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Remember my post about avoiding travel tours? Well this one’s for our courageous self travelers! If you ever get a chance to look at Tokyo’s transit system map, you will realize it’s just as complicated to read as it is to navigate. With respect to the metro, there’s a few companies operating their respective rails and there’s even more point of transfers and ways one could get to the same location. As if language barrier isn’t already a problem, one rail could have multiple routes: rapid, express, limited express, etc. – possibly all written in Japanese. Getting on the wrong one could mean you miss your stop altogether. In this post, I’ll share some general transit tips and directions on how to get to Tokyo from the airport.
Starting with your arrival at Narita International Airport, you’re probably wondering how best to get to Tokyo. The distance between Narita International and Tokyo is roughly 60-70km so if you’re looking to take the taxi, be prepared to fork up $200 CDN.
So what do I recommend out of every bloody way there is to get to the same location? Purchasing a Suica card at the airport and using it to ride the Keisei Limited Express which takes just over an hour to get to Tokyo.
To begin, here are some benefits of using the Suica card:
1) Ease of use
You load your card with money at the machines (English instructions provided). To use, you scan it once when you enter, and once when you exit. Transportation fare will be deducted at exit. For Japanese transport, prices vary for different point of embark and disembark, so using the card will save you time and hassle trying to figure out what to pay.
2) Convenience
The Keisei Limited Express is the only rail to the city that doesn’t require purchase of an additional ticket from airport to the city and vice versa. This means you don’t need to worry about purchasing a fare to get back to the airport. Just use to Suica. The Suica card can also be used in ALL of Tokyo’s transit systems no matter the transit company. You can also use it to pay for items at the convenience store since they have a machine to scan your card at checkout.
3) Price / Pay as you spend
Forget about day passes. Most of the time, to get your money’s worth, you have to ride the transit a lot. It’s only good if you have many places to go to. But I recommend planning your trip by considering the locations and see what attractions you can group together to avoid going all over the place. The Keisei Limited Express is also the cheapest way to get to the city without compromising much of time.
Now to explain how it works, the Suica card can be purchased for ¥2,000 in which ¥500 is a deposit, meaning your card starts with a ¥1,500 value. It only costs ¥1,000 to ride the Keisei Limited Express to either Nippori or Ueno, and you can transfer at that point onto the JR Yamanote Line and go from there to your destination. I stayed in Ikebukuro last time so I got off at Nippori and paid another ¥160 on the JR Yamanote Line to get there.
You can load your card throughout your trip (minimum each time is ¥1,000). There IS a service fee of ¥210 that’s deducted when you return the card or any value below that is taken. So to avoid any loss, you leave nothing on the card when you return it. How? I usually leave less than ¥1,000 (which is the cost of riding the Keisei Limited Express back to the airport) and pay the difference at the airport. So I’d be returning a blank card and also get my ¥500 deposit back.
I’ve left out other feasible transit options on purpose as I don’t feel they are good choices to get from the airport to Tokyo. But if you have any questions about them feel free to give me a shout. Look out for my subsequent post as I share tips on riding the metro within the city. Good luck!
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