is a third class airport located in the town of

Shirahama, Wakayama is a town in Nishimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,704 in 11024 households and a population density of 100 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Shirahama is located ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It serves the southern part of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are amongst ...

with three daily

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

round-trips to

Tokyo International Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

, utilizing

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

aircraft. The travel time is 65 minutes to Haneda and 75 minutes in reverse direction.

History

Nanki–Shirahama Airport is located in a hilly area about 1.5 kilometers southeast of the center of Shirahama Town, and was established by the Wakayama Prefectural government. It is the only airport in Wakayama prefecture and the southernmost airport in

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

.The airport opened in April 1968 with a 1200 meter runway. Flights connecting Tokyo, Osaka (Itami) and Nagoya were opened, but subsequently the Osaka and Nagoya flights withdrew. An 1800 meter runway on the eastern adjacent land was completed on March 9, 1996 with the aim of upgrading the capability of the airport to handle jet aircraft. This runway was later was extended to 2000 meters. The airport is located about 65 kilometers south-southeast of the city of

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

, which is the administrative and economic center of the prefecture. However,

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and K ...

, which opened in 1994 is located closer, which had resulted in Nanki-Shirahama Airport being used mostly by tourists visiting

Nanki-Shirahama Onsen is a hot spring resort in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is a major resort area for the Kansai region of Japan, and was ranked alongside Atami Onsen and Beppu Onsen as one of the three major seaside hot spring resorts. H ...

and locations further south.

Airlines and destinations

Ground Transportation

The ''Michinori HD'' which operates the airport had thought that tried developing the airport into the hub of not only airline traffic but also other commerce. At present, the airport has turned the hub of various buses which come from

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

References

External links

Nanki–Shirahama Airport
in Japanese Airports in Japan Transport in Wakayama Prefecture Buildings and structures in Wakayama Prefecture Shirahama, Wakayama Airports established in 1968 1968 establishments in Japan {{wakayama-geo-stub