Saga (HSG): a 600 yen bus, and parking costs nothing
The limousine bus to JR Saga station is about 600 yen and half an hour. Parking at this airport is free, which is why people from across Kyushu drive here.
- The limousine bus runs between JR Saga railway station and the airport, about 30 to 35 minutes for roughly 600 yen for an adult.
- The bus runs in conjunction with the flight schedule rather than to a clock timetable.
- A taxi is about 4,000 to 5,000 yen for the same half hour. Ask the driver about a fixed-rate trip.
- Parking at Saga Airport is free. Not cheap, free, which is genuinely unusual and is why the airport draws drivers from a wide area.
- One modern terminal handles domestic and international flights.
- Free wifi, comfortable waiting lounges and a free observation deck.
- ANA's Haneda route is the main service, with Tokyo the dominant destination.
- International flying has come from low cost carriers, including Chinese routes opened by Spring Airlines and services from T'way and Tigerair Taiwan.
- Fukuoka is the alternative airport and it is far bigger. Saga is the quiet one, which is its whole appeal.
- Allow for the bus timetable being thin. With a handful of flights a day, missing the bus means a taxi.
The bus
- The limousine bus links JR Saga station with the airport, and at roughly 600 yen it is the obvious choice.
- 30 to 35 minutes.
- It runs in conjunction with the flights, which is normal for a small Japanese airport and means there is a bus for each service rather than one every twenty minutes.
- That cuts both ways. If you miss it, the next one is with the next flight, and a taxi at 4,000 to 5,000 yen is the fallback.
Free parking
- Parking at Saga Airport is free. This is rare enough to be a strategy: people drive here from across northern Kyushu and leave the car for a week at no cost.
- If you are hiring a car in Kyushu anyway, that changes the calculation about which airport to fly into.
The terminal
- One modern terminal for both domestic and international flights.
- Free wifi, waiting lounges and a free observation deck, which small Japanese airports do well and which is a genuinely pleasant way to spend a wait.
- It is small. Processing is quick and the building is easy.
What flies here
- ANA's Tokyo Haneda route is the backbone.
- International services have come from low cost carriers, notably Spring Airlines opening Chinese routes, with T'way and Tigerair Taiwan also in the mix.
- Fukuoka is an hour or so away and is Kyushu's main airport. Saga exists as the quiet, cheap, easy alternative, and for the Arita and Imari pottery country and Yoshinogari it is closer.
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