Haneda Airport is located just 15km from the city centre.

Air New Zealand will start flying into Tokyo Haneda Airport as well as Narita International Airport.

The airline will split its Tokyo services between the two airports from July next year, offering customers two points of entry into Japan's capital and largest city.

Air New Zealand currently operates daily flights to Narita, increasing to 10 times a week over the peak months. From July, the three additional peak services will operate to Haneda Airport.

Using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the Haneda services will depart Auckland on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

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Air New Zealand chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said the direct Auckland-Haneda Tokyo route would offer more choice for customers travelling to and from Japan.

"The new service will be convenient for Kiwis wanting to get to downtown Tokyo and for Japanese tourists looking to visit New Zealand," he said.

"The mid-afternoon departure from Auckland will enable good connections from regional New Zealand and a similar mid-afternoon arrival time for the inbound flight means tourists will be able to make seamless domestic connections to the rest of New Zealand."

Wallace said the airline was looking forward to building on its existing services to Japan, particularly with events such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Haneda is located just 15km from the city centre, compared to Narita which is 65km east of Tokyo.

Japan is New Zealand's fifth largest tourism market, with visitor numbers up 13.8 percent to 97,312 for the year ending October 2016.

The number of New Zealanders travelling to Japan also increased during that period – up 15 percent to 32,920.