The Five Yen of Happiness! Off to Narita Airport on the Narita Express
- I give in – I need a break (Introduction)
- To Heathrow and The BA Galleries North Lounge
- BA902 London Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport in Club Europe
- Bumbling around Frankfurt Airport with random #AVGeek spotting
- Meeting the A350 and the Air Canada Lounge
- Qatar Airways QR068 Frankfurt to Doha
- The joy of Hamad International Airport, and The Oryx Rotana Hotel
- Qatar Airways Flight QR812 Doha to Tokyo Haneda
- The Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo
- Shikansen Adventures to Hiroshima!
- Time in Hiroshima (featuring the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima)
- Hirosihima – 70 years on
- A day trip to Itsukushima
- More Shinkansen fun to Kyoto (Featuring Kyoto Tower Hotel)
- A trip up to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
- Dinner with The real_jetsetr!
- The JR Central SC Maglev and Rail Museum
- Shinkansen to Tokyo
- The Strings by InterContinental
- Cheap evening – From the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
- The JR East Railway Museum, Saitama
- Shibuya nights
- Akihabara Days
- Gotta Catch them All! A few Pokemon Centres.
- Off to Narita
- Nartia Airport, The JAL Lounge
- Qatar Airways Flight QR807 Tokyo Narita to Doha
- Four and Half Hours in Doha Airport
- Qatar Airways Flight QR067 Doha to Frankfurt
- More time in Frankfurt
- BA8735 Frankfurt to London City Airport (Club Europe)
- Homeward
- Memories
- And about that Five Yen Coin – The Sensoji Temple, Asakusa
With my time in Tokyo coming to an end, I collected my stuff and jumped on a northbound Shinkansen back to Tokyo Station.
That was a mistake… as I was caught on a delay on the Shinkansen to Tokyo station… causing me to miss my previously booked ticket on the Nartia Express.
As I got to Tokyo station, my priority was to find a Midori no Mado Guchi, and to get booked on the next train.
Whilst there is are two train fast connections from Central Tokyo to Nartia Airport (the Nartia Express for those with JR passes, and the Keisei Skyliner, you have to be careful with the timings – also noting when the last trains and frequencies of services are to the airport.
The old entrance to Tokyo Station
Thankfully, I made the 6pm departure to Narita Airport, and settled down one more time to enjoy the Japanese rail network do its thing.
The later departure – as well as operating a service to Narita Airport operates as an express to Chiba, Yotsukaido, Narita Town and finally the Narita Terminals.
None the less, I waited for the train to turn up, and lined up at the carriage entrance for the last time this trip. Soon enough a Class 259 Narita Express arrived to take me to Narita Airport.
The waiting train
I wandered aboard the Green Car for the last time this trip, and settled down for the trip.
The Green car isn’t too dissimilar from the ordinary cars aboard the Narita Express. All have 2-2 seating layouts, with the Green car seats having deep recline and leather covers (the ordinary cars have fabric covers only).
Information Screen – A long way to go to Narita.
Green Car seats
Narita Express Green Car cabin.
Green car seats in deep recline
Luggage locks. Yes, you can lock your luggage up on the train and set a code to unlock it. Just don’t forget the code – or else you’ll have to ride to the end of the trains journey to get it unlocked!
The train pulled out on time, and for the last time this trip, I saw the city of Tokyo at sunset.
The Tokyo Skytree at Sunset.
The train – whilst not Shinkansen speeds, was going at a fair pace, clearing Tokyo and heading off to Chiba and beyond.
The concrete of the city melted away as the countryside took its place, with the sun setting over the countryside.
Checking the overhead screens, I could see what terminal I needed (in this case, Terminal 2), as well as the adverts playing
Ah. Can’t get away from you anywhere in the world. Hello AA…
The train pulled into Narita Town, with the last of the locals leaving the plane, and those who were heading to the airport left behind for the short hop for Narita Airport.
Narita Town
Soon enough, the train entered the Narita Airport area, and dived into a tunnel. Knowing that the trains were not going to hang around at this stop, I got my stuff together and headed for the door.
With the train at a halt at Narita Terminal, I took my leave of the train service… and grabbed one more train picture.
Overall: Whilst the Narita Express is an “express” train service, it does suffer from the distance that Narita Airport is from central Tokyo, the lack of the Shinkansen service (which was originally promised – but cancelled). The costs of the service aren’t cheap – starting at ¥3,020 for a single, ¥4,000 for a return in the ordinary car and ¥4560 in the green car one way.
For those on a budget, you might find Kelsi Skyliner a lot cheaper to use at ¥2570 if you don’t get the ¥4000 deal for the Narita Express. The Limousine Buses offer a return for ¥4000 too for those who want to experience the traffic of Tokyo.
In terms of comfort – it’s as good as any Japanese train service I’ve tried out. It was on time, and did what I needed it to do. A shame the Shinkansen I was aboard before this service was late…
Next: Narita Airport, JAL Sakura Lounge.
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I always take the Keisei Sky Access Express (NOT the same service as the Keisei Sky Liner) from Narita that connects directly to Haneda through southern Tokyo’s Asakusa line. It’s just 1318 yen from Narita Airport to Nihonbashi / Ginza area, and it takes around an hour but it’s actually faster than taking Narita Express or Keisei Sky Liner if your destination is right on the Asakusa line, which it takes. I also take it from Haneda airport to the Nihonbashi area as well.
The downside is that it’s a regular train car so seats aren’t that comfy and you’ll have to hold on to luggage in front of you, but the cost & time savings are significant since my family lives right next to an Asakusa line station. Also you need to make sure you’re on the right train, since some go to Ueno and some go to Haneda, and some terminate at Oshiage.
The interesting part is that although the Sky Access Express direct connects Narita to Haneda without connections and long stop overs, it actually spans 6 different train lines operated by 3 companies:
– Keisei Sky Access Line (From Narita Airport to Takasago)
– Keisei Main Line (From Takasago to Aoto)
– Keisei Oshiage Line (From Aoto to Oshiage)
– Toei Asakusa Line (From Oshiage to Sengakuji)
– Keikyu Main Line (From Sengakuji to Keikyu Kamata)
– Keikyu Airport Line (From Keikyu Kamata to Haneda Airport)
Every time the operator changes, the train engineer changes as well. You could end up on a car owned by Keikyu, Toei, or Keikyu with all different designs. Creating this service was required tremendous logistical and political cooperation between the companies but it’s quite a hidden gem for travelers.