The Tokyo Shuttle will operate hourly between Tokyo Station and NRT starting July 3, 2012. Fares vary depending on when you purchase the ticket: 2,000 JPY for walk-ups, 1,500 JPY if you reserve the day before or earlier; 1,000 JPY if you reserve a month or more in advance. However, Keisei is charging only 800 JPY until early September.
Interesting alternative; I'll be landing in NRT on July 5th, so I'll see if I can give it a try.
It also seems to take just above an hour, traffic pending, so that would be comparable to the N'EX if your transfer/boarding point is Tokyo.
EDIT: According to the timetable, 80-90 minutes from NRT to Tokyo; that's a bit on the slow side :(
Guess I'll try it on the way to NRT, not from it...
5khours
Jun 28, 12, 8:40 pm
It's about time. I wonder how much money from the Limousine Bus fares have lined the pockets of politicians and bureaucrats to keep the competition out for the last 35 years.
gnaget
Jun 28, 12, 10:28 pm
^
Interesting alternative; I'll be landing in NRT on July 5th, so I'll see if I can give it a try.
It also seems to take just above an hour, traffic pending, so that would be comparable to the N'EX if your transfer/boarding point is Tokyo.
EDIT: According to the timetable, 80-90 minutes from NRT to Tokyo; that's a bit on the slow side :(
Guess I'll try it on the way to NRT, not from it...
Yes, but from/to Shibuya the timetable for the Limo bus says 100 or 110 minutes (I forget) but in reality it's about 70 minutes in mid-afternoon. The time in the timetable is "worst case scenario".
LapLap
Jun 29, 12, 3:07 am
Yes, but from/to Shibuya the timetable for the Limo bus says 100 or 110 minutes (I forget) but in reality it's about 70 minutes in mid-afternoon. The time in the timetable is "worst case scenario".
Agreed.
I once took a very, very heavily discounted airport shuttle bus from Shinjuku station to Narita airport. The journey took 60 minutes. There is no train that will beat that.
RichardInSF
Jun 29, 12, 8:14 am
Agreed.
I once took a very, very heavily discounted airport shuttle bus from Shinjuku station to Narita airport. The journey took 60 minutes. There is no train that will beat that.
There is no train that DOES beat that. I think a train COULD beat that if JR got their act together and ran the N'Ex across Tokyo on the Chuo line tracks and if the train went at some sort of decent speed on the section outside of Narita.
Keisei has thrown down the gauntlet to JR and JR has failed to respond.
Steve M
Jun 29, 12, 11:18 am
I once took a very, very heavily discounted airport shuttle bus from Shinjuku station to Narita airport. The journey took 60 minutes. There is no train that will beat that.
The problem is that you kind of have to assume that the bus will take the conservative amount of time that the published schedule says, as traffic can be unpredictable, whereas you can more or less rely on the train being on time.
beep88
Jun 29, 12, 11:41 am
The Keisei Express + JR train is still better than the new bus service. More frequent and reliable, cheaper and more flexible.
There used to be a free shuttle bus service running between NRT and downtown a few years back, once/twice a day, needed to book online. But that didn't last very long.
KPT
Jun 29, 12, 3:35 pm
Sorry to post somewhat off topic, but I'll be headed to Asakusabashi this time around; has anyone done the Keisei Sky Access express instead (regular express via Asakusa Line)? Is there dedicated room for your luggage or do you have to hold onto it?
If I end up taking this bus I still need to take something to Akihabara or Ochanomizu and then to Asakusabashi. I'm debating on whether to take the N'EX or this bus/Keisei Sky Access to save a few days on my JR Pass :/
msb0b
Jun 29, 12, 6:17 pm
Sorry to post somewhat off topic, but I'll be headed to Asakusabashi this time around; has anyone done the Keisei Sky Access express instead (regular express via Asakusa Line)? Is there dedicated room for your luggage or do you have to hold onto it?
It's going to be commuter cars so hang on to your bags.
If I end up taking this bus I still need to take something to Akihabara or Ochanomizu and then to Asakusabashi. I'm debating on whether to take the N'EX or this bus/Keisei Sky Access to save a few days on my JR Pass :/
I personally would use the Access Tokkyuu because it will be either 0 or 1 (cross platform) transfer to Asakusabashi. The other methods will involve two transfers at Tokyo and Akihabara stations.
