Trying to decide how to get from Narita to a Shinjuku hotel with my family -- the old "bus v. train" dilemna. I came across this offer from the airport limousine bus which seems to indicate that if you pay them an extra 100 yen, you also get a 1-day pass for the Tokyo subway.

With this offer, right now I'm leaning toward taking the bus.

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/e/index_l_m_pass.html

 

I did see some sort of promotion of this when I was last in Tokyo. It's a good deal if the Metro pass isn't only for the same day as the bus -- that's because most flights arrive in the late afternoon and after you get to your hotel, you won't likely be doing much more travelling that day.

 

Exactly - If I get here in the late afternoon after a long flight from the US, I don't feel like racing around Tokyo on the subway: I unpack my suitcase, go somewhere nearby for dinner and maybe take a short walk around the neighbourhood before bed. That's about as much as I can handle.

BTW - The Metro pass is valid on most of the subway system. But not on the Toei Oedo Line, Toei Mita Line, Toei Shinjuku Line and Toei Asakusa Line - and also not on the Arakawa tram line, but that's not likely to bother you.

BTW2 - You mention going to a hotel in Shinjuku. Is there a reason for that?
The debate about where to stay is endless - but unless you have specific reasons to choose Shinjuku, it might be worth considering alternative areas - For example, Asakusa: Reasonably priced accommodation / relatively easy & cheaper access to Narita airport (via Keisei line) / fair share of Touristy things to see and do / easy access to Haneda (via Keisei line). It's totally different in character from Shinjuku... YMMV.

 

From the language on the website, it APPEARS that you can use the subway pass any day you like in the next 6 month period. It would be nice to get confirmation of that, however. If anyone has used this deal -- or is taking the airport limousine in the next few weeks and can ask -- I'd love to know for sure.

Also, it seems like you might have to validate the subway pass, and I'm unsure of whether you need to do that at one of the Limousine's offices on the day you plan to use it. I'd rather not do that, because I think I'd want to use the pass the very next day early in the morning (nothing like jet lag!) to go out to the fish market.

As far as the Shinjuku choice, we're essentially being "hosted" there, so the price is right.

 

As a follow up, when we leave Shinjuku, we're headed to the Haneda airport. The same company operates a limo service there as well. They say it's an hour trip, and the price seems reasonable (adults 1200 yen). The bus only seems to leave the hotels about once an hour, however, so it's hard to time your airport arrival and have a reasonable (but not excessive) wait time before the flight. How much time before your flight do you need to arrive at Haneda? I understand that the locals generally take the subway to the airport monorail. I suspect that would be a little cheaper, but how long is the trip from Shinjuku and is it fairly easy with modest amounts of luggage?

Thanks. Japanese travel involves a lot of logistics.

 

There are two types of 1 daypasses offered by Tokyo Metro for their all day pass.

The vending machine standard ticket type that is only valid the day you purchase it.

Then there is the card type (size of passnet) that can be purchased at a counter, this type of pass gets activated once you insert it into a ticket machine, they are valid for six months if you don't activate them the day you purchase it. More than likely this is the type of pass you'll get, so you don't have to use it the day you get it.

The subway pass useful if you plan on using Tokyo Metro, vs JR Lines.

 

The first time I was ever at Haneda was when I arrived on my last trip, and I did not take the monorail -- there is also Keikyu train service to Shinagawa, which I took because I thought it would be faster. The Keikyu train made more stops than I expected, so I am not sure if it is the right choice among the two.

 

Both take about the same amount of time to reach Tokyo.

The Tokyo Monorail ends at Hamamatsucho Station, while Keikyu runs to Shinagawa/Sengakuji.

From Shinjuku you can ride to Shinagawa Station in about 20 minutes, or to Hamamatsucho staton in 25 minutes.

From either station or rail company (Tokyo Monorail / Keikyu) services should take up to 20-30minutes to get to Haneda Airport.

 

But if you have to walk to the Shinjuku station (like 10 minutes) it sounds like the airport bus could be faster then, right? And how much time does one need at Haneda to catch a flight in the morning? Is it a zoo, or fairly mellow?

 

There are at least a few variants of trains on this line.
Express, Limited Express, Regular, etc. You probably got on a kakuekiteisha and stopped at every station.

 

Reading the "tea leaves" I want to add...

The best way for you to get from Haneda to Narita on your way out of Japan is the bus. No question about it. 3 hour minimum connection on ANA.

 

No, it was an "express" but it only skipped one or two stations. The next "limited express" would have required a 12 minute wait, wouldn't want to do that, would I? (Only in Tokyo!)

 

The travel time on the Rapid Limited Express is 14 minutes with one stop at Keikyukamata. The Limited Express is between 20 and 22 minutes traveltime making 8 stops.

Monorail from Hamamatsucho is 17 minutes.

Not sure what your starting point was. So I can't tell you if you made the right choice. But if you made your flight I'm sure you did OK.

Basically, train wise, if you hit your connections without getting lost it's going to take an hour to get from Shinjuku Station to Haneda.

 

Which is only 25 minutes faster than N'Ex from Narita, except those trains (into Tokyo) are only once an hour in the PM when all the U.S. flights arrive. Kind of suggests that Haneda isn't that much more convenient after all.

It's easy to avoid getting lost transferring at either Hamamatsucho or Shinagawa.

 

Hmmm. Given the "getting lost" factor, that hour airport limo bus is looking better (especially since it's not very expensive and will pick me up at my hotel).

As I said earlier, though, the inconvenience is that the bus seems to only run from the hotels once an hour. How much time before my flight do I need to arrive? Is Haneda a madhouse in the morning, or relatively calm?

Leaving Japan, I'll actually be the Kyoto area, so I've got a nonstop out of Kansai (KIX). For those not travelling to Tokyo or Nagoya, KIX may be the best gateway airport because there do seem to be "one-airport" connections available (there are definitely more domestic Japanese flights at KIX than at NRT, but I wouldn't say they are plentiful, as Osaka still has a separate, primary domestic airport).