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pbsladek

If flying into NRT and on the way to Tokyo, ~$200ish for the taxi ride. Ooops.

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Taxi is not the main way to leave airports in large part of the world.

It definitely is not for narita, NEX brings you to Tokyo in an hour.

And that's the most confortable way, there are even cheaper alternatives like the Keisei line.

For anyone doing travel planning based on reading here: often your best option is actually a bus (coach). This is because although they're slow, they go straight to many major hotels in the city. This removes the need to negotiate the subway with luggage or deal with Tokyo's idiosyncratic taxis while jetlagged.

For anyone looking for actual pro-move here: pack what you need for the next day or two in the carry-on, and ship your heavy luggage to the hotel, and then take the fastest train you can afford to get where you’re going.

Some of the Japans biggest shipping companies (I’ve personally only used Kuroneko Yamato; but I’m pretty sure others do this too) will pick up your luggage from the airport, and deliver it to your room for ~15 USD per bag.

This also works in reverse, and even between cities — don’t take your heavy bags on Shinkansen, have a concierge or front desk ship them to your next hotel.

The Google keyword for this are ta-q-bin/takkyubin.

Or just pack lighter if you can.

Trains are great in general. They also tend to be a poor fit for anything much more than carry-on. I've done it and managed but it's better not to if you can.

I generally agree with you - I spent years flying across the world with a carry-on only and I still miss that lifestyle.

But Japan is the kind of place that people want to bring a whole lot of stuff back - I know a lot of people who basically fly out with empty suitcases and just fill them to the brim with random tchotchkes over here — and hey, whatever makes them happy.

Having traveled to Japan quite a bit, I can definitely see that. Though I'm also at the stage of my life where I do not want anything else to enter my house. :-) (And I have quite a bit of stuff from Japan my dad brought back from when he was traveling there a lot.)

Or the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori Station (on the Yamanote line) in 40 minutes.

I went digging out of curiosity, and it seems you are correct. According to this article [1], around 80 of the top 100 airports have rapid transit connections.

[1] https://www.ptua.org.au/2015/10/29/busiest-airports-rail/

Even in the US, there are increasingly transit options. Oddly enough, there are sorta options in NYC but they aren't the greatest.

What do you mean, you don't love taking the airtrain to the bus to the subway to your destination?

Melbourne’s airport is very annoying when compared to Sydney. To get to the CBD you have to go and stand outside to wait for a bus that comes every ~15 minutes and takes half an hour to get there (or pay an exorbitant price for a taxi or Uber), whereas in Sydney you’ve got a direct train that gets to the city in 15 minutes.

It's been a while since I caught the train to or from Sydney airport but, in true Sydney fashion, it's privatised and costs an absolute fortune. From memory it costs more than Melbourne's SkyBus.

Just checked, $17.00! ($11USD)

In Australia that's not cheap :)

And it's a bit stupid because the stations before and after the airport are the normal cheap price.

Yep, it’s an international embarrassment

I am flying (in Europe) very often, almost once a month, and I very rarely use a taxi. Most of the time public transport gets me to the center faster, more convenient, and cheaper (even though price is not the priority - I often travel for work and can expense it).

It’s still a long time to get into Tokyo and even then you might be far from where you want to go. As far as I remember the rapid line from Marita only stops at shinjuku and Tokyo station.

I had a cab driver refuse to take me to NRT because it would be too expensive. He told me to take the train from Ueno.

If you want to pay ~$200 and get to Tokyo faster, you should fly into HND instead of NRT, full stop.

And from Hnd either the monorail or the airport limousine are very cheap ways into the city. I use the airport limousine to get to Disney and it’s really convenient. WAY cheaper than a taxi

Keisei Skyliner and Narita Express are 1/10th of the cost and twice as fast.

There is a train though which even people on expense accounts usually take.

I expensed the taxi. It was 1am. Train another 2-2.5 hours..

It’s Japan. Obviously I knew about the train lol. Their trains are awesome!

That must have been an unusual situation, as Narita closes at 23.00.

It was. Been back other times in the morning and afternoon and took the train. Easy peasy.

My wife and I landed in NRT a couple months ago and had a taxi leave us high and dry. We had to book a taxi there and then and it cost $450 to Tokyo in a standard taxi. The pre booked taxi that left us H&M was $200.

In addition to the fantastic trains the other commenters mentioned, you could also take a bus for $20 to any major hub or hotel.

Depends what time you get there and what you are willing to put up with especially when it isn’t on your dime.

Took the bus back from the hotel.

An uber from Sea-Tac airport into Seattle can easily reach $80, and almost $100 with tip.

Given how far NRT is from Tokyo, $200 doesn't seem too bad...

€60-80 from Paris de Gaulle also. Or a really slow RER ride through some really bad areas with all your luggage.

You use an airport bus or a train to get to and from Narita.

You'd be an idiot to use a taxi.

Or it's some exceptional situation (flight super delayed?)

Agree with others just take the train to Tokyo Station or Shinigawa station. If it’s your first time just remember to exit on the gate that is staffed because gate adjustments can get tricky. The ticket I selected at NRT was apparently not enough money, as expected they were super helpful and nice about it though.

There are also fare adjustment machines, you put your ticket in and it tells you what difference to pay to "upgrade" your ticket.

Many travelers will just grab a ticket that sounds vaguely correct and then fare adjust at the end. Grabbing an IC card or one of the apps is the easiest course for virtually everyone though.

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