After a long flight you have finally arrived in Japan and are eager to start your trip but you might be surprised to learn that Narita Airport is not actually close to Tokyo at all.
In fact it is located in Chiba Prefecture, which is approximately 60km (37 miles) from downtown Tokyo.
The good news is that there are a number of different options for getting from Narita Airport to Tokyo depending on your time and budget.
In this article we will outline the different options so you can choose the most suitable one, which saves your time and energy for the real adventure in Tokyo!
By Bus
AIRPORT LIMOUSINE BUS
¥3,000 one way
75 – 125 minutes to Tokyo Station
The Airport Limousine Bus service operates bus service from Narita Airport to many major hotels in the greater Tokyo area. Tickets can be purchased at their ticket counter and most of the ticket staff speak English.
If you want to avoid the hustle-bustle of carrying your luggage on the train, the Airport Limousine bus is a good option. A flat rate of ¥3000 per person will take you directly from the airport to your hotel.
The downside to this service is that the bus service only goes to a certain number of hotels and if your hotel is not one of them you will still have to figure out how to get to your hotel. Your best option is to check on their website if your hotel is one that they will stop at.
Pros: easy to buy tickets, luggage storage, direct to your hotel.
Cons: pricey compared to other options, limited number of hotels.
KEISEI EXPRESS BUS
¥900 one way
90 minutes to Tokyo Station
If you are on a tight budget the Keisei Express Bus is a good option. This bus service runs every 20 minutes starting at 7:00am until 11:00pm.
Tickets can be purchased at the Keisei Bus Counter in the arrival lobby. There is one Keisei bus stop at terminal 1 and two stops at terminal 2. The bus will stop at Tokyo Station, Sukiyabashi (Ginza), and Shinonomeshako.
Check their website for a full list of timetables and prices.
Pros: inexpensive tickets, luggage storage, direct to Tokyo.
Cons: travel time is slower compared to trains, limited stops.
By Train
JR NARITA EXPRESS (N’EX)
¥4000 one way*
60 minutes to Tokyo Station
The N’EX is a futuristic looking train that runs from Narita airport to major stations in the greater Tokyo area including, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro and Shinagawa. All seats on the N’EX are reserved and tickets must be purchased at the N’EX ticket counters.
The downside of most train travel in Japan is luggage. While the N’EX does provide a small luggage area, many city trains do not. If you are carrying a large amount of luggage or you have a large family, you might want to consider a limousine bus service as all the major train stations in Tokyo can get very crowded and confusing for the first time visitors.
Pros: discount price for foreign passport holders, runs every 30min
Cons: luggage can be a challenge, train stations are usually busy
KEISEI SKYLINER
¥2,400 one way
41 minutes to Ueno Station
Keisei Skyliner is by far the fastest transportation to get to the city. From the airport, it takes only about 40 minutes to Nippori and Ueno. If your destination is one of these two stations, Keisei Skyliner is the best option.
Even if Nippori or Ueno is not your final destination, you can always transfer to JR or metro line since Ueno station has two convenient lines; Hibiya and Ginza line. All seats are reserved for Keisei Skyliner so if you miss one, you have to buy another ticket. Being on time is very important especially for this train!
Pros: super fast transport to Tokyo, reasonable cost, runs ever 30 minutes
Cons: limited luggage storage, Ueno station will be busy
KEISEI ELECTRIC RAILWAY
The Keisei Electric Railway offers two options; Narita Sky Access Express and Keisei Main line. Essentially the Narita Sky Access Express and Keisei Main line are the slower versions of the Keisei Skyliner. They are not as fast as Skyliner but definitely much cheaper and stop at more stations.
-Narita Sky Access Express; ¥1,200 ~ ¥1,460 one way, 59min to Nihonbashi station. Stops at Shin-Kamagaya, Higashi-Matsudo, Aoto, Nippori, Ueno, Oshiage, Asakusa, Asakusabashi, Higashinihonbashi, Ningyocho, Nihombashi, Ginza, Shimbashi, Shinagawa, Haneda Airport.
