Hundreds of Flights Canceled as Typhoon Dujuan Lashes Tokyo

A major typhoon moving across Japan’s Pacific coast today is expected to essentially halt travel through Tokyo and much of the rest of the country.

Typhoon Dujuan was expected close to the Tokyo metropolitan area on Monday, bringing torrential rain and violent winds across the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, and other parts of eastern Japan. The storm comes at a particularly disastrous time for the country’s tourism sector, hitting right in the middle of Japan’s “Silver Week” holiday travel period, a consecutive string of national public holidays in Japan that occurs in late September.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued Level 5 warnings, essentially an order to evacuate, to parts of the Izu Islands along the eastern coast, alongside a Level 4 warning across much of the Tokyo metropolitan area. At a press conference on Monday afternoon, the JMA warned that total rainfall through Tuesday could surpass average monthly totals for September, creating a severe risk of landslides, swollen rivers, and urban street flooding.

According to flight-tracking data and carrier reports, hundreds of flights have already been canceled because of the storm, primarily out of Tokyo’s two main international hubs: Haneda Airport (HND) and Narita International Airport (NRT). Japan Airlines (JAL) has grounded 120 domestic and 15 international flights, while All Nippon Airways (ANA) has canceled at least 140 domestic services. Both carriers have issued fee-waiver policies allowing affected passengers to rebook or claim full refunds without penalty.

So far, just one cruise ship has been forced to change itineraries because of the storm. Silversea’s Silver Moon, originally set to depart from Tokyo on Saturday for a 14-night sailing, is remaining in Tokyo through Monday night. Guests still boarded on Saturday and were allowed to stay on the ship as the storm moved through the city.

The delay forced Silver Moon to cancel its scheduled call in Hiroshima, and shift later calls to Kobe-Osaka and Kochi to later in the week.