Getting to Tokyo

I will use “Tokyo" in a very general sense. As mentioned in the previous post, Tokyo is a “to"「都」or metropolis, which is equivalent to a prefecture. Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, consisting of one “to" (Tokyo), one “do"¹ (Hokkaido in the north), two “fu" (Osaka and Kyoto), and 43 “ken" (all the rest). The prefectures are grouped into regions. Kanto is the region consisting of Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa. When I say “Tokyo", I really mean “Kanto", as pretty much most of Kanto is accessible by a two-hour train ride.

The Japanese also use “Tokyo" in a very generic sense. For example, Tokyo Disneyland is … not in Tokyo-to. Neither is the Tokyo Game Show or Tokyo Motor Show, both of which are held in Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Chiba.

Arriving in Japan

If you fly to Tokyo, you more most likely land in one of two airports, Tokyo International Airport, or Haneda Airport, which is in Ota Ward, Tokyo-to, or Narita International Airport, which is in Narita, Chiba Prefecture. As you arrive, you will probably notice one of the most clean and efficiently run airports in the world, at least from the customer perspective. Your luggage will be pulled out from the carousel and neatly lined up near by if you haven’t picked it up before the next flight’s baggage arrived. Bathrooms are clean and orderly. So are the waiting areas. There are no touts trying to get your business. It's loud, but not boisterous. People stand in line.

About that, standing in line. Get used to it. Japanese people stand in line. For everything. No pushing. No shoving (generally, except in really crowded train situations). At the convenience store. Waiting for the bus or trains. Waiting to buy tickets. Waiting to enter a shrine after New Years. There are even marks on the train platforms or bus stops telling where to stand, and people follow them. So just accept it. It will make your life easier, and it is actually faster.

Back to the airports

From the airports there are multiple ways of getting into Tokyo center. Trains, buses and taxis are the most common.

Narita Airport

Taxi

Taxis in Japan are so clean and courteous that my first reverse culture-shock experience came from taking a cab on a trip back to Canada. That said, I do not recommend taking a taxi into Tokyo proper from Narita. It’s an hour or so drive and will probably end up costing you over 15,000 yen or around $150 USD, plus the expressway tolls. Even with kids, it’s not worth it.

Train

There are two train lines that service Narita Airport, Japan Railway (“JR") Narita line and Keisei Electric Railway (“Keisei")² main line. Both run local trains with many stops, but both also run special express trains that stop only at major stations.

JR has the "Narita Express" which can take you to Tokyo Station in about 60 minutes for around 3,000 yen³. There are also Narita Express trains that go to other major stations in Tokyo like Ikebukuro and Shinjuku. The Narita Express is distinctive in its red and white coloring and the Boeing 747-like shape of the end cars.

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Keisei has the "Skyliner", which you might think is a bullet train (or "Shinkansen" in Japanese) from its shape. It's fast and runs at around 160 km/h, getting you from Narita Airport to Ueno station (the next major station north of Tokyo) in around 45 minutes with only 1 stop after leaving the airport stations, but it's not Shinkansen fast, which has a maximum operating speed of 320 km/h. It costs around 2,500 yen.

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Personally, I'm a Skyliner fan. There are less stops than the Narita Express and because it now runs on a semi-dedicated track, there is less risk of problems along the way. The Narita Express runs on tracks shared with other JR trains that wait in the station for the Narita Express to pass. If there are delays in the regular trains, this can throw the Narita Express schedule off a bit.

The only downside for the Skyliner is that it only goes to Ueno, while the Narita Express goes to many different areas, if you don't mind just sitting on the train. (I used to live in Omiya, Saitama, north of Tokyo. One time, I took the Narita Express to Omiya station thinking "I'm tired, I just want to sit on one train and not transfer". It took me three hours to get home, after a cross-Pacific flight. Never again. Skyliner plus transfer would have taken half that time.)

The other downside of using trains in general is that you have to drag your luggage to and from the platforms. Elevators may be slow and/or cramped. Plus, don’t forget you’ve got to do this with kids in tow. Once on the train, there are spots at the front of each car where you can put your bags. It’s unlikely that your bags will be taken, but keep watch over them. Or lock them up.

Buses

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 Narita to the major hotels all over Tokyo. For example, if you’re staying at the The Westin Tokyo in Meguro, you can take the Limousine bus straight there from Narita, with a bus running approximately every hour and a half from 8 AM to 9:30 PM. You don’t have to worry about dragging you luggage up and down escalators. Costs are around 3,000 yen for adults and half that for children (ages 6 to 12). Pre-school children (under 6) ride for free!

If you are going to Tokyo station or Ginza, there is a super cheap option in the Access Narita which runs almost ever 20 minutes from 7:25 to 22:45. 1,000 yen for adults. 500 yen for children. Be warned though, they can get crowded and the line ups can be long as there is no reserved seating. And you have to pay cash, so have some 1,000 yen bills ready.

The down side of using buses is traffic. Depending on when you arrive, you might get stuck in rush hour or get held up because of an accident. The ride us also around an hour to Tokyo station, more if you’re going further. The buses should have toilets, but better go before you board.