If you feel adventurous there's also a commuter bus 東42甲 (http://tobus.jp/cgi-bin/pcsection.cgi?act=sectl&kcd=TE57010901&scd=139909670000) that goes from Tokyo station to Asakusabashi.
KPT
Jun 29, 12, 10:00 pm
Thanks for the tip. That East 42 route timetable is quite stringent (pretty much every half an hour), but at least I'll be able to fall back to JR in case I miss it. Won't be carrying much, I think, so it shouldn't be too big a deal.
Will report in next week.
O Sora
Jul 4, 12, 10:16 am
I've read a detailed news article on this bus service.
An executive of the Keisei Bus calles it an LCB or low cost bus. It has no toilets and he says there are more seats on the bus than ordinary buses. That means shorter seat pitches.
The fares:
1 month advance booking: 1000 yen
1 day advance booking: 1500 yen
go show: 2000 yen
But these are only when you take the bus from Tokyo.
If you take it from Narita
Flat rate: 2000 yen
............ I don't think this is attractive. So do you think I wouldn't take the bus? Actually I WOULD. There are pros about the bus.
They have early morning and late night service departing Tokyo.
Last bus departs TYO at 01:30AM
First bus departs TYO at 05:30AM
This may be a good news for mattress runners who needs one more night in central Tokyo, Tsukiji goers, those who have just come back from another city by late hour train etc.
The LimoBus takes about 80 minutes to Tokyo Station and runs much more frequently, sometimes about every 15 minutes, although unfortunately not as often as to/from MCAT.
IIRC the fare is 3000 yen one way, which sometimes includes a subway day-ticket that you can even use later.
To me, the 2000 yen still isn't so cheap, so at this price point I would probably stick with the LimoBus direct to my hotel.
O Sora
Jul 4, 12, 11:14 am
The LimoBus takes about 80 minutes to Tokyo Station and runs much more frequently, sometimes about every 15 minutes, although unfortunately not as often as to/from MCAT.
IIRC the fare is 3000 yen one way, which sometimes includes a subway day-ticket that you can even use later.
To me, the 2000 yen still isn't so cheap, so at this price point I would probably stick with the LimoBus direct to my hotel.
Better frequency + subway ticket + direct service to your hotel.
Limo bus beats the cheap shuttle.
OT: MSPeconomist, do you know peko chan (http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=peco&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:ja:official&hl=ja&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=b3j0T5XHJK6RiQfM5PTKBg&biw=1047&bih=436&sei=cnj0T-SCNcy8iAfV9eHNBg#um=1&hl=ja&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:ja%3Aofficial&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=%E3%83%9A%E3%82%B3%E3%81%A1%E3%82%83%E3%82%93&oq=%E3%83%9A%E3%82%B3%E3%81%A1%E3%82%83%E3%82%93&gs_l=img.3..0l8j0i4l2.7362.8831.0.9643.10.9.0.0.0. 5.748.3620.0j2j3j5-3j1.9.0...0.0.xGSj0gr7Ex8&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=d6c0fe0a8b0a34ab&biw=1047&bih=436)? Japanese young girls' favorite character. Every time I see you handle, I think of it... since we have MSb0b here.
gnaget
Jul 4, 12, 8:40 pm
I can assure people that driving or taking the Limo bus to NRT in the morning (Europe) or mid-afternoon is fast and faster than the trains, especially NEX. When I drove to NRT in the morning it took less than 60 min door to door.
The downside with Keisei train is (for me) to suffer a 30 min Yamanote line ride, so I have never done it. I guess this might be ok for a late afternoon flight but to Europe in the morning is probably not fun.
A bad experience with the NEX was taking it in the early morning from NRT. It stops at Narita city, Chiba and somewhere else as it operates as a semi-commuter train. This slows it down so it took ca. 105 minutes to reach Shibuya.
I have never taken the bus from NRT in the morning, but in the above scenario I could have caught a 8:00 bus bus instead took a 8:15 train. The bus option would have been considerably faster.
The bus around 5 pm (arrival from US) is pretty slow in getting to Shibuya, but they are good at taking shortcuts to avoid rainbow bridge congestion so I would imagine that Tokyo station, Shimbashi, etc. is still pretty fast. A downside with NEX (for me) is that around this time there are some trains in the schedule that don't branch off to Shibuya/Shinjuku so you have to change to Yamanote at Shinagawa during the evening rush hour.