-Keisei Main Line; ¥1,000 ~ ¥1,280 one way, 71min to Ueno station. Stops at Shin-Kamagaya, Higashi-Matsudo, Aoto, Nippori, Ueno, Oshiage, Asakusa, Asakusabashi, Higashinihonbashi, Ningyocho, Nihombashi, Ginza, Shimbashi, Shinagawa, Haneda Airport.
Pros: cheapest option, multiple stops
Cons: slowest train, no luggage storage, can be busy
By Taxi
¥15,000 ~ ¥20,000
60 ~ 90 minutes
Taking a taxi anywhere in Tokyo is expensive and it is especially expensive from the airport. The convenience of a taxi is that they can take you directly to your destination, however they are the most expensive option.
There are a number of taxi services that operate from the airport and the prices and times will vary depending on your destination.
If you do decide to use a taxi service it is good to check if they have a fixed rate to go to the airport. This will usually be 20% ~ 30% cheaper than a metered rate.
Some taxi companies even offer a built in translation service in English, Chinese and Korean.
Pros: always available, direct to your destination.
Cons: very expensive.
Day Rooms and Airport Hotels
Most of the transportation options from Narita Airport stop running around midnight and will start again around 5:00am the following morning.
If your flight arrives or departs during this downtime there are a few accommodation options available to you.
A short 5 minutes by the free shuttle bus is the Narita Airport Rest Hotel. Single rooms start at ¥7200 and are good for an overnight stay.
Around Narita airport there are several cheap hotels such as APA hotel (¥2,500 per night) and the Richmond Hotels Narita (¥3,500 per night). Conveniently, most of the hotels have their own free shuttle buses from Narita airport.
If you have an extended layover at Narita Airport there is a fantastic day room facility at the airport.
Located before and after passport control, the rooms offer a bed and shower service which can be rented by the hour. The day room service starts at 7:00am until 9:00pm and located at both terminal 1 and 2.
This service is great for anyone who has a few hour layovers but doesn’t have enough time to go into Tokyo and also doesn’t want to walk around the airport the whole time.
For the full price list of day room rates visit their website.
Conclusion
While Narita Airport is not as close to Tokyo as many people would like, there are a number of different options to get to the city that are suitable for a range of budgets.
Choose the best one for you and enjoy your stay in Japan!
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Hi, not sure if you’ve covered this already. I arrive at Tokyo Narita Airport at 9pm. Can one buy a Skyliner ticket after 9pm on a Thursday evening?
Keisei Bus… top! You can pay directly in the bus.
My God I’m going to get lost, my first time as a solo traveler. These train maps scare me lol.
pls me help me find my hotel apa hotel higashi-nihombashi ekimae, chuo ward from narita airport. thank u
Will be using Skyliner to Tokyo and NEX to go back to Narita in March!
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Hi thank you for the information. I was searching for the
same thing.
3 of us with big luggage.
I am leaving from Narita feb 12 going to Tokyo stay in tokyo till the 14 till late what is the best transportation for me to use???? thank you
Where are you staying in Tokyo?
from Narita to Tokyo can I buy the JR Kanto pass for 3 days
Beyond helpful! Thanks so much! 😀
Hi, I would like to use the limosine Bus to get from Narita Airport to our hotel in Asakusa. Do you know what time the last bus leaves the airport? After a frustrating search on the limosine bus website I think I discovered that the last bus leaves Narita around 5.30 pm (Friday 2nd J 2015). This seems to be very early. Your thoughts would be appreciated. 🙂
That does seem early but it’s correct. They only travel from the airport to Asakusa twice a day.
①10:05AM
②05:25PM
Thanks for your reply. My wishful thinking could not come to fruition..the train it is! What do you think our chances are of finding a cab big enough for four adults and four large suitcases outside Asakusa station after 9pm maybe after 10pm?
