Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our full Affiliate Disclosure.
Your first hour in Japan is the one you’re least equipped to improvise. You’ve just flown eleven hours, you’re holding a suitcase, and the signage offers you four different ways into the city at four different prices.
Decide this before you fly. Here’s the whole picture — both airports, real 2026 prices, and the one scenario that catches people out badly.
First: which airport are you landing at?
This matters more than anything else, and travelers routinely underestimate it.
- Haneda (HND) is inside Tokyo. You can be in the city centre in 15–30 minutes for under ¥600.
- Narita (NRT) is 60 km away in a different prefecture. Budget 60–110 minutes and ¥1,300–3,200.
If you’re still choosing flights: paying a little more to land at Haneda is almost always worth it — you save roughly an hour and ¥2,500 in each direction, plus the arrival-day exhaustion.
Haneda to Tokyo: fast and cheap
| Option | Price | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keikyu Line | ¥310 to Shinagawa | 13 min | Ginza, Asakusa, Yokohama — runs straight through onto the Asakusa Line, so no transfer for many hotels |
| Tokyo Monorail | ¥500 to Hamamatsucho | 13–18 min | Anywhere on the JR Yamanote loop |
| Limousine Bus | ¥1,000–1,400 | 45–70 min | Heavy luggage, families, direct hotel drop-off, Tokyo Disney |
| Taxi | ¥3,500–6,000 | 30–50 min | Groups of 3–4, or after the trains stop |
Trains run roughly 05:00–23:30. Note how cheap this is: two people can reach central Tokyo from Haneda for less than the price of an airport coffee.
The easiest way to pay for these trains is to tap an IC card at the gate. The old PASMO PASSPORT is no longer sold, so most visitors now use Welcome Suica — see Welcome Suica vs PASMO PASSPORT: which one to get in 2026 for where to buy it on arrival.
Narita to Tokyo: the four real options
| Option | Price | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keisei Skyliner | from ¥2,310 (discounted online) | 41 min to Ueno | Fastest. Ueno, Asakusa, and anywhere you don’t mind one transfer |
| Narita Express (N’EX) | ¥3,070 | ~60 min to Tokyo Stn, ~80 to Shinjuku | Direct, reserved seats, no transfer — Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yokohama |
| Limousine Bus | ~¥3,200 | 75–110 min | Direct hotel drop-off, heavy luggage — but traffic-dependent |
| Keisei Access Express | ~¥1,300 | ~75–90 min | The budget choice. Slower, no reserved seat, but genuinely cheap |
One important note: the Narita Express is covered by the JR Pass, and the others are not. That doesn’t make the pass worth buying on its own — see the full JR Pass math — but if you already hold one, take the N’EX.
→ Check discounted Narita transfer tickets (Skyliner, N’EX, bus)
Pick by where you’re staying
- Ginza / Tokyo Station area → From Haneda: Keikyu, direct to Higashi-Ginza. From Narita: N’EX to Tokyo Station. (Ginza’s direct Haneda link is one reason I recommend it — see my Ginza hotel guide.) For hotels right by the station, see my guide to where to stay near Tokyo Station.
- Shinjuku / Shibuya → From Haneda: Monorail or Limousine Bus. From Narita: N’EX direct, or Skyliner + one transfer if you want to save ¥700.
- Asakusa / Ueno → From Haneda: Keikyu straight through on the Asakusa Line. From Narita: Skyliner. Both are the easy cases.
- Traveling with children or three suitcases → Limousine Bus from either airport. Paying ¥2,000 extra to avoid stairs and transfers is money well spent — my family guide covers more of this.
⚠️ The late-night trap
This is the part that ruins arrival days, and almost no one plans for it.
Trains and buses from Narita stop running around 22:00–23:00. If your flight lands at 21:30 and immigration takes an hour, you can miss the last train — and a taxi from Narita into Tokyo runs ¥20,000–25,000. That is not a typo.
If you’re arriving late:
- Check the last departure times for your route before you fly
- Consider an airport hotel for the first night and travel in fresh the next morning
- Or fly into Haneda, where trains run later and taxis cost a fraction as much
Ayako’s Local Tip
Buy your airport transfer ticket online before you land, not at the counter. The queue at the Narita ticket window after a wide-body arrival can be 30 minutes, and the discounted online Skyliner fare is cheaper than the window price anyway. Have the QR code ready on your phone — which means having working data the moment you land, not after you find Wi-Fi.
Bottom line
From Haneda: take the train. ¥310–500 and you’re in the city in under 20 minutes. There is rarely a reason to pay more.
From Narita: Skyliner if you want speed and value, N’EX if you want a direct seat to Shinjuku or Shibuya, Limousine Bus if you’re outnumbered by your luggage.
Once you’re in the city, everything gets easy — central Tokyo is smaller than it looks.
Prices and journey times checked August 2026. Fares change and traffic varies — confirm current prices and last-train times before you travel.
Thanks for reading! I’m Ayako, a business owner in Ginza writing honest guides from inside Tokyo. More about me here.
Leave a Reply