Haneda Airport

The other major international airport is Tokyo International Airport, more commonly known as Haneda (羽田) Airport, in Ota-ku, Tokyo-to. If you can fly into Haneda, it’s probably the easiest for transportation, but not all airlines service Haneda as frequently as Narita. For example, as of the time of this writing (January 1, 2018) Air Canada only services Haneda from Toronto, which doesn’t help me here in Vancouver. Anecdotally, I also find flights to Haneda more expensive than to Narita.

Taxi

Taxis may be the most convenient method of transportation if you’ve got a family of 4 traveling from Haneda. It won’t be the cheapest (ranging from approximately ¥6,000 to get to Tokyo Station area to ¥7,000-¥8,000 to get to Shibuya or Shinjuku. If you’re arriving late, there will also be a late-night surcharge often.) However, if you factor in not having to change trains or if your hotel is not one of the major hotels that the buses run to, it’s often the best option with kids.

One things to be warned though is this depend on how much luggage you have. The trunks of most of the taxis are fairly spacious, but if you have two large luggages, plus a stroller and other necessities for children, a family of four might not fit in one of the regular taxis. In my experience, van type taxis are far and few between. The movement to using Toyota Prius style hybrids with larger trunk space has not taken hold as much in Tokyo yet.

Train

Haneda Airport is serviced by two train lines, the Keikyu Line and the Tokyo Monorail. To be honest, I don't usually take the train to Haneda, since the areas that I lived or stay the most are in the east of Tokyo, which aren’t serviced by trains from Haneda. Better to take the bus or a taxi when you’re dragging two sleepy kids (who fell asleep just before you landed after watching the in-flight TV for 8 hours across the Pacific) plus luggage.

Keikyu Line

Keikyu (京急) is actually short for Keihin Kyuuko (京浜急行), or Keihin Express. The kanji for Keihin is 京浜, or the “kyo" (京) from Tokyo and the “hama" (浜) from Yokohama, the major port city south of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture. So the Keihin line (and the company itself) is focused on a route from Tokyo, specifically Shinagawa station, to Yokohama station, with extensions and off-shoots from that main line¹. If where you are staying is along that route, i.e., Shinagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama, this is the best train to take. If you’re off exploring the Miura peninsula of Kanagawa prefecture, use the Keikyu line. If you’re trying to get into Tokyo, take the train to Shinagawa and change trains there (about ¥400 from Haneda to Shinagawa).

Tokyo Monorail

The Tokyo Monorail runs from Haneda Airport to Hamamatsucho station, where you can transfer to the JR Yamanote Line, and loop around Tokyo hitting pretty much every major station (Tokyo, Akihabara, Ueno, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Shinagawa). If you’re set on taking the train and are staying in central Tokyo, this is probably the fastest and most convenient route. Just note that it is a monorail, so it’s elevated, which means that there will be stairs at the end. If you’re getting on the JR lines, there is a direct transfer gate at Hamamatsucho station, but then you need to go down another set of stairs to get the platforms.

Buses

Like Narita, if you’re heading to one of the major hotels, buses are probably the cheapest option. The Limousine Bus company (look for the orange buses) runs regular buses from Haneda to most the major hotels all over Tokyo. Costs are around 1,500 yen for adults and half that for children (ages 6 to 12). Pre-school children (under 6) ride for free!

Haneda is also serviced by the Keihin Kyuuko Bus, often shortened to the Keikyu Bus. These buses run mostly to train stations, which may work if the place you’re staying at isn’t serviced by a bus at that time.