Finding a taxi won’t be a problem but getting that many people + luggage into one car will be a challenge.
The trunk space of Japanese taxis is not very large so I doubt you will be able to fit all your suitcases in it. You could try asking the hotel to call a special van taxi for you.
But keep in mind that taking a taxi from Asakusa to Narita will run you hundreds of dollars.
A better option is to take a taxi to Nippori Station and take the Skyliner to Narita.
OK, thanks, I actually just meant on arrival catching a taxi from train station to hotel. No probs, we’ll walk. 🙂
I take NEX into Narita, as I usually have less luggage to haul when leaving Tokyo, but cmong back to Tokyo, then main problem with NEX is that the train is significantly far away from the terminal. There are several floors you have to go down and lug your luggage all the way. The train itself is fine in terms of luggage capacity. There has never been a problem with over-capacity.
Take the bus from Narita (Esp Terminal one) and go to the hotel closest to where you are staying and then take a cab out to wherever you are. The limo bus has stops at hotels in most of the major areas in town. If you hotel is the last on the list you can beon the bus for an additional 30 minutes so plan accordingly. The hotel specific buses have fewer departure times, so if you do not want to wait around, just take it to T-CAT and cab it home the rest of the way. It usually costs me about 2500 yen from T-CAT to home.
Can’t comment about Skyliner as I do not live near Ueno.
Also a good piece of advice, if you are going to Narita from T-CAT you can check your bags at T-CAT, and not have to lug anything at the airport.
If you are taking NEX from Tokyo station to Narita, tell the cabbie to drop you off on the Marunouchi side, by the south entrance. There is a elevator there that will take you very close to the NEX entrance.
Hi! Can you confirm if the JR Pass can be used on the JR N’Ex? I always get this part confused.
Hi thank you for the information. i was searching for the same thing your post is very useful to me.
I always take option number 1 – the limousine express. I don’t have to drag my luggage around, the seats are reasonable comfortable, not crowded, and the bus takes you direct to your selected destination ( Tokyo or Shinjuku station ) without stopping.
Now that I live here I take the Skyliner but when I was visiting I always took this option as well. It really is the best way to get to your hotel with luggage.
what about taking the subway to downtown tokyo? i hear thats alot easier is that possible?
I need a help explanation of Keisei bus to Narita airport. I arrived Haneda airport in 10.30pm but need transit to Narita terminal 2 in 6am flight to sapporo. Are this bus start at midnight? And can arrived before my departure? How to make reservation for Keisei bus? I don’t know Japanese language.
Sorry Sherry, the best option for you will be to stay at the airport. Getting to Narita for a 6 am flight is a real hassle and near impossible unless u take a taxi.
That NEX Train looks SEXY AS HELL! It looks like takes you to the Matrix and yanks you back! LOL
It’s like the red pill of trains!
LOL!
I actually thought that the NEX was really quite convenient when it came to luggage. In each hallway, you are able to secure your suitcase onto a system with a personal code. This means that you don’t have to attend to your luggage while travelling. On the other hand, this might be inconvenient when the train is very crowded, since there won’t be enough space for all the suitcases.
The NEX deal is you get a Suica card for 500yen not 2000 yen
The train travel portion is 3000yen. (Two single 1500 yen fares)
Had no idea that they’d introduced a cheaper 1500 yen ticket with N’EX for foreign passport holders, so I’m glad I read this post before going!
This does not apply for foreign passports with study or work visas.
Really? I lived in Japan for a couple of years on a work visa and every time I got it without problems; they only checked the first page. Even when I just picked up people from the airport I got it. The only thing the JR website says is you have to have a foreign passport.
Really? I was denied the discount… 🙁
Are we talking about the same discount?
According to the news I’ve seen about this “N’EX TOKYO Direct Ticket(One-way)”, it was first introduced January the 10th just this year (2014).