 | — |
| Tohoku | Odate-Noshiro | 1998 | — |
| Tohoku | Akita | 1961 | 1981 |
| Tohoku | Hanamaki | 1964 | — |
| Tohoku | Shonai | 1991 | — |
| Tohoku | Yamagata | 1964 | — |
| Tohoku | Sendai | 1957 | — |
| Tohoku | Fukushima | 1993 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Ibaraki | 2010 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Narita | 1978 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Haneda (Tokyo) | 1931 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Chofu | 1941 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Oshima | 1952 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Niijima | 1970 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Kozushima | 1992 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Miyakejima | 1966 | — |
| Kanto & Izu Islands | Hachijojima | 1954 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Niigata | 1930 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Sado | 1958 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Toyama | 1963 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Noto | 2003 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Komatsu | 1955 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Fukui | 1966 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Matsumoto | 1965 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Shizuoka | 2009 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Nagoya (Komaki) | 1952 | — |
| Chubu & Hokuriku | Chubu Centrair | 2005 | — |
| Kansai | Tajima | 1994 | — |
| Kansai | Itami (Osaka) | 1929 | 1939 |
| Kansai | Yao | 1933 | — |
| Kansai | Kobe | 2006 | — |
| Kansai | Kansai | 1994 | — |
| Kansai | Nanki-Shirahama | 1968 | 1996 |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Tottori | 1957 | 1967 |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Yonago | 1954 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Oki | 1965 | 2006 |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Izumo | 1966 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Iwami | 1993 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Okayama | 1988 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Konan | 1962 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Hiroshima | 1961 | 1993 |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Iwakuni | 1952 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Yamaguchi Ube | 1966 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Takamatsu | 1955 | 1989 |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Tokushima | 1962 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Matsuyama | 1956 | — |
| Chugoku & Shikoku | Kochi | 1954 | — |
| Kyushu | Tsushima | 1975 | — |
| Kyushu | Iki | 1966 | — |
| Kyushu | Fukuoka | 1951 | — |
| Kyushu | Kitakyushu | 1956 | 2006 |
| Kyushu | Saga | 1998 | — |
| Kyushu | Ojika | 1985 | — |
| Kyushu | Kamigoto | 1981 | — |
| Kyushu | Fukue (Goto) | 1963 | — |
| Kyushu | Nagasaki | 1955 | 1975 |
| Kyushu | Amakusa | 2000 | — |
| Kyushu | Kumamoto | 1960 | 1971 |
| Kyushu | Oita | 1957 | 1971 |
| Kyushu | Oita Ken-o | 1992 | — |
| Kyushu | Miyazaki | 1954 | — |
| Kyushu | Kagoshima | 1932 | 1972 |
| Kagoshima's islands | Tanegashima | 1962 | 2006 |
| Kagoshima's islands | Yakushima | 1963 | — |
| Kagoshima's islands | Amami | 1964 | 1988 |
| Kagoshima's islands | Kikai | 1959 | — |
| Kagoshima's islands | Tokunoshima | 1962 | — |
| Kagoshima's islands | Okinoerabu | 1969 | — |
| Kagoshima's islands | Yoron | 1976 | — |
| Okinawa | Iejima | 1975 | — |
| Okinawa | Aguni | 1978 | — |
| Okinawa | Kerama | 1982 | — |
| Okinawa | Naha | 1935 | — |
| Okinawa | Kumejima | 1965 | — |
| Okinawa | Kitadaito | 1978 | — |
| Okinawa | Minamidaito | 1965 | 1997 |
| Okinawa | Miyako | 1955 | — |
| Okinawa | Shimojishima | 1979 | — |
| Okinawa | Tarama | 1971 | 2003 |
| Okinawa | Ishigaki | 1956 | 2013 |
| Okinawa | Hateruma | 1972 | 1976 |
| Okinawa | Yonaguni | 1958 | — |
Chitose, now the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Chitose Air Base, is counted separately from New Chitose. Sources give 1933, 1934 or 1938 for Yao; this episode uses 1933. On Japan's main islands, August 15, 1945–October 24, 1951 is treated as the period when Japanese aircraft were grounded. Civil use in Okinawa is counted during those years, when Okinawa was under U.S. administration, which continued until 1972.
Numbers behind the map
| Measure | Value and scope |
|---|---|
| Starting point of the story | Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo: 1911. This airfield is outside the 97-airport count |
| Decade with the most airports beginning civil use | 1960–1969: 31 airports |
| Airports that moved from their original sites | 23, including moves to adjacent land |
| Destinations of longer moves | Of the 10 airports that moved at least 5 km by 2006, 9 moved to higher ground (at least 50 m higher), the coast or offshore |
| Airports on islands in the sea | 5. Opening years at the island sites: Nagasaki 1975, Kansai 1994, Chubu Centrair 2005, Kobe 2006, Kitakyushu 2006. Airports extended from the shore through reclamation, such as Haneda and Oita, are excluded from this count |
| Airports already present when Okinawa returned to Japan | 8 of today's 13 airports in Okinawa Prefecture, as of May 15, 1972 |
| Prefectures with none of the airports counted here | 10 of Japan's 47 prefectures: Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Gifu, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto and Nara |
| Airports whose current sites were first built as military airfields | 23 of 97; 7 are still shared with the Self-Defense Forces or U.S. forces |
| Latest first civil use / latest relocation | Ibaraki, 2010 / Ishigaki, March 7, 2013 (the last change shown on this map) |
Elevation before and after a move
Elevations are heights above sea level. These are approximate, rounded values matching the video.