RichardInSF
Jul 5, 12, 2:03 am
....IIRC the fare is 3000 yen one way, which sometimes includes a subway day-ticket that you can even use later....
The discounted subway ticket (one and two day are available) cost extra and are available to anyone arriving at NRT, whether or not they take the bus. It is not good on the three TOEI lines, but is valid on all the others.
KPT
Jul 5, 12, 3:56 am
Just arrived in town a few hours ago :cool:
Here are some photos of the ticket, bus and seats:
http://tinyurl.com/7pb8otm - Ticket
http://tinyurl.com/6rx6t2o - Bus front
http://tinyurl.com/7cwhvwr - Empty bus seats
It's your standard one door bus, no toilet. Took about 65 minutes to Yaesu even with the crazy one-lane merges entering Tokyo. Only two other people were with me at the stop at Terminal 2, and the bus had plenty of empty seats.
Note: You end up opposite Yaesu-guchi; still need to cross the street; I ended up missing the East 42 bus as a result so I ended up taking the train instead. :(
Note 2: I was asked to hold onto my carry-on sized bags; didn't check how much stowage space they had on the side.
The Tokyo Shuttle will operate hourly between Tokyo Station and NRT starting July 3, 2012. Fares vary depending on when you purchase the ticket: 2,000 JPY for walk-ups, 1,500 JPY if you reserve the day before or earlier; 1,000 JPY if you reserve a month or more in advance. However, Keisei is charging only 800 JPY until early September.
Where and how to buy the advance tickets from outside Japan?
ksandness
Aug 26, 12, 4:46 pm
It really depends on what part of Tokyo you're staying in. To my mind, the fewer transfers, the better.
I like to stay in the northern part of Tokyo, which has more of a "neighborhood" feel than the parts around Tokyo Station, etc., but on my last trip, I was leaving on the Shinkansen for Hiroshima on the day after arrival, so I booked a hotel in Shinagawa and took the N'Ex.
Normally, however, I take the Keisei line, because I stay either in Ueno or just a couple of stops away.
I never stay at the kinds of hotels that are served by the LimoBus, so I haven't ridden it since the olden days, when you could go through exit procedures at the City Airline Terminal and be officially out of Japan the minute you stepped on the bus.
O Sora
Sep 10, 12, 9:51 am
Looks like
1 They have increased frequency.
2 They have introduced new promo fare.
To NRT 900yen. From NRT 1000 yen.
Regardless of the booking time
3 It's got more convenient for early morning departures.
1AM Tokyo --> 4:30 NRT T2 --> 6:00 NR T1
This is like a Japanese ski bus schedule.
1 They have increased frequency.
2 They have introduced new promo fare.
To NRT 900yen. From NRT 1000 yen.
Regardless of the booking time
Thx. Great. Will be in TYO next month. Will this promo still apply then? (sorry, I don't read Japanese)
No booking/payment in advance required? i.e. I could just turn up at the bus ticket counter in the arrivals hall and buy the promo fare?
O Sora
Sep 13, 12, 6:45 am
Thx. Great. Will be in TYO next month. Will this promo still apply then? (sorry, I don't read Japanese)
No booking/payment in advance required? i.e. I could just turn up at the bus ticket counter in the arrivals hall and buy the promo fare?
No problem. The new promo fare which they call ikiwari is going to apply to everyone on board from Oct 01.
No booking required. I have noticed they are abolishing advance booking. Yes, just walk in.
There is a similar bus service by another company.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan/1381099-another-discount-airport-bus-access-narita-launched-y1-000-year-round.html
armagebedar
Sep 17, 12, 8:38 pm
There is a similar bus service by another company.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan/1381099-another-discount-airport-bus-access-narita-launched-y1-000-year-round.html
I just took this the other day. Boarded in Ginza, told the driver my destination, and off we went. We were slightly delayed in departing and slightly delayed in arriving, mainly because of some woman interrogating the driver outside about the timetable (?). At Tokyo Station most of the passengers boarded, and then we made steady progress to Narita. At 1,000 yen, I wouldn't hesitate to use it again, but I worry that things could get hairy if there was an accident on the Keiyo or Higashi-Kanto expressways.