I just booked a flight from LA to BKK via Tokyo. I’ve done flights to Asia through Tokyo several times before, but have never transited between the two airports. My ANA flight to Narita is scheduled to arrive at 16:25 on Monday, July 1st and I depart out of Haneda on THAI at 00:20, so I have just under 8 hours between the two.
Ideally would also like to stop somewhere between to get a meal, doesn’t have to be great, just interesting. Of course if this is a stupid idea I can leave that one alone.
Any suggestions welcome. I’ve read through some of the websites and it seems relatively straight forward to connect directly, and likely I could take a train or cab somewhere if I knew where I was going. FWIW, I’ve never been to Japan proper, just the airports.
The N’EX train can take you straight from Narita to Shinagawa Station. Straight shot from there to Haneda. If you want to kill some time at/near Shinagawa Station, you can probably find lockers big enough to hold your luggage while you wander around without it.
Maybe do some digging beforehand to see what the prospects are for a decent meal near Shinagawa. If not, you might opt to get off the N’EX train at Tokyo Station before continuing to Shinagawa after dinner.
Thanks, that’s exactly the kind of stuff I’m looking for, since I don’t know anything about the areas of Tokyo. Or if it’s feasible for me to take the trains without understanding Kanji or speaking any Japanese at all.
There is also a direct bus between Narita and Haneda. But I agree with Machine Elf, the NEX to Tokyo or Shinagawa is probably the best choice if you want to see or eat anything along the way. If you get off at Tokyo, you can then take the Yamanote line or Keihin-tohoku line (I think the two lines are parallel here and depart from 2 sides of the same platform) to Hamamatsu-cho, then take the monorail to Haneda airport.
There’s plenty of English signage around; I can’t read Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana, and I was able to navigate OK. Besides, if you look confused for long enough, someone who wants to practice their english will probably ask if they can help you.
If you don’t have any Japanese yen in your pocket when you arrive, you’ll probably want to get some before you leave Narita; not sure if there’s an exchange in Tokyo station (or other stations). Restaurants may or may not take credit cards, and of course you’ll likely be charged a foreign transaction fee by your bank. If you can find a Japanese Post Office, the ATM’s there don’t charge transaction fees; you can use a debit card to get yen, and you will onl deal with whatever fees your bank charges (though they may charge a foreign transaction fee too).
Thanks, I do travel internationally quite a bit, so pretty clued in on the whole cash / exchange thing, and have my banks and credit cards with certain providers specifically to avoid fees where possible - CapitalOne is particularly good for foreign credit card use, or at least my card is, and my bank is generally good, though they don’t have any Japanese reciprocal agreements, so may just get USD 100 converted, just to be safe.
For the N’EX, should I have cash to buy a ticket, or will a credit card work?
Definitely the NEX train is the way to go. If you have some time around Shinagawa, check out Shinatatsu Ramen, a complex of 7 famous ramen noodle shops.
On second thought, you should also look into the Keisei Skyliner, I think those trains are more frequent and faster. Not as convenient, as it doesn’t go directly to Tokyo, but getting from Ueno to Haneda is not that different from getting from Tokyo.
I haven’t been to Tokyo, but I’ve been doing some research prior to visiting next month. Ueno is one of the very large stations in central Tokyo, with frequent JR (Japan Railway) – including Shinkasen (bullet train) – and Tokyo subway services. It will have numerous food places, including take-out and sit-down service. One thing that I am looking forward to is ekiben, short for “eki bento”, i.e.,ralway station lunch boxes. There will be places selling these at Ueno Station, for travellers on the Shinkansen and other long-distance services. An ekiben costs about 1,000 yen, i.e., currently about 10 USD.
There will be a plethora of restaurants at both Ueno and Shinagawa stations. However, Shinagawa is more of a business destination–it’s where a lot of high-powered office workers either work or transition through. But there will definitely be restaurants. On the other hand, Ueno is the “shitamachi” or low-town–traditionally a lower-class area for entertainment. It’s also a tourist destination (there’s a large park next to it that has shrines, museums, and a zoo.) There’s also a famous arcade called Ameyokocho that functioned as a black market during the American occupation and is still an interesting place to check out. I lived in Japan for 3 years and always took the Skyliner via Ueno, but I think it will add an extra transfer to your trip, as you’d have to take the Yamanote (a circle line) from Ueno to Hamamatsu or Shinagawa station.