| Airport | Move year | Previous site (approx.) | Current site (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kagoshima (Kamoike to Mizobe) | 1972 | 4 m | 270 m |
| Hiroshima (coastal site to the mountains) | 1993 | 2 m | 330 m |
Maps and aerial photographs used
| Use | Dataset and date | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Japan's land, prefecture boundaries and airport islands | N03 administrative areas, as of January 1, 2026 | MLIT, National Land Numerical Information |
| Surrounding countries and large lakes | Natural Earth 10m map data. Version and acquisition year not recorded | Natural Earth |
| Rivers in close-up scenes | OpenStreetMap river data, acquired October 10, 2026 | © OpenStreetMap contributors, via the Overpass API |
| Terrain shading | GSI elevation tiles (dem_png). Survey dates not recorded | Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) |
| Historical views of Kamoike, Kagoshima, and Omura Bay, Nagasaki | Aerial photographs from 1961–1969 (ort_old10) | GSI |
| Present-day comparison of the same places | Latest available nationwide imagery (seamlessphoto). Capture dates for these locations not recorded | GSI |
| Mishima Island before airport construction | Approximate outline traced from the 1960s aerial photographs above | Created from GSI imagery |
| Built-up areas around Kyushu, Osaka Bay and other locations | GHSL GHS-BUILT-S R2023A, 100 m grid. The 1969–1975 scenes use 1975 data; the 1990s scenes use 1990 data | European Commission JRC |
Apart from the airport islands, the map uses present-day coastlines. Islands appear when their airports open as an animation choice; those are not the dates reclamation began. Kansai's first island appears in 1994 and its second in 2007.
What this episode shows
- The 1960s saw the most airports begin civil use: 31 of the 97 airports counted here.
- Twenty-three airports moved. Of the 10 that moved at least 5 km by 2006, 9 went to higher ground, the coast or offshore.
- Five airports stand on islands in the sea, opening at those sites between Nagasaki in 1975 and Kitakyushu in 2006.
Shorts
Sources
Where the facts and numbers in the video and on this page come from.
References
- Every airport's year checked against Japanese Wikipedia (as of October 10, 2026). The full source list is on the episode page.
Links
- MLIT, List of Airports (, as of September 1, 2026. Retrieved again and checked October 10, 2026)mlit.go.jp/koku/15_bf_000310.html
- Japanese Wikipedia, Chitose Air Base (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/千歳基地
- Naha Airport (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/那覇空港
- Osaka International Airport (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/大阪国際空港
- Fukuoka Airport (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/福岡空港
- Nagasaki Airport (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/長崎空港
- Kansai International Airport (. The table and counts use the 97-airport dataset compiled for this episode)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/関西国際空港
- Japanese Wikipedia, Tokorozawa Army Airfield (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/所沢陸軍飛行場
- Kizugawa Airfield (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/木津川飛行場
- History of Japan Airlines (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/日本航空の歴史
- Offshore Airports (,)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/海上空港
- Reversion of Okinawa (. Checked October 10, 2026; individual acquisition dates not recorded)ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/沖縄返還
- House of Representatives, Airport Development Act, Act No. 80 of 1956, as enacted (,)shugiin.go.jp/Internet/itdb_housei.nsf/html/houritsu/…
- MLIT, Transport White Paper, FY1983, airport development history (. Checked October 10, 2026; acquisition dates not recorded)mlit.go.jp/hakusyo/transport/shouwa58/ind020201/00…
- MLIT Kyushu Regional Development Bureau, Nagasaki Port and Airport Office (. Acquisition date not recorded)pa.qsr.mlit.go.jp/nagasaki/info/airport/jigyou_airport.pdf
- Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, OSAKA-INFO (. Acquisition date not recorded)osaka-info.jp/spot/kansai-international-airport
- GSI, Tile Catalogue (. Elevation tiles: dem_png; historical imagery: ort_old10 (1961–1969); latest nationwide imagery: seamlessphoto. Site elevations were measured with GSI's elevation API. Acquisition and measurement dates not recorded)maps.gsi.go.jp/development/ichiran.html
- MLIT, National Land Numerical Information (, N03 administrative areas as of January 1, 2026. Acquisition date not recorded)nlftp.mlit.go.jp/ksj
- European Commission JRC, GHSL (,)human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu
- GHS-BUILT-S download page (, R2023A, 1975 and 1990 data, CC BY 4.0. Acquisition dates not recorded)human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu/download.php
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (, ODbL. River data acquired October 10, 2026)openstreetmap.org/copyright
- Natural Earth (, public domain. Acquisition date not recorded)naturalearthdata.com
Voice, music, art
- Music (OpenTracks): “近代的日本空間” and “日本式風景” by 伊藤ケイスケ / “あの日見た景色” by こばっと
