Travel Around Tokyo & Surroundings
Sestuyaku | Save Money in Japan!
Inexpensive means to get to downtown Tokyo from Narita
What I too often hear from first time tourists travelling to Japan, is that "Tokyo is too expensive!".
Unfortunately, travellers to Tokyo receive this impression as soon as they arrive at the airport and then journey onward to downtown Tokyo, especially from Narita Airport.
They say "I took a limousine bus to Tokyo station. It was 3,000 Yen ($28.00 USD) for a one way trip! I can't believe it."
In the first place, the problem is, that downtown Tokyo is geographically very far from Narita Airport. About 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo.
And, yes, I agree it is very expensive. And this might be one of the reason people tend to think Tokyo is too expensive, since it is there very first exposure to the prices in Japan.
Although, there are many ways to save money, here are my recommendations:
Actually, I always take the Keisei Line from Narita Airport to the downtown of Tokyo. The Keisei is a rail line running from the Keisei Ueno Station to Narita Airport. The Keisei railway company provides 2 types of trains to go Narita Airport, one is the Skyliner and the other is Limited Express train.
If you take Skyliner, you can reach Ueno Station in 51 minutes from Narita Airport, but you need to buy a 1000 Yen train ticket with an Express ticket which requires an extra 920 Yen.
However, you can take Limited Express train without the express ticket and the fare is only 1000 yen. It takes 71 minutes though, you can save 920 Yen!
One thing you have to be careful, this line is a regular commuting train for Japanese and becomes very crowded in rush hours, in the morning and evening. So, it is better to avoid taking this train during these times:
7:00 am - 10:00 am AND 17:00 (5:00 PM) - 19:00 (7:00 PM)
For more information, please refer to this page:
Keisei Rail Line
